Commission Could Approve $570,000 Pedestrian Bridge Tuesday
News February 6, 2017
HELEN, Ga. — The Helen City Commission is expected to approve a resolution authorizing the Georgia Department of Transportation and the City to ratify a contract for funding a pedestrian bridge on Main Street near Paul’s Steakhouse.
The joint agreement has a price tag of around $570,000. The state will be responsible for $300,000 and city taxpayers will fund the remainder.
The city is also receiving bids from contractors for the Escowee Street Sidewalk Project. City Manager Jerry Elkins said only one bid had been received as of late Monday afternoon but he expected to receive at least two more before tomorrow’s meeting.
Commission is also expected to appoint three members to the Planning, Design and Review Board, consider providing the United Way of White County a letter of approval to obtain a special event, non-profit license from the Georgia Department of Revenue for the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on premises in conjunction with a celebrity golf tournament dinner to be held in the Holiday Inn Express Conference Center on April 17.
Holiday Inn Express Opens in Helen
News September 21, 2016
HELEN, Ga. – The new 86-room Holiday Inn Express and Suites opened in Helen this week and City Manager Jerry Elkins says he’s excited about what that means to the city not only in terms of added revenue from the city’s hotel/motel tax but also in boosting tourism.
“I’m excited about it,” Elkins said Wednesday. “At certain times of the year, our hotels have been filled and visitors had to go somewhere nearby to stay. This will provide more quality lodging for our guests.”
The newest place for travelers to stay in Helen has 86 rooms and features a full hot breakfast buffet in the lobby along with a cozy fire place. There is a massive convention center for business guests that can be partitioned off to accommodate three large meeting rooms. There is also a board room for smaller meetings a heated indoor pool for relaxation and a fully equipped fitness center for exercise.
General Manager Carol Powell, who has worked for Holiday Inn for many years, says the opening of the new facility is a dream come true for her.
And more quality lodging is on the way to Helen.
The Valhalla Resort Hotel at Innsbruck broke ground this spring and is expected to open by June 2017. The Valhalla features motel accommodations as well as condo and vacation rentals.
Also the Fairfield by Marriott began grading work on its new hotel recently and Elkins said the 70-75 room hotel should be open by March or April, depending on the winter weather.
For the first time, the City of Helen collected a little more than $1 million in hotel/motel taxes during the last fiscal year and with the addition of three quality lodging facilities should be on its way to breaking that record.
Helen Receives Good First Month Financial Report
News August 17, 2016
HELEN, Ga. — For the first month of the new fiscal year, things are looking pretty good in the City of Helen.
The monthly financial report presented by City Manager Jerry Elkins Tuesday showed that revenue was down slightly, but so were expenditures versus the same month last year. First month revenue fell from $220,554 in July 2015 to $211,323 last month, a dip of about 9.2 percent. Expenditures also declined from $164,790 to $161,706.
The city also showed increases in its collection of hotel/motel taxes and water/sewer fund. Last July the city collected $66,390 in hotel/motel taxes. This year Elkins reported collection reached $71,504. The water/sewer fund collection grew from $68,557 the prior year to $76,394 last month.
“Everything is looking pretty good,” said City Manager Jerry Elkins. “I don’t think we could do much better at this point.”
The monthly report by Alpine Helen/White County Convention & Visitors Bureau was also positive. A new platform for the website was purchased and 5,936 visitors stopped by the Welcome Center and another 69,162 logged onto the website, 54,141 were unique visitors.
The CVB is in the process of planning the first Spirit of Appalachia/Georgia Grown event which will be held sept. 17 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The City also approved the first reading of an amendment to the ordinance that allows the city to receive a commission for collection of the hotel/motel tax.
Helen Celebrates Milestone in Tourism
News July 20, 2016
HELEN — The City of Helen celebrated a major milestone at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.
City Manager Jerry Elkins proudly reported that the city that relies heavily on its tourism industry topped the $1 million mark in hotel/motel collections for the first time ever.
“Our fiscal year ends June 30 and at the end of that period for the first time in the history of Helen, we collected over $1 million worth of hotel/motel tax,” Elkins said. “The exact amount was like $1,011,000 at this point. There are a couple that are uncollected at this time, so that’s expected to go up just a little bit.”
That announcement was even more impressive considering the Alpine city’s lone hotel was closed most of the year due to a 2014 fire. The hotel had to be rebuilt.
Elkins said the hotel/motel tax allows the city to promote tourism through the Alpine Helen White County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“The more tourism we get the more hotel/motel tax we collect and the better off our businesses are,” he said. “Everything at this time is thriving, and it’s real good times for the City of Helen.”
They city’s financial report, which won’t be complete until August, showed revenue increased by about $130,000 in FY 2015-16 over the previous year while expenses increased by about $73,745.
Elkins also reported that the new Holiday Inn should be open in the next 30 days and a new Marriott can begin dirt work soon.
“The city is in great financial shape,” he concluded.
City Council Approves Audit Firm
News June 22, 2016
HELEN — The City of Helen unanimously approved Walker, Pierce and Tuck Certified Public Accountants to audit the county’s finances for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 at a cost of $17,250 during yesterday’s city council meeting.
Council also denied a zoning variance request by Councilwoman Cinnamon Spurlock and her husband to use a canopy on the deck of Cimmi’s Cafe, 9667 Main Street in Helen.
Council unanimously approved an alcohol license for Kharul Anam of A&M Trading, doing business as Saffron Grill and Bar 8759 N. Main Street and an amendment to Chapter 34 of the city’s land development code relating to signs inside city limits.
Mayor Fred Garmon commented on the city’s $2.9 million budget for FY 2017, saying it was a little above average, but pointing out that the city keeps approximately $4 million in reserves.
“I’m very satisfied,” he said. “We try not to accumulate any debt.”
Wiegand Sports LLC which has more than 180 Alpine Coaster installations to its credit, including some in the Pigeon Forge, Tenn., area. Rides can be built between two feet and 30 feet above the ground.