Monday, May 12, 2025–10:25 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The Floyd County Commission will consider a bid for a paving project on Rush Chapel Road when they meet Tuesday.
Northwest Georgia Paving, Inc. will get the nod pending contract approval for the amount of $398,160.
Rush Chapel Road will be closed at three locations for repairs this week for repairs ahead of the paving project.
Those locations are Rush Chapel Road near Calhoun Road at #1050, followed by #865 in the middle and concluding with #82 near Highway 140.
The commission will also consider a property transfer from the City of Cave Spring to Floyd County near the ES Brown Park.
Also Tuesday, a rezoning for a proposed data center near Coosa Middle School is slated for a first reading.
This is just a first reading, so no action will be taken.
A public hearing and vote will come during the commission’s next meeting on May 27.
The planning commission voted 5-2 to approve with a number of conditions:
1. That the use is limited to a data center and/or uses that directly support a data center, located within one or more buildings.
2. That exterior lighting be limited to dark sky lighting. Exterior illumination shall be shielded, downcast and of a luminosity designed to maintain the existing night sky darkness and to prevent light trespass onto adjacent properties. In order to obtain this objective, the following criteria shall be met:
a. All fixtures shall be full cut-off type fixtures
b. Light poles shall be no taller than 25 feet in height
c. All light poles must be set back a minimum of 10 feet from any exterior property line
d. Maximum foot-candles at the property line shall be 0.5. The planning director may require a photometric lighting plan which shows conformity with these requirements as part of any building permit application.
3. That the proposed data center development shall not produce continuous sound that exceeds an average of 65 decibels over any 30-minute period from 8 AM to 6 PM, measured at any adjacent property boundary between the data center and a residential property. Nor shall the proposed data center development produce continuous sound that exceed an average of 55 decibels over any thirty minute period from 6 PM to 8 AM, measured at any adjacent boundary between the site and residential property. Violations of these sound levels may be prosecuted in the same manner as other zoning ordinance violations.
a. After issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for each data center building, Floyd County may obtain sound studies or require the data center operator to provide a sound study to verify that the operation is in compliance with the conditions listed above. If a data center is found to be in violation of the requirements above, Floyd County may direct that the data center take appropriate steps to operate within the requirements of condition (3) above. The planning director may require the data center operator to propose a solution, and a time period for implementation. If the planning director approves such a solution, and the data center fails to successfully implement that solution within the time approved, the violator shall be subject to a fine up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day that the violation exists until full compliance is obtained.
b. The data center operator shall continue to bear the costs of any sound test or study required to monitor violations of condition (3).
Also on the agenda are contracts related to public safety radio maintenance and repairs, the purchase of Shat-R-Shield lights and junction boxes for the Floyd County Jail, and a a request from the airport for a corporate hangar project (construction) task order.
The county commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Floyd County Administration Building on Fourth Avenue in Rome. The caucus will start at 4 p.m.
During the caucus, there will be a discussion regarding the 4th Avenue and 6th Avenue parking decks.
