Carroll County commissioners approve grant application, land purchase and sheriff vehicle buy in unanimous votes

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 2 unanimously approved a set of consent and business items that the board said advance public safety and land-conservation goals.

The board voted 7-0 to authorize a Georgia Outdoor Stewardship (GOSA) grant application to acquire approximately 327 acres as phase 3 of the McIntosh Reserve expansion and to commit $500,000 in matching funds if the award is granted. A county staff presenter told the board the resolution authorizes the chairman to take the actions necessary to pursue the grant and to provide the indicated match if awarded.

In related business the board approved purchase of 3.68 acres on 970 Hays Mill Road in Carrollton for use as an indoor firearms training facility for the Carroll County Sheriff's Office. The purchase price in the resolution is $3,675,000; the board also approved a $175,000 increase to the sheriff's 2025–26 budget to fund operation of the facility and authorized adding one full-time range manager. The resolution directs the chairman and county attorney to finalize purchase terms and the chairman to execute documents needed to operate the facility.

The board approved a consent agenda item to purchase 10 sheriff's office vehicles at a total cost of $360,000. That item had been discussed at the prior week's work session and was placed on the consent agenda for a single vote.

The board also approved a de-annexation (DNX) request for a Whitesburg parcel identified as W020040093; staff said the change will allow the parcel's owner to place the land under a farm covenant in county records because the parcel's city tax status had prevented the assessor from adding the property to the covenant.

The meeting included an executive session for real estate and litigation; the board returned to open session and then approved the GOSA resolution and the property purchase. All of the items above were approved by unanimous vote 7-0.