Collins welcomes Rotarians, awards substance abuse grants

“World Polio Day … serves as a moment to honor the progress made, recognize the dedication of health workers and volunteers, and renew our collective resolve to finish the job,” Collins said, noting that global polio cases have dropped 99.9% since Rotary began its eradication initiative in 1988.

Union County Rotary President Steve Cavanaugh and Rotary Foundation Chair Ed Sternberg joined Collins to receive the proclamation and thank the commissioner for supporting the ongoing efforts to eradicate polio once and for all.

“It’s been a long road,” Cavanaugh said. “Polio was once a scourge of the world. Today, it’s only in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rotary International has worked hard to eradicate the scourge of polio from the face of the Earth.”

Also in the meeting, Collins presented Substance Abuse Grants to qualifying local Substance Abuse Organizations.

These grants were established as part of the successful 2010 alcohol referendum, which “committed a portion of the alcohol license fees and tax receipts to address the problem of substance abuse and its effects on individuals and families in Union County,” per the grant application.

Grants totaling $40,000 were available this year to eligible organizations, churches, agencies, school groups, committees, businesses, and individuals “for the purpose of education, prevention, and treatment regarding abuse of alcohol, legal, and illegal drugs in Union County.”

The volunteer Union County Substance Abuse Grant Committee opened the application process in August and accepted applications through Sept. 9. Eight organizations applied, and the following six local organizations received funding:

Freedom Ministries, $8,000; New Hope Counseling, $8,000; Positive Pathways, $8,000; Union County Family Connection, $8,000; Enotah Family Treatment Court, $4,000; and Luke’s Place, $4,000.

Boo Spiva of Freedom Ministries, Troy Beaver of New Hope Counseling and Alexis Noe of Luke’s Place approached the meeting podium to express their gratitude for funding that makes their recovery, educational and/or substance abuse prevention efforts possible in the community.

In other business, Collins accepted an antenna site license agreement with Towers Assets IV for the use of the tower at 260A Ravencliff FAA Road in Blairsville “for the purpose of emergency service communications.”

There is no cost for the agreement, the duration of which will be “a period of five years with the option for up to four renewal terms of five years each.”

“This is for a main emergency service communication tower for the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department and EMS here in Union County,” Collins said. “This is the same tower that we have always utilized, and this agreement formalizes our use of this site.”

Collins also accepted a $17,325 agreement with Deckard Technologies for short-term rental compliance software. The agreement is for one year and will automatically renew for an additional year “unless terminated by either party with written notice.”

“The renewal came up for our current short-term rental compliance software, and the decision was made to change to this company,” Collins said. “They offer much more reliable services related to the information on the (short-term rentals) currently active in Union County.”

Commissioner Collins accepted a single business license to establish a new short-term rental in Union County. The rate of short-term rental formation has decreased in Union County, with only three new business licenses approved last month.

The last agreement was approval of a lease with Ninth District Opportunity for office space at the county-owned Haralson Memorial Civic Center. The lease will cost the nonprofit agency $230 a month for a term of one year, totaling $2,760.

“Ninth District Opportunity provides a broad range of services designed to assist low-income families establish self-sufficiency and economic freedom,” Collins said. “Some of these services include Head Start, Georgia Pre-K, housing programs, weatherization assistance programs and heating assistance.”

In his County Operations Update, County Manager Tony Hughes highlighted the loss of Road Department Superintendent Tommy Tanner, who died Sept. 30 after a brief illness.

“Union County lost a great man, not just at the Road Department, but he was a great friend to all,” Hughes said. “If you knew Tommy, you know where I stand. He was a great guy.

“The Road Department is continuing on. It’s a struggle, with a lot going on. Tommy had been up there for 43 years. They’re continuing on and making a lot of progress, but we’ll miss Tommy.”

Hughes said the Road Department received over 30 calls of downed trees from Hurricane Isaias impacts, and he let everyone know about a major project that had recently come on the county’s radar.

A large culvert on the Glenn Gooch Bypass was inspected this month and showed major deterioration along nearly 1,200 feet of storm drain, some of which is 20-feet deep. The project will be costly and require the installation of a concrete liner to avoid a lot of digging.

“SPLOST funds will pay for that,” Hughes said. “The first bid that we received back on that culvert was $1.5 million. That’s a pretty significant hit that we weren’t expecting a month ago.”

During public Q&A, resident Vince Peterson said that, after he questioned transparency around the county’s rollback millage rate calculation in a letter to the editor, the county had provided him with the appropriate calculation form, and he noted that everything checked out as it should.

He did ask how the county could accept the exact rollback rate this month without a finalized budget, which should be ready for presentation by November, and he contended that the Commissioner’s Office could be doing more to let the public know how it is making decisions.

Collins said Peterson’s letter to the editor caused confusion in the community with an insinuation that the Commissioner’s Office had done something wrong, and he requested that people with questions about county business simply call him at his office.

County Finance Director Kay Wilcox explained the rollback rate and provided copies of the 2026 calculation form to anyone who wanted it. She said the budget, though not finalized, was largely calculated, and that Collins was committed to “living within” the adopted millage rate.

Resident Owen McDonald asked for clarification on a couple of SPLOST-funded leasing contracts for equipment at Butternut Creek Golf Course, wondering if those expenditures fit “the nature of SPLOST” or if SPLOST funds were being used to subsidize operational expenses.

“We’ll try to have an answer in the (newspaper) for you,” said Collins, referencing an upcoming column entry in the North Georgia News. Collins has been using his weekly column to respond to the public’s questions a week or two after each county meeting.