Catoosa finances continuing to improve

County Commission Chairman Keith Greene last week offered a generally upbeat view of county finances, infrastructure improvements and the future of higher education for the county.

"I do have good news regarding sales tax collections," he said. "They are still up about 6 percent through the month of May."

These latest figures are the first since a tornado struck Ringgold and destroyed or damaged many commercial establishments, particularly along Alabama Highway between Poplar Springs Road and Chickamauga Creek.

Losses in sales tax collections from businesses directly affected by the storm - and by those untouched by the tornado but temporarily closed when the city was cordoned off for several days when recovery efforts first got under way - appear to have been offset by sales in unscathed areas.

"As far as the county, we are still in sound financial shape," Greene said.

Recovery efforts, including filing necessary paperwork for federal and state reimbursement of cleanup costs, have taken precedence over preparing a fiscal year 2012 budget. But that budget must include an unforeseen expenditure for brush and debris removal as well as overtime costs that could easily exceed $500,000.

Rebuilding along the most heavily damaged areas of Highway 151/Alabama Highway will probably be completed before an already announced plan to widen and improve that state road is complete.

This Georgia Department of Transportation project could widen the highway between Holcomb and Poplar Springs roads in addition to an upgrade and possibly a replacement bridge across Chickamauga Creek, between Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 41.

Greene said new businesses are "showing an interest in the area," that building permits are being issued for rebuilding and that "the widening of Highway 151 is still a go."

While the state's commitment to bettering infrastructure within the county seems firm, its resolve to build a college campus here is on shaky ground.

The latest delay in construction of a Georgia Northwestern Technical College satellite campus alongside West Chickamauga Creek near the intersection of Cloud Springs and Dietz roads involves environmental concerns. Entrances to the proposed campus are planned for both those major roads. But just as a multi-year GDOT project to widen Cloud Springs Road is nearing completion, state officials are saying an entryway on that road is not feasible because a portion of the property is designated as protected wetlands.

"There is a very narrow area there with some potential drainage problems," Greene said.

And Dietz Road, like most of the county's main north-south connector roads, will require major upgrades: widening, repaving, improved drainage and possibly the addition of a turn lane eventually. Rather than a sooner-or-later status for upgrades, campus construction would require immediate attention.

Citing the environmental issue, GNTC President Craig McDaniel recently issued a statement that the college is considering other Catoosa locations for the campus.

"Georgia Northwestern Technical College is still in discussion with the chairman of the Catoosa County Commission regarding the best location to build our Catoosa County Campus," he said.

Greene said there is really no other public space available as a substitute for the roughly 40-acre tract that had a "clearing," rather than groundbreaking, ceremony in December 2009.

"As far as I know, this is the college's main choice and, in my opinion, is our best fit," Greene said.

He said neither the state nor county could purchase land without finding additional funding sources. Other public land, such as the industrial park, is either dedicated for other use or, like open space at the Benton Place Campus, is too small to meet the college's requirements.

Concerns about the land qualifying for wetlands protection and its being in a flood plain are not new. The property was originally purchased by the city of Fort Oglethorpe for use as a recreational area. County Manager Mike Helton said, on the day of the clearing ceremony in 2009, that college officials were aware that about 22 acres of the property are in a flood plain.

While no occupied structures could be built within the designated flood plain, the ground could be used for parking and green space.

"We are still pushing for this property and trying to figure out a way to work through this [wetlands concerns] and have two points of entrance to the school," Greene said.

"We are trying everything we can to work through these issues and will meet this month to discuss the situation."

Upcoming Events