County officials have voted to purchase a 7+ acre tract of land at State Route 17 and Jacobs Way (near Habersham Aquatic Center) in Clarkesville for the possible building of an Administrative Building for the County.
Land purchase unanimous
In a unanimous vote, the Commissioners acted on a current contract for the land, which would have expired on June 28. The decision came during a Called Meeting, Monday evening. In addition, the Board agreed to also immediately seek an appraisal for the former County Courthouse at 555 Monroe Avenue, the current location of County Administrative Offices. The decision could possibly end speculation concerning five different alternatives for the former Courthouse and Administrative Offices presented at a recent public forum.
Following the meeting, Chairwoman Natalie Crawford shared with Now Habersham, “Every day we have to try to balance conservative spending and responsible investment for the future for our community, and balancing those two is not always easy.”
Crawford went on to say that just because the Commissioners voted to purchase the land, which is near the Aquatic Center, does not necessarily mean that location will become the address for new Habersham Administrative offices. She adds, “I am open to ideas and discussion about any possibilities for the future of Habersham County needs.”
GOP chair urges commission to slow down
Habersham County Republican Party Chairman, Carl Blackburn, addressed the Commissioners during the meeting suggesting that they not move so quickly in purchasing the property at State Route 17 and Jacob’s Way for Administrative Offices. He expressed concern that the Commissioners held only one public forum, which was more about what to do with the Old Courthouse on Monroe Avenue, than actually where to locate the Habersham County Administrative Offices.
Following the meeting, Blackburn told Now Habersham, “We should first find out what our revenue would be from the sale of the old courthouse, look at available SPLOST funds and then see what kind of payment that would push.” Blackburn went on to say, “Because it may be more than a year, we probably can’t borrow those funds, as we would likely need a bond vote, to move ahead if all the money isn’t available.”
Contracts and pay raises for four county employees
In other action, Habersham County Commissioners also voted to extend written contracts to four county employees. The Board approved contacts for County Manager, Phil Sutton, County Clerk Crystal Ward, Director of Public Works, Derick Canupp, and Habersham County Fire Chief, Jeff Cain. The contracts include an average 7% pay increase for each employee. The Contracts were approved, but Commissioner Andrea Harper voted “nay” for the contracts pertaining to Ward, Canupp and Cain.
Commissioner Harper explained that she recognized the hard work by the employees, but that she felt that contracts beyond the County Manager place the County in a “higher paying” status, and more importantly, will likely create animosity between the three Directors and their peers in each Department. Harper told Now Habersham following the meeting, “Other counties the size of Habersham, and near Habersham, are split on whether or not to offer annual contracts for county staff, beyond the County Manager in each of those counties.”
In additional business, the Commissioners heard the Second Reading of, and approved, the Fiscal Year 2017 budget of $23.9 million. They also accepted the 2016 rollback millage rate of 10.626, for FY 2017. Commissioners also approved the Habersham Countywide Hospital millage rate of .998. The rollback in millage rates was necessary (in order not to raise taxes) as property values have continued to increase in 2016.
