Jasper City Council | October 5, 2026

The Jasper City Council meeting on October 5, 2026, focused heavily on water and wastewater infrastructure and funding. The city announced $15 million in Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) financing for a transmission line supporting a groundwater supply from Gilmer County: $7.5 million is expected to be forgiven or provided as grant funding, with the remaining $7.5 million as a 0% loan repayable over up to 20 years. Staff also reviewed ongoing projects supported by approximately $8 million in earlier GEFA funding, including wastewater pumping and collection-system work and rehabilitation of the Woodline water treatment plant. UWS, Inliner, and Rehab Construction were identified as project contractors. Additional change-order costs are anticipated, including road restoration; staff planned to bring options and costs to the council in a future meeting.

Staff estimated utility relocations for the upcoming State Route 53 project at about $5 million and said the city had asked the Georgia Department of Transportation/state to cover the cost; the project may be bid in December and construction is expected to take three to four years. The council also held the second public hearing on the proposed property-tax rate. The proposed rate was 7.636 mills, compared with the current 6.136 mills and a 6.092-mill rollback rate; no rate was adopted at this hearing, and another hearing was scheduled. Staff cited roughly $130,000 in projected insurance and benefits increases and said the budget included no capital-purchase allocation. The council approved the consolidated agenda and requests for the Veterans Day parade and a Georgia Impact fall soccer league at Lee Newton Park. No new infrastructure contract award was identified at this meeting.