Gilmer County Labor & Housing Alliance

06/13/2024

Don’t forget, early voting ends tomorrow! You can vote at the courthouse.

Election Day is June 18th. On that day, you’ll vote at your polling place.

To vote for either candidate in the runoff, request a Republican ballot. This will have no effect on your ballot for the general election.

06/07/2024

There will be a run-off between Karleen Ferguson and Doug Rink for Post Commissioner 1.

Early voting is next week, June 10-14 at the Courthouse- 8:00-5:30.

The county-wide runoff will be June 18- 7 am - 7 pm at your polling place.

05/21/2024

I’m voting for Karleen Ferguson - Gilmer County Commissioner Post 1 today. She’s dedicated to sustainable growth and the development of affordable workforce and senior housing in Gilmer County as evidenced by her extensive work on both fronts.

If you wish to vote for her, you must choose a Republican ballot at the polls. The presidential candidates are not on this specific ballot, so if you’re voting something other than Republican for other offices, you’ll still be able to do so.

Other candidates running for this position are Doug Rink and Jim Parmer.

-Jadie

05/21/2024

Don’t forget to VOTE today!

Polls are open ‘til 7 pm. Unfortunately, the GA My Voter Page website is down. You can find your polling place by calling (706)-635-4617 and providing your name and date of birth.

04/16/2024

THIS THURSDAY 4/18 at 5:00 PM is the Public Hearing concerning the zoning changes needed for an affordable housing development. Go in good faith and get your questions answered!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LB33kVHg182YCTTgHzG_NZOxn1OImNqH/view

04/16/2024

As things start to heat up, some people may need help paying cooling and utility bills. There are several places that can help!

North Georgia Community Action provides weatherization and once-yearly utility assistance services to income-eligible households through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Visit the following links or call (706) 635-5858 for more information.
https://www.ngcainc.com/our-projects/weatherization-overview
https://www.ngcainc.com/energy-assistance

Faith, Hope, and Charity provides utility assistance to income-eligible households. Visit https://fhcrecycle.org/ and scroll to the bottom for more information. Call (706)-635-3045 to apply.

The following link lists several more places potentially offering utility assistance: https://www.georgiapower.com/residential/billing-and-rate-plans/billing-options/payment-assistance.html

Everyone deserves a warm home when cold weather settles into Georgia. It’s not always easy; especially for homebound seniors on fixed incomes. We understand and want to help.

04/04/2024

We wanted to create a shareable document to help answer some of the questions people have been asking us about our GICH housing team and about the affordable housing we are trying to encourage developers to build in our community. Feel free to share this post and save this doc to your phone like a picture to have on hand when you hear friends and family discussing this. Thank you for helping us to truthfully inform others in the community.

03/21/2024

Good Afternoon, Gilmer County!

Please see the below flyer and link for the “Gilmer County Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan Survey.”

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This opinion survey is part of an effort to prepare
a Parks & Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan for Gilmer County. Citizen input is used to develop recommendations for future improvements to existing parks, acquiring land for new parks, developing new parks and facilities, adding new recreational programs, and streamlining operations and maintenance plans!

Please complete the survey at: https://projectsurveys.com/gilmer-county-survey/

Thank you Gilmer💙

03/19/2024

Georgia Communities, the other developer involved in the affordable housing developments underway, is also a Non-profit organization and a designated Community Housing Development Organization.

Read more about them here:

Georgia Communities, Inc. is dedicated to increasing the supply of critically needed workforce and affordable senior housing. We believe that thoughtful investment in our housing infrastructure - planned and delivered in partnership with local leaders - elevates our communities by creating oppo...

03/19/2024

To read more about Paladin, one of the developers involved in the affordable housing developments underway, check out this link.

They’re a non-profit organization dedicated to affordable housing. They’ve developed 38 properties and 1,900 units across the southeast. They use financing tools that make affordable housing viable, like tax credits, HUD and USDA products, and the Affordable Housing Program Fund.

Paladin, Inc. is a full-service developer and owner led by housing professionals with extensive experience in affordable housing finance and real estate development. Our team has a proven track record in navigating the challenges inherent in delivering quality affordable housing, including ident...

03/19/2024

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Alright y'all. The Gilmer Initiative for Community Housing has chosen two developers, Paladin and Georgia Communities, to build workforce housing in our community. Construction of the first development, titled "Ellijay Overlook" will begin on Courier Street in July 2024. It will provide 50 desperately-needed affordable rental units for community members. This is amazing! It's part of what we've been working for.

Paladin and Georgia Communities want to continue this work and have put an offer in on another property that will be developed in two phases: Phase One will be the development of 50 income-restricted units housing community members with yearly household incomes between $37,000 and $45,300. A potential Phase Two will be the building of a 58-unit independent living center for seniors over the age of 55 (this is potential, not a done deal). Over 60% of the 27-acre property will be permanently preserved as greenspace, protecting the beautiful land that we love dearly and preserving our rural character. This property is near the intersection of Old Bennet Road and Yukon and will be called “Cartecay View.”

These developments will help provide our teachers, first responders, service industry workers, and seniors with stable, affordable places to live in our community. They will preserve land and help us keep our rural community identity.

BUT there’s one issue: the Cartecay View property MUST BE re-zoned for the developments to be possible. This is where we come in to act on behalf of our community.

If you support this much-needed housing development, send an email to the Planning and Zoning directors to let them know! The email can be short and informal, simply saying that you live and/or work in Gilmer county and that you support this development. Our email addresses will then be included in the information packet used at the April meeting of the Planning Committee. It will then be shared with the Gilmer County Board of Commissioners who will use it to inform their decision on zoning changes.

If you don’t know what to write, here’s an example:
“Good evening. I’m a resident of Gilmer County and I support the Cartecay View affordable housing development and the zoning changes needed to make it happen. Thank you.”

The email addresses are as follows:
Jim Smith- [email protected]
Karen Henson- [email protected]

You can send your emails to both of them in one email. This will take 5 minutes or less.

03/18/2024

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