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MR. TED M. RUMLEY: I'm Ted Rumley 2 from Dade County, but on the proxy vote I 3 think that needs to be looked at, but I don't 4 know how it could be changed because, you 5 know, we've got a mayor in our -- that should 6 be here that will never attend the meetings. 7 He travels. And we have only one city in our 8 county, and I think that at our last regional 9 commission meeting we had a couple of mayors, 10 maybe three, that are unable to be here 11 because of health reasons. Like Keith here, 12 he's got one that we had the death of Ronnie 13 Cobb a few months ago and he's filling in for 14 him until the next election, but the mayor is 15 not really in good health that they have him 16 appointed. He can do his job with the city, 17 but as far as traveling, so I just -- I don't 18 know that we can -- how that would be 19 changed, I mean, because that's legislature. 20 That's written in stone.
We applaud Rumley for getting on the committee. We wish the mayor could make the meetings. We wish the list of projects proposed to be added was printed in the paper. There will be high pressure to vote on this tax next year. This penny sales tax is for 10 years. We are worried (though this may be unfounded) that the legislature could adjust the funding formula in the future and if passes would change how Dade gets it's funding. Right now it is a good deal for Dade. What happens in the future?
Post subject: Re: Regional TSPLOST projects due today and update.
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:16 am
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This is our future on getting our roads paved. Most folks thinks it just happens and don't understand the amount of work it takes to get funding to be able to pave our roads in this county. With limited money we can't pave one road in this county without the help of the State. This county can only afford a little "tar and gravel" and this is the ONLY way that we are gonna be able to maintain our roads. As small as Dade County seems, we have alot of miles of roads that will need attention very soon, and the "County Budget" doesn't allow for much maintaince on the Roads themselves. This is just another case of "Have To" tax, unlike the other "Want To" taxes we seem to vote for in this county all the time. Just take the time (like I have) and just look at the shape these county is getting itself into with our roads. We have at least two roads that is "Slideing Off" the Mnts....
Widening projects, bridge replacements and bypasses make up a portion of Northwest Georgia’s 10-year transportation wish list, which would go into effect if voters next year approve an extra 1 cent sales tax.
The list, released Thursday, includes 288 projects and $2.6 billion worth of funding, including $715 million for the seven counties in extreme Northwest Georgia.
It will go to the Georgia Department of Transportation for review before it is returned to regional officials for final edits. Voters can review the final list before next year’s referendum.
“It will be the best thing that ever happened to us in terms of roads and bridges,” said Ted Rumley, Dade County Commission chairman.
Dade officials asked for a new interchange on Interstate 59 that would provide a “gateway to the industrial park” north of Trenton.
The list was prepared by members of the Regional Transportation Roundtable, which includes a commissioner and one city mayor from each county. Across the region, projects range from an $800 handrail on a sidewalk in Menlo to a $237 million highway reconstruction between Rome and Rockmart.
David Kenemer, principal planner for the regional commission, said the tax is expected to generate $1.2 billion over 10 years, so not all of the projects will make the final list.
The list “gives you a dollar figure to look at,” Rumley said, though passage of the tax measure isn’t assured.
The regional commission serves 15 counties and 49 cities, the area in which the tax would be added if it is approved. Other regions across the state will vote on similar taxes.
PROJECT SPECS
The preliminary document has nine bridge replacements in Walker County, including spans on Euclid, Glass Mill and Hog Jowl roads.
Walker County Coordinator David Ashburn said all nine have been inspected and were found unsuitable for heavy traffic such as school buses, which now take different routes. The state has recommended they all be replaced, he said.
In Catoosa County, widening is in vogue, and many of the projects focus on creating better north-south routes between Cloud Springs Road and Battlefield Parkway, the main east-west routes.
Officials in Whitfield County asked for $54 million to reconstruct interchanges at the Rocky Face and Carbondale exits on Interstate 75 as well as a handful of widening projects.
Whitfield’s most-expensive widening is a $42 million expansion of Route 286 to the Murray County line. Murray County, in turn, asked for $43 million to expand the same road all the way to U.S. 411 at Eton.
But some say the list doesn’t represent what is best for all of the areas.
Rossville Vice Mayor Teddy Harris said he was shocked to see what looks like a bypass of downtown Rossville on the list.
Walker County is asking for an $18.6 million “Wilson Road Connector” running west of Rossville from Highway 2 north into Tennessee. Harris calls it a “road to nowhere” and said it could divert considerable traffic away from Rossville businesses.
“Rossville needs the 45,000 cars a day,” he said, citing traffic figures on U.S. Highway 27. “Nobody in Rossville was asked about anything. If they’re making a wish list for the next 10 years, why weren’t we involved?”
Ashburn said the connector is intended to route heavy trucks away from town.
“It’s not a Rossville bypass for the general public,” he said.
Walker County is represented on the commission by Commissioner Bebe Heiskell and LaFayette Mayor Neal Florence.
Heiskell said the route could help development on the west side of state Highway 2, which the county has been trying to grow for 20 years. She said she talked with Rossville’s mayor earlier this week to share her plans, but the word may not have gotten out to all of the city’s officials.
She said most of the improvements came straight from the county road department, but after seeing the “ambitious” lists from some other counties, she wished more would have been included.
“There’s other things we should have put on there as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
WISH LIST HIGHLIGHTS
• Most costly: $237,384,672, reconstruction and improvements to State Route 101 in Floyd County
• Least expensive: $800, sidewalk handrail on Highway 48 in Menlo
• Most-focused county: Dade County, whose sole listed project is a new $13 million interchange on Interstate 59
• Most requests over troubled bridges: Walker County wants to replace nine bridges at a cost of $16.6 million
• Getting wider: Fort Oglethorpe and Catoosa County asked for seven widening projects totaling $67.5 million
• Whale of a trail: $8.6 million to extend Pinhoti Trail from Floyd County to Lyerly in Chattooga County; $4.5 million for a trail on Simm’s Mountain in Chattoooga; $1.4 million for multi-use trails connecting to the Chickamauga Battlefield in Catoosa
• Well-rounded requests: A $1.7 million circle at Mount Carmel and Mitchell Bridge Road in Murray County and $3.9 million for a circle at Interstate 75, Highway 52 and College Drive in Whitfield
• All wet: Whitfield asked for a $145,000 access point on the Conasauga River at Old Mitchell Road and Murray County asked for a canoe ramp on County Road 23 into Mill Creek.
• Decked out: $3 million for a tri-level parking lot in Blue Ridge in Fannin County
By Andy Johns Friday, April 22, 2011 CALHOUN, Ga.—Northwest Georgia officials are discussing ways to muster support for a transportation tax that won’t be on the ballot for another year and a half.
And while they praised the levy, an added 1 percent sales tax to support road, aviation and transit projects, they admitted they face a challenge.
“It’s going to be tough, but it needs to pass in Whitfield,” said Whitfield County Commission Chairman Mike Babb, speaking after Thursday’s Northwest Georgia Regional Commission meeting. “We’ve got to address infrastructure somehow. Nobody’s been able to tell me a Plan B.”
Voters in the 15-county Northwest Georgia region will cast ballots on the tax in November 2012. Other regions in the state also will vote, but the verdict for each will be independent of others. The tax is expected to bring in about $1.2 billion in Northwest Georgia over its 10-year lifespan.
Northwest Georgia commission members discussed the importance of passing the tax in the region’s four biggest counties: Paulding, Bartow, Whitfield and Floyd.
Commission Executive Director William Steiner compared the process to a presidential election, saying that getting support for the tax in those counties would be like a candidate winning California, New York, Texas and Florida.
“Some states are going to vote against you, but when it all adds up you have more votes,” Steiner said.
Rome City Commissioner Buzz Wachsteter said he couldn’t predict which way Floyd County will go. If the economy rebounds and anti-spending feeling dissipates among voters, the tax has a chance, he said. But if the economy continues to drag, it will be an uphill battle.
“It’s the will of the people. Who can say?” he said.
Tea party leaders in Catoosa and Gilmer counties said they hadn’t explored the tax yet, but in general they didn’t like the sound of an extra tax.
“We don’t want to raise taxes when we can cut spending,” said Joyce Barrett, a tea party member from Gilmer County.
Dade County Executive Ted Rumley said some counties, including Dade, could have other 1 cent sales tax levies for education or other projects on the ballot. If that’s the case, Rumley said, voters willing to pay an extra penny might split on the two taxes so neither has majority support and both fail.
it doesn't matter how we vote. If every voter in Dade voted no and it passes it will pay. Remember Mullis sold out the counties where there is no local opt out.
Quote:
“It’s going to be a tough sale,” said Rumley, who called the transportation tax the greatest thing that could happen to Dade County’s aging infrastructure.
besides getting money for local projects, the only project Dade has right now is a new interstate exit. Now it will be up to a legislative committee to approve the projects that the NW region has suggested be on there.
Quote:
The county leaders won’t be alone in trying to push the tax. Steiner said the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is planning a marketing campaign to sway voters.
The Chamber announced this week the creation of its Georgia Transportation Alliance to push the tax.
I can't wait to see Debbie and the Chamber holding up signs to vote for the tax...lol
Quote:
Joselyn Baker, a spokeswoman for the Chamber, said the list of projects probably will be the biggest factor for voters and the alliance will point out the benefits of those projects.
“Obviously, there will be some messages that are statewide and some that will be local,” Baker said Thursday.
The first draft of the project list includes $2.6 billion in requests, ranging from an $800 handrail for a Chattooga County sidewalk to a $600 million highway improvement project in Floyd County.
Post subject: Re: Regional TSPLOST projects due today and update.
Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 1:12 pm
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I can't imagine Dade County residents voting to increase their own taxes at a time like this for something nobody thinks is that important. However, since "maglev" wrote the law making us part of a REGIONAL TSPLOST then we could vote NO and if enough other counties voted YES we'd still end up paying as I understand it.
_________________ Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. .. those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. C.S. Lewis
Post subject: Re: Regional TSPLOST projects due today and update.
Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 8:25 pm
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 8:34 pm Posts: 369 Location: Rising Fawn, GA
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Or, it's a 14% tax increase, is another way.
_________________ Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. .. those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. C.S. Lewis
Post subject: Re: Regional TSPLOST projects due today and update.
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:58 am
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Looks like a $25 million dollar interchange just North of Trenton is still on the list. The round table will meet next Tuesday and vote on a finalized project list. I spoke with Rumley a couple of weeks ago and he said if this tax passes it would mean about $750k a year to the county to spend how it wants. He said they could lower the millage rate. http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_s ... =home_news
Quote:
Transportation committee fine-tuning regional T-SPLOST list by Diane Wagner, Staff Writer 07.28.11 - 06:49 am Members of the Northwest Georgia Regional Transportation Committee plan to meet in Rome again Tuesday to finalize a package of projects they’ll recommend for funding through a 1-cent sales tax.
To see a report about the original draft click here.
A four-hour session Wednesday with State Planner Todd Long produced a more accurate estimate of the costs of projects chosen earlier this month as priorities. The group — representing 15 counties including Floyd — will take a week to confer with their local officials before rounding out the list.
“We’re looking at the project distribution. We’re going to owe some more to Walker, Haralson, Bartow and maybe Paulding counties,” said the executive committee chairman, Paulding County Commission Chairman David Austin.
If voters approve the T‑SPLOST in 2012, the region is expected to raise more than $1.4 billion during the 10-year collection period.
About $1.1 billion would be earmarked for the package, by state law, with the remaining revenue shared among the jurisdictions for smaller local projects.
Long committed state and federal funding to proposed projects that fit with his statewide transportation plan — allowing the committee to add more projects Wednesday.
Members easily agreed to 11 more projects for Whitfield County, which had been slated to generate nearly three times as much sales tax as it would receive.
“We’re cooking with gas, now,” said Whitfield County Commission Chairman Mike Babb.
Floyd County Commission Chairman Eddie Lumsden said Floyd’s project list is roughly equal to the amount that would come from local retailers “so far.”
The package is expected to be tweaked at least one more time, after Long’s office provides a timeline for construction of the selected projects.
Costs also will change slightly, as the inflation rate is factored in.
“You can’t build them all in the first year,” Long told the committee.
The committee has to get its recommended package before the full roundtable — made up of a mayor and commission chair from each county — for approval by Aug. 15. Local presentations and public outreach efforts are expected to follow.
The focus at this stage is on ensuring the projects will net backing from a majority of voters.
Long urged the members to view the projects as regional connections, but most were counting up the local benefits to determine how to sell the T-SPLOST package to their constituents.
“I know you want us to see these on a map without county lines, but when you go out for the vote, that’s what you’ve got to think about,” said Bartow County Sole Commissioner Clarence Brown.
The widening of Ga. 140 from Martha Berry Highway to Interstate 75, however, is an example of a project that crosses county lines. Half is in Bartow, half is in Floyd, and Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Jason Winters lists it as a top priority for drivers in his county.
Long said the state already has engineering and right-of-way buys scheduled for parts of the project and would pay 80 percent of the construction cost as well.
That means the entire length of the road could be widened with a $90 million earmark in the T-SPLOST, instead of the $216.5 million initially included in the draft.
Floyd and Polk counties also share an interest in rebuilding Ga. 101. The two counties are each asking for $100 million in T-SPLOST funding for the improvements.
Tuesday’s meeting will be held at 9 a.m. the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission office on Jackson Hill.
Northwest Georgia T-SPLOST: Draft No. 2
Note: Amounts listed are the estimated regional T-SPLOST funds needed to complete the projects. Estimated costs, including T‑SPLOST money and state and federal allocations, are in parentheses. Not all projects will require those additional allocations.
Floyd County: Reconstruction of Ga. 101 to Polk County line, $100 million; Southeast Rome Bypass, $23 million ($46 million); Ga. 140 widening from U.S. 27 to Ga. 53 $80 million.
Bartow County: Douthit Ferry Road improvements, $7.5 million ($15 million); Relocation of Ga. 20 from I-75 to Ga. 61/U.S. 411, $3 million ($14.6 million); Ga. 140 widening from Ga. 53 in Floyd County to U.S. 41, $9.5 million ($47.7 million); U.S. 411 Connector, $73 million ($146 million).
Chattooga County: Taliaferro Springs Road bridge replacement, $3 million; sidewalk construction and repairs (4 projects), $1.6 million; Ga. 48 passing lanes, $1.85 million ($3.7 million).
Gordon County: North Wall Street improvements, $1.4 million; South Calhoun Bypass, $17.5 million ($35 million); Ga. 3/U.S. 41 widening, $24 million; Ga. 53 widening, $14.5 million.
Polk County: Marquette Road improvements, $6.3 million; Reconstruction of Ga. 101 to Floyd County line, $100 million.
Walker County: Chattanooga and Chickamauga Railway line, $3.2 million; Glass Mill Road bridge, $2.1 million; Wilson Road Connector to Tennessee state line, $20 million.
Catoosa County: Dietz Road widening, $5.3 million ($10.6 million); Mack Smith Road widening and enhancements, $20 million; Ga. 151 passing lanes, $10 million.
Dade County: New interchange on Interstate 59 North, $25 million.
Whitfield County: Airport Road improvements, $3.6 million; Dawnville Road widening, $17.9 million; East Morris Street improvements, $7 million; Glenwood Avenue, Hawthorne Street and Tyler Street turn lanes, $2.9 million; Hill Road improvements, $5 million; I-75 ramp improvements, $1.7 million; I-75 interchange reconstruction, $5 million ($24 million); I-75 roundabout, $1 million; Ga. 2 improvements, $17 million; Ga. 201 at Ga. 2 intersection improvements, $1 million; Ga. 201 realignment at U.S. 41, $4.6 million; Ga. 201 widening, $18.5 million; Ga. 71 widening, $20 million; Underwood Road improvements, $2.8 million; Veterans Drive extension, $9.5 million.
Paulding County: Macland Road widening, $22.5 million ($45 million); Ga. 61 improvements, $18.7 million; U.S. 278 widening, $37.9 million.
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