Character Area Amendment Approved
Business, Community, Election September 21, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- The Lumpkin County Commissioners voted to approve the character area amendment after hosting a public hearing to give the developer and citizens an opportunity to speak.
They also approved the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City over the joint project and the distribution of the TSPLOST, and they called for a resolution to have the TSPLOST placed on the ballot. Commissioner Rhett Stringer made a motion in regard to the transfer station and recycling contract at the meeting as well.
Planning Director Bruce Georgia presented the Board with the request for the amendment to the character area map at the first Sept. work session. The board discussed the amendment and heard public comments at that meeting, to review visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/09/07/commissioners-discuss-amendment-to-character-area-map/.
Architect Canon Manley while presenting to the board.
Assistant Planning Director Jenna Ritter was present at the public hearing and made a smaller presentation to the board with just the basic information. The registered architect for the project Canon Manley presented for the developer. Manely went through each of the requirements for consideration of a character area amendment.
Manely read off from a letter of intent which can be found http://lumpkincountyga.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1645&Inline=True, beginning on page 19. After Manley was finished speaking the public had a chance to comment either in favor of or against the amendment.
In the previous work session, there were two members of the community that spoke in opposition. In this meeting, no public comments were made.
After reviewing the information the commissioners vote to approve with a condition. The clip below is Commissioner Jeff Moran reviewing the condition.
The next item that was approved was the IGA with the City of Dahlonega for the TSPLOST distribution and the joint project as well as a resolution to have the TSPLOST placed on the ballot. The City voted on Sept. 19 to enter into the IGA with the county, to read about that meeting visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/09/20/city-approves-iga-with-county/.
To see a sample ballot for the election or any other election-related information visit https://www.lumpkincounty.gov/183/Elections-Registration. If the TSPLOST is approved by the voters the city and county will collect on it for five years and get an 81/19 split on the distribution. The joint project will be the Auraria Road, Hwy 52/9 West, and Torrington Road intersections.
The motion Commissioner Stringer made was to maintain the current contract with Mark Robinson for the transfer station and recycling until the end of the Nov. He proposed having signage put up to explain the correct way to recycle and if that system does not work then it may be time for the board to consider charging a fee for the recycling.
Stringer stated that he will work with Robinson on this project. The board approved this motion and will reevaluate again in Nov.
City Approves IGA with County
Business, Community September 20, 2022
DAHLONEGA, Ga.- The Dahlonega City Council voted to approve their Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Lumpkin County for the TSPLOST joint project and the distribution of the funds during their special call meeting on Sept. 19.
They also had a work session and discussed Ordinance 2022-12 to allow for commercial walking tours of Mt. Hope Cemetery. Another item that was reviewed was an amendment to the tourism funds for the restroom renovation project.
The City and County have been working since Aug. on a new TSPLOST plan to be placed on the ballot in Nov. To review their most recent joint work session visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/09/13/joint-work-session-for-tsplost-project-and-distribution/.
The IGA was worked on by both City and County Finance departments as well as a bond advisor for the County. City Attorney Doug Parks presented the IGA to the City Council.
“It is our job to identify the finance director’s goals with regards to this at the city level and the county level and also coordinate with the County’s bond council and additionally the County’s finance advisor,” explained Parks.
They will collect on this for the full five years thanks to new legislation instead of just hitting a specific dollar amount as done in the past. The county will be in charge of paying for the election expenses for the TSPLOST.
The County is set to vote on the IGA at their Sept. 20 meeting. To read through the IGA before their meeting this afternoon visit https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/dahlonega-pubu/MEET-Packet-188a6c8dfb4a453ba4cbb05e28cad666.pdf it begins on page 26.
Commercial walking tours for Mt. Hope are now getting an ordinance. The ordinance that was discussed at the meeting outlines certain restricted activities, other limitations, permitted times, fees, and tour guide regulations.
Heard in the clip above is councilmember Lance Bagley explaining the experiences he heard from customers of the walking tours. Dahlonega Walking Tours went before the council at the July 5 meeting for a special use permit with regards to the commercial walking tours to review that meeting visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/07/06/city-recognizes-officer/.
Finance Director Allison Martin while she presents to the council the fund amendment.
The Visitor Center restroom renovation project came in over the original budget. The price for the project now is $184,000. The city previously approved a budget of $54,000.
The Chamber of Commerce will be contributing $105,000 to the project leaving a $25,000 gap in funds. The City Council will have to vote at their next regular meeting on Oct. 5 on whether to contribute the additional funds from the tourism funds.
Mayor JoAnne Taylor also made a few comments before the meeting. She let everyone know that the sanitation department is understaffed and due to that the way pick is being done has changed. Flyers were sent out to customers explaining the changes.
Also, she stated that there is going to be a documentary done on Dahlonega by Dennis Quaid as part of his Viewpoint project. Currently, he is in the scripting phase of the work and the City has been sending him as much historical information as possible. Taylor will provide more updates on the project as she has them. To check out what Quaid is doing visit https://www.viewpointproject.com/.
County Holds Public Hearing, Second Work Session, and Meeting on Sept. 20
Announcements, Community September 19, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- The Lumpkin County Commissioners are holding a public hearing over the character area map amendment, as well as the second work session and regular meeting on Sept. 20 beginning at 5:15 p.m.
The public is encouraged to attend and voice their opinions on the amendment, this was reviewed at the last work session. To review what was discussed visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/09/07/commissioners-discuss-amendment-to-character-area-map/. These are the agendas for the public hearing and the regular meeting.
Public Hearing:
Call to Order Chairman Dockery
• Public Comment on Character Area Map Amendment (CAM)
1. 2022 – 38 – Resolution to Amend the Character Area Map (Planning Director Bruce Georgia)
• Adjournment
Regular Meeting:
CALL TO ORDER Chairman Dockery
• INVOCATION
• CONSIDERATION OF AGENDA
• PUBLIC COMMENTS (Agenda Specific)
• PROCLAMATIONS
1. Community Helping Place Ornament for 2022 Joint Proclamation
2. Joint Proclamation City of Dahlonega & Lumpkin County – Chamber of Commerce Outgoing
Board Chairman
• CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES
3. Board of Commissioners – Joint Special Called Meeting – Aug 1, 2022, 4:30 PM
4. Board of Commissioners – Work Session – Aug 2, 2022, 4:00 PM
5. Board of Commissioners – Public Hearing – Aug 9, 2022, 5:30 PM
6. Board of Commissioners – Public Hearing – Aug 9, 2022, 6:00 PM
7. Board of Commissioners – Public Hearing – Aug 11, 2022, 9:00 AM
8. Board of Commissioners – Public Hearing – Aug 16, 2022, 5:00 PM
9. Board of Commissioners – Work Session II – Aug 16, 2022, 5:30 PM
10. Board of Commissioners – Regular Meeting – Aug 16, 2022, 6:00 PM
11. Board of Commissioners – Public Hearing – Aug 23, 2022, 4:00 PM
12. Board of Commissioners – Special Called Meeting – Aug 23, 2022, 4:30 PM
• RESOLUTIONS
13. 2022 – 38 – Resolution to Amend the Character Area Map (Planning Director Bruce Georgia)
14. 2022 – 43 – Resolution Authorizing Among Other Things the Execution of an IGA & Bond
Purchase Agreement (Finance Director Abby Branan)
15. 2022 – 44 – Appoint Member to Veterans Affairs Committee – Trent Miller to Seat 9,
unexpired term ending 04/14/2023
16. 2022 – 45 – Resolution Authorizing Execution of IGA for Use & Distribution of Proceeds
Generated by 2023 TSPLOST
17. 2022 – 46 – TSPLOST Resolution to Call for Election
Page 2
18. 2022 – 47 – Resolution to Amend the FY2022 Budget (Finance Director Abby Branan)
19. 2022 – 48 – Resolution to Amend the FY2023 Budget (Finance Director Abby Branan)
• REPORTS
Department reports can be viewed on the Commissioner’s web page at www.lumpkincounty.gov
Elected Officials
• CONTRACTS/AGREEMENTS
20. 2022-056 – Animal Shelter Professional Vet Services (Animal Shelter Manager Wayne
Marshall)
21. 2022-057 – Payroc Merchant Processing Agreement – IWORQ Permitting Software Online
Payment System (Planning Director Bruce Georgia)
22. 2022-058 – Amendment to the Financial Assistance Award Form CD-451 for Award 13-08-
I2210 (Development Authority Director Rebecca Mincey) Ratify
23. 2022-059 – DebtBook Contract (Finance Director Abby Branan)
24. 2022-060 – Ninth District Opportunity Inc. Lease – Head Start Building (Special Projects
Director Ashley Peck)
25. 2022-061 – Contract Award Pinetree Way/Memorial Drive Improvements (Public Works
Director Larry Reiter)
26. 2022-062 – Transfer Station & Recycling Program Contract (Public Works Director Larry
Reiter)
27. 2022-063 – LC Wimpy Airport Crack Sealing & Runway Remarking – Wall Contract (Public
Works Director Larry Reiter)
28. 2022-064 – GDOT Crack Sealing and Runway Remarking Supplemental Agreement (Public
Works Director Larry Reiter)
• OTHER ITEMS
29. Proposed LMIG FY2023 Road Resurfacing List (Public Works Director Larry Reiter)
30. Request use of SPLOST or ARPA Funds for LCWSA System Improvements (Water &
Sewerage Authority Director Sean Phipps)
31. LCWSA – Request for a recommitment of County to Provide ARPA Matching Funds for WWTP
(Water & Sewerage Authority Director Sean Phipps)
32. Enotah Judicial Circuit Superior Court Reporter Independent Contractor Agreement (Finance
Director Abby Branan)
33. Enotah Judicial Circuit Budget Increase (Finance Director Abby Branan)
• COUNTY MANAGER
• COUNTY ATTORNEY
• COMMISSIONERS
• PUBLIC COMMENTS
• ADJOURNMENT
Joint Meeting and Special Call Meeting
Announcements, Community September 9, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- The Lumpkin County Commissioners and Dahlonega City Council are holding a joint meeting to discuss the TSPLOST further and after both governments will hold a special call meeting on Sept. 12 beginning at 2:00 p.m.
The meetings are open to the public. This is the agenda for the joint meeting and special call meeting.
Joint Meeting:
Call to Order Chairman Dockery
• Determine Joint TSPLOST Project
• Determine TSPLOST Distribution Amount
• Adjourn
Special Call Meeting:
CALL TO ORDER Chairman Dockery
• CONSIDERATION OF AGENDA
• RESOLUTIONS
1. TSPLOST Resolution to Call for Election
2. TSPLOST Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
• ADJOURNMENT
The City Council will meet in the 1st-floor conference room their agenda will be the same. The special call meetings are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. unless the joint meeting goes longer.
Ahead of TSPLOST Joint Meeting Council Votes on Distribution and Project
Business, Community September 7, 2022
DAHLONEGA, Ga.- Before the Joint Meeting with Lumpkin County on Monday, Sept. 12 the City Council has approved the TSPLOST distribution and the Joint project that both the city and county will undertake.
The council also approved change orders and a supplemental agreement with GDOT for the Morrison Moore Pedestrian Bridge project. They accepted a bid for the asphalt patching and leveling project at the meeting as well.
On Aug. 1 the Dahlonega City Council and the Lumpkin County Commissioners held the first meeting to begin discussions on the TSPLOST before it is voted onto the ballot on Nov. To read what happened at that meeting visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/08/02/county-and-city-begin-tsplost-discussions/.
Before a vote can be taken the distribution, and a joint project needs to be agreed on. There will also need to be an intergovernmental agreement. The distribution that the council approved is an 81/19 divide.
81% will go to the county and 19% will go to the City. This was decided on by using 75% of the population and 25% of road miles.
The project the council voted on was Auraria Road and Hwy 52/9 west intersection and Torrington Road. Once both governments have agreed to the project they will work with the DOT on what can be done to improve this intersection.
The meeting with the county will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12 in the County Commissioners’ executive board room. The commissioners and council will be holding special call meetings afterward to vote to add the TSPLOST to the budget and enter into an IGA.
City Engineer Mark Buchanan brought the council two change orders and a supplemental agreement with GDOT for the Morrison Moore Pedestrian bridge. The change orders are for a bridge foundation investigation and sidewalk modification near the bridge. The supplemental agreement is to allow GDOT to cover 80% of the cost of the change orders.
The change order for the bridge is $49,577.49. This was not originally budgeted because there was an investigation done when the bridge was built and Buchanan thought they could use that again and GDOT said no.
The change order for the sidewalk modification will be $32,704.24 with a projected $127,000.00 that will be saved during construction. The change here is from the originally planned urban style to a more rural style concrete trail near the bridge.
Heard in the clip above is Councilmember Ross Shirley commenting on the investment. Buchanan can also be heard explaining why the changes came about. To view the specific change order request go to https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/dahlonega-pubu/MEET-Packet-39991ca72e2e4d00b62932c8a9711a47.pdf, they begin on page 52.
The council approved Raines Grading, Hauling, & Paving for the annual asphalt patching and leveling projects. The cost for this contract is $261 per ton from Oct. 1, 2022, till Sept. 30, 2023. Raines was the only bidder for this project.
“$261 seem high but we are talking about you know you roll out all your equipment to fix a hole the size of this podium and then you pack your stuff up and move to the other side of town and do it again, it’s incredibly labor intensive,” explained Buchanan.
Mayor JoAnne Taylor while signing the proclamation.
Lastly, the Mayor and the City Council proclaimed the month of Oct. to be National Long-Term Care Resident’s Month. The entire proclamation can be viewed using the link above and going to page 19. This is to honor the residents of nursing homes.
Joint Hearing “Canceled”
Announcements, Community August 21, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- The Lumpkin County Commissioners and the Dahlonega City Council will be holding a joint meeting on Aug. 22 at 4:30 p.m.
The joint meeting is open to the public. This is the agenda for the joint hearing.
Call to Order Chairman Dockery
• Estimated Revenue
• $20 million
• Signature Project
• Auraria Road/Highway 52 & 9/Torrington Drive
• Distribution of Tax
• (See Handout)
• Adjournment
The Joint meeting between the Commissioners and City Council has been canceled.
County and City Begin TSPLOST Discussions
Community, Police & Government August 2, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- The Commissioners and the City Council held a joint special call meeting to begin discussions for adding a new TSPLOST to the Nov. ballot and the projects they would tackle with the funds collected.
The TSPLOST is a 1% sales tax collected for transportation projects. Under the previous law, counties and cities were only able to collect the amount they specified on the ballot now however they can collect for five years.
County Manager Alan Ours while explaining the TSPLOST process.
In order for the referendum to appear on the ballot, the city and county must outline the revenue they hope to receive, the projects they will use the funds for, and the distribution of the taxes. The joint meeting held on Aug. 1 was to begin to establish a course of action to meet the rest of the schedule that has to be followed in order to have the referendum.
Both government entities brought with them some projects they have already begun to look at for the TSPLOST funds. One project the DOT told them they would not be able to help with is the 400 and 60 project. This is because it is a federally funded project and using TSPLOST could actually slow down the process instead of helping speed up.
One project both were interested in tackling as a signature project is Auraria Road and Route 9. The DOT is already aware of the interest in improving that intersection have begun coming up with ideas on how to improve it.
To best serve the citizens and establish a way forward that benefits both parties they have established a committee to review the projects, revenue, and distributions. The committee is made up of staff members from both governments with an elected official from each also, for the Commissioners the representative is Rhett Stringer and for the City, it is Johnny Ariemma.
“Our citizens are paying for this and I can’t think of something better than a nice bike path, you see no bikes around here and I would just like to look at a bike path that supports both the city and the county,” commented Councilmember Lance Bagley.
Once the committee has had time to meet a few times and get their list together they will then present it back to both the City and County. County Manager Alan Ours suggested that they hold another joint meeting between the City and County in three to four weeks so they have time to review the list and make any changes before they are required to vote.
The Official Timeline for the referendum process
By Sept. 20 they have to have a list of projects and join in an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). Then the Commissioners have to approve a resolution to call for a referendum to be added to the ballot. They have until Oct. 5 to inform the paper and the election will be held on Nov. 8.
Ours took a survey of how other counties divide up the distribution and came back with many different options. They could choose to divide it up like the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), like the SPLOST, or take into account the number of roads. This is what the committee will have to decide.
Heard in the clip above are Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Chris Dockery and Interim City Manager Bill Lewis expressing their opinions on the distribution. This is an ongoing process and all staff and elected officials were encouraged to bring any projects they think of to the committee for consideration. To bring attention to any other projects the county manager’s contact information can be found at https://www.lumpkincounty.gov/182/County-Manager or the city manager at https://dahlonega.gov/department/city-manager/.