Oakwood leaders raise questions about SPLOST funding

OAKWOOD - Oakwood officials said they did not get the answers they wanted concerning SPLOST (5) road improvement funding during the Joint Local Government Association meeting they hosted at Oakwood City Hall.

Both Mayor Lamar Scroggs and City Manager Stan Brown noticed a $10-million decrease in voter-approved sales tax funds slated for road improvement in SPLOST (5).

Assistant County Administrator Phil Sutton said the State Transportation Department takes projects over once the county designs them and county commissioners have the authority to move SPLOST money around.
He said if DOT does not take them, the county would fund them.

Mayor Scroggs said the people voted for the roadwork and expected it.

“I think we need to find out what happened,” Scroggs said. “The people voted in a referendum in the SPLOST (5) sales tax to fund these intersections and to upgrade them.” “ Now the county has chosen to take them out for some reason and do something else and I don’t understand it.”

Road improvements show a $10.3-million reduction from $40.3-million in the original to $30-million in the proposed SPLOST (5) budget.
It shows a $7.2-million expenditure for related project expenses including bond payments, sewer extensions and relocation expenses

Scroggs said he hopes to learn more about what DOT can possibly do for Hall County Tuesday morning when a South Hall Chamber Coalition meeting at Oakwood City Hall features District Engineer Russell McMurry, who reportedly is leaving Hall County for a new state level DOT job in Atlanta.

“The need is more now than ever,” Scroggs said. “I could not tell you tonight who our DOT representative is; I could not tell you who we need to talk to in order to get anything approved.”

HAZARD FUNDING UPDATE

Association members learned that work is underway on updating Hall County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, a document required by federal law to get disaster assistance funding.

Dee Langley with Georgia Emergency Management presented the update; Georgia Mountains Regional Commission Planning Director Adam Hazell said with Hall’s development and population changes, the update was needed.

“As new development comes along and there are new facilities and parts of the county that are prone to certain types of disasters, those things will change and that’s what this update is for, to re-evaluate those priorities, ”Hazell said.

Hazell said the update is due next April.
Hazard damage in Hall County is likely from tornadoes, winter storms and floods as well as man made disasters like train derailments.