Community Development Agency details roads, permits and stormwater workload in annual report

Community Development Agency Director Brantley Day presented the agency's annual report at the Sept. 2 Cherokee County work session, outlining staffing, permit and inspection volumes, active transportation projects and stormwater responsibilities.

Day said the agency comprises eight departments with about 125 total staff (51 at The Bluffs campus and 74 at Public Works). He noted the Building Department conducted about 43,000 inspections in 2024 and had completed roughly 22,000 inspections by July 1, and staff reported about 457 single‑family residential permits at the midyear point. Day described record private‑development plan review volumes and active construction inspection workloads.

On transportation, Day reported roughly 19 active county transportation projects under construction, representing more than 43 miles of roadway currently being improved; the agency's work program value was presented at about $377 million, with roughly $110 million coming from external funding sources including federal, state and private contributions. Day called out major projects under way or planned: Highway 92/Trickham intersection improvements, Trickham Road resurfacing and widening work, the Ball Ground bypass (design and federal design funding noted), I‑575 at Town Lake Parkway interchange work and Highway 140 at Batesville improvements.

Public Works maintains nearly 1,300 miles of county roads (unincorporated), Day said, and he noted GDOT maintains about 119 miles of state routes inside the county. Stormwater staff were credited with overseeing more than 44,000 drainage structures in the unincorporated county; Day said the team had inspected approximately 2,700 structures by July 1 to meet permit inspection requirements.

Day highlighted internal staffing additions and operational improvements: a county receptionist position added at The Bluffs, a new traffic operations hire and a bucket truck to expedite signal work, and changes to enforcement and planning commission membership. He also discussed SPLOST project delivery, joint resurfacing cooperation with cities and private‑development inspection coordination.

Commissioners thanked Day and agency staff for responsiveness and customer service; the transcript records no formal vote on the annual report. Day said a printed annual report will be posted on the county website and a refreshed full report will be issued in January aligned with the county retreat.