SPLOST program updates set for Thursday

♦ The open meeting at the airport will cover projects in the 2013 and 2017 packages approved by voters.

An update on Rome and Floyd County’s special purpose, local option sales tax programs is slated for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport.

County Manager Jamie McCord and City Manager Sammy Rich will address the citizens advisory committees for the 2013 and 2017 SPLOST packages for about an hour at the facility off Martha Berry Highway in Armuchee.

“It’s also open to the public to listen and ask questions,” County Clerk Erin Elrod said Monday.

The $64.9 million package approved by voters in 2013 funded projects ranging from the PAWS animal shelter on North Avenue and an upgrade at the Forum River Center to the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College and the widening of

of Burnett Ferry Road.

Cave Spring’s $2.6 million rehabilitation of Fannin Hall is done, but Rome and Floyd County both have projects still in the pipeline. A $1.4 million relocation of the Watters Street recycling center, a $5.7 million earmark to extend the airport runway and a $1.8 million stabilization initiative at Unity Point are among the items still outstanding.

“They’ll talk about where we’re at on the 2013 SPLOST,” Elrod said. “That collection will be wrapping up in March 2019.”

The 1-cent tax for the $63.8 million 2017 SPLOST package will start immediately after that, on April 1, 2019. Voters also approved the option of selling SPLOST-backed bonds to jump-start projects before the tax money is in the bank.

“We haven’t made a decision on priorities yet so we won’t have much of an update on 2017, but the city is starting on some of their projects,” Elrod said.

County Commissioners have indicated some

urgency for the $5 million rehabilitation of the Historic County Courthouse and the addition of a jail medical facility. The 2017 SPLOST has $5.2 million for the jail, to add to the $1.9 million earmarked in the 2013 package.

Safety and health improvements at the Floyd County Prison, to the tune of $2.7 million, were an avowed priority of the Citizens SPLOST Advisory Committee.

Another favorite was a $1.2 million extension of the Silver Creek Trail from the Floyd County Health Department on East 12th Street to Park Avenue in Lindale.

Among the other projects on the county’s list are recreation improvements — including two new docks at Lock & Dam Park — $2 million to modernize State Mutual Stadium for the Rome Braves, paving, bridge replacements and an $8

million agricultural center.

Rome City Commissioners passed a resolution that lets them pull money from savings accounts and pay it back from future 2017 SPLOST revenue. Board members have said they don’t want to wait several years for a $4.4 million public safety upgrade that focuses mainly on firefighting equipment and a burn training building.

A water pipe replacement project in Rosemont Park and along Maple Street, and a $5 million sidewalk and road improvement plan also are high on their priority list.

Other city projects include replacing the artificial turf at Barron Stadium, streetscaping the Fifth Avenue River District, adding a back access road to East Central Elementary School and an outdoor recreation area at the North Broad Youth Center.

Photos by .John Bailey ABOVE: A portion of the 2017 SPLOST is to renovate and include security measures for a multi use gym at the Floyd County Prison on Blacks Bluff Road. Currently the gym is used for exercise as well as church services and visitiation.

ABOVE: A cyclist rides toward the existing terminus of the current paved trail system which runs by Silver Creek and connects with the Kingfisher trails which connect downtown. RIGHT: Funds to replace the current dock at Lock and Dam Park are part of the 2017 SPLOST.

/ John Bailey Funding to replace the astro turf at Barron Stadium is included in the 2017 SPLOST. Walkers use the track at the stadium even during the hottest part of the day.