BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Bradford County cut a check for the $4 million promised to Starke for the extension of water and sewer lines down State Road 16 but isn’t ready to hand it over.
County commissioners have asked for more communication about the progress of the project.
Starke requested the ARPA funding to extend utilities to the recently annexed site of a future mixed-used development. The pandemic response dollars are just one of several funding sources need to carry out the $14.8 million project.
Chief Deputy Clerk Rachel Rhoden said the city recently requested the funds, which the county designated to the city in January 2023. Prior to issuing the check, she said they reached out to county auditors to see if there would be any additional reporting requirements for issuing a sum of that amount.
They suggested that the county considering entering a memorandum of understanding with the city that the funds be used for their intended purpose.
Rhoden thought it was a great suggestion, and she said Starke Chief Administrative Officer Jimmy Crosby expressed willingness to provide ongoing expense reports showing how the funds were being spent.
Commissioner Carolyn Spooner said it was an excellent recommendation promoting accountability for such a large sum of money. Chairman Danny Riddick said another option would be to release the money in multiple draws as it was being spent.
But Commissioner Chris Dougherty said the county hasn’t seen any plans or heard any presentation from the city or its consultants about what specifically the $4 million would pay for.
“This could be $4 million towards a basket that goes into the wastewater treatment plant, and it’s not getting us any further to the bypass, which was what the plan was, to get infrastructure out to the bypass to create economic development opportunities,” Dougherty said.
He said he wanted that information before releasing any funds.
“I would like to see their consultant come to our meeting and discuss with us where that money’s going, so that we know where that money is being spent. Because again, we could, we could put the 2 million that they have with the 4 million that we have — $6 million — and never get one foot closer to that bypass because of the upgrades that they would need to do to their system to be able to take on any additional capacity coming from the future growth,” Dougherty said.
County Manager Scott Kornegay expressed confidence they could make that presentation happen at the next board meeting. Dougherty specifically asked for plans, and not just a presentation.
“I’d like to see where the additional pump stations are going, where the additional pipe sizes are being increased, what the current capacity is at the wastewater treatment plant and know if, in fact, that we’ll be able to take on additional capacity from any future economic growth and development. So, I think we’ve got the cart before the horse here,” he said.
In addition to the presentation, the county attorney will work on an agreement covering use of the funding.
