Tired Creek accumulates $36.9 million in expenses since 2004
Published 12:26 pm Monday, August 21, 2017
- Since 2004, a total of $36.9 million has been spent on the Tired Creek Lake project.
CAIRO — Tired Creek Lake, Grady County’s extensive project, has accumulated millions in expenses since 2004, according to figures provided by the county.
Since 2004, a total of $36.9 million has been spent on the project.
The biggest ticket expense is a total of $11.3 million in mitigation costs.
The costs stem from deviations in the Tired Creek Lake plan by Kent Campbell of Eco South, the project’s consulting engineer at the time. According to a February 2016 Times-Enterprise article, deviations were discovered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December 2014.
“He (Campbell) deviated from the plan he gave the Corps,” said Grady County Administrator Carlos Tobar.
The deviations, Tobar said, were in wetlands and stream bank construction for Tired Creek Lake.
Approximately $5.3 million in mitigation costs was spent for Tired Creek Lake in 2014. In 2016, approximately $5.9 million was spent in mitigation costs.
Another big-ticket expenditure was the total $8.9 million expense for the lake’s dam. Approximately $7.4 million was spent between 2004-14, $1.3 million in 2015 and $167,171 in 2016.
Road expenses include a total of $1.3 million for construction and a total of $227,725 in rights-of-way acquisition.
Funding sources include:
• 2010 revenue bond: $15.3 million
• 2015 revenue bond: $9.9 million
• General fund: $5.2 million
• SPLOST 2014: $3.6 million
• State Road and Tollway Authority: $1.2 million
• Tired Creek Lake timber sale: $1.06 million
• Tired Creek Lake miscellaneous revenue: $166,396
• Georgia Department of Transportation LMIG: $151,763
• SPLOST 2008: $127,725
The expenses were presented Aug. 15 at the regular Grady County Board of Commissioners meeting.
“We just kinda stuck with the hard costs,” Tobar said, noting the expenses for Tired Creek Lake are calculations based on direct costs.
Tobar described audience reaction to the expenses as “quiet.”
“We have to see this lake be a success,” he added.
Reporter Jordan Barela can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1826.
