By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Madison has received almost $44,000 to benefit the city’s transportation projects, according to City Manager David Nunn.
Nunn said they have a $43,600 Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) check from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).
The city will be required to provide a 30 percent match using Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds.
Councilman Michael Naples asked about the match requirement.
Nunn replied that there was not a match requirement before but because Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) did not pass they have it now.
TSPLOST would have required a 10 percent match if it had passed.
Naples said he found it offensive that legislators did not have the willpower to raise revenue and fund GDOT.
Instead, he said, they broke the state into 12 districts and give them the “privilege” of taxing themselves one percent. Those districts that did not pass the TSPLOST were then penalized and must provide a 30 percent match.
“They want to continue to run telling us ‘We didn’t raise your taxes’ and yet they put us in this position if we didn’t pass a tax on ourselves they were going to penalize us as they’re doing,” he said.
Nunn said he has a priority list of streets to be resurfaced and that he has contacted Morgan County Manager Michael Lamar regarding this project.
“We’ll stretch the money out as far as we can,” he said.
He said Lamar has agreed that the city and county can combine their funds so the bidding process will be done all at one time.
“We’ll get some economy out of it: dealing with the same contractor, reduce the costs,” he said, noting that this will come up in the spring.
Resident Laura Butler thanked Nunn for following up on her concerns from a month ago about a rough railroad track. She said it is now fixed.
“I just want to let you know that our manager doesn’t just hear, he goes and checks on it,” she said. “Thank you, Mr. Nunn.”
In other news:
• Nunn said he has received a draft of plans for Phase III of the Public Safety Building build out. This would give them a meeting space downtown as well as “much needed” office space.

Printed in the February 14, 2013 edition