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Committee conditionally advances $13.5 million SPLOST substitute for health-facility repairs after county, Claritel and health department reviews
Summary
Committee approved a substitute funding request to expand SPLOST2 facility repairs for county physical and mental health buildings to roughly $13.5 million (up from an initial ~ $9.4M), subject to audit/administration review and Mr. Campbell's forthcoming substantiation report prior to the April business meeting.
The PEX committee voted to conditionally advance a substitute SPLOST2 funding request to repair roofs, modernize HVAC and elevators, repave parking areas, refresh interiors and upgrade security and lighting across multiple county public-health facilities.
County staff and COO (Mr. Kingsberry) explained that an initial recommendation (~$9.387 million) grew to roughly $13.5 million after additional facility-condition assessments and conversations with Claritel (the county's behavioral-health partner) and Department of Health staff. The substitute consolidates deferred capital needs across eight buildings and allocates funds for the Richardson Health Center, the DeKalb Regional Crisis Center and related facility repairs. Claritel and county health staff described recurring operational problems: nonfunctional HVAC units, water intrusion at East facility, failed elevators reaching the end of their useful life, and kitchen equipment insufficient to support services at the crisis center.
Dr. Chester (representing Claritel) emphasized life-safety repairs that have already been found during renovations — including a rusted-through support beam at the crisis center — and said the listed repairs are necessary for continued operation. County COO and staff noted the substitute would draw on the voter-approved SPLOST2 allocation for physical and mental health facilities (originally $15 million); the $13.5M substitute would leave an approximate uncommitted balance in that SPLOST line.
Commissioners asked two process questions: (1) whether an independent audit/review (Mr. Campbell) could confirm the higher subtotal and (2) whether the project list and substitute would be presented as a packet substitute at the board business meeting. Staff confirmed they had requested Mr. Campbell review and that, if his review does not substantiate the substitute, the committee would present the original amount at the business meeting and return with edits as needed. The committee approved a conditional substitute motion that advances the $13.5M list contingent on Mr. Campbell's substantiation prior to the April 14 business meeting. Commissioners also requested that staff extract cost-savings projections for LED retrofits and provide generator specifications and procurement timing in follow-up material.
Attribution: Direct quotes and technical descriptions are attributed to Mr. Kingsberry (COO), Dr. Chester (Claritel) and county staff as recorded in the transcript. The committee approved conditional advancement of the substitute contingent on Mr. Campbell's review.
Ending: The county will present a packet substitute at the Board of Commissioners meeting if the audit substantiates the $13.5M total; if not, staff will revert to the previously substantiated amount.
