The Calhoun City Council officially adopted the 2026 city property tax millage rate at 2.25 mills and approved the Calhoun City Schools rate at the full rollback rate of 10.888 mills during Monday night’s regular meeting. While the city’s 2.25 rate reflects a 1.25-mill decrease from last year, state law required it to be advertised as a property tax increase because it sits above the calculated rollback rate.
In zoning action, the lone agenda item to fail was developer Alaska Grogan’s variance request at 400 Harlan Street. Grogan sought to reduce the required floor area for 30 proposed apartment units from 800 square feet down to 748 square feet to accommodate a sidewalk, but the council denied the request following Fire Department concerns regarding emergency vehicle access and a lack of demonstrated hardship.
All other items on the agenda were approved, greenlighting several major infrastructure projects:
Water Infrastructure: SmithBuilt Construction Group was awarded a $3,972,568.29 contract to construct a new 2.25-million-gallon ground storage water tank on Fire Tower Road to replace an aging tank built in 1962.
Curtis Parkway: EXP Engineering was approved to provide construction engineering and inspection services for Phase One and Phase Two road improvement projects on Curtis Parkway.
Street Resurfacing: Northwest Georgia Paving was awarded a $322,374.16 LMIG bid to resurface and stripe 1.72 miles of city streets, including Hillcrest Drive, College Street, and Old Red Bud Road. Woodrow Street, Chandler Street, and Woodlawn Avenue are also scheduled for repaving and will undergo 1.5 inches of milling.
Looking ahead to community events, Rocktober Fest is officially rescheduled for Saturday, October 24th, after being postponed due to high wind forecasts associated with Hurricane Isaias. Alcohol licenses were also approved for Casa Brasa Peruvian Restaurant on North River Street and Samarthya Business LLC on East May Street. For Halloween, Downtown Calhoun merchants will host Trick or Treat on Friday, October 30th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., while the city’s official Halloween observance for children ages 12 and under is set for Saturday, October 31st from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m..
In local education, both Gordon County Schools and Calhoun City Schools are currently out on Fall Break. Classes and regular school operations for both systems will resume next Monday, October 19th.
We were joined on the broadcast today by local attorney Giles Jones, who walked us through the legal nuances of handling deeds, wills, trusts, civil forfeiture, and hunting violations. For professional legal guidance on any of these matters, you can reach his office directly at 706-625-2233.
In law enforcement news, Gordon County Sheriff Mitch Ralston reports that Alan Pryor, who went missing yesterday, has been successfully located and is safe. Sheriff Ralston extended sincere appreciation to the public and assisting agencies, including the GBI, TBI, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the New Market Police Department, for their role in bringing the search to a positive conclusion.
The latest Gordon County jail media report includes the following recent arrests:
Franisco J Fraire, 43, Resaca, GCSO, Possession of Methamphetamine
Kayley Ann-Marie Hardy, 28, Ranger, GCSO, Hold for Dalton PD, Hold for Murray Co SO
Jerry Brian Satterfield, 49, Dawsonville, GCSO, Bench Warrant Theft-Conversion, TBT, Theft-Deception
Jayden Lloyd Scott, 18, Chatsworth, GCSO, Burglary – 2nd Degree
Turning to politics and elections, early in-person voting for the upcoming midterm elections gets underway today. For voters looking to cast their ballots early, please visit the Gordon County Board of Elections page for the official list of authorized early voting locations, required voter identification guidelines, and exact operating hours.
A presidential visit is also planned for Northwest Georgia later this week. President Donald Trump will hold a midterm campaign rally at the Dalton Municipal Airport this Friday, October 16th. Trump is visiting to campaign in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Representative Mike Collins in his race against Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff. Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson is also slated to appear. The airport is located at 4483 Airport Road; doors open at 11:30 a.m. with remarks scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for the event are available online at events.gop.com.