Brownfields Grant Program Town Hall Meeting Planned on Tuesday, February 7
A new program to identify and develop cleanup plans for up to 30 brownfield sites in Walker County seeks community input to identify locations to assess.
Walker County will host a town hall meeting to inform residents, property owners and business leaders about what makes a site a brownfield. Information will be shared about funding available to conduct a non-intrusive assessment of environmental conditions at a potential brownfield site, and, if needed, develop a plan for cleanup.
Property owners will also learn how to apply to have their site assessed at no cost to them. Funding for the program comes from a $500,000 grant awarded to Walker County and the cities of Chickamauga, LaFayette and Rossville by the United Environmental Protection Agency.
Cleanup and reinvestment in brownfield sites increases the local tax base, helps spur redevelopment, uses existing infrastructure, facilitates job growth and improves and protects the environment.
WHAT: Walker County Brownfields Grant Program Town Hall
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7, 2023
WHERE: Walker County Civic Center, 10052 Highway 27, Rock Spring, GA
Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail Project Advances
A plan to connect the Chickamauga National Battlefield to downtown Chickamauga may soon get a big boost.
The Walker County Board of Commissioners recently voted to invest $50,000 in an effort by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) to connect an existing trail on the east side of Highway 27 at Wilder Road (pictured above) to one on the west side off Osburn Road. The missing section is just under one-mile in length and would utilize right of way along Osburn Road.
TPL has secured $100,000 in funding from two private foundations to help with the Chickamauga Battlefield Mult-use Connector Trail, but also needs a similar committment from the city of Chickamauga, as well as additional private donations to support the effort. TPL would then use these investments to secure a $375,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to fund the project.
TPL has a proven track record of working with property owners to develop trails including the Tennessee Riverwalk, South Chickamauga Creek Greenway and Atlanta Beltline, among others.
No timeline has been established to construct the trail connection, but all parties are hopeful to get the project underway by 2024.
Board Considers Amendments to the County Code
The Governing Authority of Walker County, Georgia proposes to update its code of ordinances.
Ordinance O-01-23 would provide clarity to the public on the procedure for requesting a variance.
Ordinance O-02-23 would increase the base binder from a minimum thickness of two-inches when compacted to four-inches when compacted for developers/contractors who are building new roads to be considered for future county maintenance. It would also clean up some language so that a county inspector can have a geotechnical engineer test the material, instead of the state highway department.
Ordinance O-03-23 would create an automatic resignation provision for members of boards, committees and commissions of the Board, so if someone is regularly absent, they have effectively resigned and can be replaced. It also adds the ex parte communication policy for the Planning Commission to the Code book and adds training requirements for Planning Commission members.
A second public hearing on the proposed ordinance changes will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at Walker County Courthouse Annex III, 201 S Main Street in LaFayette, GA. Copies of all three ordinance drafts are available for review by clicking here.
Commissioner Stultz Elected Vice Chair
The Walker County Board of Commissioners acted on of a few housekeeping items at their first meeting of the new year. They elected District 4 Commissioner Robert Stultz to serve as Vice-Chair for 2023.
The Board also voted to keep the regular meeting time at 7:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at Courthouse Annex III, which is located at 201 South Main Street in LaFayette.
You can watch a livestream of each Board meeting on the County's Facebook page or catch it on the County's Youtube channel the day after.
Join Our Team and Work for Your Community!
We have immediate openings in the following positions:
E-911 Communications Officer (Dispatcher)
Payroll and Benefits Clerk
General Laborer
Correctional Facility Nurse
Firefighter
Positions feature competitive pay, retirement program with employer match, 11 paid holidays, personal and vacation time, as well as access to family health/dental/vision insurance, short and long term disability and life insurance plans.
SBA Loans Available for Walker, Chattooga Residents Following Flooding in Early September
Georgia businesses and residents affected by flooding on Sept. 3-4, 2022, are eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The declaration covers the counties of Chattooga, Floyd and Walker in Georgia and Cherokee and DeKalb in Alabama.
To assist businesses and residents affected by the disaster, the SBA opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) on January 12 at the Chattooga County EMA/E-911 Center, 170 Farrar Drive in Summerville. The DLOC is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The DLOC will close on January 26.
Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
Interest rates are as low as 3.04% for businesses, 1.875% for nonprofit organizations, and 2.188% for homeowners and renters, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via SBA’s secure website and should apply under SBA declaration # 17751.
Disaster loan information and application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services) or sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is March 10, 2023. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Oct 9, 2023.
Is the Next American Idol from the Armuchee Valley?
American Idol returns next month and the upcoming season will feature some local flavor. Ethan Slaughter lives in the Armuchee Valley community and will be pursuing his dream on the show.
Save the date: February 11, 2023.
Ethan will be performing at the Armuchee Valley Community Center (11471 GA-136, LaFayette, GA), giving everyone a chance to catch him in concert before the Idol season starts.
The performance takes place at 2:00 p.m.
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