Annexations could cost Floyd schools $1M a year
♦ The Joint Services Committee also discusses trails, websites, utilities and healthcare.
Proposed annexations of the Celanese/ Riverside, Horseleg Estates and Honeysuckle Ridge communities could cost the Floyd County school system between $800,000 and $1 million a year.
That is an estimated “all-in” number that includes the shift of both students and tax revenue to the city system, County School Board Chairman Tony Daniel told city and county commissioners at the Joint Services Committee meeting Tuesday.
The committee is made up of two members of each commission along with the city and county manager. It examines initiatives that involve both governments.
The school board chair urged city commissioners at the meeting to fully consider the impact of annexation on the county schools as they begin deliberations. He said the county system is already struggling with revenue.
“Cutting a million dollars out of the budget is critical right now,” Daniel said.
While the system has already announced the possibility of closing Glenwood and Cave Spring schools, those cuts could accelerate long-range plans. The system eventually may close both Garden Lakes and Alto Park schools in conjunction with the construction of a new Coosa elementary school.
The Garden Lakes area is another area the city is looking at for future annexations.
“We’re just asking you to reach out to the citizens in those areas, which I know you will,” said County Commission Chairman Scotty Hancock.
Trails update
During a trail update, County Manager Jamie Mccord told the committee that Norfolk Southern is currently asking for $1,000 a year for the easement under the railroad trestle on the west bank of the Oostanaula River.
That easement is critical to connecting the Mt. Berry Trail to the downtown walking trail system along the levee that currently ends at West Twelfth Street.
Mccord said he expects the Georgia Department of Transportation to release funds for that portion of the trail project this winter. But that can not happen, he said, until the final real estate deal between the county and the railroad is completed.
At this point, negotiations over that easement price tag have not started, McCord said.
Healthcare
The committee agreed to move forward with a threeyear joint request for proposals for an employee health clinic.
“Theoretically, we get much more purchasing power,” said City Manager Sammy Rich. Mccord agreed, adding, “It makes more sense from the numbers.”
The committee also agreed to have the professional staff of the city and county water departments get together to determine if there is a way to combine those operations in a more efficient manner.
“I think it’s something we’ve needed to do for a long time,” said County Commissioner Wright Bagby. “It’s a great opportunity as I see it.”
Merging the two operations would not be as easy as it may seem, Rich said, but he added that the city is willing to explore it to see if something could work.
Changes to Romefloyd.
com
The committee decided that they would keep the first point of contact for both governments on the homepage of the Romefloyd.com website, but would then delineate between county and city departments.
The joint website was created to put all the city and county agencies in one place and make it more convenient for the public to find information. However, the amount of information posted to the website has proven cumbersome, Mccord said, and makes finding that information difficult.
“We’ve just outgrown what we’re doing,” Mccord said.
He suggested a joint landing page that allows users to then take either a city or county path to access needed information.
If it has become difficult for public officials to navigate the site, Bagby said, imagine how tough it is for all the residents of the community.
City to take over courthouse parking
enforcement
The committee agreed to move forward with having the city parking management office take over enforcement at the Superior Court parking lot and the spaces at the Joint Law Enforcement Center and the Forum River Center.
The panel will still have to resolve whether the parking enforcement cases would be handled in the city’s Municipal Court or county’s Magistrate Court.
“We can work through that,” Rich said.
Road improvements,
garden move
Mccord updated the panel on improvements to Shady Lane in the Honeysuckle Ridge community.
The vast majority of the work has already been completed but one utility pole needs to be moved to allow some drainage work to take place before the project is complete.
AT& T was paid several months ago to move the pole but it has not been done yet, Mccord said.
The panel also put the tourism office in charge of moving the Rosie the Riveter Garden from Richard B. Russell Regional Airport to the Forum. It will be relocated to the grassy strip where three electric vehicle charging stations are being installed.