As continuing supply chain disruptions cause people to rethink how they do things ranging from Christmas shopping to building a home, several Gilmer County departments are seeing longer wait times for various parts and materials.
County departments are having trouble getting ahold of construction materials, desktop computers and numerous other supplies, noted commission chairman Charlie Paris.
“We are experiencing delays and shortages across all departments,” Paris said. One of the Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority’s (EGCWSA) most used materials — PVC pipe — has become hard to get with a short turnaround. Though not a county-controlled entity, the EGCWSA is the sole water and sewer utility for Gilmer County, Ellijay and East Ellijay.
“We’re seeing unusually long lead times on all piping material right now,” said Gary McVey, EGCWSA director. “PVC has historically been readily available, but now they’re quoting 12 weeks out on any significant orders.”
The water authority recently began a switch-out of its manually-read water meters, which are gradually being replaced with digitally-read meters. So far, crews have installed 341 of the approximately 6,000 digital meters scheduled to be replaced, McVey said at a board meeting last week.
Due to electronic components in the meters, they, too, are becoming hard to get.
“(It’s with) any electronic devices. The holdup on electronics has caused simple SCADA upgrades to both the water and wastewater plant to be prolonged more than one year,” McVey said. “The new digital meters are hard to come by right now, although our supplier is doing everything they can to ensure we have enough to adequately keep business moving.”
The water authority is also seeing extremely long lead times on commonly used repair parts for their water distribution and collection system, McVey noted.
“We’re expected to maintain an adequate inventory of repair items, but keeping the stock at normal levels has been trying, to say the least, in the past year or so,” he added.
The county road department is also experiencing long waits for piping supplies, confirmed Public Works Director Jim Smith.
“Anything that’s a petroleum product, there’s a shortage on it,” Smith said. “The pipes we use are either metal or high density polyethylene, which is a petroleum-based product. Our supplier has told us there’s a delay in getting those kinds of materials.”
General paving work and installation of a lift station at the local landfill are among county projects being delayed because of the current supply chain issues, Smith noted.
“We’re in the midst of paving, and one of the problems the asphalt supplier had is getting materials that go into the asphalt mixture like sand and lime. The contractor was held up because they couldn’t get the asphalt mix that was specified for the paving,” he said.
Supply orders would normally present much less of an obstacle after pre-construction work like engineering and contracting have been fulfilled, Smith noted.
“We opened bids on the lift station project at our landfill last Friday, and the contractors are already telling us there’s going to be a delay. We anticipated it would be a project we’d start before the end of the year, but it may be February or March before we can begin because of lack of materials,” he said.
At Gilmer Fire and Rescue, standard turnout gear worn by firefighters when responding to an active structure fire may take longer to get. Keith Kucera, public safety and EMA director, said each firefighter has to be sized for their bunker gear.
“It’s not one size fits all. We have some firefighters that are 6 foot 3 and some that are 5 foot 6,” he added. “We have some (gear) on the shelves that we were able to get ahold of. We also have equipment that’s well within date, but it’s a little concerning as we start bringing new people on and exhaust our supply.”
The fire and rescue department is also anticipating a longer wait for an ambulance still to be purchased, Kucera noted. The ambulance purchase is still in the bidding process right now, he said.
“We’re expecting delays due to the chassis availability for that type of vehicle. It’s not necessarily the chassis themselves, but the electronics that go along with it. That’s being felt nationwide as far as the automobile industry is concerned,” Kucera said.
Even golfing supplies are tough to come by and have been for a while now, confirmed Mike Brumby, manager of the county-operated Whitepath Golf Club.
“Two years ago, I could order golf balls and get them in three or four days. Now, I’m waiting almost five months. There are some that I ordered back in the summer. If I order a golf glove right now, I can get it in April. Golf clubs are the same way,” Brumby said. “There are certain things that come from certain parts of the country and you’re just going to wait on it.”
Brumby said his supply companies haven’t given a reason that orders for those items are taking so long to fill, but it could be that some of them are low on help as they try to rebuild their inventories.
Business at the golf course typically slows down as the cooler months roll in, but that hasn’t been the case this year.
“We’re as busy now as we were in July,” Brumby said.
Fortunately, Whitepath golfers haven’t been put off by the supply constraints, he noted.
“They understand (and) know exactly what we’re going through,” Brumby said.
Smith said the last time he saw these kinds of shortages was around the 1979 oil crisis.
“I’ve seen it before, but not as bad as it is now. We are more dependent today on other countries for the supply chain,” he added.
Kucera, formerly of the U.S. Coast Guard, said he doesn’t recall the last time he saw anything like this.
“It’s something else,” he said.