State grant, loan to resurface 17 roads

Commissioners heard at the June 27 meeting that the county manager and public works director Todd Goolsby went to the state Capitol as legislators awarded Pike with the county’s full request for a Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIP) loan to complete all the county’s Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) projects.

“Pike was rewarded the full request which will allow us to complete all our LMIG projects all the way out to 2030,” said county manager Brandon Rogers. “The grant was for $993,532, just shy of the grant funds but the good thing is, with this loan, we will be able to put all of the work upfront. Public works hopes to be able to get this work finished in the next 12 to 18 months. LMIG funding will cover all the loan payments so there will be no increase for taxpayers. This is almost $1 million in free grants and we are going to pay them back with money we are already getting from the state so it was a win-win situation.”

Pike’s resurfacing projects include (in no particular order) Concord Road, Williams Mill, Carter Road, Etheridge Mill Road, Caldwell Road, section of Hardin Road in front of the church, Chapman Road, Sandefur Road, Daniel Road, Pilkenton Road, Plantation Road, Caldwell Bridge Road, Drew Allen Road, Oliver Road, Pedenville Road, Vickery Road, Scott Road and Cook Road.

The GTIB funding will allow the county to complete the entire resurfacing project at one time, which will minimize the impact of inflation. The GTIB loan awarded to Pike was $4,967,660 and the GTIB Grant awarded to Pike was a total of $993,532.

Loan applications are evaluated for creditworthiness and overall project merits. An advisory committee comprised of representatives from state agencies and statewide associations evaluate SRTA staff recommendations and make final recommendations to the SRTA Board.

In addition to discussing the grant and loan for road improvements, commissioners also approved the AmWaste Transfer Station contract for fiscal year 2023-24. The county agreed to the $10,000 lease paid annually by AmWaste and allowed AmWaste to finalize and submit an improvement plan for the recycling center at the transfer station by 90 days from July 1, 2023.

The county also:
• Approved the Three Rivers Regional Commission contract for fiscal year 2024 and authorized vice chairman to sign in the absence of chairman Briar Johnson.

• Approved use of the courthouse square for Pike’s American Legion Post 197 on Monday, Sept. 11 for the Patriot Day Observance static display.
  
  • Approved the use of Impact Fees for new materials for the J. Joel Edwards Public Library in the amount of $15,000. County manager Brandon Rogers noted that the funds would not be used all at once but as needed.
  
• Approved land acquisition of .2 acres for a right-of-way at the intersection of Highway 18 and Hill Street for $2,000. It was noted that the GDOT has been working on a realignment of the intersection to make the turn safer for citizens.
  
• Approved the second reading of the Fire Protection personnel hours.
  
• Held a public hearing and approved the second reading of the text amendments related to House Bill 1405 and changes to Zoning Procedures Law.
  
• Held two public hearings for a special exception request from applicant and owner Brad Gregg to allow for rental of guest quarters at two properties in an A-R zoning district in Concord (108 Scott Road and 6282 Highway 362) and denied the request. It was noted that seasonal workers usually stay at the properties and due to the late freeze, no income would come from peaches this year. Commissioner Tim Guy made a motion for denial of both requests, noting that “this will open a can of worms” by going against policy and allowing the rental of accessory buildings in the county.
  
• Held a public hearing and approved a rezoning request from A-R to R-18 from Wilson Contracting owner and applicant Randy Davis for property at the corner of Hemphill Road and Shackelford Road in Griffin. It was noted that the majority of surrounding properties had houses on two acres as well and was approved to keep the area consistent with the stipulation that the homes must be constructed of brick or stone with no vinyl siding.
  
• Approved the county-initiated rezoning of all tracts of land in Pike that were zoned DR-6 (DR-6 zoning was previously repealed) according to the official zoning map. The properties were rezoned to R-18. It was noted that there are 19 such parcels and all of them have structures on them except for five tracts. It was also noted that since the rezoning was county-initiated, no legal advertising or notification of owners was required.