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Whitfield County approves multiple grants, contracts and vehicle purchases
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Summary
At its Feb. 9 meeting the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners ratified federal and local grant actions (including a $125,130 VOCA award), approved contract and software agreements, and authorized vehicle purchases for the sheriff and animal shelter.
Whitfield County commissioners on Feb. 9 approved a slate of grant actions, contracts and vehicle purchases intended to support public safety, transit, emergency management and county operations.
The board ratified a federal Victim of Crimes Act assistance grant (VOCA) for the district attorney’s office covering Oct. 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026, with an award of $125,130. The motion to ratify the Memorandum of Agreement was made by Commissioner John Thomas and seconded by Commissioner Greg Jones and passed unanimously.
County leaders also ratified or authorized several grant-related actions: ratification of a Senior Hunger Innovation Grant application requesting $5,000 to address senior hunger (no local match), authorization for Whitfield County Transit to apply for a 2026 Transit Trust Fund Program grant requesting $133,468 (no local match), and approval to apply for FY2026 Delinquency Prevention continuation funds to support the Strengthening Families Program 7–17 (maximum continuation award $40,000; no county match required).
The board approved contracting and software agreements that county staff said will modernize services. The Tax Assessor’s Office approved a four-year webpage mapping and parcel maintenance agreement with Schneider (year‑1 cost $61,664; an increase of $30,452 over the prior year) and ratified a three‑year subscription with TrueRoll for homestead and deed services (year‑1 $42,655).
Public-safety and operations purchases included approval of two sport-utility vehicles for the sheriff’s office (Hardy Chevrolet bid $118,321.12, to be paid from 2024 SPLOST funds; vehicles are to be upfitted for K9 use) and a 2026 F-250 truck for the animal shelter (state contract price $65,890). Parks & Recreation’s low bid for fence replacement at Riverbend Park and Westside Park Miracle League Field (Dalton Fence, $88,000; alternate $97,000) was also approved.
Emergency management planning was funded via approval to hire North Georgia Consulting Group to write the county’s hazard mitigation grant ($43,680); FEMA will reimburse the county for that amount, and in‑kind stakeholder labor valued at $14,560 was noted as part of the grant application.
The board approved an engineering contract change order on the Praters Mill South Project that reduces the contract by $40,927 (new contract total $1,516,427) after substituting construction methods for a restroom facility and resolving unsuitable soils in the parking area. The board also ratified an architectural contract with KRH Architects to design ADA access improvements to the courthouse (initial design cost $34,452.52; overall fee 6% of final construction cost).
All motions described above passed by unanimous votes where recorded (typical tally 4–0) unless otherwise noted in meeting minutes.
The board’s actions fund a mix of federal, state and local priorities and move several operational projects toward procurement and implementation stages. Next procedural steps vary by item: staff will execute contracts, pursue grant awards where applications were authorized, and proceed with bid administration and procurement as previously budgeted.