Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Farm Center Sewer And Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Farm Center lays out new mission, asks county for sewer cost-share after $300K–$400K estimate
Summary
At the Oconee County Agriculture Advisory Board meeting, Farm Center representative Daniel Rothle described a new vision and five-part mission for the center, listed this year’s events and said sewer access — currently estimated at $300,000–$400,000 — is the center’s top funding need.
Daniel Rothle, a member of the Farm Center board of directors, told the Oconee County Agriculture Advisory Board that the Farm Center has adopted a new vision and five-point mission and is seeking county help with a sewer connection that staff estimated could cost $300,000 to $400,000.
Rothle said the center’s vision is “to connect our community with agriculture.” He summarized the Farm Center’s five mission points — promoting agricultural education, fostering community engagement, supporting sustainable practices including an incubator farm, celebrating local agriculture and driving economic growth — and outlined a slate of events planned this year, including a Heritage Farmers Market beginning in May, a sporting-clay fundraiser on April 5, a Honeybee Festival, a two-day rodeo and the first Pygmy Goat show.
Rothle said the center’s immediate operational problem is restroom wastewater. “Currently, for every event we have, we’ve got our restrooms which empty into thousand‑gallon tanks, and we’re having to pay to get those pumped,” he said. He added that the Farm Center previously looked at a septic system but that an engineered septic solution would consume parking and would not be substantially cheaper than sewer. “We thought we could save some money with septic,” he said, “but the septic system estimate was close to the cost of sewer.”
Board members pressed for cost details. A staff member said engineering alone exceeded $100,000 and that the larger construction estimate came from an engineering firm; the Farm Center said it has requested RFQs for grading and pipeline work and is awaiting firm contractor bids.
Rothle also said the Farm Center is pursuing partnerships to drive economic activity and welcomed county help identifying potential funding avenues, including cost sharing or a capped contribution the county could include in its budget requests.
The advisory board did not take a formal vote on any direct funding for the Farm Center at the meeting; board members agreed to continue exploring cost-sharing options and to follow up when more concrete estimates are available.
