12-04-2025
Wrens reviews recent list of grant-funded projects
Citizens of the city of Wrens vocal support of SPLOST initiatives are soon going to see their votes for city and county initiatives come to fruition.
Last Tuesday night's meeting, April 1, had a brief agenda and after the procedural votes and approval of agenda and past work session minutes, City Manager Arty Thrift walked the council and those assembled through the city's finances. Thrift went over the revenue and expenses of the different funds that make up the city's budget.
'Right now we are in a positive position regarding the budget, but we have projects that we are doing which will have expenses. We also know that the budget starts tighten in the summer months,' Thrift said.
Before starting the financial presentation, Thrift shared the news that DTS was the company contracted to remove all storm debris from Hurricane Helene off roadsides throughout Jefferson County, including Wrens.
'1,370,000 cubic yards of debris has been hauled off from Jefferson County," Thrift said. "This is the end of the paid removal, so if anyone still has debris on their property it will be the responsibility of the property owner to remove any remaining debris."
The 2023 CDBG Housing Grant is a million dollar grant that will remodel, rehab, and repair 10 residential homes in the Magnolia Heights Subdivision. According CSRA Grant Administrator Sydney Stouffer two houses have been completed and three more are scheduled for a contract sign up.
One of the major future expenses for the city of Wrens will be a new well project. Turnipseed Engineers stated the project will cost $2,498,300.
Thrift said the city has agreed to pay $185,000 towards the project. The city received a $2,313,300 grant from GEFA that would grant $2,081,894 in principal forgiveness.
'That would leave us with a balance of $231,300," Thrift said. "Considering the $185,000 initial outlay, the city's total commitment is $416,300 (projected cost). Regarding the $231,300 balance we have some options on how to pay that. GEFA can set up a long term loan to pay off the balance. However, we do have money from the 2022 SPLOST that we have earmarked for water/sewer projects including $181,538 for water/sewer projects.'
Updating the well project, the test well has been dug. Water has to be tested for quality and analyzed to make sure it is safe to bathe in, cook and drink for the citizens of Wrens. In addition the volume requirements need to be 1,000 gallons per minute.
'We also still have funds from the American Rescue Plan Act 2021, which was a federal grant program associated with COVID relief," Thrift said. "We have $345,509 left on the grant which the city dedicated to water system projects. This could assist in helping finance the new well project and the American Tank Maintenance Project. Once the new well is built you have to maintain the tank and the EPA inspects them and maintenance can be expensive.'
Wrens also was awarded a 2022 GEFA grant of $100,000.
Throughout Thrift's report he reiterated his and the council's gratitude for citizens voting for SPLOST over the years.
'I want to tell you how much easier it makes our job when we have a citizens that vote for SPLOST so we can do projects and make improvements. Not just Wrens but Jefferson County always has supported SPLOST votes,' Thrift said.
The city also received a CSRA TIA that can be used for transportation projects, equipment, and administration. Wrens Fire Department received a 2024 First Responder grant of $15,000 that the department has already ordered the equipment.
Thrift also pointed to a couple of projects that have been funded by Local Maintenance Improvement Grant from GDOT, $42,564 from 2024 is helping cover paving costs on Chalker Street and 2024 Supplemental that provided $58,167 for Howard Street and Mathews Street.
'The 2025 grant will focus on Washington Street," Thrift said. "We got $49,234 from GDOT. The total cost to complete the paving will be $219,000. However, since half of the street is in the city limits of Wrens and half in the county, Jefferson County will help pay for half of the paving. We have also applied for the 2026 grant.'
A grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety for $23,799 from 2025 helped the police department purchase laser cam and reimburse for program specific work hours and objectives.
'We have also applied for a $17,000 grant for 2026 that is also program specific objectives and work hours," Thrift said. "The program requires us to get out and protect the roads. Make sure we are doing road checks and we send in traffic ticket numbers and DUI's. This grant helps us with expense of doing that.'
Finally, Thrift had decided to apply for $15,000 grant from the AARP. Originally, Thrift's goal was to build a pavilion at Johnson Lake. However, since the city didn't meet the specific requirements of the grant, Thrift began to work with Tammie Bennett from Jefferson County Leisure Center, which serves all Jefferson County seniors including those in Wrens.
'We were able to take this grant and we are going to be able to purchase some exercise bikes, treadmills, and other equipment that will help the seniors active,' Thrift said.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Wrens manager reviews current grants and coming projects
