The Liberty County Board of Commissioners met Thursday evening to discuss the allocation of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds and to receive updates from T.R. Long Engineering about ongoing projects throughout the county.
County Administrator Joey Brown informed the board that eight entities had applied for SPLOST historical and cultural funds, which are reserved for qualifying organizations. Divvying up the remaining $31,718.80 evenly would net each organization $3,964.85.
“We’ve reviewed all of the proposals, and they all meet our criteria,” Chairman Donald Lovette said.
The agencies that applied for the SPLOST funds are the Liberty County Historical Society, the Midway Museum, Seabrook Village, the Dorchester Improvement Association, the Dorchester Civic Center Inc., the Hinesville Downtown Development Authority, the Geechee Kunda Cultural Arts Center and the LeConte-Woodmanston Foundation.
The board approved the motion to award the remaining SPLOST historical and cultural funds evenly among the eight applicants.
“I’ve had the opportunity to visit a lot of these places and to see the work that they’re actually doing with the tax money,” Commissioner Marion Stevens said.
“I think it’s good that we can support these agencies and programs,” Commissioner Gary Gilliard added. “I think this shows that there is a need, and I’m excited that we’re able to fill that need.”
The board also received a status report on various Liberty County projects, delivered by Whit Russell of T. R. Long Engineering. Highlights from the report included:
• Asphalt pavement has been installed on Brights Lake Road. Some grading of ditches and driveways has yet to be completed. Though the contract end date is May 22, the project has been granted some rain days.
• A storm-drain system has been installed in the Courthouse Annex parking lot, and concrete work is progressing. Conduits are being installed, and power lines and other utilities have been relocated.
• Drainage work for the Olive and Madison streets improvement project has been completed. Work is under way to restore the condition of residential lawns. Some erosion-control measures were not properly installed, causing the measures to fail around some junction boxes and pipe outlets during recent rainfall. These measures have been properly re-installed, and a notice of violation has been issued to the contractor.
• Preparation of the bridge plan for Barrington Ferry Road is progressing well. A hydrology study, which will set the deck elevation of the bridge, is being prepared to meet Georgia Department of Transportation requirements. Once the elevation is established, the roadway improvements can be let for bidding.
• A revised layout of the site for the animal-control building has been prepared and sent to the architect. A revised copy of the site plan will be presented to the commissioners.