Dawson County staff and consultant BM&K presented the second-quarter report on the county’s T-SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) program and demonstrated a new public-facing website that lists planned, in-design, in-contract and completed projects.

Robert Drury, Public Works director, introduced the quarter-two materials and thanked public-relations staff for building the webpage. Aaron, a county public-relations staffer, walked commissioners through the site’s project list, active-project pages and a timeline feature meant to show residents the multi-step process for roadwork. The site currently lists active projects with location, scope, expected cost and timeline; staff said completed projects will be added as work finishes.

Don Clericke, BM&K president, reviewed project categories—planned, design, under contract, construction and completed—and reminded commissioners that “planned” projects lack a defined scope or concept and must move through additional steps before construction. Clericke said county staff have encumbered about $5,000,000 and that the program is roughly 15% (9 of 60) through the planned distributions. He noted the program’s revenue projection of roughly $1.1 million per month and cautioned that revenues vary seasonally: “If we have a good Christmas season, our 1.1 will hold. If not, we'll need to dial it back a little bit.”

Clericke and Drury highlighted near-term projects including Emmett Drive (completed), Blue Ridge Overlook, Keith Evans and Coward (coming into contract), and several GDOT-linked projects such as Lumpkin Campground (right-of-way phase) and Route 53 at Lumpkin Campground. Staff said right-of-way acquisition and easement negotiations will drive schedule variability on some projects; Drury noted that acquiring easements—some temporary, some permanent—will determine the length and success of projects such as Elliott Road.

The presentation included scheduling notes: preconstruction meetings were held for some resurfacing projects with construction anticipated in mid-September for certain FDR projects. Staff said they will notify the public through the website and social media but that for some connector routes (e.g., Blue Ridge Overlook) they do not plan mailed notices to homeowners because the roads are used primarily by through traffic.

No formal board action was required during the work session; the presentation was informational.