Georgia County Government - February 2008 - (Page 47)

CountyParade BALDWIN Airport Receives $353,954 Grant from OneGeorgia Baldwin County received a $353,954 grant from the OneGeorgia Equity Fund in recent weeks for construction of a new airport terminal at the Baldwin County Airport. In attendance at the ceremony hosting Governor Sonny Perdue, who presented the check to Baldwin County, were Georgia State Sen. Johnny Grant, Development Authority Director Angie Gheesling, Baldwin County Chairman Dale Epps, State Rep. Bobby Parham, Baldwin County Manager Joan Minton and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tara Peters. Jimmy Dixon, chairman of the Burke County Board of Commissioners. W.H. Harper, chairman of the Development Authority of Burke County, added, “This is a historic event for us, and I know that ASTA will be a great addition to our business community.” Metrod manufactures electrical conductivity-grade copper wires, rods and strips. Its products are used as component materials for cables, transformers and electrical appliances in the power, telecommunications and electrical/electronic industries. Metrod is also a leading manufacturer of specialized copper wires and a solution provider to the transformer industry through its subsidiary, ASTA. the Chattahoochee-Flint RDC region. Most counties in the state operate a 5311 shuttle transit program. BURKE Malaysian Copper Wire Manufacturer Locates First North American Plant Here Malaysian copper products manufacturer ASTA Inc. will locate its first U.S. facility in Waynesboro, in Burke County, the state’s Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) recently announced. Citing Georgia’s ongoing attraction as an ideal location for international manufacturers expanding their North American markets, Ken Stewart, commissioner of the GDEcD, noted that ASTA will “benefit from Georgia’s strong work force, low cost of doing business and unparalleled transportation network.” In Burke County the company will manufacture a type of specialized copper wire called Continuously Transposed Conductors at a plant that is being retrofitted from the former Cummins Filtration Building, a 200,000-square-foot facility on 50 acres near Waynesboro. The new plant will be the first U.S. location for the Metrod Group and will be up and running by the end of 2008. “I am proud to welcome the new ASTA facility to Burke County,” said COWETA BOC Hires Operator For ‘Dial-a-Ride’ Program The Coweta County Board of Commissioners voted in recent weeks to hire a third-party operator for the county’s 5311 public transportation “dial-aride” program. The government services director for the McIntosh Trail Regional Development Center recommended One Step Ahead Logistics, based in Union City, for its low bid. The company was also thought to be “better-suited” because it is already used to the high trip volume the county expects on a yearly basis through the dial-a-ride program. The transit program offers “subscription” trips paid for by human service agencies and “non-subscription” trips, open to all Coweta residents, who must call 24 hours in advance to set up their trips. The cost will be between $2 and $3 each way on shuttle buses. The program will take another year before it has the needed funds for startup, but shuttles will be operated by the third-party operator, under the auspices of the McIntosh Trail RDC, covering Spalding, Pike, Lamar, Butts and Upson counties. Coweta falls within Greenway Plans in Place In other Coweta County news, officials have begun efforts to move forward with greenway plans, having approved greenway donations for several roads from the conservation subdivision Genesee, a development of the Forestar Real Estate Group. Donations amount to a 25-foot strip along each of three roads to add segments for a future greenway train; the donation counts as a density bonus for the developers. County Planning Director Robert Tolleson said the county will begin making its greenway plans a higher priority, trying to utilize existing rights-of-way and receiving donations as the county can to connect to the trail system. CRISP Bond Agreement Reached to Expand Hospital ICU The Crisp County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution in late fall to enter into a bond agreement with Crisp Regional Hospital Authority to expand the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). After a long application process for a Certificate of Need and consultations between hospital and county attorneys, an agreement was made accommodating the needs of the hospital and the county. The ICU will expand from an eight-bed unit to a 16bed unit on the southwest corner of the hospital, under an agreement that allows for the bonding of no more than $13 million to fund the new addition. In the event of the hospital authority’s default, the county would step in but be responsible for no more than $2 million. The hospital serves upward of 40,000 from the surrounding communities. PARADE continued on page 48 FEBRUARY 2008 www.accg.org 47 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - February 2008

Georgia County Government - February 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters Regional Focus on the Georgia Mountains: Rabun, Habersham and Stephens Counties DNR Commissioner Noel Holcomb Solid Waste Management in Georgia: New Challenges Ahead Essential Elements of Negotiating Professional Service Firm Contracts The Walker County Courthouse at LaFayette Extension News: Partnerships are Key to Conservation Education Research Corner: Interns: An Asset to Every County NACo News: Counties and Climate Change FAQs Georgia Flag to Travel to All 159 Georgia Counties State Announces Regional Recycling Hub Grant Awards Abraham Joins ACCG Support Staff County Parade ACCG Launches e-Magazine Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - February 2008

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