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Although behind schedule, the new E911 facility is moving forward, as the Barrow County Board of Commissioners voted last week to purchase six new consoles for the building.
The county’s timeline puts the fire side of the facility moving in Dec. 1 and the 911 services moving in May 1, 2010.
"It’s time to go ahead and get that building done," Operations Manager Bob Hohe said in an interview last week.
Hohe said various county departments, including information technology, fire, finance and buildings and maintenance sat down with Commission Chairman Danny Yearwood last week and went through all the details on the building.
"We have a plan," Hohe said. "I’ve been directed to go ahead and take action."
Hohe also said last week’s meetings marked the beginning of the creation of a back-up plan in case something happens to the new building, like a flood or fire.
"I want something that says this is the plan and have it be signed off on by our leaders," Hohe said.
He expected to have an outline of the contingency plan put together within a week.
While the new 911 building makes some progress, other Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) -funded projects continue to lag behind schedule, as consumers spend less money in the county, meaning the county collects less sales tax dollars.
In October, the county received $642,254 in SPLOST; last month, it received $706,657, according to the county’s internal auditor, Marilyn Golightly. The county’s sales tax dollars have been down about 13 percent compared to last year.
Wastewater Services Director Mark Whiddon said some of the SPLOST projects have experienced a "hiccup," as some projects got ahead of the funding when the economy started to slide.
That was the case for the new Animal Control building, he said.
The building is done, but the county only has $75,000 to finish it and it still needs dog kennels, Hohe said.
He’d like to see the kennels locally produced and custom-manufactured for the building.
"I’d like to build a prototype," he said. "There are some very expensive kennels."
Parks and Recreation was set to receive almost $4 million from SPLOST funds for facilities, but hasn’t seen any money yet.
"We won’t see (Parks and Recreation SPLOST) for a while yet," Hohe said. "The few dollars we have left are in the bank."
Other SPLOST projects in the sales use tax referendum that haven’t begun because of a lack of funding include a new Health Department facility, a new cultural arts center and renovations to the old courthouse building. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in the amount of $500,000 which was to be used to supplement the county-collected SPLOST dollars for the new public health facility was deobligated for Barrow at mid-year. Chairman Yearwood and the county’s financial staff determined return of the grant dollars was prudent since the county did not have the additional funds needed for the project to move ahead. With the economic downturn resulting in the state cuts, the overcrowding situation at the health department is less crucial since staffing cuts reduced the number of employees both in public and environmental health.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) was sent a deobligated request letter.
"We’re at square one," Hohe said about the new Health Department building. "It’s all been a matter of funding."
As for the cultural arts center, Whiddon said work there hinges not only on funding, but on the sewer project that will connect the Highways 53 and 316 intersection to the sewer system. The governing board formed to prepare for the center has not convened in some time. Commissioner Yearwood had indicated he opposed the project and considers the location to be better suited for other economic development initiatives, primarily private in nature.
Hohe said the first thing that needs to happen at the old courthouse is repairing the roof, which "leaks like a sieve." Once the roof is repaired, then the county can begin working on the rest of the building, Hohe said.
"It’s going to be a great project," he said. "I’m already looking forward to it."
He said within two weeks he expects to have a tentative plan for fixing the roof.
"We’re behind, but there’s a reason," Hohe said.
Mayors of Barrow County have inquired where the SPLOST funding they were expecting for city projects has gone.
Auburn projects
The SPLOST resolution, which passed in 2005, allocates $3,007,514 to Auburn for its capital outlay projects. According to Mayor Linda Blechinger, the town has collected $646,488.93, and has spent $539,151 on roads, recreation facilities and libraries.
Blechinger said the J.D. Withers Center is completed and cost approximately $14,600. The Auburn sports complex is still in the engineering phase. All expenditures are complete on Burel Park and work is in progress, Blechinger said. Shackelford Park is still in Phase I and not complete.
Blechinger said road repairs for 2007 are complete and 2008 is 90 percent done. So far $346,512.34, of the $2.3 million the town was originally supposed to get for roads, has been spent on road repairs.
Braselton projects
The Town of Braselton is set to get $879,230 of SPLOST money, but as of the end of September has only $109,368.05, including interest, according to Town Manager Jennifer Dees.
"We haven’t collected enough money to start any projects," she said.
She said she expected that the town might complete some of its planned SPLOST-funded projects in 2010.
The 1 percent SPLOST expires in 2012. Hohe said the county will have to decide what to do when that time comes.
"The next SPLOST will have to include some of this debt we’ve incurred," he said.
