Whitfield County commissioners approve purchases and bids

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
Updated ·4 min read

Apr. 11—The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 Monday to approve a $283,134 contract with Outdoor Aluminum of Geneva, Alabama, for bleachers for the soccer field at Westside Park.

Commissioner Robby Staten was absent, and Chairman Jevin Jensen typically votes only if there is a tie.

The bleachers will be paid for from the county's share of the four-year Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) that voters approved in 2020. The bleachers will be handicapped accessible.

The commissioners also voted 3-0 to:

—Accept a $251,683 bid from West Chatham Warning Devices of Alpharetta for lights and other equipment for 25 patrol vehicles for the sheriff's office.

—Purchase 600 weather radios for $15,690 that will be distributed free to county residents. Ninety percent of the funding for the purchase will come from a federal grant. The county will provide 6% of the funding, and the state will provide the remaining 4%.

—Purchase a 2021 Ford Explorer from Ford of Dalton for $39,000 for the Public Works Department.

—Deny by default a request by Jorge Ruedas to rezone from general commercial to rural residential 0.9 acres on Old Grade Road. Ruedas missed two consecutive public hearings on the request held by the Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission, which makes recommendations to the city councils of Dalton and Varnell and the county Board of Commissioners on rezoning requests.

—Deny a request by Joshua and Jessica Atchley to rezone from rural residential to light manufacturing one acre at 530 Buckley Way in Resaca to develop a meat-processing business. During the planning commission public hearing on the request in March, several neighbors opposed the rezoning. A staff report said the requested rezoning would create an island of manufacturing zoning within residential and agricultural areas and would be in conflict with the county's comprehensive plan.

—Approve a request by Mitchel Kyle to rezone from heavy manufacturing to rural residential two acres at 785 Peek Road in Dalton to develop the property.

—Deny a request by Jordi Lara to rezone from low-density, single-family residential to general commercial .7 acres at 314 Keith St. in Dalton.

—Approve a request by L&C Estates to rezone from rural residential to general commercial 1.03 acres at 3170 Chattanooga Road in Rocky Face so that the site of an existing commercial building can be divided from a larger property and be in conformity with zoning, with the larger property remaining rural residential.

—Approve a $15,285 change order with Bartow Paving, which is constructing a parking lot at the tax commissioner's office at 1013 Riverbunch Parkway. The change order will pay for additional handrails.

—Approve a contract between Whitfield County Magistrate Court and Alternative Probation Services to provide probation services for the court. Each person on probation will pay a $40 per month supervision fee along with several other fees. There is no cost to the county.

County Administrator Robert Sivick reminded the audience members that Saturday is national Park Day on which volunteers gather to help clean up parks and historical sites.

Locally, several events are planned. The biggest will be at Rocky Face Ridge Park at 2209 Crow Valley Road in Dalton starting around 10 a.m. Sivick said there will be a food truck present and local historian Robert Jenkins will make presentations on the history of the site, which was the location of two Civil War battles. In addition to the cleanup, there will be a scavenger hunt and a mountain bike race.

Closer to town, a cleanup is planned at the Dalton Confederate Cemetery starting at 9 a.m. Volunteers are asked to meet by the Memorial Wall. Tasks include clearing brush, landscaping and trash removal. Attendees are advised to bring gloves, rakes and other yard tools. The Confederate Cemetery is on the east side of West Hill Cemetery near the chapel. There are 425 Confederate soldiers and four Union soldiers buried there.

There will also be a Park Day event at the Prater's Mill Historic Site near Varnell starting at 9 a.m. Participants should meet on the porch of the mill. Planned activities include clearing brush, landscaping, painting, planting, trail maintenance, trash removal and general cleaning of buildings. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, shovels and rakes.

And there will be a Park Day cleanup at the Resaca Confederate Cemetery on Confederate Cemetery Road starting at 9 a.m.