1/6/2015 Administrator’s Report

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Sales Tax Revenue: The Gordon County sales tax collections for December 2014 increased $13,936.81 (2.72%) for the LOST and increased $22,404.20 (3.07%) for the SPLOST. The positive collections received during December contributed to a cumulative fiscal year increase of $113,480.60 (4.52%) LOST revenue and an increase of $164,828.71 (4.63%) SPLOST revenue through December 2014.

Red Bud Fire Station: The construction contract between Gordon County and Calhoun Commercial Construction was received and determined to be acceptable by the County Attorney. This document is presented to the Commission for approval.
Parking Deck Construction: The parking deck continues on schedule despite recent inclement weather. The contractor noticed unsuitable soils while excavating for the footing on the northwest corner. Based on the guidance from Contour, environmental consultants, approximately 3’0″ of excess dirt in the continuous footing and 5’6″ in the pier footing were removed. The footings were backfilled with rock to the bottom of footing elevation. The contractor also encountered a number of storm lines running through the deeper plane of the footing and is investigating these drains to determine if the lines are active or abandoned.
George Chambers: Jack Killian and Mary Barclay are finalizing the details necessary to prepare the final bid documents. We expect this step to be complete later this month.

Gordon County Fire Department: Doug Ralston has accepted an offer to serve as Gordon County Fire Chief following the retirement of Dave Hawkins. The offer was effective on Wednesday, December 17th 2014.
Freeport Exemption: On December 17, 2014, Commissioner Steward, Jim Ledbetter, Al Leonard, and John King met with Superintendent Remillard and her Financial Director, Mendy Goble, to discuss accelerating the Freeport tax exemption. Economic growth was discussed in consideration of the educational impact. The Superintendent advised us that a 20% Freeport increase would necessitate an additional furlough day for employees of the Gordon County Board of Education. Pending anticipated growth of the tax digest, all parties expect a decreased impact in the future on the county schools. The Superintendent indicated her support of ongoing dialogue.
Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA): On Monday January 5, 2015, officials from the State of Georgia met with the county staff and local land owners to discuss the administration of state CUVA law. This meeting was hosted by State Representative John Meadows and allowed an open exchange of information between state law makers and local citizens. The meeting was considered productive and an excellent opportunity for land owners to receive answers to the questions regarding CUVA administration.