County closes on properties to provide more recreational opportunities
Two property closings that were approved last week will provide recreational opportunities in Shelby County in the future.
The property is the land that the county made a budget amendment for in May closed last week. It will create another county park that will total 750 acres between CR-41 and CR-43. It will be for trail running, walking and hiking.
“This will be a long-term project to preserve and create space for residents to get out and enjoy the environment,” said County Manager Chad Scroggins.
Ten acres of the property, formerly the Mt Laurel organic garden, will become the new Dunnavant Valley trailhead. There is currently minimal parking at the current trailhead and this location will provide more spaces for trail users.
“This is a significant purchase by the county to set space available for many years to come,” Scroggins said.
The second closing that took place last week was the Forever Wild Land Trust board approving a second appraisal and purchase for property at Oak Mountain State Park. If it meets within guidelines, over 1100 acres will be added to OMSP. The property is what is seen at the King’s Chair area.
Scroggins said it’s exciting to have both projects going on at the same time.
County CFO Cheryl Naugher gave a monthly budget update and said all of the actual variances from July 2020-July 2021 are all positive. Sales tax, rental tax, lodging tax and highway gas taxes have all seen an increase.
Naugher also updated the commission on the FY22 projected budget, saying she used a conservative approach to be able to balance budget expenses versus revenues because there is so much uncertainty in the global market.
Some items on the FY22 proposed budget included:
- Property tax: Projected budget of $16,873,338
- County sales and use tax: Projected budget of $17,030,456
- Rental tax: Projected budget of 2,685,397
- Building permits: Projected budget $1,068,944
- Simplified Sellers Use Tax (online purchases): Projected budget $1,250,000 (which goes back to the local school boards)
- School safety initiative: Projected budget $687,255 (will include an increase for the law enforcement contracts, whose costs have not changed since 2010).
- The highway budget has a slight increase from the past several years, with a total projected revenue of $19,007,775.
- The landfill has an increase of 7.9% over the 2021 budget at $5,730,000.
- Water services had an increase of 3.3% at $12,482,024.
The general fund revenue projection for FY22 is $72,532,459.
“Cheryl has done a great job going through this line by line using different types of projection models and meeting with each department head,” Scroggins said. “I feel comfortable with the revenues and her conservative approach.”
The commission passed three resolutions that included:
- Accepting a bid for liquid copper sulfate to the lowest bidder, Thornton, Musso and Bellemin, for $9.87 unit price per gallon.
- Accepting a bid from UWS, Inc. for $6,885,201.27 to replace the water line along Old U.S. 280. This will include funds from the American Rescue Plan.
- Approve an ADECA Community Development Block Grant Support to build a community center in the town of Wilton. Shelby County will provide grant assistance, project management and funding to support the town of Wilton’s application for CDBG. The estimated cost is $523,785. The CDBG funding is limited to $300,000 and Shelby County will provide a maximum of $75,000 to assist in the completion of the project if grand funding is awarded.
The next Shelby County Commission meeting will be held on Aug. 23 at 6 p.m. at the Shelby County Administration Building in Columbiana.