Gilmer County’s post commissioners used a special meeting to clarify some thoughts on a $9 million plan addressing several issues in Gilmer County.
The plan was originally proposed by Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris at a board meeting Feb. 8. It addresses issues ranging from local bridges and roads to workforce housing to a courthouse annex.
The funding would draw the county’s fund balance down to an estimated $7.5 million which represents 2.5 months of operating expenses for the county.
“I am not married to any of this, I just want us to start preparing for what is going to be a hectic future,” Paris said. “I am convinced of that. I think we are on the verge of phenomenal growth.”
Commissioners came together in a special meeting Feb. 22 to give post commissioners time to evaluate the plan.
There appeared to be a consensus on spending money to repair or replace three bridges in the county, two located on Rock Creek Road and one on Boardtown Road near Whitepath Road.
As for 23 additional roads to be paved, Post Commissioner Hubert Parker questioned how the roads were chosen. He said Yukon Road was a critical road which needed attention.
“Keep in mind, I am not saying that these 23 roads have to be paved in ‘23, what I am asking for is just the approval to pave them whether some of them are in ‘24,” Paris said. “I just want to make, for lack of a better term, a swath of progress.”
Post Commissioner John Marshall said he would like to see a formula the county can use to justify the choices of roads to pave.
“We can’t do them all at one time,” he said.
As for rehabilitating and manning fire stations, Parker said some of this would require adding a lot of people.
Paris said the fire stations would be done over a period of years, but he wanted them on the board’s radar for the coming years. He said he wouldn’t be asking for specific funding for them at this point.
He said some infrastructure money would be left over after working on the three bridges, and some of it would go toward this project.
Parker brought up a ladder truck which is needed for the fire department and would have to come out of the funding.
“All I am looking for here is that we remain aware of the growth that is going on in those areas and don’t get completely caught with our pants down when that hits a critical point,” Paris said.
Much of the rest of the plan is more specific, he said.
Both post commissioners were not in favor of a portion of the plan which proposed reducing the tax burden for the county by $1 million for a single year. The amount would be added back in the following budget.
“My only thought there was I wanted to be sure if we were spending this money everyone would kind of get something from it,” Paris said. “I can see the point that I probably should not have put that in there.”
Parker pointed to the governor’s plan to give taxpayers some relief this year.
“The problem is it has been put out there, and some will perceive this as the plan,” Parker said. “So, we have to overcome that.”
Paris said it needed to be in there to begin the discussion.
Workforce housing will take some more study, Parker said.
Commissioners agreed they would need to come up with a square footage figure of office space they would need to discuss a courthouse annex or comparable office space.
Parker pointed out that parks and rec. was not addressed in the plan.
“I didn’t believe that parks and rec. had needs that were unmet such that I needed to put them in this plan,” Paris said.
Commissioners agreed an updated master plan is needed for parks and rec.
Chief Registrar Tammy Watkins asked about a timetable for creating an election board. Paris said his goal was to have it in place to prepare for the 2024 election.
Paris said the next step is for the post commissioners to put forth their proposals. They are targeting the next work session to be ready.