BOC  to put $1 million to road work

By Kelly Frizzell
Staff Writer

    The Board of Commissioners plans to pay off $891,000 in debt and spend $1.1 million in road work costs at the recommendation of the county manager at the board’s meeting last Tuesday.
    Michael Lamar, county manager, recommended “coupling doing some road work with getting rid of some debt.” He suggested the board pay off debts to the Creamery and an additional capital lease.
    The money will come from a nearly 40 percent fund balance the county has generated for several years after its annual contingency line item went unspent.
    The compounding figure has ballooned to more than $5 million.
    The county recently announced it would find ways to pay down the fund balance in order to get in line with auditor’s guidelines of 15 to 25 percent.
    Over $1 million is slated to be spent on road work in Morgan County.
    Bethany Road is at the top of the list of roads that the board plans to improve since it is the best candidate in the county for receiving financial aid from the state. Plans for the high-volume road include a possible four foot widening, said Lamar.
    A new snow plow and a tailgate spreader could make an appearance in the county next winter to combat ice on the roads.
    “We’ve got about 16 bridges we have got to keep the ice off,” said Charles Young, road and bridges supervisor.
    Both vehicles could be purchased for under $15,000, said Young. The snow plow would scrape ice off of bridges in winter but could also be used year-round to level roadside “ruts” created when cars veer off of the road.
    The Board of Commissioners has voted to supply up to $225,796 to the Morgan County Fire Department, including the purchase of a new pumper truck.
    The approval brings Morgan County one step closer to its goal of making sure that every resident is within five miles of a fire station. The new E-One fire truck would cost up to $159,596.
    The board also approved use of the heath department building on Second Street as a tentative home for the Lifelong Learning Campus.
    The Morgan County Lifelong Learning Campus is the product of a partnership among the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, the Morgan County School System, DeKalb Technical College, Georgia Military College and other local groups.
    “It really is a tremendous opportunity for several agencies to come together,” said Shauna von Hanstein, executive director of the Ferst Foundation.
    The program will provide educational services “from the cradle to the grave,” said von Hanstein.
    Family literacy and middle college experiences will be offered by the facility. A resource center and GED program are also option being explored by the partnership.