VALDOSTA —
In light of a July 16 deadline, Valdosta City Council members held a special session Thursday night to finalize the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) VII project lists before submitting them to the county.
The council wanted to ensure that all members were on the same page in terms of the verbiage in the project list of the SPLOST VII referendum, according to Mark Barber, assistant city manager.
Council members reviewed an itemized list of the proposed projects during the meeting, which Barber said lasted approximately an hour and a half.
Some of the items on the list that the council wanted to reach a consensus on included sewage services and the city’s debt repayment, said Barber.
Part of the presentation included a brief reminder to council members about the upcoming TSPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) vote, which is slated for July 31. Barber said not much time was spent discussing the TSPLOST but he said council members wanted to keep the TSPLOST on their radar in case the legislation passed, because SPLOST VII would be needed to prop up transportation tax.
SPLOST VII will be an intergovernmental agreement. If approved by the county, City Clerk Teresa Bolden said the resolution will await approval from Valdosta, Lake Park, Remerton and Hahira.
If the county and its cities are all on board with the SPLOST VII, the project lists have to be submitted to the county’s Board of Elections before the Aug. 7 deadline. Should the tax receive approval by the election’s board, city leaders will submit the specifics to the Valdosta Daily Times on Aug. 8 for publication.
Summary of SPLOST VII projects (2014-2019)
•Resurfacing: $2 million, in increments of $333,333 over six years
•Road improvements: $7.5 million, in increments of $1.26 million over six years
•Sidewalk improvement: $1.47 million, in
increments of $245,833 over six years
•Intersection improvements: $175,000, with $75,200 appropriated to 2014 and $100,800 to 2015 projects.
•Drainage improvements: $3.5 million in increments of $583,333 over six years
•Traffic improvements: $750,000 in increments of $125,000 over six years
•Street maintenance repairs: $500,000 in increments of $83,000 over six years
•Piping of ditches: $300,000 in increments of $50,000 over six years
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