DALTON, Ga. — The city of Dalton is working with Hull Property Group, which purchased Walnut Square Mall last year, on a tax allocation district plan to not only upgrade the mall but “revitalize that entire area,” Mayor Dennis Mock says.

Mock and other local leaders spoke Thursday at the convention center during the Good Morning Dalton: State of the Community breakfast hosted by the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce.

Mock said Hull Property Group, based in Augusta, wants to work with the owners of the properties around the mall on the plan.

The City Council designated the area around the mall a tax allocation district (TAD) two years ago. TADs are based on the idea that development in an area will increase property values. In effect, the taxes a local government can collect inside a TAD are frozen at what the property was worth when it was created. That allows local governments to reach a deal with developers or property owners to dedicate any taxes collected as a result of an increase in the value of property within the TAD to reimburse them for the cost of the infrastructure, land, buildings, public artwork or other amenities the owner creates to revitalize their property.

Mock also pointed to downtown Dalton, where five new restaurants have opened in the last six months.

He said city officials will go ahead with plans for the Haig Mill Lake park that will be built with funds from the 2015 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The $5 million plans for the park include walking trails; fishing piers; shelters; launches for non-motorized boating; kayak, canoe and paddleboat rentals; and pavilions. They do not include a lodge, which had been discussed. Mock said he is trying to find private donors who will finance the pavilions.

Planning for next SPLOST

Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Lynn Laughter began her presentation by talking about a work session board members held recently while attending a meeting of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia in Savannah. Laughter noted that the current SPLOST will expire in 2019 and commissioners talked about the next SPLOST.

“We talked about the timeline and what we need to do to get started,” she said.

Laughter said they did not vote on any projects but one she would like to see included is the demolition of Administrative Building 2 on King Street, where commissioners hold their meetings, and the construction of a new building on the site.

“The county bought that building to house the court system temporarily when the courthouse was being expanded,” she said. The expansion was completed in 2006. Laughter noted that the building was built in the 1940s and has a number of structural issues.

Laughter said commissioners also discussed a proposed fire station in the southeast part of the county. While much of the county has an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 5, Laughter said four parts of the county have a rating of 9 or higher. ISO ratings, which range from 1 to 10, help determine homeowners’ insurance costs. The lower the rating, the better. People in those areas with a rating of 9 or higher find it hard to buy insurance, commissioners say, even though they are paying property tax for fire coverage.

The 2015 SPLOST contains funds for a fire station for the northwest part of the county near Cohutta, which is the most populated of those four areas with high ISO ratings. It does not have funds for a station on the south end of the county, the area with the second-largest population. Laughter said a station for that area could be placed into a future SPLOST but commissioners have also been looking at options for building the station sooner.

Cohutta

Cohutta Mayor Ron Shinnick said there will be some $1.5 million in investment in Cohutta this year and next, including for the new fire station. Shinnick said the station, which will be built on land donated by the city, is vital to Cohutta because it will sit on the opposite side of the train tracks from the city’s current fire station.

“Cohutta is basically split in two by the railroad, and that can sometimes present problems with responding to a fire or a medical emergency,” he said.

Shinnick noted that the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken hatchery in Cohutta recently paid to have Dalton Utilities expand sewer to the hatchery. That brought sewer within about a mile of the city center. Shinnick said the city plans to use $240,000 of its SPLOST money to have sewer extended to the city center. He says the estimated cost of that project is $680,000. He says the city has applied to the Appalachian Regional Commission to cover much of the rest of the cost. He said having sewer in downtown could help bring more businesses to the area.

Tunnel Hill

Tunnel Hill Mayor Ken Gowin said the city is looking to develop its historic train depot, which was built in the 1840s, into a community center. The city received $600,000 for that project from the 2015 SPLOST. Gowin says the city has also gotten some private donations for the renovation, which is estimated to cost $1.1 million, and has applied for an Appalachian Regional Commission grant to fund the rest.

“It will be a place where people in the community can hold weddings and meetings,” he said.

Gowin said it would also be a place where train viewing enthusiasts can come to watch trains.

Varnell

Varnell Mayor Anthony Hulsey said that on Jan. 1, House Bill 787 took effect. That bill, which was requested by the Varnell City Council, exempts Varnell city residents 65 or older or the surviving spouse of a firefighter, police officer or veteran from paying city taxes on their primary residence in the city. He said that will provide tax relief to many of the city’s residents.

Hulsey said the Varnell Police Department has acquired a license plate scanner. Such devices, which are used by the Georgia State Patrol and several other local law enforcement agencies, are mounted on patrol cars and automatically scan all license plates in front of them, notifying officers of any outstanding violations listed in a national law enforcement database.