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Commissioners push to accelerate courthouse assessment, consider SPLOST tier‑1 funding and Building A moves
Summary
County staff reported partial results from a courthouse assessment and said work is needed on the clock tower flashing and roof overlay; commissioners discussed using a SPLOST tier‑1 project and intergovernmental agreements to fund courthouse renovation and agreed to press for RFPs and city sign‑offs before the ballot.
County staff told the board on March 25 that an engineering assessment of the Meriwether County Courthouse is incomplete but that early findings point to problems with the clock‑tower flashing and the courthouse roof.
“We got partial of the report. We don't have a full report… Right now, it looks like it's the dome. The clock Dome Tower is not flashed like it's supposed to be. That needs to be redone, And then the roof is gonna have to have some kind of covering TPO or copper covering over it,” a staff member said. The staff member said additional sections of the assessment have not yet been delivered and promised to press the contracted assessor for the remainder of the report.
Commissioners discussed prioritizing the courthouse for a SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) tier‑1 project on the next ballot. A staff member explained how a tier‑1 SPLOST allocation would work: funds would be applied to a general obligation or geo‑bond first and cities that lie partially within the county must sign intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) to participate. “This qualifies as a tier 1 project, so as long as all 8 cities… sign off on it. We can use those ones as a tier 1 project if the commissioners choose to do so,” the staff member said. Staff said the county must coordinate joint meetings with cities and prepare RFPs and IGAs in time for the ballot schedule.
Because the assessment is incomplete, commissioners asked staff to expedite the remaining work and to produce RFP language and cost options. A commissioner urged urgency to meet administrative deadlines: “You need to put some pressure on them because… you got a week from the day is April… 60 days to get RFPs is June.”
Staff also described plans to move several offices into Building A once Charter installs Internet service. Staff said Building A has been cleaned and outfitted with furniture purchased from state surplus; departments will move in sequence (probate first, then other offices) once the network connection is live. Delays with the telecommunications vendor have held up moves: staff said Charter repeatedly told them the installation would be “next week” but the work remains pending.
Commissioners asked staff to provide an RFP for courthouse renovation that contains two pricing options—one with copper roofing (to preserve the courthouse’s historical appearance) and one with a TPO overlay—to allow cost comparisons before committing to a funding strategy.
Ending: Staff will press the assessor for the full courthouse report, prepare RFP drafts with alternate roofing options and begin coordination with cities on SPLOST tier‑1 procedures and IGAs ahead of the ballot timeline. No formal commitment of funds was made at the work session.
