Georgia County Government-August 2008

ExtensionNews Infrastructure Investments Save County Funds specialists use our equipment, and many other agencies use our conference room,” Bledsoe said. “It has helped us be able to get much needed training without having to spend travel money.” “We have wonderful facilities on our three campus locations at Griffin, Tifton and Athens, and our Extension center in Statesboro, but that leaves a huge part of the state without the advantages of this time-saving technology,” said Tony Roberts, district director for the southwest Extension district. “Having this excellent facility in Perry closes one of those gaps.” Most counties that have made facility improvements also report a measurable decrease in energy and maintenance costs. “Our old building had huge cracks around the doors and windows and no real energy efficiency measures at all,” Bledsoe said. In Gilmer County, mountain winters can be mighty cold. Wall heaters hardly kept the Extension office there warm. The window units that tried to cool the room in the summer didn’t fare much better. “We were in an 846-square-foot house that was once maid’s quarters for the house next door,” said Renee Dotson, Gilmer County Extension coordinator. “At one time we had five people working in that office, and there were no doors to separate the offices. It was so loud we had callers ask if we were having a party.” By Faith Peppers University of Georgia Cooperative Extension N ot too long ago, and in a few cases still today, citizens ventured into old jails, closed-down school buildings and dilapidated police facilities to visit the county University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension office. Some even had to dodge rats, bats and various vermin on the way. “Some of our county offices were in facilities that were in really bad condition,” said Tony Tyson, county operations director for UGA Extension. “We had offices that were just plain unsafe.” Employees in some counties came into the office in the mornings and had to clear away dead roaches and rat droppings before they could open for business. Others had recurring sewage floods, mold problems and asbestos in the building. But, due to a major commitment of funds from some county governments, things are looking up. “In the last few years, we have seen significant improvements in the county office facilities,” Tyson said. “We’ve had several counties that have really stepped up the improvements. I recently visited the new Henry County facilities, and they will blow you away.” The county office now has several conference rooms that will seat various-sized audiences ranging from a dozen people to 300. The SPLOST-funded facility has a covered livestock arena and ample office space with room to expand. “The arena allows them to not only hold livestock events but other events as well, and it houses an agriculture museum that chronicles the heritage of the community,” Tyson said. Three years ago, Houston County commissioners also made a major investment to upgrade county office facilities in Perry. The Extension office was one of the beneficiaries. “We have wonderful new facilities in the old courthouse,” said county Extension coordinator Peggy Bledsoe. “We have the whole third floor of the building where we have nice offices that we are proud to have people come to and good conference rooms.” In one of the new conference rooms, the Southwest Extension district installed a video-conference system that has helped the faculty there save travel time and money by being able to participate in meetings across the state without leaving the office. “We’ve had several surrounding county offices and Extension Houston County Cooperative Extension Coordinator Peggy Bledsoe approaches the newly renovated office, made possible through years of planning and cooperation with Houston County Commissioners. Their move to new facilities has helped them create a better work environment that is more conducive to helping clients and in better proximity to help other related agencies. “The Goodwill Career Center is attached to our building, and I’ve been able to help teach classes there on preparing for work, and we don’t have to travel to do it,” Dotson said. EXTENSION continued on page 32 AUGUST 2008 www.accg.org 31 http://www.accg.org

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

Georgia County Government- August 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters Georgia’s Transportation Issues More Critical to Counties than Ever Expanding Rural Airports: Partnering for Economic Development in Upson County Meet DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham Bridge Infrastructure and Risk Counties and the Law: Georgia’s Fair Employment Practices Act Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Coffee County Extension News: Infrastructure Investments Save County Funds Research Corner: Getting the Most Out of Your Research Discover the New Georgia Encyclopedia NACo News Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

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