County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Q.  Did Wal-Mart actually close on the purchase of the property last week?
A. Yes. The final closing took place Tuesday afternoon.  Union County received our first reimbursement check of $ 95,000 today (Wednesday, February 27, 2008).  There have been many rumors around that Wal-Mart had purchased the property several weeks ago, however, those were incorrect.

Q.  When will work begin on the site?
A.  There was a pre-bid meeting today (Wednesday) with potential general contractors.  The bid for construction is scheduled to open March 20th and construction should follow within thirty to forty-five days. The last date we have heard for completion is April-June 2009.

Q.  How much did the county have to pay Wal-Mart to come to Union County?
A.  The county did not have to pay Wal-Mart anything.  The only thing they asked was for water and sewer to be made available to their site.

Q. How much will it cost to extend the utilities to the Wal-Mart property?
A. The initial estimate was around  $1.15 million dollars.

Q. Who will pay for that cost?
A.  A state grant was available that would have paid over half of the project, but Wal-Mart chose to pay their portion of the project to the county without using any taxpayers funds for the grant.

Q.  How much money will the county be responsible for?
A.  The county portion of the entire project is $ 250,000.  This includes running the water and sewer line not only to the Wal-Mart site, but also running the utilities to the new portion of the industrial park and to the airport.

Q.  Will the county be able to recoup any of the funds paid out on this project?
A.  We should be able to recoup some of the funds from additional utility users as they tap on to the water and sewer lines in the future.  However, the sales tax from Wal-Mart should cover this cost in less than three months. 

Q. How much of the cost will Wal-Mart pay for?
A. Wal-Mart will pay a total of  $ 925,000.  They have already given the county a check for $ 95,000 today to cover the engineering cost. The balance of the funding was placed in an escrow account at closing and as we spend the money, we will send in our receipts for reimbursement.  All of our bids have been at or below estimates, so it is possible that our final cost will be less than the original estimate.

Q.  Will the city be paying any of the cost?
A.  The city and especially Mayor Conley has cooperated with us every step of the way and will be responsible for serving all the utilities to the site over the long run.  Without the water and sewer from the city this project would have not been possible.

Q.  Who is paying for the new road going from Hwy 515 to the Airport?
A.  This is a state aid contract through GDOT highway grant funds, the majority of this roadway will be paid by the state.  The balance will be paid out of our local SPLOST road and bridge funds.   While this road was not absolutely necessary for the water and sewer project, it has made the project much less expensive to install.   The road was required for access to the new industrial sites for the county and access to the new future terminal for the city.

Q. Who was responsible for coordinating all of the different projects?
A. That responsibility has fallen  directly to me.  I have spent literally hundreds of hours over the past two years working with Wal-Mart, having long negotiations with adjacent property owners, and working with Wayne Fowler, local engineer,  getting the new road designed.  I also personally worked with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Mike Evans the GDOT Board Chairman in receiving funding and approval for the new road and access break off highway 515.  I have also worked very closely with the Union County Development Authority who has been extremely cooperative on the project. 

Q. We understood that you had a problem with the Corp of Engineers in permitting the stream crossings for the new Airport Terminal Road. How was that resolved?
A. I could write a book just on that experience.  The delay in our permit could have cost the county the total project.  Out of desperation, I asked for assistance from Congressman Nathan Deal’s office and what occurred next was amazing. 

Congressman Deal and his Gainesville Chief of Staff Chris Riley arranged for a direct video/teleconference call with me in Congressman Deal’s  Gainesville office and Congressman Deal  was in his Washington, D.C. office with the Colonel of the Corp of Engineers. Congressman Deal, the Colonel Kertis and myself had about a fifteen minute video conference call ( looking at and talking to each other as if in the same room)  and  I was able to explain our problems, asked for assistance, and in a very short time frame, with the Colonel’s assistance, we were able to solve the remaining problems and obtain the necessary permits.  It was a very rewarding experience and the assistance the county received can not be overstated. I want to personally thank Congressman Deal and Colonel  Kertis for their invaluable aid to Union County.

What is next with Wal-Mart?  Continued next week

Lamar Paris
Union County Commissioner

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