Commissioners adopt SPLOST resolution

Published 3:10 pm Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Voters in Baldwin County will head back to the polls again to decide the fate of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax or SPLOST.

The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners adopted a SPLOST resolution during Tuesday morning’s commission meeting held at the county government complex.

Baldwin County Assistant Manager Dawn Hudson said the resolution was subject to the approval of an election referendum.

“We need a vote from the board to approve this resolution to move forward with our Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum that will be on March 21,” Hudson said.

Commissioner Henry Craig made a motion to adopt the resolution. Commissioner Kendrick Butts seconded the motion.

When Baldwin County Commission Chairwoman Emily C. Davis called for a vote, she and Commissioner Sammy Hall joined the other two commissioners in support of the resolution.

Commissioner Johnny Westmoreland did not attend the meeting.

In an unrelated matter, Commissioner Henry Craig asked fellow commissioners to approve a resolution to support Baldwin County opposing a truck weight increase in Georgia.

“As an explanation on why this motion and resolution is appropriate, the State of Georgia has created legislation that will increase truck weights to 90,000 pounds,” Craig said. “That’s a variance of 12 ½ percent. Those trucks will be using our roads and our bridges. DOT (Department of Transportation), AAA, GMA (Georgia Municipal Association), ACCG (Association of County Commissioners of Georgia), and many counties across the state have indicated they are opposed to this because our bridges are not evaluated for that weight. As everybody in the county knows, our roads are going to be in need of repair. If we increase the weights of the trucks, it will increase the deterioration of bridges and our roads.”

The resolution expresses concern for residents, pedestrians and other motorists passing along roadways in Baldwin County.

Craig also said he agreed with others when it comes to the possibility of more collisions if the weight limits of trucks increase.

The resolution was approved unanimously.

A copy of the resolution will be forwarded to officials with ACCG, as well as the Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner and members of the Baldwin County legislative delegation — state Sen. Rick Williams, (R-Milledgeville) and state Reps. Mack Jackson (D-Sandersville) and Ken Vance (R-Milledgeville).

In other business, Dr. Carla Walter, executive director of Milledgeville-Baldwin County Allied Arts, attended the county government meeting where she informed commissioners about the community services offered by Allied Arts.

“Milledgeville-Baldwin County is a 501c3 organization that’s aligned with the city of Milledgeville,” Walter said. “We’re governed by an 11-member board. And we also have a Friends of Allied Arts Council.”

Walter said the mission of Allied Arts is to provide inclusive arts experiences through fine arts, performing arts, heritage arts, visual arts and literary.

“We are focused on all individuals and different social-economic statuses, regardless of their cultural background,” Walter said. “As I said previously, our vision and goals are to provide well-attended arts opportunities for the community. They can include a variety of events and exhibits. We’re wanting to be a beacon for artists as well to help people with their abilities and their well-being, and to have this engagement in the arts.”

Walter also told commissioners about Friends of Allied Arts.

“They work with us to help with volunteer activities and to help us stage events, and to make our facilities are clean, and they help us to raise funds,” Walter said.

Next week, a Valentine’s Day reception will be held.

Walter said the event is part of an exhibit titled “The Life of a Flower,” which is staged by the Georgia College & State University Arts Department.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, Allied Arts will host its first writer’s conference, which Walter said is a way that African-Americans and other people of color can come together and talk about their experiences.

“We’re also going to be having an oil painting exhibit and on Friday, March 3. We will be participating in the First Friday event,” Walter said. “We’ll have an art sale.”

Storytelling is another upcoming event.

“We’ll also have an artists with disabilities exhibit happening in March,” Walter said. “That’s a legacy event that’s been happening at Allied Arts for many, many years.”

For more information about Allied Arts call 478-452-3950.