MOULTRIE — Representatives of two local organizations shared plans last week for construction projects they’d do if a sales tax extension is approved by voters.

The Colquitt County Board of Commissioners, in conjunction with municipalities throughout the county, is planning a vote in November on a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that would start as soon as the current SPLOST expires at the end of 2024. Under the intergovernmental agreement the county has proposed, the Hospital Authority, Parks and Recreation Authority and Development Authority would each receive $500,000.

At a meeting July 18, Amy Williams, director of Colquitt Regional Emergency Medical Service, and Maggie Davidson, director of the Recreation Authority, presented plans for the Hospital Authority and Rec Authority, respectively. The interim director of the Development Authority could not attend the meeting and is expected to present that authority’s plans at the next SPLOST meeting on Aug. 8.

Hospital seeks new building for EMS

Williams said hospital and county officials have proposed a new building to house the EMS Department. Ambulances are currently based at Colquitt Regional Medical Center, south of Moultrie, and at the Emergency Management Agency building on Veterans Parkway.

The county’s Roads and Bridges and Shop departments recently moved from buildings on Veterans Parkway at County Farm Road to new buildings farther down County Farm Road. The proposal calls for the county to replace those vacant buildings with a new one for EMS.

Williams offered a lengthy list of shortcomings at the current facilities, including:

• The hospital is not centrally located to the county and city population.

• Inadequate training space, kitchen space and storage space for equipment.

• Ambulances have no protection from the environment.

• Living quarters are not separated by genders.

• The hospital location has one bathroom with one shower. The EMA location has two bathrooms but no showers.

• No laundry facilities where staff can wash contaminated uniforms.

EMS personnel work 24-hour shifts, which amplifies concerns about the living quarters, kitchen and bathrooms.

“We can’t continue where we are,” Colquitt Regional President and CEO Jim Matney added. “They’re in the back of the warehouse where we keep our supplies. They’re literally in a cage.”

Matney added that traffic at the hospital can cause delays in ambulance response times.

Colquitt County Administrator Chas Cannon noted the location offers easy egress for ambulances going north or south on Veterans Parkway and quick access from the parkway to other arteries.

The hospital has asked the county to increase its SPLOST allotment from the planned $500,000 to $1 million. That will cover less than half the expected $2.5 million construction cost.

Under the proposal, the county would build the EMS building on land it already owns. The hospital would receive the SPLOST allotment and return it to the county to offset some of the construction cost, Matney said, and it would negotiate a rental agreement that over time would repay the county the rest of the cost.

Rec Authority has several plans

The Parks and Recreation Authority, on the other hand, is focused on a variety of smaller projects with the money it hopes to receive from SPLOST, Davidson said. The projects revolve around three principles:

• Preventative maintenance, including equipment replacement.

• Improvements to recreation facilities and parks. This includes additional bathrooms at Magnolia and Knuck McCrary sports complexes, a playground at WOW Park, shade for bleachers at the authority’s ballfields and other projects.

• Municipality projects. In summer of 2022, the authority completed a playground at Bicentennial Park in Doerun, and Davidson said it will partner with other local municipalities in the near future for projects in those cities.

She said the authority is seeking state, federal and private grants to help fund these projects, in addition to the SPLOST funds.

Davidson said that since the authority was founded as a separate entity in 2017, it has used its general fund to pay for facilities maintenance and improvements. That’s contributed to the Parks and Recreation Authority levying a much larger property tax than the Development Authority, the only other authority that levies its own taxes. She said the authority’s plans will help move those expenses to sales tax in the hopes of reducing the tax burden on property owners.

State sales tax — 4%

Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds operations of the Colquitt County Board of Education — 1%

Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds construction projects at the county, each municipality, the Hospital Authority, Parks and Recreation Authority and Development Authority — 1%

Education SPLOST (ESPLOST) funds construction projects for the Board of Education — 1%

Transportation SPLOST (TSPLOST) funds construction projects related to transportation for the county, each municipality, Parks and Recreation Authority, Airport Authority and Hospital Authority — 1%

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Total — 8% sales tax

Aug. 8 – Meeting at 5 p.m. in Room 201 of the Courthouse Annex to continue discussions on the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

Aug. 22 – The final planned meeting to discuss the tax will be held at 5 p.m. in Room 201 of the Courthouse Annex. If all issues have been resolved beforehand, this meeting may be canceled.

Sept. 5 – County commission meets at the Courthouse Annex. Work session starts at 5 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7 p.m. Commissioners will vote on the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the county’s municipalities. The cities must have approved the IGA before this meeting.

Sept. 8 – The IGA and request for a special election will be forwarded to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

Nov. 7 – Voters will cast ballots on the proposed SPLOST. Early voting information has not been announced yet.

November 2024 – If voters do not approve the new SPLOST on Nov. 7, 2023, it can be put before them again one year later.

Dec. 31, 2024 to Jan. 1, 2025 – The current SPLOST will end Dec. 31, 2024. If approved by voters, the new SPLOST will start immediately thereafter.