COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton County’s SPLOST Oversight Committee heard they likely will be working overtime to hear requests for inclusion in the planned 2023 SPLOST renewal vote.
They also were updated on the status of projects recently added to the voter-approved 2017 list.
County Projects Consultant Jeff Prine told committee members Monday, April 11, that the Board of Commissioners recently voted to distribute the $19 million the 2017 SPLOST is projected to produce above the original $65 million amount.
New projects included a renovation of Washington Street Community Center and construction of the Yellow River Trail, for which the county is working with a private developer to build the first phase near the former Oaks golf course, Prine said.
Others include the final phase of the Denny Dobbs Park skate park, which likely can be completed by October; and construction of a Westside Youth Facility at Fairview Community Park and Springhill Park off Lower River Road — both of which the county will issue requests for proposals for design services, Prine said.
He said designs for both can be completed by the end of this year and their construction go out for bid early in 2023.
On the 2023 SPLOST, committee Chairman Baxter Bouchillon said the 1% sales tax — a continuation of the 2017 SPLOST — is estimated to produce around $108 million over its six-year life if approved by voters in the Nov. 8 General Election.
He said the county was in negotiations with the six cities on the percentages of the funds each will receive if the SPLOST is renewed. If the current split is used, the county would receive about $80 million of the total, Bouchillon said.
Bouchillon told committee members he recommended the project list include five categories: Basic Infrastructure, Quality of Life, Debt Reduction, Public Safety and Economic Development
He said he expected the committee will need to meet twice-weekly in May to hear from all the county departments and others seeking to be part of the funding.
“This is kind of the once-every-six-year thing,” Bouchillon said.
Department heads have been given a May 2 deadline for their project recommendations for the funding. Projects must meet the requirements of the state’s SPLOST law, he said.
Bouchillon said the committee’s goal is to recommend a final project list to the Board of Commissioners by its June 7 meeting — after which the Board can make changes to the list and approve it before the renewal vote on Newton County’s ballot.
The county government is requesting suggestions from community members and organizations for projects for the SPLOST at https://www.co.newton.ga.us/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=4474.
Bouchillon also noted the Newton Chamber of Commerce “took the ball and ran with it” to gain feedback about the SPLOST project list. Chamber President Debbie Harper, an ad-hoc member of the committee, said a survey was included in a newsletter sent to its membership.
He said committee members could allocate one-fifth of the $80 million to projects in each of the five categories.
However, Prine noted county transportation director Chester Clegg still must submit his project requests which likely will far exceed the $16 million a one-fifth division would produce.
He said Clegg likely will recommend funding to widen heavily traveled Brown Bridge Road from its current two lanes by adding a middle turn lane — a project that will cost more than $16 million.
