The Georgia Water Stewardship Act

The Georgia Water Stewardship Act signed by Governor Sonny Perdue went into effect in June of 2010. The bill allows daily outdoor watering for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants from 4:00pm – 10:00am.

All other outdoor water usage like washing cars and pressure washing is to follow the watering schedule based on street address shown below:

Monday, Wednesday and Saturday – Even Addresses can Water

Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday – Odd Addresses can Water

Friday – No other Outdoor Watering Is Permitted

Frequently asked questions about outdoor water use:

I heard I can water my yard every day. Is that true?
Yes. Citizens in Georgia can now water any day of the week, regardless of your address, between 4:00pm and 10:00am.

Can I also wash my car or pressure wash my house any day?
No. The new state law only relates to landscape uses. The odd/even schedule remains in place for all other outdoor uses.

Are parks included in the new schedule?
Sports fields and parks are exempt from the hourly restrictions. These areas may be watered any time or day.

If I put in new landscape, do I have to water between 4:00pm and 10:00am?
No. Newly installed landscape is also exempt from the hourly restrictions for the first 30 days following installation.

What about drip irrigation?
Drip irrigation is completely exempt from the outdoor rules. It may be used any time or day.

What exemptions exist to the new hourly restrictions?

•    Commercial Agriculture
•    Alternative sources of water (grey water, rain water, condensate, etc.)
•    Irrigation of food gardens
•    Irrigation of newly installed or reseeded turf for the first 30 days following installation
•    Drip irrigation or soaker hoses
•    Water from a private well
•    Irrigation of plants for sale
•    Irrigation of athletic fields, golf courses, or public recreational turf
•    Installation and maintenance of irrigation systems
•    Hydro seeding

Are professional pressure washers hired to wash my house subject to restrictions based on my address?
No. Commercial businesses are exempt from day of the week restrictions.

Can I have a charity car wash on any day regardless of the address?
No. Unfortunately, charity car washes, like at home car washes, are subject to the odd/even schedule. This is determined by the address of the facility hosting the car wash. Partnering with a professional car wash is exempt from the odd/even schedule due to the company’s professional exemption.

For more information on exemptions and forms to submit violations, visit the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources’ water conservation webpage through www.gwinnettcounty.com.

More information can be found on the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources‘ water conservation webpage.

No more 100% financing… No more First Time Buyer Tax Credit… No more move up buyer tax credit… What is a buyer in the Atlanta market to do? Currently there are several different programs that offer grant funds that can be used for down payment assistance. The nice thing about these grants is that they do not have to be repaid as long as certain criteria are met.

Why don’t we get together and see if you qualify to take advantage of one of these programs. Either call or email and see how easy it can be to get the ball rolling.

Yesterday I was visiting a property and the trip took me through downtown Duluth GA. As I was driving along I saw the many American Flags lining the street with the names of service personnel along with the war they served in. What a tribute! My thoughts then ran to what is the history of Memorial Day. I thought I would do a little research and share it with you.

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. It was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and was first observed on May 30, 1868. The initial celebration was to place flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Up to 1971 Memorial Day was observed on May 30 of each year. At that point The National Holiday Act of 1971 changed the holiday to the last Monday of May, ensuring a 3 day weekend for Federal Holidays.

The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South however refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I. At that time the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war. Several southern states still have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

The importance of Memorial Day has seemed to have diminished over the years. Some may consider it the official start to the summer vacation season, others may just enjoy a day off, and all of us however should find time to Honor Our American Heroes!

Take a few moments this Memorial Day Weekend and remember those who gave their all for our freedom this Memorial Day. Here is a short video of Downtown Duluth with the American Flags proudly displayed.

Happy Memorial Day Everyone! If you have served our country, Thank You Very Much!

RE/MAX Regional Services, who services Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan, recently presented Patrick Finnick of RE/MAX Center in Suwanee, GA their prestigious Broker Owner of the Year Award for 2009.

The momentum did not stop, even as the New Year came in. Per Finnick, “Homes from every price range have been selling rapidly and, the first quarter has been really strong for us. Not just with first-time buyers taking advantage of the tax credit or with homeowners who are behind on their mortgages and having had to “short-sell” their homes but with homes across the board, even homes priced into seven figures.”

He continues, “RE/MAX Center has strongly encouraged our associates to become experts in the various property fields we specialize in, from becoming certified “short-sale” experts to help people sell their home instead of being foreclosed on, to helping buyers and sellers at the top end of the market move up the property ladder. I am so proud of our achievements so far this year. If the rest of 2010 is as productive for us as the first quarter has been then this is going to be one of our strongest ever years.”

Through Pat’s positive attitude and by his leadership, the atmosphere at RE/MAX Center is so upbeat that it is difficult to imagine not being successful in this environment. He has instilled in the agents a team mentality where everyone is willing to help their fellow agents succeed and constantly reminds the agents that they are business owners and should treat their real estate practice accordingly.

Congratulations Pat, Ya’ll Done Good!

It’s safe to say that over the last three years the Atlanta Real Estate Market has seen some amazing changes, most of which are not what we would call favorable. From the highs of 2006 it was inevitable that the market would experience some decline we just didn’t know how much of a decline there was going to be.

The chart below show what has happened in the Greater Atlanta Market in the last three years. I think it is interesting to see that in the last half of 2009 the market began marking a bit of a comeback. Prices began inching upward as did the number of closings. They have not reached the values from early 2007 however they are definitely moving in the right direction.

One of the interesting things about the Atlanta Market is that it did not experience drastic jumps downward and probably will not shoot upwards in a drastic fashion either. It has been stated time and time again that we will know when we are coming out of the housing decline about 3 to 6 months after it begins to happen. I think we are starting to come out of the decline and will research the numbers for the first quarter of 2010 and publish them in several weeks.

Let me know what you think…

In an unexpected move, Congress announced that the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit and the $6,500 move up buyer tax credit have extended until the end of 2010. This program has been extremely beneficial in helping to turn the housing market around. As fact would have it, with homes priced under $150,000 there is actually a very short supply in the Gwinnett County, GA area and this price point is turning into a sellers market again.

Recently there has even been evidence that builders were starting construction on new homes again, another sign of the return to better times in the Greater Atlanta Real Estate market.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone that reads this article a Happy April Fools Day. The first sentence of the first paragraph is not factual. However everything else in the article is true. To qualify to participate in the home-buyer tax credit program, buyers must be under contract by April 30, 2010 and close on the property by June 30, 2010. If you are considering purchasing real estate don’t get left out of this program…Don’t Be An April Fool!

Yes its that time of the year again…Spring Forward. Check out the Top Ten Things to do for the Time Change. Scroll down on the right side of the card for the top ten list.

Why would you think the County Commissioners wanted to wait until after they voted on the Gwinnett County Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Services Ordinance of 2010 to publish the ordinance? Could it be that they have realized that the lawmakers in Washington D.C. actually got it right by not being transparent? Could it be that they really do have something to hide? Could it be that they are afraid of the confrontation that would have occurred once the educated citizens of Gwinnett County read this 37 page document. Could it be all of the above? After printing out the ordinance and going through it, several things stand out; Minimum Requirements and Service Levels for the Residents of Unincorporated Gwinnett County, Fees for Service, Settling the Existing Lawsuits and Penalties.

Minimum Requirements

There are 4 pages of the ordinance that talk about the Minimum Requirements for Service Providers. Let’s see if we can figure out from these 4 pages what the Commissioner’s intent is for Minimum Requirements the residents of Gwinnett County.

As you can well see, the County Commissioners really had the interests of the citizens of Gwinnett County placed high on their list of priorities. Weekly Collection…WOW!

Fees For Services

Now that the ordinance has been made public, let’s look at what it says about fees. First off the fees will be collected on the tax bills with 18 months being collected on the tax bill coming out starting in the summer of 2010. The tax bill coming out in the summer of 2011 will include 12 months of trash service. Actually that makes sense. Wait a minute, no it doesn’t there is no amount for monthly trash service. Is this whole thing coming back to Gwinnett County Government looking for an additional revenue stream? As with everything else regarding Gwinnett County Government, It’s All About The Money!

Settling the Existing Lawsuits

It is old news that Gwinnett County has been served with several lawsuits regarding the previous Solid Waste Disposal Plan. The new ordinance states:

WHEREAS, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has determined that, in the best interest of the residents of Gwinnett County, the legal actions referenced above should be settled; and

WHEREAS, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has determined that, in connection with the settlement of the referenced legal actions, the 2008 Ordinance should be deleted in its entirety.

The question is how do the Commissioners intend to settle these lawsuits? Will the Plaintiffs be given preferential treatment in regard to the Service areas? I see nothing in the ordinance that is specific as to how the Residential Service Provider will be selected for the Residential Service Areas. Will it be via a sealed bid process or just the County assigning a particular provider (preferential treatment) to a particular area?

But Wait There Is More…Penalties

Section V A iii States that beginning 7-1-2010 each Owner of a Residential Service Unit shall Dispose of Residential Municipal Solid Waste, White Goods, Bulky Waste and or Yard Trimmings with the Residential Service Provider that has been issued a service agreement by the County for the Residential Service Area in which the Owner’s Residential Service Unit is located. What if I wanted to collect aluminum cans and then sell them myself? Damn It, I would be in violation of this ordinance. Well what would the consequences be? That would fall under Section XXIV Penalties. Any person violating any provision of this ordinance may, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 for each offense and /or incarceration or community service not to exceed 60 days. Each day a violation occurs shall be considered a separate and distinct violation.

I thought the previous ordinance was stupid with its $500.00 fine. It even made national news on the Drudge Report. How stupid does this make our county commissioners look? I’m guessing it doesn’t actually do them justice.

So what do you think?

Just how deaf are the Commissioners in Gwinnett County? Well let me see is I can help everyone understand. Last year I served along with a group of volunteers on The Gwinnett County Trash Advisory Committee. We held 6 public meetings throughout the county and the one thing we heard at every meeting was that the citizens of Gwinnett County wanted to be able to choose who their trash hauler was to be. The citizens wanted to have the right to fire a trash hauler that did not perform up to the citizen’s expectations.

The county then paid $131,000 of our tax dollars to R W Beck, a consulting firm, who also conducted public meetings to obtain citizen input regarding trash collection in Gwinnett County. The overwhelming result of the citizens input during these meetings, at least of the ones I was able to attend, once again was that the citizens of Gwinnett County want to choose their trash hauler.

Fast forward to March 2, 2010 Board of Commissioners meeting and the vote to approve the New Gwinnett County Trash Plan. Below is from the Gwinnett County Website:

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners adopted a new solid waste ordinance for unincorporated Gwinnett County during the board’s business session on March 2, 2010. You may read the ordinance as drafted and also view this brief video clip of discussion among commissioners during the meeting that reflects a slight change made to the ordinance before it was adopted. The ordinance as adopted will be posted as soon as possible.

Gwinnett County’s Solid Waste Information Center – 770.822.7141 – is open for callers Monday through Friday between 7:00am and 7:00pm.

Now I don’t know about the rest of you but I don’t think that 5 districts with only one hauler per district equals choice. My parents always told me not to make fun of the handicapped and I have adhered to that policy up until now. This Board of Commissioners is handicapped. They have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are DEAF. They have no desire to represent the wishes of the citizens of Gwinnett County in this trash matter. So here is my recommendation for the Board of Commissioners… RECALL THESE DEAF IDIOTS NOW!

A Picture is worth a thousand words!