County Commission Decides to Extend Recreation Facility Grant

By JACK BAGLEY
The Meriwether County Commission last week decided to move forward with a plan for a recreation facility and put another decision on recreation issues off until the May 5 meeting to get more information.
A discussion which began at the April 7 meeting about a planned recreation facility near Greenville was continued at the April 22 meeting, with the Commissioners discussing the $200,000 grant applied for in 2022. The grant required an equal match from the county and a proposal had been submitted for the use of the grant, but nothing further has been done. County Clerk Allyson Stephens said she had checked on the grant to learn what could be changed, and she told the Board that the grant could be used in phases, it can be extended, but the location of the facility cannot be changed.
County Administrator John Gorton noted that the deadline for a decision on the grant would be the next week, and the Commissioners discussed the best way to use the grant money. Commissioner Bryan Threadgill noted that in the years since the initial grant application, the cost of what was originally planned had soared to over one million dollars, and the approach to doing the project in stages – which would allow for extending the grant – was approved. The county will also submit an amended scope of the work.
On the topic of recreation, the discussion from April 7th about background checks was continued. The Board learned that the Meriwether County Sheriff’s Department can do background checks for $10 per person but, Gorton said, did not have the capability of doing a work-with-youth component. The Woodbury Police Department can do the checks for $5 per person and can do the work-with-youth, but it was pointed out that a city can only go through the Georgia Crime Information Center, while the Sheriff’s Department can use the National Crime Information Center. Commissioner Jennifer Snelson said she would prefer to have the Sheriff’s Department handle the background checks rather than any city doing so. The Commission voted to table the question to May 5 to discuss the matter further with the Sheriff’s Department.
The Commissioners discussed plumbing repairs at the Meriwether County Jail kitchen. A total of $25,000 had been approved for the work on the kitchen, but the two bids which came in were far in excess of the approved amount. The Board voted to work with MaxAir to provide work on the plumbing for the kitchen at a cost not to exceed $75,000, and to coordinate with the Jail staff about preparing inmate meals off-site and transporting them to the Jail.
In other business, the Meriwether County Commission:
• Tabled an appointment to the Pine Mountain Regional Library Board;
• Approved allowing the Chairman or Vice Chairman to sign the Fiscal Year 2025 Tire Products Grant Project;
• Approved allowing the Chairman or Vice Chairman to sign an agreement with the city of Lone Oak for the fire station lease upon receipt of a certified copy;
• Approved the 2025 contact form with ACCG Interlocal Risk Management Agency Property and Liability Program;
• Tabled discussion of the 2025-2026 insurance renewal to May 5 to allow the Board to discuss aspects of a presentation from NFP made earlier in the meeting;
• Approved the purchase of culvert pipes for selected roads in the county not to exceed $75,000; and
• Approved a memorandum of understanding for Project Hummingbird with the city of Hogansville.
The next regular meeting of the Meriwether County Commission will be Monday, May 5, at 6:00 p.m.