ACCG Worker’s Compensation Program Gives County A Check
Business, Community July 6, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- The ACCG Worker’s Compensation Program presented Lumpkin County with a special cash distribution check at the work session on July 5.
The commissioners also discussed the Quality Tire Scrap Tire Recycling Service agreement at the meeting. They also discussed the change in the per-ton fee for the transfer station.
The ACCG check presented to the county is for a total of $56,442.00. The check is Lumpkin County’s share of a $6 million special cash distribution program. The board of trustees voted to approve that a portion of investments and underwriting gains should be returned to counties that had been members since 2015.
This is the second time that the ACCG has given money back to counties in the State of Georgia. The first time was back in 2019 and that was a total of $4 million. To understand more about why the ACCG gives back this money visit https://www.accg.org/story2.php?id=1545. At this time the Lumpkin County Commissioners have not stated how they will use the funds.
The next item that was discussed was the Quality Tire Scrap tire recycling service agreement. This agreement is for the tires that come off county-maintained vehicles. The agreement guarantees a rate of $170.00 per ton for the next 12 months.
The county scraps approximately 600 tires per year. The state requires the tires to be scrapped through a State-approved tire recycler and Quality Tire Scrap is the closest recycler that meets that standard.
By entering into this agreement the Lumpkin County Commissioners will be able to receive grant funding to hold a “Scrap Tire Round-Up Program”. The county has done this program in the past collecting two to three tractor-trailer loads of tires. They do impose a limit on how many tires can be brought by citizens or the number would most likely be much higher.
This is already planned for in the budget as a reoccurring fund line item under the Fleet Department budget. That total budget is $2,000.00.
Mark Robinson has requested that the commissioners approve a five-dollar increase to the per ton fee at the transfer station. The increase would be from $50 to $55 if approved by the commissioners.
The request for the increase is due to the rising fuel cost and a need to stay competitive in the market. This will not affect the price per bag and it also has nothing to do with recycling.
Development Authority Director Rebecca Mincey also provided the board with an update on how the broadband infrastructure project is currently going. Mincey has been working on this project for months to review some of the prior requests she has made of the board for the project visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/03/16/the-board-to-seek-bids-for-inmate-health/.
Heard in the clip above is a portion of the update Mincey provided. Mincey went on to explain the process of descoping the NTIA grant and informed the board that she hopes in August to be able to provide a new CD450 for the new budget for the NTIA portion of the project.
The Development Authority will also be hosting an open house for the citizens on July 11 from 5:30 until 7:00 p.m. This will give citizens an opportunity to see if their address falls into the area that the project will be working on and also give them an opportunity to preregister for the broadband.
County Manager Alan Ours also gave an update on talks for the aquatic center. He has met with the architect for the project and Carrol Daniel’s construction and provided them with the key areas that were discussed in the work session on Jun. 28.
They will be going back and making the adjustments to the plans and he will be meeting with them again on July 13. He then should be able to present a new budget for the project to the commissioners at their July 16 work session and get further direction from them at that time on how they wish to proceed.
“We’ve got to do what’s in our means but the trap I want to avoid is that we talk about something this month and then we have to wait a month for another meeting, we make some little minor change then we have to wait another month for that change to come down the pipe. If we need to have special call meetings to expedite this process I’m more than willing to make myself available as needed,” stated Commissioner District 2 Bobby Mayfield.
Board Discuss Possible Locations for the New Animal Shelter
Community March 2, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- Director of Special Projects Ashley Peck presented the board with three options for possible locations for the new animal shelter the county is building.
The board also followed up on the inmate medical contract that they talked about last month. Director of Development Authority Rebeccas Mincey brought the board an update on the broadband infrastructure grant project.
Peck along with other members of staff have found three county-owned properties that were presented to the board for the new shelter. There are two locations in Blackburn Park and one location near the transfer station that is up for consideration. The estimated cost for building the shelter is $1,202,000.00.
The first Blackburn location.
The first option in Blackburn park offers both room for expansion in the future and room to house large animals for a short time. There would be easier construction in this area which also means a shorter time for the project. It is the cheapest option and is 541 feet away from the closest neighbor.
The second option in Blackburn is the current site of the County’s Vegetative Debris Management Area. If chosen the county will have to move the site to another location and that will have to be approved by FEMA. This also offers the same room for expansion and housing for large animals.
The second Blackburn location.
The closest house to the site is 1,353 feet away, however it is also located behind Blackburn Elementary. In order to access the site, there is a need to build a new road and that will cost $323,775 of TSPLOST money.
There is also an additional $13,000 that would be needed for utilities. Making the total cost of this project $1,538,775.00 if this is the location selected.
Finally, the option by the transfer station is a more difficult site to build and there is little room for expansion if needed in the future. There would also be the need to build a 650ft road on the site. It will cost $254,154 to build.
The transfer site location.
There is an additional cost for screening, security fencing, utility, and water and sewer. All of that would bring the cost of the project up to $1,537,866.00. There are also downsides to this location’s proximity to both a firing range and the transfer station.
Residents of the neighborhoods surrounding Blackburn park expressed their concerns again to the board after the meeting. If the board decides none of these locations are what they are looking for there are other options the county can pursue. The board will make a decision at their regular meeting on Mar. 15 at 6:00 p.m. To view the agenda before the meeting visit http://lumpkincountyga.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx.
“I’ve taken notes on what everybody said and we certainly take those seriously and appreciate your comments and taking the time to be here. We want to do what’s best for all of Lumpkin County and it’s tough when you come to these situations and you’re trying to improve the services for the county,” explained Chairman of the Board Chris Dockery.
Finance Director Abby Branan reviewed how the negotiations with CorrectHealth for the inmate health contract. When Sheriff Jarrard brought the contract amendment at the last meeting the board asked staff to go back and try to negotiate with the company for a different rate than what they offered. To review that meeting visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/02/16/board-reviews-land-use-revisions-update-and-extends-moratorium/.
The company stated that they could not go lower than what they have already stated. That price is a $60,000 raise over the previous contract. The board told Branan to go back and see if they would agree to a month-to-month payment system in order to give the board time to bid out to see if there are lower options available.
“We may find out if they participate in the bid process that they do have the best bid out there but until we do it we won’t know,” stated Commissioner District 2 Bobby Mayfield.
Mincey informed the board that for the broadband infrastructure project they have also received the federal grant as well which is another 8 million for the project. They have already been awarded 3.7 million from the state. There’s still more work Mincey has to do before she brings the full report back to the board.