The Mayor and Council held their annual planning retreat on Saturday, Feburary 4, 2012.  Therefore, the February 9,2012 City Council Meeting has been canceled. 

The next scheduled meeting is March 8, 2012.

Please call City Hall 770-735-2123 if you have any questions.

Georgia Cities Week April 22-28.

The theme for 2012 is “The Magic of Cities.” 

This year the City of Ball Ground will be participating in ”Georgia Cities Week” an event sponsored by the Georgia Municipal Association.  Mayor Roberts , City Council Members and staff are currently planning festivities to share information about the valuable services the City of Ball Ground provides to it’s residents and how those services impact their quality of life. 
Details will be announced later.

Up Coming Events

February 4              Mayor and Council Annual Planning Retreat
                                     1130 Bluffs Parkway, Canton, Ga.
                                     8:30 Am – 4:00 PM

February 7             Lions Club Meeting
                                    Ball Ground City Council Chambers
                                     6:30 PM

February 8              Ball Ground Business Associaton
                                     Ball Ground City Council Chambers
                                    11:30 AM

February 9              City Council Meeting Canceled

February 20           Ball Ground Municipal Court
                                     5:00 PM

Mayor and City Council will hold their 2012 Annual Planning Retreat this Saturday, February 4, 2012 at the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Conference Center. The Conference Center is located at 1130 Bluffs Parkway, Canton, Ga. The retreat will be held from 8:30 AM- 4:00 PM. This meeting is open to the public. For more information please call 770-735-2123.

City of Ball Ground
Planning Retreat
Agenda

February  4, 2012

8:30 a.m.  Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.  State of the City (Looking Back / Looking Forward)  – Mayor Roberts

9:15 a.m.  Discussion – Each Committee Chair to outline 2 goals to  achieve within their department during year.
 
10:15 a.m. Discussion – What incentives can we offer and be
  willing to offer to jump start new commercial development again? What are five needed businesses to target for 2012.

11:00 a.m. Ethics Ordinance – Darrell Caudill

11:30 a.m. Working Lunch – Discussions on
 
  HOST
  LOST
  T-SPLOST
  Going Green – Tablets – Laptops

12:30 p.m. Jason Skipper (former assistant to Senator Isakson) – Masonry Planning

1:00 p.m.  Corridor of Influence – Canton Highway / 372 / Valley St./ 
  Howell Bridge Road

2:30 p.m.  Park Master Plan – Valley Streetscapes Plan Review of documents prepared to date – Discussions

3:30 p.m.  Wrap up

4:00 p.m.  Adjourn

Both questions on the November ballot pertaining to the Sunday sales of alcohol in the City of Ball Ground were passed by the voters.

Mayor and Council have approved the first reading of the ordinance that will amend the City of Ball Ground Malt Beverages, Alcoholic Beverages and Wine Ordinance to include:

a)  To allow Sunday retail package sales of malt beverages or wine between the hours of 12:30 PM and 11:30 PM.

b)  To allow Sunday sales of malt beverages, wine or distilled spirits by the drink between the hours of 12:30 PM and midnight on Sunday.

A second reading of this proposed amendment was held at a Special Called Meeting  on Monday, November 21, 2011 at 10:00 AM at Ball Ground City Hall.   This ordinance is now in effect and a separate license will be issued for such sales.  Businesses may contact Karen Jordan, City Clerk at 678-454-5075 for additional information. 

Mayor Roberts and the Ball Ground City Council have selected Lowe Engineers to assist the City in the design process for the new Valley Street Streetscapes Project.  Earlier this year the City was awarded $560,000 in federal grant dollars, through the Georgia Department of Transportation to accomplish this project.

Our goal is to prepare a design, conduct all the necessary environmental and historical assemsments that are required with federal funding, and be out to bid for construction by November 2013.

If you have any suggestions that should be taken into consideration during the planning stages of this project please send us your thoughts.

5-1-30 Restriction on Outdoor Water of Landscape: (SB 370)

Outdoor watering for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants may occur only between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.; provided, however, that this limitation shall not create any limitation upon the following outdoor water uses:

(a) Commercial raising, harvesting, or storing of crops; feeding, breeding, or managing livestock or poultry; the commercial production  or storing of feed for use in the production of livestock, including, but not limited to, cattle, calves, swine, hogs, goats, sheep, and rabbits, or for use in the production of poultry, including, but not limited to, chickens, hens, ratites, and turkeys; producing plants, trees, fowl, or animals; or the commercial production of aquacultural, horticultural, dairy, livestock, poultry, eggs, and apiarian products or as otherwise defined in O.C.G.A. § 1-3-3;

(b) Capture and reuse of cooling system condensate or storm water in compliance with applicable City of Ball Ground ordinances and state guidelines;

(c) Reuse of gray water in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 31-3-5.2 and applicable local board of health regulations;

(d) Use of reclaimed waste water by a designated user from a system permitted by the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to provide reclaimed waste water;

(e) Watering personal food gardens;

(f) Watering new and replanted plant, seed, or turf in landscapes, golf courses, or sports turf fields during installation and for a period of 30 days immediately following the date of installation;

(g) Drip irrigation or irrigation using soaker hoses;

(h) Hand watering with a hose with automatic cutoff or handheld container;

(i) Use of water withdrawn from private water wells or surface water by an owner or operator of property if such well or surface water is on said property;

(j) Watering horticultural crops held for sale, resale, or installation;

(k) Watering athletic fields, golf courses, or public turf grass recreational areas;

(l) Installation, maintenance, or calibration of irrigation systems; or

(m) Hydroseeding.

For a printed copy, click here.

The City of Ball Ground Finance Department is responsible for billing, collecting and disbursing city property taxes.

Taxes are levied annually and computed by taking the value of the property times the 40-percent assessment and multiplying by the millage rate.  The current millage rate is 5.194 mills.

WHEN ARE THE CITY OF BALL GROUND TAXES BILLED AND DUE?

Tax bills are scheduled to be mailed October 29, 2010 and are due and payable on or before December 31, 2010.  We bill from the Cherokee County Digest using their same assessed values.

IS MY TAX STATEMENT SENT DIRECTLY TO MY MORTAGE COMPANY?

Tax statements are mailed direct to the homeowner.  Tax statements may also be  mailed to the mortgage company upon their request.  However, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to follow up with the mortgage company to confirm payment has been made.

NEW RESIDENTS

Tax statements are based on the ownership of property as of January 1 of each year.  Therefore if you are a new resident of the City of Ball Ground and you do not receive a tax bill by November 15, 2010 contact City Hall at 770-735-2123 to request a copy of the bill.  Although the tax bill will be in the name of the former owner, the law states that when taxes become delinquent a tax lien is placed against the property.

Please Note:  There is no provision in the law for the tax office to prorate taxes based on the partial-year ownership of property.  Any pro-ration of taxes must be made between the buyer and seller at the time of transfer of property.

HOW IS MY PROPERTY ASSESSED?

Tax Assessments for property, personal, inventory and equipment is done by the Cherokee County Tax Assessors Department.  Any assessment changes must be filed with the Tax Assessors office located  at 2780 Marietta Hwy in Canton, directly across from Dairy Queen in the old Bank of Canton/Wachovia building.

Cherokee County Tax Assessors web site:  http://www.cherokeega.com/ccweb/departments/assessor/

Homestead Exemptions

Outdoor burning banned, May 1-Sept. 30

A state-mandated ban on all outdoor burning is in effect from May 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010 in many parts of Georgia, including  the City of Ball Ground.

In the hot months of summer, the ozone in the air can reach unhealthy levels. Outdoor burning is a significant contributor to pollutants in ground-level ozone. Nitrogen oxides combine with fumes from fuels, paints and vegetation to form ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone can cause inflammation to the lungs. Consequently, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division has restricted open burning in Metro Atlanta and large counties during the summer months. Besides the obvious effects of smoke on the human body such as watery eyes, smoke from fires contains chemicals and pollutants that negatively impact a person’s health.  Burning yard waste releases nitrogen oxides and particle pollution into the air. Both pollutants contribute to lung and heart disease. Particle pollution is made up of extremely small particles that can increase the risk of a heart attack.

Under the jurisdiction of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s Air Protection Branch, the Outdoor Burn Ban complies with Federal Clean Air Regulations. For more information about the 2010 outdoor burn ban, please visit the Georgia Forestry Commission’s Outdoor Burn Ban webpage.

The City of Ball Ground is compliant with the federally mandated E-verify program. Our user ID is EWIL1397.

What is the E-Verify Program?