About Pickens County progress. (Jasper, Ga.) 1899-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2022)
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 94 North Main Street Jasper, Ga. 30143 706-253-2457 www.pickensproaress.com Open for business during these hours: Mon-Thurs, 9-5, and Fri, 9-4:30 $1.00 per copy 4 8 7 9 0 8 16 3
