CLARKESVILLE — Habersham County leaders say they would like to partner with Demorest on a joint public safety complex, but the timing isn't right financially for the county.
Demorest Mayor Rick Austin approached County Manager Phil Sutton about the city and county partnering on a joint city/county public safety facility in Demorest to serve the residents of both jurisdictions.
The need is immediate for Demorest, whose current fire station is faltering, while the need for Habersham County is more of a long-term project.
Austin proposed a facility that could house the city's fire and police departments and municipal court/council chambers, as well as the county's emergency services headquarters and possibly the 9-1-1 center.
That concept was discussed during Monday’s Habersham County Commission work session, with commissioners saying they fully support the concept but are not in a financial position to participate with Demorest in the immediate future.
Habersham County Fire Chief/Assistant Emergency Services Director Jeff Cain said a facility close to Ga. 365 in the Demorest area would be ideal for the county’s emergency services headquarters because it is in the center of the county.
Commissioner Ed Nichols agreed.
Cain said a future emergency services facility would need to house a fire truck and up to three ambulances currently housed at a temporary facility on Robertson Loop Road, adding it also would make sense to relocate the administrative staff to that facility from Station 9 in Hollywood.
Commission Chairman Victor Anderson said the county certainly is interested but doesn't have the funding needed at this time to partner with Demorest in the venture.
"Unfortunately, the scope of this project and what would be involved with the county's involvement is something that is fairly significant and fairly costly,” Anderson told AccessWDUN. “We don't have the funds available and will not be able to do a project like that and fund a project like that in the next couple of years."
Anderson said a few other projects must be completed before the county can partner with Demorest, but added commissioners are very interested in making something like that happen in the future.
Commissioner Andrea Harper said she fully supports the concept but noted the county must build a new jail and a new animal shelter, and continue to pay the debt on the hospital, before adding another substantial building project.
“I just don’t know how we can take on something like that right now,” Harper said.
Currently, work is progressing on the county’s new administration building on Toccoa Highway at Jacob’s Way, adjacent to the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center. A revised work schedule pushes occupation of that facility to the end of the first quarter of 2019 due to heavy rainfall and problems procuring steel.
Sutton said an emergency services headquarters is something county leaders need to address and resolve in the next few years.
