A lot of time, effort, conversation, and money may have gone for naught, as Baldwin County Manager Carlos Tobar announced this week that the county will not pursue a state grant for affordable housing.
Baldwin County commissioners were to decide on Monday during a called meeting which of two developers would be the potential recipient of a $2.5M grant and $1M loan from the State of Georgia through the Rural Initiative Program to provide necessary infrastructure for building affordable housing.
Instead, at the meeting’s outset, Tobar informed the three board members and visitors present that the project would not go forward – at least not as a county endeavor.
He explained the Georgia Rural Housing Program is in just its second year, with few grants awarded so far.
“We thought it would be a good idea for the county to look at developers to develop affordable housing in our county,” Tobar said, pointing out three proposals were submitted, though one was withdrawn.
Unforeseen issues arose, however. “As we went through the process, we had invited the city to participate in the process because both of the properties would have to secure access to city sewer and water,” Tobar said.
“As we had more discussions as late as this morning, because both parcels are contiguous to the City of Milledgeville, and the roads leading to the parcels are city-maintained roads, and because they would have to be annexed, my recommendation today is going to be that commissioners reject both proposals.”
Tobar added that rejection of the proposals by the county would allow city officials to move forward with a grant application if they chose to do so.
Commission Vice-Chairman Kendrick Butts was presiding in the absence of Johnny Westmoreland, and board member Henry Craig was also absent, leaving Sammy Hall and Emily Davis to constitute a quorum.
Hall made the motion to reject the two proposals and it passed unanimously.
Tobar also told the commissioners that he would need some guidance regarding future efforts by the county.
“You need to give direction as to whether you want to issue another request for proposals strictly for unincorporated area projects,” he informed board members.
“I would wait until we have all commissioners present to make that decision,” Hall responded, and Davis asked that it be placed on the agenda for the next meeting on July 18.
Developers Randy Rich and Lawson Lawrence submitted proposals for the housing grant program. They were required to submit detailed plans, including elevations, number of housing units with square footages, and costs.
Rich was not present at the May 21 work session, and it was noted there was some lack of information in his package. Further, two nearby residents at the meeting voiced opposition to the project off Dunlap Road by Lawrence, citing traffic congestion and negative impact on the neighborhood.
Additionally, a lack of notification to the community was mentioned, and Davis requested another meeting be set to allow input from neighborhood residents. The commissioners voted at the meeting immediately following that work session to accept proposals until June 7, with a decision to be made at the meeting this past Monday.
On Tuesday, Milledgeville City Manager Hank Griffeth said he had not heard from any developers regarding the matter and had no comment.