Whitfield County commissioners accept more than $4 million in grants for the county

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·2 min read

Jun. 13—Whitfield County government received a record $6.2 million in federal, state and private grants in 2022, according to county Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen.

Jensen said at Monday's commissioners meeting the county is on a path to shatter that record, with the commissioners voting 4-0 to accept more than $4 million in grants for the county. Jensen typically votes only when there is a tie. Jensen noted that each grant dollar spent on a project saves local taxpayers a dollar.

The commissioners accepted two state Improving Neighborhood Outcomes in Disproportionately Impacted Communities grants. The first is for $1.909 million for the Prater's Mill Historic Site in Varnell. That will fund parking, restrooms and a walking track. The county will use $100,000 of its federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as a match.

The second is for $878,994 to fund repairs to the tennis courts at Edwards Park, also in Varnell, which have failing foundations. In addition, two of the tennis courts will be striped so they can be used for both tennis and pickleball.

The commissioners also accepted a $150,000 state ARPA grant from the Judicial Council of Georgia for the Conasauga Judicial Circuit (Whitfield and Murray counties) to improve the audio/visual system at the Murray County Courthouse. Murray County will be responsible for all expenditures. Whitfield County will act as the fiscal agent.

And the commissioners accepted a $50,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to create a trail to the summit of Rocky Face Ridge, which will include stairs with handrails and a vault restroom. The county will provide a $50,000 match.

The commissioners also voted 4-0 to:

—Extend County Administrator Robert Sivick's contract for two years with a 5% pay increase.

Sivick has hired by the commissioners in September 2021 at a salary of $145,000 a year. That was increased to $150,000 the following year. He had most recently served almost four years as county administrator of Waushara County, Wisconsin. Prior to that, he served as city manager of Willamina, Oregon; city attorney of Grand Island, Nebraska; village attorney of Greeley Center, Nebraska; and county attorney, county manager and personnel director of Howard County, Nebraska. He also served on the City Council of Omaha, Nebraska.

—Accept an $82,900 agreement with Revize of Troy, Michigan, to redesign the county website.

—Designate a section of Beaverdale Road Northeast from Cleveland Highway to 735 Beaverdale Road N.E. as the Reverend Clayton Brown Memorial Road. A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, Brown became pastor of Cedar Valley Cathedral of Praise in 1965 and during the next 50 years the church grew from 25 members to more than 1,200 and completed three building projects.