DALTON, Ga. — Dalton Utilities CEO Tom Bundros said Tuesday night that the utility has typically required that customers put up money in advance for sewer expansion, a model he says works well in the more densely populated city of Dalton. But it doesn’t work that well in the less populated areas of Whitfield County.

Bundros spoke at Dalton’s Mack Gaston Community Center to members of a citizens advisory committee that will make recommendations to the county Board of Commissioners for projects to be funded by a planned 2020 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

Bundros said the utility had identified five areas where developers have expressed an interest in sewer expansion but the cost of paying for it was prohibitively expensive. Bundros said SPLOST funds could be used to expand sewer to those areas.

The five areas are Cleveland Highway from about Beaverdale Road north to Frontier Trail; the area around the Carbondale interchange; the area around the Connector 3 interchange; part of the Westside running from Mill Creek Road along Crider Road to the intersection of Mount Vernon Road and Highway 201; and an area near the south Dalton bypass where the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners plans a park.

Mark Buckner, Dalton Utilities’ chief of watershed operations and economic development, said the total costs of those expansions would be about $10 million. He said those expansions could foster residential and/or commercial development in each of those areas, help increase the tax base and help bring more affordable housing to the area. But he said the impact would be long term.

Chris Shiflett, chairman of the advisory committee, said he had received multiple emails and phone calls from people supportive of using SPLOST to expand sewer.

Dalton Assistant Public Works Department Director Andrew Parker briefed advisory committee members on the department’s proposed request for funding from the SPLOST. Parker said the department is looking for $4 million for street resurfacing, $531,000 for heavy equipment replacement and $600,000 for bridge rehabilitation, including the Underwood Street bridge.

“The city has 180 centerline miles of streets to maintain,” Parker said.

He said the city budget typically has no funds for street resurfacing, which has typically been funded from SPLOST money and from state Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant money, which requires a 30% match from the city.

Dalton Municipal Airport Manager Andrew Wiersma explained why the airport would like to build an additional 10 hangars for aircraft. Wiersma said the airport already has 12 aircraft owners on a waiting list to fill those hangars.

The hangars would cost an estimated $1.058 million and are expected to generate $45,540 a year in revenue. Wiersma said that would increase the share of airport revenue from hangar rental to 40% from 32%. The airport currently derives 67% of its revenue from fuel sales, which Wiersma said is a less stable source of revenue than hangar rentals. 

Some committee members asked why the airport is requesting SPLOST funding for the hangars when they were included in a six-year Capital Improvement Plan, to be funded by the city’s general fund balance and by part of Dalton Utilities’ annual transfer payment, that was approved by the City Council on Monday.

Wiersma said Mayor Dennis Mock had asked him to make the presentation to see if the committee members might recommend reimbursing the city for all or part of the cost of the hangars. Committee members said they would like to see exactly what percentage of the project the city would like to see funded from the SPLOST.

The committee will only make recommendations for which projects should be funded by the SPLOST. The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners will make the final determination of which projects should be placed on the ballot.

The committee will meet on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library.