Commissioners staying clear of connectivity plan

Four out of five members of the Hart County Board of Commisioners (BOC) voiced that the county is staying clear of  the City of Hartwell’s proposal that would connect the downtown area to the Hartwell Lakeside Resort via a series of sidewalks, trails and  bridge.

The commissioners met for their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 11 where they addressed an article that ran in the July 6 edition of The Hartwell Sun, “Crafting a plan for connectivity,” during the Commissioner’s Report portion of the meeting.  The article detailed the proposal by city officials that would see added attractions to the Hartwell Lakeside Resort, formerly Hart State Park, and a massive undertaking of laying down new sidewalks and walking paths.

“I just want everybody to understand that the project with the sidewalks and the bridges over the lake and all that, that’s not a county project, we are not involved in that as far financing, or having any say in it,” said BOC Chairman Marshall Sayer. “That is a city project, [and] I just want people to understand that you, as taxpayers, deserve the right to know what is going on, and we will not be using your taxpayer dollars to fund that project.

“I just wanted to make that clear to everyone. Like I said, that is a city project and we haven’t committed to anything, nor do I see us committing anything in the future. I just wanted to clear that up.”

Commissioner Jeff Brown (District Four) echoed the chariman’s sentiments saying, “rest assured that we are not apart of anything of that nature.”

“We’ve got a lot of big fish to fry, a lot of big tasks on us as a commission for this county and where our money goes and people we need to look after and take care of,” Brown said. “We’re definitely not throwing your hard earned tax money away on something like this.”

Commissioner Joey Dorsey (Distict Five) emphasized the remarks made my other commissioners, and added that his support for the Archway partnership may be waning.

“I’ve seen crazy projects, I’ve seen things that are not feasible [and] this is definitely one in my opinion,” Dorsey said. “[The] timing couldn’t be worse for this county and this city.

“We’re looking at a SPLOST referendum, [then] people look at this and call us and talk to me personally. They look at it as wasted money.

“We’ve asked Archway several times about the parking and stuff down around the square, projects that in my opinion should be a lot higher priority than building a bridge that was talked about in the paper. I’m going to really have to reconsider next year when it comes time to vote to support Archway.

“We have a lot more projects out there that are much more important.

“We’re conservative, we are not going to spend money on something like that. We have a lot more needs in this county and the city for that matter than building a bridge like that.”

Representing District One, Commissioner Michael Bennett added that the City of Hartwell is very proud of what they are doing in terms of connecting various areas in downtown.

“They are very proud of what they are doing up there, especially going around the school,” Bennett said. “They have now attached where you can walk around the high school [and] middle school area without having to walk in any grass or have any danger of cars running over them. They are very proud of the projects there.”

Bennett also shared that he had yielded phone calls in reference to the article in The Sun to which he assured constituents that county had nothing to do with the project.

In other business:

• Commissioner Jeff Brown (District Four) addressed a rise in homelessness in Hart County. He asked the BOC to research the issue and take steps to address the problem.

• The BOC offered their condolences to the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office who lost an officer in the line of duty over the weekend.

•County Administrator Terrell Partain provided the June financial report to the BOC. The county is currently operating two percent under budget for FY 2023.

• The BOC heard a second reading of the Duplex Ordinance. The ordinance will be read again in coming weeks with amendments suggested by the commissioners.

•Jane Ziglar was approved to fill a vacant seat on the Hart County Board of Assessors.

• The BOC renewed their Legacy Link