Lee officials: Projects must be funded

LEESBURG, Ga. — Between 70 and 80 Lee County voters had already weighed in on referendums calling for the continuation of special 1 percent county sales and education taxes Friday afternoon, a vote that leaders say is vital to continued growth in the county.

At stake is some $24.9 million in taxes that have been earmarked for special capital projects in the county, most of which, officials say, will have to be funded at some point, no matter what decision voters make on SPLOST.

“About 85 percent of these projects will have to be funded; they’re necessary,” Commissioner Bill Williams said. “The people who are speaking out against SPLOST need to be aware of that. This money is going to have to come from somewhere.

“If we don’t get funding through SPLOST, the county will be looking at around a 4-mill tax increase to make up the difference.”

County leaders plan to use around $4.5 million of the projected SPLOST collections, which would run from 2013 to 2019 if passed by voters in the referendum that will be decided March 15, to make courthouse improvements, upgrade Public Works and other facilities, build a library branch/conference center in the southwest corner of the county and for future recreation projects.

Commissioner Rick Muggridge said recreation is vital to the community.

“We’re busting at the seems with the facilities we have now,” the Century commissioner said. “I’d like to see us develop more baseball, softball and soccer fields, more walking trails and fitness facilities. In my wildest dreams, we’ll be able to build facilities that will allow families to get out and do more things together.

“With everything I consider for the county, job creation enters into it. We could create new jobs with additional facilities. And we could bring tournaments here that would bring people into the community. All of these things would help us retain some of the braintrust we’re losing to other communities now.”

The library/conference center has become a bone of contention in the county since an August 2010 bid opening on the project came in almost a million dollars over budget. That sparked a cry by many — among them Redbone Commissioner Dennis Roland — to abandon plans to build the conference center portion of the project.

“The only people I’ve heard of in the county who are for the project are the four people who sit to my right at the meetings,” Roland has said of the conference center, referring to the other four commissioners.

Muggridge refutes that claim.

“I’m not surprised by some of the complaints I’ve heard from people who live in the north end of the county,” he said. “They’re looking for someone to blame for their economic condition. But the reality is that I have people fussing at me about backing off from the things that will move the county forward. They look at Worth County — which is smaller than us — and note that they have two such facilities.

“People in Albany point to the Civic Center and say it shouldn’t have been built, but I think of the concerts and daddy/daughter dances and other events I’ve attended there, and I’m glad it’s here. I’m glad Chehaw Park is here, glad the Georgia Dome and Turner Field are in Atlanta, glad people had the foresight to bring them into our state.”

Public Works Director Mike Sistrunk said the SPLOST funds he’s sought for his department will allow the county to expand facilities that barely contain the staff and equipment squeezed into them now.

“When our building was designed, we didn’t have the work force that we have now,” Sistrunk said. “We want to extend our shelter space so that we can work on more vehicles. We were responsible for 120 pieces of equipment when we moved in here; now we service 230.

“We also want to update our storm maintenance equipment and have funds to take care of smaller repair projects.”

School Superintendent Larry Walters said the school system’s top priority is building a new elementary school so that a current building can be used as a second county middle school. The current middle school is at almost 1,600 students.

“We have other projects we’d like to accomplish, but our priority is getting that new school built so we can manage the middle school situation,” Walters said.

Even with an impressive list of projects proposed for the special tax funds, officials are hearing a number of complaints from citizens in the community. The problem, they say, is that many of the complaints are erroneous.

“It’s amazing the misinformation that’s out there,” Williams said. “Some people are misleading others, and that concerns me. We’re going to have to complete these projects in the county. The money can come from SPLOST or it can come from our taxpayers. But these are things we’re going to have to do.”