Of several fairly big-ticket commitments on the Bulloch County commissioners’ agenda for their last regular meeting of 2024, the largest, at least at first glance, is the $7 million extension of contracts for removal of vegetative debris left by Hurricane Helene. The meeting beings 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, in the boardroom at the North Main Annex.
The county’s original October contract with Southern Disaster Recovery, or SDR, allowed for up to $3 million in payments toward debris removal. Actual charges were determined by the volume of debris hauled away and a detailed price list for removing limbs and sawed-up or leaning trees from county road right of ways.
Another company, Thompson Consulting Services LLC, was contracted separately to monitor and document the debris removal so the county can qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement. Originally, FEMA was offering 100% cost recovery to cities and counties if the work was done was in 90 days, but this has been extended to 120 days, according to a county memo.
In early November, officials of both the county and Statesboro’s city government, which had also contracted with SDR and Thompson, reported that debris collection had slowed because SDR lost trucking subcontractors to higher-pay offers from Florida.
The number of trucks in use dropped from 15 to as few as three at one point, county Public Works Director Dink Butler reported at the time. But according to a memo summarizing his department’s request for Tuesday’s meeting, the number of trucks on the job here has fully rebounded.
“We currently have 22 debris hauling trucks operating in the county at this time. This increase has come about within the last six days,” states the memo, which was reviewed by other county staff members beginning Dec. 12.
So, the Public Works Department’s request is for an extension to 180 days and renewal of the contracts with both companies. The proposed renewal letter for SDR, which is based in Greenville, South Carolina, carries a “not to exceed” funding total of $4.5 million. The letter for Thompson Consulting Services, based in Maitland, Florida, allows a “not to exceed” total of $2.5 million.
Well mitigation plan
Also on the agenda, again, is Bulloch County’s proposed 25-year agreement with Bryan County to establish the “Groundwater Sustainability Program.” Also called the well mitigation program, it would compensate private well owners in the area around the four large wells the county governments will own in the southeastern corner of Bulloch County for providing water to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America and potentially other customers in North Bryan.
If the large wells cause the water level in the Floridan Aquifer to drop so that existing private deep wells lose pressure or go dry, the fund will pay to have the submersible pumps lowered in the shafts, or potentially even replacement wells drilled. The agreement sets out the actual terms, and the resolution to enact it notes available funding that adds up to $1 million, including $250,000 each from the Development Authority of Bulloch County, the Development Authority of Bryan County, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America Inc. and the Savannah Harbor I-16 Corridor Joint Development Authority.
Final ARPA awards
The year-end agenda also includes some funding commitments to outside agencies, including two rooted in federal grants received by the county under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Counties and cities face a year-end 2024 deadline to have money from their ARPA grants committed to qualified projects, but officials have said the deadline does not necessarily apply to interest earned on the deposited funds.
The county staff proposes to provide the Willow Hill Heritage & Renaissance Center $150,000 in unallocated ARPA money to construct outdoor community recreation facilities.
The commissioners have also received a proposal to provide an additional $252,000, this time from interest earned on ARPA funds, to Statesboro Food Bank to help pay for its new building.
Originally, the city of Statesboro and the county each committed $500,000, for a total of $1 million, from ARPA funds to the Food Bank project. The county later, last June, added $70,000 in ARPA funds for the facility.
Statesboro City Council also has a proposal on its 5:30 p.m. Tuesday agenda to reallocate $250,000 of direct SPLOST funds, replacing $250,000 previously committed from interest, to the Food Bank, and to add another $180,000 from SPLOST to complete the project.
So the city and county together will have directed a little over $1.75 million from their ARPA funds and interest to build and equip of the Food Bank building.
Other decisions
Also on the county’s agenda is a request to spend $250,000 from Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenue toward paving Anderson Cemetery Road or improving its intersection with Highway 67 in fulfillment of state Workforce Housing Grant requirements. Developer VALNOC, LLC is required to fund the rest of the paving cost and is deeding the right of ways for Cornerstone Pointe subdivision to the county.
The agenda also includes the county’s pending adoption of the 2045 Bulloch County-Statesboro Long-range Transportation Plan, approved recently by the city, and a set of amendments to the county subdivision regulations proposed they the Home Builders Association of Statesboro, revised with input from the county staff and Fire Department.