About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2022)
6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, March 23,2022 Top takeaways from the BOC’s March 17 meetings Dawson County News The Dawson County Library was built in 2001. It is located at 342 Allen Street in Dawsonville. By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com Everything from poten tial library updates to trash improvements came up on the agenda when the Dawson County Board of Commissioners met for their March 17 work and voting sessions. Here are the biggest takeaways from both of the meetings: Proposed library updates Chestatee Regional Library System Director Leslie Clark and Operations Specialist Michael Middleton spoke to the commissioners about much-needed improvements to the library building in down town Dawsonville. The Dawson County Library was built in 2001. In 2020, library system headquarters staff moved into the new library facili ty in Lumpkin County, leaving multiple Dawsonville offices vacant. Clark introduced the following renovations and additions: Storytime room; This space would be made by repurposing a former administrative office. There is a wall which used to contain a large television. Most of the structures for that can be removed easily, but extra considerations would have to be taken since the wall is load-bearing. Dedicated teen space; Clark said this is “espe cially needed” given patron usage of the library. A block wall behind some computers would be cut down to open up space for the teen/adult areas. She sug gested that teen-friendly furniture such as two-per son study carrels, individ ual laptop chairs or single tables be purchased. Community meeting space; This space would also be made by repur posing a former admin office and would serve as a preferable space for passive programming or test proctoring. A wall that’s currently shared with a storage room would be taken down to create a larger space. Better lighting would be placed near the space so it could be seen from the adjacent admin hallway. Branch manager’s office; This room would take up part of the current storage room’s space. The library system wants to add a wall and 36-inch door, making it the branch manager’s office. Storage would move into the empty office next to the children’s storytime room. Study room; The space would be made out of the current branch manager’s office. Technology would be added, and better light ing would be placed near there as well. Staff workroom; The library wants to close in the two case openings into the workroom and put in doors to help pre vent patrons wandering into the area. Storage and story time prep; Those supplies and functions would be moved into a room next to where the new story time room will be. The new storage room will share a door with the sto rytime room, so it will be easier to do crafts and things there after kids’ programs. Remove six feet of curb from the loading dock and install a ramp; This would make it easier to perform multiple func tions outside of the build ing, as space is currently limited there now. Replace all carpeting and fresh coat of paint Clark requested that the board allow the library system to obtain pricing information so that they know how to proceed in terms of funding the sug gested changes. Once the library system knows the specific funding option or options, a representative will come before the BOC again to request permission to apply for those monies. Trash changes Previously, Public Works Director Denise Parr came before the board and spoke about issues like the faltering chute or secondary struc ture at the transfer station. In early March, that struc ture was removed due to issues with it pulling away from the building’s foundation and a notice able gap between the foundation and push plates. After removal, no visual impairment was noticed with the founda tion. Commissioners contin ued the nuanced discus sion on trash concerns at the county’s transfer sta tion. They approved a motion to allow accep tance of garbage, whether it’s household or com mercial, contingent on someone being able to hand-unload it from their vehicle without the need of mechanical assistance. Concrete or masonry products will not be accepted. The commis sioners will revisit this matter in 90 days. Puture considerations will also need to be made for leachate, otherwise known as “garbage juic es” from primarily resi dential trash. Right now, there’s not really a way for those liquids to be contained, Parr said. Per environmental regula tions, the leachate cannot be allowed to seep into groundwater or the stream about 550 feet from the transfer station, which harbors an endan gered species of fish. Likewise, another rele vant issue is containing trash within facility walls, especially when there’s a backlog due to factors like packing equipment failing. Addressing dust, associated odors and insect and rodent crea tures was also mentioned. Extra park bathroom Parks and Recreation Director Matt Payne dis cussed the need for a bathroom closer to Rock Creek Park’s popular splash pad. Currently, parents have to leave the splash pad and go across the parking lot when one of their children needs to use a restroom. Pacilities Director James Tolbert added that there’s also a need for a proximate bathroom given the playground on the park’s premises. A bid invite was released at the end of January for a restroom next to the splash pad. Only one bid was received to build a pro posed block building with electrical and plumbing, one toilet and urinal and no air condi tioning (but it would have a heater). The sole bid was for $169,883, with $129,374 from SPLOST VI funds and $40,509 from impact fee funds. Commissioners dis cussed whether that price may be in part due to contractors wanting to do bigger jobs and supply chain strains. “There must be a good bit of gold incorporated in this somewhere,” quipped District 1 Commissioner Sharon Pausett. District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines understood the need for a restroom, hav ing three young kids himself. “But I’m also responsi ble for taxpayer money, and I have super hard time spending that [kind of] money when it’s not an emergency,” he said. District 4 Commissioner Emory Dooley wondered if there were any nearby con struction projects at the park that the bathroom could be tied into, and Payne replied that to his knowledge, the SPLOST projects were already too far along for that to be feasible, on top of their distance from the splash pad. Dooley also suggested placing a nicer version of a port-a-john by the splash pad, but Gaines mentioned that that could carry ADA-related challenges in terms of access. 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