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Whitfield County commissioners approve contracts, ARPA allocations and major purchases at Dec. 9 meeting
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Summary
At its Dec. 9 meeting the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners approved multiple contracts and purchases — including a $429,210 construction contract for a food-bank cooler, a $549,500 paving machine and ARPA allocations totaling roughly $150,000 for health, HVAC and housing-related projects — and scheduled a Dec. 16 public hearing on the 2025 budget.
The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 9 approved a slate of contracts, purchases and American Rescue Plan Act reallocations affecting county facilities, public works projects and social-services programs.
The Board approved a $429,210.76 contract with Momon Construction to replace the cooler and freezer at the Northwest Georgia chapter of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and authorized a recommended 10% contingency that could bring the total to $472,131.84. Commissioner John Thomas moved the contract approval; Commissioner Barry W. Robbins seconded the motion, and the vote was 4-0 in favor (Commissioners Robbins, Staten, Thomas and Jones voted yes).
Commissioners also approved a Vogele W1700-3i tracked paver for $549,500 using 2020 SPLOST funds. The paver, adjustable from 8 to 16 feet, is intended to support annual paving operations including smaller residential resurfacing. The motion was made by Commissioner Robby Staten, seconded by Commissioner Greg Jones, and passed 4-0.
The Board authorized a $205,272 payment to Dalton Utilities for sewer equipment and a service line for the Westside Park soccer complex; that expense is assigned to the 2020 SPLOST despite previously being invoiced as part of a sewer expansion project funded by ARPA.
On capital-equipment and IT infrastructure, the Board approved purchase of two portable American Signal Company message boards for $27,100 and an HPE server refresh (hardware $148,260.88; installation/configuration $8,500) to replace out-of-warranty servers at the Admin and 911 sites.
The Board also declared a Troxler nuclear density gauge surplus, approved a $7,040 change order for Ellis Contracting related to fire-station sewer connections (bringing that contract to $147,040), and approved independent-contractor legal agreements for Whitfield County Juvenile Court with Matthew Thames and with attorneys Jerry Moncus, Bryan L. Rayburn and Joshua J. Smith.
On funding reallocations, the Board approved $149,910 in restricted ARPA expenditures to pay for a turnout-gear extractor/dryer (not to exceed $22,000), replacement HVAC units at the E911 building (not to exceed $24,900), a subaward of $80,040 to the Dalton-Walker County Development Corporation (DWCDC) to provide transitional housing for Accountability Courts (performance period through Dec. 31, 2026), and COVID test kits, air filters and sanitizing supplies for the Detention Center (estimated $22,970). The motion was moved by Commissioner Robby Staten, seconded by Commissioner Barry W. Robbins, and approved 4-0.
Separately, the Board approved reallocating ARPA unrestricted dollars to cover hazardous disposal of expired AFFF foam ($7,504), CHIP inspection costs ($1,400) and to cover Sheriff’s Office personnel costs (the agenda specified allocating $200,000 and an additional $150,080 from remaining unrestricted ARPA funds). That motion was made by Commissioner John Thomas, seconded by Commissioner Greg Jones, and approved 4-0.
The Board accepted a $2,000 Senior Center grant for the Drums Alive Golden Beats program and approved a switch to a new county credit-card platform (Truist One Card) for an annual cost of $150 to expand credit limits and improve online receipt management. The Board also approved two alcohol-license applications (Reliance Mart and Birria Broz) and set 2025 renewals to be issued contingent on completed Sheriff’s Office background checks and payment of fees.
The Board took a first reading of proposed amendments to the Unified Zoning Ordinance affecting Chart 3.7 for the City of Varnell (maximum building height for the C-2 district) and deletion of Section 4-6-28 (which had required an additional public hearing for special use permits for drug treatment facilities); no action was taken on first reading.
The meeting adjourned unanimously. Chairman Jevin Jensen and County Clerk Blanca Cardona signed the minutes (the posted copy contains a clerical formatting error in the signature date).