SPLOST Committee Finalizes Recommendations

Friday, November 10^th, 2023

The SPLOST Citizens Advisory Committee met for the final time Thursday night at the Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library and finalized its recommendations for projects to include in a potential May 2024 ballot referendum for a continuation of the special purpose local option sales tax.

The committee is comprised by residents appointed by the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners and the City Councils of Dalton, Varnell, Tunnel Hill, and Cohutta. Over the past six weeks, the committee has met weekly to review project requests from Dalton and Whitfield County leaders and determine which projects best merit inclusion in the SPLOST initiative. The current 1% SPLOST was approved by voters in 2020 and will sunset next October. If voters approve the May ballot initiative, the tax would continue.

At last week’s meeting, the committee voted to recommend a four-year term for the potential SPLOST and a projected budget of approximately $80 million. After that meeting, the committee members asked Dalton and Whitfield County to present a prioritized list of their project requests. Both governments presented those lists Thursday, some with lower price tags than the original requests after department leaders streamlined some projects. For example, the Whitfield County Emergency Management Agency originally requested funds to replace handheld radio unit replacements for public safety agencies. Thursday night, Dalton and Whitfield County instead requested projects funds that would allow each agency to prioritize and replace the radios they need. That adjustment trimmed approximately $300,000 from the request.

“I’m putting a lot of weight into their due diligence and their process of prioritizing these, but we aren’t here to rubber stamp it, either,” said Chris Shiflett, the committee’s chairman. “We need to discuss it and make sure that we feel like it’s a good list.”

During the discussion of the project requests, the committee did vote to move two projects from a lower priority into the City of Dalton’s final project list. Those projects were sidewalk improvements around Dalton schools and also the East Morris Street corridor improvement and beautification project.

The committee then voted unanimously to recommend the following projects for the SPLOST list (the City of Dalton and Whitfield County each received a portion of the $80 million based on their percentage of the total population of the county):

City of Dalton:

• Dalton Fire Department – 100 foot aerial ladder truck – $2.6 million – this would replace the department’s current primary ladder truck which is scheduled to become a reserve apparatus based on its planned lifespan
• Dalton Police Department – Patrol vehicle replacements - $2.2 million – the department plans to replace 32 vehicles in its fleet based on their planned lifespan during the four year term of the SPLOST
• Public Works/Infrastructure – Underwood Street Bridge Replacement - $4 million – This will replace a bridge span on Underwood Street that has been load-limited by the state department of transportation
• Parks and Recreation – Mill Line Trail Extension - $3 million – this would fund a portion of the Mill Line Trail project to link the end of the Mill Creek trail section with downtown Dalton
• Public Works/Infrastructure – Street Resurfacing Program - $5 million – this would fund portions of the City’s road resurfacing program
• Public Safety – Radio Replacements - $1.5 million – This would replace radios used by first responder agencies which are nearing the end of their serviceable lifetime. The manufacturer will no longer repair and replace units after that span.
• Public Works/Infrastructure – North Thornton Avenue Sidewalk - $1.75 million – this project would create a sidewalk connection along Thornton between Tyler and Bryan Street to safeguard pedestrians trying to access the hospital, and public outreaches.
• Parks and Recreation – Heritage Point Park Improvements - $3 million – this would build a vehicle and pedestrian bridge to unite the soccer and baseball/softball complexes as well as create a pass-through from Dalton Junior High School to City Park Elementary as well as fund lighting and other park improvements.
• Public Works/Infrastructure – Stormwater Improvement Projects - $1.1 million – the City is continuing work on stormwater management with a list of 30 projects as part of its flood abatement plan and this funding would assist with that effort
• Public Works/Infrastructure – East Morris Street Corridor Improvements - $2 million – this would create sidewalk connections that unite existing sidewalks along Morris as well as create public art and beautification in the area similar to the improvements along “Block 79”
• Public Works/Infrastructure – Sidewalk Improvements Around School Areas - $650,000 – this would create sidewalk connections near Dalton schools to safeguard students who walk to school in “parent responsibility zones”

Whitfield County –

• County Jail – HVAC - $750,000 – this would repair more than 30 heating and air units in the jail that have become unreliable and have forced closing of different jail pods
• County Jail – Security Hardware - $350,000 – this would fund safety and security improvements at the jail.
• Sheriff’s Office - Training Center - $51,000 – this would fund repairs to equipment at the firing range used by both the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and also municipal agencies
• Sheriff’s Office – Police Vehicle Data Terminals - $462,000 – this would fund installation of computers in Sheriff’s Office vehicles which improve deputies’ ability to access critical information and also work in the field
• Sheriff’s Office – Patrol Vehicles and Equipment – 1.37 million – this will fund the purchase of 25 patrol vehicles to replace aging fleet vehicles as well as outfitting them with police patrol equipment.
• Whitfield County Fire Department – New Pumper Trucks - $3.4 million – this would fund the purchase of four new pumper trucks for the fire department to replace aging equipment nearing the end of lifespans
• Whitfield County Fire Department – Training Building Replacement - $1.4 million – this would fund the replacement of the department’s burn building which has reached the end of its service and is becoming unsafe for training
• Whitfield County Fire Department – Breathing Apparatus Replacement - $1.6 million – this would replacement the department’s stock of self-contained breathing apparatus with newer units which can better be cleaned and serviced for firefighter safety
• Whitfield County Fire Department – Renovations to Fire Stations - $550,000 – needed renovations to WCFD stations include addition of female restrooms as well as new roof replacements at Stations 7-10.
• Public Safety – Radio Replacements - $3 million - this would replace radios used by first responder agencies which are nearing the end of their serviceable lifetime. The manufacturer will no longer repair and replace units after that span.
• Emergency Management Agency – Storage Building - $85,000 – this would create a storage building/shelter for EMA equipment including the Mobile Command Vehicle which is currently parked outside in the elements. Repairs have been needed due to weather exposure
• Parks and Recreation – Westside Park Improvements – $4.05 million - this would fund improvements to the park including a community center, parking lot improvements and other work. Currently, there are only two gyms in the county recreation system for play and residents in the western part of the county have to drive to the north end or south end to reach them
• Parks and Recreation – Edwards Park Improvements - $2.25 million – this would fund improvements to the park including lighting for parking areas and walking trails and fence repairs
• Parks and Recreation - Rocky Face Ridge Park Veterans Memorial - $150,000 – this would create a memorial for veterans at the park
• Parks and Recreation – Prater’s Mill Park Renovations - $478,000 – this would fund repairs and improvements to the park including permanent restroom facilities that would make the park more useful on a year-round basis for event rentals such as weddings
• Public Works – Road Projects - $12.2 million – this would fund improvements at the Reed Road/Rauschenberg Road intersection, a flood relief project along Cleveland Highway and Gillum Drive to improve drainage and reduce flooding concerns, improvements at the intersection of Old Lafayette/Houston Valley Road and SR 201, and improvements at the intersection of South Dixie Highway and Brickyard Road
• Public Works – Bridges and Culverts - $6.5 million – this would fund maintenance, repair, and improvements to bridges and culverts in the county
• Public Works – Paving - $10 million – this would pave approximately 1/10^th of the road mileage in the county as part of the county’s road resurfacing program
• Public Works – Equipment and Vehicles - $3 million – this would fund replacement of aging vehicles and equipment in the department’s fleet

The committee had voted previously not to recommend projects for the cities of Varnell and Tunnel Hill and the town of Cohutta because their allocations are relatively small compared to Dalton and Whitfield County. Instead, their elected officials will choose their own projects for inclusion.

The committee will now send their recommendations to the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners and City of Dalton Mayor and Council who will determined the final selection of projects for inclusion on the ballot. The SPLOST measure will be on the ballot for the May 21^st primary election.