Q&A | Calhoun City and Gordon County administrators
Covering a variety of timely topics affecting local government, the Calhoun Times recently asked several questions to both Calhoun City Administrator Paul Worley and Gordon County Administrator Jim Ledbetter in our annual local government Heritage Q&A.
uestion: With many of the large industrial facilities along the Highway 41 corridor that have begun over the past two years now either fully or partially built, and with more properties approved for additional projects, how has City/County Government (especially utilities and emergency services) been coping with that rapid growth now that a good portion is a reality?
Worley:
Yes, both Calhoun and Gordon County have seen significant industrial growth in the Highway 41 and Union Grove corridors. Most of the Hwy 41 South development is in the County and Union Grove development in the City. Both local governments have been busy with such a large amount of development occurring in a relatively short amount of time. Calhoun Utilities has done an excellent job keeping up with the quick pace of projects with significant infrastructure build-outs. Public Safety has also been looking at long term plans of how we can keep our current high level of service to these expansions, but at the same time not sacrificing any quality of services to all residents city-wide. We have had to increase staffing in both the Police and Fire Departments to accomplish this goal. Also, we were fortunate to deploy some of the City’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that we received from the Federal Government to order a 100-foot aerial ladder truck. This will help us be better prepared to provide fire protection services to the large industrial buildings and also taller commercial and residential structures as Calhoun continues to grow.
Ledbetter: Three projects have been completed on South Highway 41. CFL Flooring and Momeni are complete and occupied. The 1.2 million-square-foot Thor facility is complete but remains empty. In addition, several more large scale industrial projects are under construction. So, I do not believe the full impact of the developments has arrived. The City of Calhoun supplies the water and sewer services to these projects. Emergency services are provided by the Gordon County Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department, and E911. As these projects continue to be completed, they are definitely impacting county services. In fact, the rapid growth in all sectors of the county has increased the need for personnel and equipment. For example in 2016, 911 fielded about 8,000 calls per month. In 2022, that number had risen to about 14,000 calls per month. During this time, the cost to maintain the current level of services and personnel has risen dramatically and it is hard to find new employees for hire to respond to the increased need. Economists predict more growth is heading our way. The county will need more firefighters, deputies, dispatchers and public safety personnel as well as the buildings and equipment to support them.
Q:
What are some things City/County Government is currently looking at or putting into place now to prepare for the continued
industrial boom locally as it may continue to affect things like traffic, housing, and general government operating costs?
Worley:
Again, the 100foot aerial truck is a big step forward for fire protection. We are looking at staffing levels for police, fire and street departments. Also, both City and County are looking at road improvement projects and advocating with the State of Georgia (GDOT) concerning improvements on State routes to handle larger traffic volumes. Housing availability is challenging, but there has been a significant number of new homes brought to market over the past couple of years, and several residential developments that are just now getting started. Housing availability and affordability is an issue in many cities right now and an issue throughout the nation. As we grow as a city, we also want to grow our recreational opportunities. We have been adding amenities to the Calhoun Recreation Department and will continue to do so. The growth of the community helps to increase revenues, but to keep providing a high level of government services, operational costs are also going to increase.
Ledbetter: First, the county will present a referendum to the voters in November to continue the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). This sales tax of one penny/dollar spent is critical to funding capital projects and equipment. Uses of SPLOST in the past have included paving roads:, building government buildings such as the health department, animal shelter, fire stations, parking deck, and judicial building; buying fire trucks, paving machines and patrol cars; and, parks and recreation facilities.
Much of the SPLOST revenue comes from travelers passing through Gordon County and SPLOST revenue was up 17% last year after a major gas station and convenience destination opened. Second, we are considering whether an Impact Fee on major development would be appropriate. Major subdivisions and distribution centers may place a higher burden on public infrastructure and personnel than the tax revenue derived from those projects. An impact fee, if adopted, would shift some of this burden from the public back to the developer. Third, Developers themselves have paid for road improvements to render properties suitable for development. Examples are the improvements to Trimble Hollow Road. and Johnson Lake Road. Finally, the county is using the Comprehensive Plan process to redefine certain character areas to attempt to focus high density growth areas to State highways and major roads.
Q uestion for Worley: Can you look back on finally finishing the new Police Department and Rec. Maintenance facility, and also fill our readers in on what major City projects to look out for next?
Worley:
We are excited to have these facilities completed, operational and paid for in full. Thanks to the voters who support the SPLOST, these facilities have been built with no debt. The Police Department has been very pleased with the new facilities, and we were thrilled to see so many people come to our open house to tour the facility. It will serve the community well for years to come. Now that we have the new Rec. Maintenance facility built, we will be tearing
down the old maintenance barn next to the swimming pool to make room for a new basketball gym. We need more court space to handle our rec basketball program and this project will give us two courts total. We are greatly appreciative of Calhoun City Schools willingness to offer their courts to help us out too. We could not do it without their facilities. We will soon be selecting an engineering firm to help design and engineer a pickleball court area. We are planning to use ARPA funds for this project. We are also busy with engineering for the Dews Pond/Curtis Parkway roundabout project, widening of Curtis Parkway from the roundabout to Laurel Creek Road, and would like to start engineering on the final phase of Peter Street as soon as our engineers can start.
Q uestion for Ledbetter: Can you look back on finally finishing the new Judicial Building remodel and expansion, and also fill our readers in on what major county projects to look out for next, including progress on the 1961 Courthouse?
Ledbetter:
The Judicial Building has been open for about one year. This was a very successful project despite inflation and supply chain issues. The first floor assembly room has hosted meetings and training for groups from around the state. The 1961 Courthouse will open in August/September of 2023. The first floor will house Elections, Magistrate Court will occupy the second floor and Probate Court will be on the third floor. This will free up 9,000 square feet on the second floor of the Government Plaza. One thought is to combine all building permitting and inspection services
in that space to create a “one stop shop” for our customers needing those services. The next projects in line include the Evidence Building and Morgue, Pavilion at Brookshire Park, Multipurpose facility and several road improvements which were cumulatively approved in the 2018 SPLOST.
Q:
Can you give our readers an update on how things are going with the local affordable housing issue with several thousand units of various types currently approved countywide, and many under construction, are we starting to put a dent in the problem, or simply treading water?
Worley:
I think we have made progress with new housing coming on the market. We have seen tremendous interest from developers who have built single family homes, townhomes, and apartments. There are two Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developments about to open, Idora Park and Chelsea Park. It is hard to get HUD funding for one of these projects, much less two. So, we have been fortunate when it comes to adding affordable housing recently. With that said, I know there is still tremendously more demand than supply when it comes to affordable housing. Housing costs have skyrocketed due to inflation, supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and higher mortgage interest rates. It is a difficult challenge, but one we will keep working on. The City has a good working relationship with the Calhoun Housing Authority and their nonprofit, New Foundations Development. New Foundations has spear headed our community going through the GICH (Georgia Initiative for Community Housing) Program again. We have representatives from the City, County and many others volunteering their time to work on the affordable housing issues. New Foundations has been successful in obtaining multiple CHIP grants that have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into owner occupied housing to help rehabilitate our existing housing inventory. These recipients are generally elderly, veterans, and low-income. They have rehabbed hundreds of homes locally with new roofs, ADA ramps, windows, insulation improvements, new HVAC and other improvements. The City recently donated a tract of land to the Housing Authority so that they can build at least two new construction affordable houses. With each new construction build, they will roll any profit into their next build. It is wonderful to see so many working to try and make housing improvements within our community. They do wonderful work but like anything, they are limited in what they can do by the amount of funds they receive. They are always thankful for donations and always looking for the next grant opportunity.
Ledbetter: Affordable housing presents a difficult issue. Gordon County Government does not provide housing supplements or government sponsored housing to its citizens. Therefore, private developers build the houses in our county. An exception would be several apartment complexes classified as Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties (LIHTC) that receive tax credits from the federal government to provide apartments at a reduced rent. The county unemployment rate has stayed at historic lows for several years. So the short answer is we need workers and they need somewhere to live. Affordability is a difficult issue since the price point for a new “affordable” home is over $300,000 according to some. Now the Federal Government has raised interest rates making it even more difficult to buy a home. Another dynamic in the local housing market is that many new homebuyers are moving here from other parts of the country. Compared to where they are moving from, our home prices are affordable.
Q:
With many recently completed as well as upcoming projects locally funded by SPLOST, LOST and ELOST dollars, can you talk a little bit about how important those funds can be for the communities around the county?
Worley:
Yes, sales taxes help to greatly diversify the local government’s revenue stream. The sales tax helps capture revenue from nonresidents, which is a way to make sure visitors to our community have some skin in the game to help support local government services. The property tax only captures revenue from the property owners, who will also pay sales taxes. However, visitors will not pay a local property tax and therefore the sales tax they pay will help support paving our road, fund public safety, and other services they may need while they are here. The sales tax is also a “tide that lifts all boats.” For example, everyone knows how much business Buc-ee’s pulls off the interstate. These type businesses generate local sales taxes that are distributed to the County and all municipalities within the County by a predetermined percentage share closely following population numbers. Therefore, everyone benefits from the
sales tax even though Bucee’s is located in the City of Calhoun. Also, the ESPLOST is distributed between the City Schools and County Schools based on student count, so everyone benefits regardless of where the physical address of the business is located. These local sales taxes have helped Calhoun, Gordon County and both school systems with numerous projects that would not have been possible otherwise.
Ledbetter: Sales tax revenue is absolutely essential for capital facilities and equipment. Gordon County has consistently maintained the lowest millage rate since 2010 with the current rate at 9.515. Without LOST revenue, the millage rate would be closer to 13 mills. SPLOST and ESPLOST funds build courthouses, police stations, schools; pave roads; and buy dump trucks, fire trucks and other essential equipment. Without sales tax revenue, we would have to borrow the money to build or acquire them and the millage rate would go up dramatically to pay for them.
Q:
With the most recent Joint Comprehensive Plan process wrapping up, how important is that multi-governmental cooperation as well as citizen input when planning for the future, locally?
Worley:
It is very important and cannot be underestimated. Proper planning for quality growth over time, with a goal of preserving our small-town atmosphere takes a lot of work. I am pleased that the City and County are working together during this process and are coming to a lot of the same conclusions when it comes to projects and ways we can work together to provide high quality public services to the community. We are very pleased with the high response rate from the community when we pushed out our survey. We received a lot of great feedback, and we are working on projects that will address the feedback received. Everyone has to keep in mind that the core function of local governments is to provide public services such as police, fire, roads, bridges, utilities, recreation, and our projects need to focus on those areas. It has been a great process so far. This is a five-year update to a 10-year plan, 2018 2028. The 2023 update will identify projects and layout our roadmap forward for the next five years, before we start the next comprehensive plan that will cover 2028-2038. These roadmaps are good tools to have and are readdressed often. Our annual budget process is a shorter-term roadmap that we follow every year, and we make adjustments as needed throughout the comprehensive plan period.
Ledbetter: I think multigovernmental planning is essential. Just look at some of our basic needs and services. Intersections on major roads such as Bellwood, Dews Pond, and Boone Ford have become too congested. These roads affect everyone and not just the unincorporated county populous versus the city residents. Calhoun and Gordon County meet regularly to discuss and plan to remediate these issues. As for citizen input, we have held a public hearing and will hold another at the end of March. The date will be posted on our website and advertised in the Calhoun Times. Also, we submitted a community survey and the results will be posted as part of the plan.
Q:
Let’s talk broadband and mobile phone service. It’s no secret we’ve been behind here for a while — a problem most places around the country are also dealing with as we all rely more heavily on that infrastructure. Are we close to catching up?
Worley: I can’t argue that broadband is a major issue, especially in the more rural parts of our community. The major broadband players have made a lot of investment and improvements in Calhoun over the years. However, there are still pockets and areas that are underserved. I know making improvements in this area is a goal of the State of Georgia and Federal Government. A lot of investment is being funneled through to help make improvements. The City is working with Calhoun Utilities Telecommunications Department (Calnet) to offer free Wi-Fi at the Downtown City Park and specific areas at the Calhoun Recreation Department. We are utilizing some of our ARPA funds to help deploy this public WiFi opportunity. The City has also been communicating with a couple different cell tower providers to encourage them to improve and expand their tower bandwidth capacity around the downtown area. As our society continues to grow in the amount of data we access, the demand on the cellular providers continues to grow commensurate with that growth. We advocate with the providers and discuss the issues with our State Representatives to do everything we can. However, due to existing Federal and Sate Laws, local governments do not have the authority to force the issue. We will continue to advocate and do what we can to encourage improvements.
Ledbetter: In 2021 Gordon County determined that American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money should be used to bring high-speed broadband service to all feasible residents in Gordon County. A public Request for Proposals for an Internet Service Provider to install and operate this service was advertised in the summer of 2021 and resulted in the selection of Comcast which, in fact, submitted the only proposal. Comcast has engineered the system and obtained relevant permits but construction has been delayed waiting for approval of State and Federal grant awards. Those grants have now been awarded and actual construction should begin this summer. The total build out will take about 18 months.
Q:
We all have our favorites, so what was your favorite accomplishment or pet project of 2022 for City/County Government?
Worley:
Our largest project recently is the police station, but we have discussed that already. Another recent project that has been impactful is our most recent Rivers to Ridge trail segment. We built a 0.75-mile trail connection between the City Rec and the Calhoun High/Middle School campus. We appreciate the Dixie Group in working with us to make this possible. This trail connection provides a great 10-foot-wide path connecting the City School campus to the Rec. Also, this trail helps to connect and provide accessibility to the Calhoun Housing Authority residents. We have seen many new faces utilizing our Rec facilities simply by improving the pedestrian accessibility. We really enjoy seeing an increasing number of residents utilizing the Rec facilities.
Ledbetter: From the County Administrator’s standpoint, the best things about this job are the people I work with each day and service to our citizens. Gordon County is a wonderful place to live. In the context of public hearings, we get along with one another even when we disagree. I believe the next 5 to 10 years will present extremely difficult challenges to our community as the pressures of growth and development from Atlanta and Chattanooga land on our doorstep.