The Hiawassee City Council put the final polishes on the much-discussed Alcohol Ordinance, which would allow for the sale of package liquor in the city. One part, in particular, split the council during the process was how many licenses would the city issue and how would they be distributed. The city council decided in the […]
Read More »Alcohol ordinance tabled until next meeting
The City of Hiawassee tabled voting on the Alcohol Ordinance as questions over how package licenses would be awarded. The alcohol ordinance as written contained a point system in which the applicant with the most points would be awarded the only license issued. Some members didn’t like the idea of a point system and wanted […]
Read More »Hiawassee changes their November meeting ahead of the election
Hiawassee changes their meeting from Election Day to Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. The decision was made at their October work schedule. Mayor Liz Ordiales updated the city council on a road audit conducted by the Georgia Department of Transportation. “It was great, we’d been trying for a year to get them out here,” […]
Read More »Hiawassee questions Halloween options for city
The City of Hiawassee discussed whether the city should host Halloween on the Square in light of the pandemic, modify it, or cancel altogether. The discussion began in their work session and they agreed to revisit at Tuesday’s regular session. The city has been following CDC guidelines for interaction since the pandemic started. They were […]
Read More »Two readings, one meeting: Mayor looks to speed up city business
The Hiawassee City Council is considering a proposal that would allow two readings at one meeting before voting on matters. Mayor Liz Ordiales stressed this would make “given” matters more efficient and effective to implement. Those “given” matters would be routine business the city and not issues that require a public hearing. “This option originally […]
Read More »Alcohol ordinance at Hiawassee’s work session
Alcohol ordinance first reading Tuesday The proposed alcohol ordinance will have its first reading Tuesday and the Hiawassee City Council discussed some of the issues with it before putting it on the agenda, including a free-market approach versus regulating the number of package stores, and rewording the brown bag portion. The first reading will be […]
Read More »Crosswalk median causes concern in Hiawassee
Residents urged to “give it a minute” by Mayor Ordiales Mayor Liz Ordiales of Hiawassee is urging residents upset about the new medians at the crosswalk to “give it a minute” before forming an opinion. “The intent was to prevent accidents,” Ordiales said in reference to the crosswalk at the Chatuge Regional Hospital. She said […]
Read More »Hiawassee passes budget, will resume normal water billing
Hiawassee’s city county approved a $3.36 million budget at Monday’s called session, prior to their work session. They also heard an update from the mayor about the water billing process, which will resume normal operations in July, fluoride resolutions, and discussion about signage at parking lots. Budget The Hiawassee City Council approved the $3.363.350 budget. […]
Read More »Hiawassee raises wholesale water rate, gets COVID-19 updates
The City of Hiawasee approved changing the wholesale water rate to $4.12 per 1,000 gallons in a short regular meeting on Tuesday night. Mayor Liz Ordiales did say Georgia Department of Health numbers seem to indicate COVID-19 numbers were dropping and expressed hope that the state would soon be back to business as usual. Hiawassee […]
Read More »Hiawassee City Hall to re-open June 1 court resumes June 8
City Hall to re-open June 1 with restrictions Hiawassee City Hall plans to re-open June 1 with measures in place to keep the environment safe. The front door will be unlocked, but the second set of doors will remain locked. When someone enters, a city employee will open the second set of doors to take […]
Read More »City of Hiawassee sets public hearing on budget for May 26
In their Tuesday night meeting, the Hiawassee City Council approved holding a public hearing for the proposed budget during a work session on the same day as the public hearing on May 26. They will have a second reading and vote on the budget on June 2 at 6 p.m. To see the meeting agenda, […]
Read More »Hiawassee City Council considers ways to get resident input on budget
The Hiawassee City Council discussed ways to allow resident input amid Governor Brian Kemp’s continued shelter in place on the proposed budget at Monday’s city council meeting. The regular city council meetings have been held via Facebook live since the shelter in place order went into effect. “We’re looking for ways to present the budget […]
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