CLEVELAND, Ga. – The White County Board of Commissioners has approved the use of a $500,000 grant in Congressionally Directed Spending by Senator Jon Ossoff for the building of a new public library. But attached to that grant is a requirement that the county conduct an environmental study on the property where the library is to be built.
“…it apparently doesn’t matter who’s sitting in Washington, we still got the same dog-gone red tape.” – White County Commission Chair Travis Turner
The scope of work will include a Phase 1 Assessment, Wetland Delineation and Study, Cultural Resources and Endangered Species, Air Quality and Noise Pollution, Socio-Economic/Environmental Justice Study, and Environmental Transportation/Aesthetics/Health & Human Safety Study.
The commissioners approved during their meeting on Monday to use some of that money to conduct the environmental study.
Along with the approval, the commissioners expressed their annoyance that they were awarded the money, but would then have to use part of that funding to conduct the environmental study. Commission Chairman Travis Turner said they appreciate the grant but, “We get half a million dollars and, essentially, around fifty thousand dollars we’ve got to spend it back out on a piece of property that we already have a building on that met all other environmental criteria and the feds, so it apparently doesn’t matter who’s sitting in Washington, we still got the same dog-gone red tape,” commented Turner.
The environmental study project will take approximately two months to complete. The cost is estimated at $47,550 and will be conducted by Southern Geotechnical Consultants.
