Building SPLOST VIII: County reports $30.2M for facilities
Nov. 26—VALDOSTA — Lowndes County officials reported $30,174,932 has been allocated for SPLOST VIII facilities, adding another $2 million from SPLOST VII for the historic courthouse renovation project for a total of $11 million.
During the Lowndes County Commission mid-year update earlier this month, Stephanie Black, county finance director, told commissioners that the Fiscal Year 2022 unaudited SPLOST VIII fund compiled $28,847,936 in taxes and other miscellaneous funds.
Reported public works expenditures totaled $21,209,753 against a $22,500,000 budget.
With a surplus of $7,638,182, the ending 2022 fund balance amounts to $19,924,345. Black said "a lot of that is being built up in anticipation of the draws needed for the courthouse construction."
Chad McLeod, director of county engineering services, presented SPLOST VII project updates to the commissioners and reported that contractors Gladwin Vaughn Architecture, Allstate Construction and Cauthan Construction companies, are 90% complete with the MEP rough-in, which is when mechanical, electrical and plumbing lines are brought in, the framing is up and the rough-in stage of construction starts.
The county has been overseeing the revitalization of the courthouse since August 2018 with plans of using the building as a regional welcoming center, travel hub for visitors, as well as housing multiple public agencies such as Valdosta Main Street.
One floor will remain a courtroom for weddings and other events.
Construction on the third floor is wrapping up, and work on the roof is projected to begin in December.
The next largest cluster of SPLOST VIII monies will be funneled to the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Association, totaling $9,574,932.
The VLPRA projects are: — North Lowndes Baseball/Softball Complex-Project, which kicked off Oct. 27. — North Lowndes trail network. — South Lowndes lighting of the soccer fields, Lights have been ordered. — South Lowndes ball fields fence replacement. — South Lowndes gym new HVAC system. — South Lowndes repairs and painting. — Snake Nation Park playground equipment. — Miscellaneous repairs and painting at various parks.
According to McLeod, the North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex Phase II, another VLPRA park, is allocated for $3,700,000.
"The Soccer Complex Phase II includes adding all value engineered items that were removed during the planning phase and during bidding of the most recent project. The major items include lighting all eight fields, constructing the maintenance building, paving the parking area, and adding playground equipment and field amenities," he said.
Championship field score box flooring, wire for the scoreboard, picnic tables and trash cans are being installed. Lighting, parking lot paving and striping are complete.
The planned county animal shelter proposed a similar budget of $3,000,000, but included an additional $800,000 from SPLOST VII funds for a total of $3,800,000. Programming is complete and the facility plans are 75% complete. The engineering staff met with McCall Architecture and is getting real-time estimates on the current design.
The last project with a price tag in the millions is the planned senior citizens center, with new construction at a location to be determined. The center is planned to be approximately the same size as the Senior Citizens Center on Park Avenue which is 16,141 square feet.
Other smaller-scale projects include the record storage project, a facility that will give the county clean and easy access for record storage that has a budget for $375,000.
Engineering staff has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture on the possibility of constructing a new building for the USDA based on its space requirements. Once a new building is constructed for USDA, staff will remodel to make the existing USDA building the records storage facility.
The county is working with the USDA on a lease proposal.
The 911 Center project gets a similar allocation of $350,000 and includes interior renovations of four offices in the administration part of the building and a metal storage building.
The $300,000 Clyattville Community Center project includes construction of a new community center in Clyattville such as the recent community center constructed in Naylor. The construction documents are complete. The project is out for bid and bids will be opened Dec. 1.
The county portion of the Southside Library renovations currently totals $175,000 and the new foundation and framing are 95% complete.
The library board is adding funding to the amount that Lowndes County has in SPLOST. The library board is requesting funding from the Board of Regents for additional funding for the project.
Funding includes:
Lowndes County: $175,000.
Library board: $400,000.
State Capital Outlay Grant: $1,000,000.
Fundraising: $500,000.
McLeod also reported these projects were completed: — Lowndes County Sheriff's Office Firing Range Pavilion: $250,000. — The Carnegie Library: $150,000. — South Georgia Regional Commission Property Acquisition: $250,000. — Fire Station 5 EMS Addition: $550,000.
