Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, June 9, 2022 | Volume 135 Number 8 | Jasper, Georgia | 22 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1-00
Bid shocker for wastewater
Sewage expansion cost more than double what Jasper expected
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
City leaders are scrambling to submit an appli
cation to the U.S.D.A. for more funding after bids
for the wastewater treatment expansion project
came in over $10 million above the anticipated
amount.
“The cost of materials are unbelievable,” said
Jasper’s Assistant City Manager Kim Goldener
following the council meeting Monday, June 6.
“Everything has gone up in price so much. That,
and availability is also impacted. It’s unreal.”
The expansion project will increase the city’s
wastewater treatment capacity from 780,000 gal
lons a day to 1.56 million gallons a day. Jasper’s
Water Superintendent David Hall has said this ex
pansion is crucial for economic development with
the city nearing treatment capacity, coupled with
a surge in new residential growth. The project has
been in the works since 2016, with recent setbacks
due to holdups with the EPD and the pandemic.
The city had $7,725 million in funding secured
for the project from the U.S.D.A. through a com
bination of grants and a Rural Development loan.
Goldener, speaking at the meeting, told council
the project was bid in two sections. One for the
plant expansion, and the other for relocation of a
16-inch main that will leave the plant and travel
to the new outfall on Long Swamp Creek. Low
bidder for the expansion was Reeves Young out
of Sugar Hill, Ga. for $14,051 million. Low bid
der for the outfall main was T. Stanco for $3,198
million.
“Unfortunately the bids came back higher than
anyone was anticipating,” she said. “But it’s a
needed project. We must do this work...We do
need to go to U.S.D.A. and ask for additional
funding.”
At the meeting, council reallocated $742,000
in American Rescue Plan Act funding to go to
wards the expansion project and help offset costs,
but several more million dollars are still needed.
“We need to get that application in as soon as
possible,” Goldener said. “[Interest rates are ex
pected to change] through the U.S.D.A. They are
currently 1.5 percent for interest and they are an
ticipating going up July 1. We don’t know how
much, but when you’re talking about $11 million
any kind of percentage increase is going to be
substantial.”
Goldener and others have been feverishly
working on the application to get it ready to sub
mit.
“We are ready to apply tomorrow, as long as
this resolution is signed,” she told council.
The resolution is a contingent award of con
tracts to low bidders dependent on the U.S.D.A.’s
approval. The U.S.D.A. needs to evaluate the re
quest for funding and approve the contracts to the
low bidders.
“The lion’s share of what we’re having to do
now is updating all of our financials,” Goldener
said. “We’re asking for additional money so we
need to relook at our operating budgets.. .and then
also take a look at the development that’s coming
into the area, relook at the number of connections
we anticipate we’ll have in the future. All things
so that U.S.D.A. See Wastewater Costs on 11A
Aquatic diversity
in southeast
unrivalled in
temperate
climates
By Alex Goble
Staff Writer
agoble@pickensprogress.com
Researchers from the
Tennessee Aquarium Con
servation Institute were in
vestigating Long Swamp
Creek, south of Cove Road,
for the Etowah bridled
darter last week.
The bridled darter, found
in the Conasauga and
Etowah rivers, was de
scribed as a unique species
about 15 years ago. Then,
just earlier this year, the
species from the Etowah
River was found to be a dis
tinct species. It’s called the
Etowah bridled darter and
its scientific name is percina
freemanorum, after two
long-term ichthyologists
(fish scientists) at UGA.
The Etowah bridled
darter is found here in Long
Swamp Creek, Amicolola
Creek, and the headwaters
of the Etowah (the upper
part by the national forest).
They can also be found in
waterways farther west,
such as Talking Rock Creek,
but are almost gone from
those.
“We didn’t think we’d
get many here because
Georgia DNR did a survey
about eight or nine years ago
and they only found one
here snorkeling, which is the
preferred method to get
these things, but we col
lected 17 yesterday,” said
Bemie Kuhajda, the aquatic
conservation biologist head
ing the team. “So either
we’re really good, or the fish
population has improved a
little over the last eight
years.
Collecting Etowah bri
dled darters is no easy feat.
According to Kuhajda, a lot
of fish swim midwater and
all you have to do is splash
in front of a net that you’re
holding, they go in, you lift
photos/Kim Goldener and Alex Goble
Interns from Mississippi State University, Arkansas Tech University, and Thomas
More University assisted the Tennessee Aquarium with its research here.
and get 20 or 30. Darters are
a little harder. They stay in
the riffles - the shallower,
faster moving sections of a
stream - where the water is
bubbling over the rocks and
these fish sit right on the
bottom. To capture them you
set the net below, gently
kick the rocks, then lift and
you get a whole bunch.
Darters sit on the bottom
because most darters don’t
have swim bladders.
They’re darting around, hav
ing to swim constantly.
When they stop swimming,
See Darter Search on 11A
County eyes recycling
center for west end
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
It’s not in the budget for
this year, but county leaders
are in the beginning phases
of developing a new recy
cling center in west Pickens,
with the search for an appro
priate piece of land under
way.
“The difficult thing is
figuring out the place where
most people are going to uti
lize it,” said Pickens Com
mission Chair Kris Stancil.
“Historically, I think people
think of west Pickens as
Hinton and the Jerusalem
area, but there’s northwest
Pickens, and southwest near
[Hwy.] 108 as well.”
Stancil and Pickens
County Recycling Director
Kenny Woodard said the
new center will be modeled
after the one that’s already
in east Pickens off Cove
Road in the Big Canoe area.
Both see a need to bring the
service to residents in the
west end of the county.
“With the growth we’re
going to need it,” Woodard
said. “Just since I came on
board at the first of last year
we’ve doubled the amount
of recycling and household
trash that we’re taking in.”
Woodard also said peo
ple who come to the
county’s new central recy
cling center off Highway
515 have requested a facility
in that area.
“They have to come a
long way to the main center,
and some people don’t want
to cross 515,” he said.
Woodward also antici
pates people from Gordon
and Gilmer counties will
utilize the west end facility
and bring additional cus
tomer base. The main facil
ity draws customers from
Gilmer, Blue Ridge, Chero
kee, and Dawson counties.
The first hurdle is finding
suitable property that’s the
right size, in an easily-ac-
cessible location, and in
budget - the latter of which
hasn’t been hammered out
yet.
“It’s not in the budget for
this year,” Stancil said, “but
I want to look at that for
2023. And, of course, now is
not the best time to buy
property with the housing
market the way it is.”
The recycling director re
cently met with owners of a
potential piece of property,
but the price was too high
and the owners wanted to
lease and not sell the parcel.
The county would rather
purchase a parcel outright
than enter into a long term
lease, which is the case with
the east end recycling cen
ter. The center will also need
to be manned, which will
add staff and operating ex
penses.
The county will pursue
grants as well to fund the
project.
In terms of size of the
property, Stancil thinks they
can get by with between 1-2
acres. Woodard said there
have been discussions about
a possible park on the same
parcel, possibly four to five
See West Recycling on 11A
“It may not be snorkeling a coral reef, but it’s amazing when you put your face in
that water, everything you can see,” Bernie Kuhajda, aquatic conservation biologist.
Rainbow over Jasper
Residents may have spotted a rainbow Monday evening, as occasional sprinkles mixed
with sun created conditions for the optic phenomenon. The photo here is from Tim and
Cindy Lau looking east to Jasper from the school offices on D.B. Carroll Street.
There is plenty of science as to why the colors are produced, butfor this one we ’ll just
consider it a good sign a pleasant summer vacation is in store.
Education
School board
discusses
campus
cleanliness
Page10A
Sports
AM Lawson-Trippe
selected as
Goalball
Ambassador
Page 7B
Obituaries - 9A
Dottie Cagle
Edith Evans
Faye Evans
Robert Evans
Thelma Sheehan
Contact Us
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Jasper, Ga. 30143
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