About Upson beacon. (Thomaston, Ga.) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2024)
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 UPSON BEACON ig Lights Raping «atcn on Page 5A BOE Begins 2025 Budget Talks Public Hearings Set June u, 25 Andrew Carroll Sports Editor acarroll@upsonbeacon.com At a work session on Tuesday, May 21 the Thom- aston-Upson Board of Edu cation unveiled the first draft of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget. With inflation and spending at an all-time high, board member Jaye Eubanks stated that the board was intent on trying to reign in its spending. This comes as ESSER Funds have run dry and the board is looking at taking several projects back into the fold. Member Stephen Sadler raised concerns about those projects being paid for by local funds, stating that those projects had not been in place before ESSER Funding, and asked if sev eral projects could be re moved to limit spending. To that end, Upson County taxpayers could feel some relief in the upcoming fiscal year. The new budget is built upon a millage rate °f 1.3-59 mills, 0.4 mills less than the 14.01-mill budgets from the last two years. The 13.59 millage rate is the sec ond lowest since 2018, fol lowing 2022 which numbered 13.21. However, the amount per mill increased from FY 2024, going up from $9 2 5,799 P er mill to $981,481 in FY 25. The 14.01 mills number is not incidental. The board had established that number to continue Equal ization Grant funding which amounted to more than $4 million dollars last year. The first stage of the budget sits at a grand total of $52,748,762, which is a decrease of $677,000 from last year. With the rate, the board looks to bring in $13,004,869 in property taxes for the general fund, with another $5.1 million in sales taxes going to the cap ital projects budget. A large chunk of the de crease of the budget comes from student transporta tion, which is planned to de crease $1.1 million. A grant that the board applied for last year paid for 12 new buses and the board does not plan any new purchases this year. The board will continue to work and adjust the budget, and the public will get two opportunities to speak at public hearings. The first public hearing is scheduled for June 11 at 6 p.m. The second opportu nity is set for June 25 at 7:30 a.m. with final adop tion expected immediately after. Volunteers take on home modification projects. Submitted Area Agency on Aging Celebrates New Home Mods, Invites Volunteers The Three Rivers Re gional Commission’s Area Agency on Aging, in a col laborative effort with the Newnan-based nonprofit RiverLife, is proud to an nounce the successful com pletion of multiple home modification projects this year. Thirteen additional home modification projects throughout Carroll, Coweta, Lamar, Meriwether, Spald ing, and Upson counties have been funded and approved, and are now awaiting assign ments and volunteers. The Home Modification Program has already com pleted 11 projects in 2024. Most recently, the TRRC Aging Division recently com pleted a vital ramp installa tion project in Meriwether County for a single woman in her mid-70s named Brenda who lives with her dog and cats. Despite being in good health, Brenda experienced several falls while taking out her garbage. “Brenda came to us last fall through a referral from her doctor, and during our screening, we identified sev eral services she needed, in cluding a home ramp,” TRRC Executive Director Mark Butler commented. “She was placed on the Riv erLife waitlist in September, and thanks to our and River- Life’s dedicated volunteers and employees, the ramp was completed in April. The project has significantly im proved Brenda's safety and quality of life and, most im portantly, her ability to live independently in her own home." RiverLife’s mission is to transform lives by equipping volunteers to grow deep in compassion and reach wide in service to others through community outreach. It part ners with nonprofits and other organizations in the community to identify people in need of yard cleanup, exterior home re pair, and wheelchair ramp access. The RiverLife team coordinates and leads these opportunities for volunteers to create a meaningful ex perience for those serving and to safely and respectfully meet the needs of those served. TRRC is currently seek ing volunteer groups, includ ing corporate teams and individuals, to help complete these "ready-for-assign- ment" projects. Ready for as signment status means those projects are funded, screened, and approved. Construction management and materials are supplied by TRRC. No construction skill sets are necessary for a group to adopt one of these ready for assignment projects. TRRC will provide manage ment and onsite instruction. Participants of any age are welcome to participate as long as minors have partici pation permission forms signed by their guardians. “This is an ideal project for a church group, school group, or civic group to adopt. Most of the projects can be done in one six-to- eight-hour day,” said Emily Rogers. To learn more about indi vidual and group volunteer opportunities, contact TRRC Aging Division Assistant Di rector Emily Rogers at erogers@threeriversrc.com. Grand Jury Returns True Bills The March 2024 term of Upson County Grand Jury returned the following true bills May 16: Jonati Kahri Austin - interstate interference with custody. Dontavious Shamar Walker - possession of mari juana, more than an ounce; possession of a Schedule I controlled substance with intent to distribute; and four counts of violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Pre vention Act. EMA Director Richard Hickmon. Andrew Carroll/Upson Beacon Hickmon Talks EMA at SERTOMA Andrew Carroll Sports Editor acarroll@upsonbeacon.com Upson Emergency Man agement Agency Director Richard Hickmon was the guest speaker of the May 23 Thomaston SERTOMA Club meeting. Hickmon took over the position from Martha Ann McCarty, who retired last year. Hickmon commented that even as a joint project between the city and county, the emergency management agency is a small budget item. “If we’re a big budget item, that’s a bad thing,” Hickmon added. Hickmon addressed the relationships built between Upson EMA and surround ing counties, pointing to Meriwether and Pike counties as particularly close partners. He shared that the civic center stands as Upson County’s primary shelter should a major disaster occur. Hickmon later ad dressed the plans for a new location, part of a proposed $3 million facility that would be paid for via grant money, if approved. Hickmon stated that the funding comes for an emer gency operations center that would allow the EMA to tag onto other public safety en tities. In particular, the Thomaston Police Depart ment has come aboard with this. The city passed a res olution for $30,000 in ar chitectural designs for the project, and Hickmon called the chance to pay, at most, $175,000 for a $3 million facility a “no brainer.” Budget, Continued from Front Tuesday, June 25 at the TU- BOE office, 205 Civic Center Drive in Thomaston. The board is scheduled to adopt the final budget at the June 25, 7:30 a.m. meeting. Upson County residents are encouraged to attend the hearings, which are sched uled to provide an opportu nity for public input on the proposed budget. The budget is available for review on the district’s website at www.upson.k12.ga.us or at the office at the above ad dress during operating hours. Complex, Continued from Front money to build a new police station, but you can get it to build a joint or multi-pur pose emergency manage ment complex.” The Church Street building is almost 12,000 square feet, roughly twice the size of the current police department on Barnesville Street, according to Chief Richardson, who said, “We are maxed. There is no space where we are.” Richardson said EMA Director Richard Hickmon and TFD Chief Shane Foster are “on board” with the endeavor. “It’s an excellent proj ect, but we can’t apply for that funding unless we have renderings and plans to show them,” he stated. “The building is structurally sound - the only one in the city that was built to with stand a hurricane. It’s very secure and we could have the fire department, police department, and EMA all together.” Richardson said the EMA crisis center could be located in the facility’s base ment, and a metal building likely would be added be hind the main structure to house EMA’s equipment. “We also would re-es tablish the original city courtroom, so we could move city court back to that building,” Richardson said. “You could hold council meetings there. There would be multiple purposes for the facility.” Councilman Don Great- house expressed support for the venture. “It’s a well-thought-out plan,” Greathouse com mented. “It would be opti mum to have multiple public safety divisions in one complex - definitely a win-win. Right now, our po lice department is in an old pharmacy building.” Richardson acknowl edged the city has “put a lot of money” into renovating the current police depart ment, and Councilman Jeff Middlebrooks expressed his desire to recoup a portion of that cost. “We’ve spent about $750,000 on the [current department]. We need to be able to sell it and get back what we can,” Middle- brooks said. “I’m going to vote yes, but I don’t want it to cost the taxpayers a dime.” Thompson told council there would be no obliga tion past the initial sche matic design cost, but total architectural fees would be $172,500 if the board chooses to move forward. That fee would take the project through construc tion, according to Thomp son. Temporary Power Outage in Thomaston June 1 A temporary power outage will affect multiple streets, traffic lights, and businesses in Thomaston on June l from 8 a.m. to approximately noon while repairs take place, accord ing to city officials. Those affected are as follows: Streets: •West Main Street •West Gordon Street (from Thurston Avenue to South Green Street) •Wilson Way/Over looks community (Reeves Terrace, Meeks Terrace, Doty Drive) •North Green Street (including Avera Estates assisted living facility) •Jackson Avenue (from West Main Street to West Gordon Street) •Thurston Avenue (from West Main Street to West Gordon Street) •West Thompson Street (from North Church Street to South Green Street) Traffic Lights: •South Green Street and West Gordon Street •South Green Street and West Main Street •North Church Street and West Main Street •North Church Street and West Thompson Street Businesses: •Speedi Lube •Ace Cleaners •Colony Bank •Saba Store •Mimbs Taxi •Twice The Ice •Cell Tower •Thomaston Prescrip tion Shop Yatesville City Council Meeting Date Change Notice Yatesville City Council meetings have been moved to the fourth Tuesday of every month with a work session scheduled the first Tuesday of every month. 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