Rome approves SPLOST funds for NWGA hospital property

Posted September 28, 2021 in Authority News

The Rome City Commission approved the use of $1.125 million in SPLOST funds as the city’s portion of the purchase price for the former Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital property.

The question during the commission caucus and in the meeting Monday concerned the best use of the property once purchased.

Commissioner Mark Cochran argued the 100-plus acre property should be used for residential housing. By pursuing industrial or manufacturing recruitment, he said, the city is continuing to make the same mistakes and should rethink their plan.

Commissioners floated other ideas for the potential use of the property, but as the votes were cast it came down to one thing — commissioners felt the city should acquire the property. Cochran cast the sole vote against approving the funds for the purchase.

“You have to pay that to get in the ballgame,” Commissioner Sundai Stevenson said. “This is the first step.”

The money is coming from $2.25 million earmarked in the 2013 and 2017 SPLOST packages — half through the city and half through Floyd County.

But purchasing the property from the state for industrial and manufacturing use doesn’t bring jobs that pay enough to be worth the effort, Cochran argued. Add the fact that cities along I-75 also have properties to attract the same pool of customers, he said, and the idea is a non-starter.

“It’s not the best use of the property and taxpayer money,” Cochran said. “I-75 is a juggernaut we cannot compete with.”

Disagreeing, Mayor Craig McDaniel said the best use of the property is industry recruitment as has been proposed by the Rome Floyd Development Authority, .

“Here in the course of a short period of time we’ve gotten two residential developers looking to work here,” McDaniel said. “We’ve also gone from zero to (a large amount of) acreage for development. … How I see it is home run after home run after home run.”

Also on Monday, Commissioners offered hopes of speedy recovery to two men, WLAQ broadcaster Randy Davis and former city manager John Bennett, who have recently undergone major surgeries.

The board again tabled a proposed amendment to the city-wide curfew ordinance that would have changed the curfew for unaccompanied minors from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. The proposal was originally tabled at the Sept. 13 meeting.

Commissioners also unanimously approved the rezoning of Courtesy Ford property to heavy industrial use for a service department expansion.

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