Morse Provides Update on City Projects

Work is wrapping up on a significant project for the city of Toccoa water system.

Monday, Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse told city commissioners that dredging work at Davidson Lake was all but complete.

Morse said that the city is glad to see this project wrapping up after years of planning and about a year of actual work.

“It is really our primary drinking water lake,” said Morse. “A lot of people think Lake Toccoa is but we are taking water out of Lake Davidson and pumping it into Lake Toccoa virtually every day. It had silted up, like every lake does, so you periodically have to dredge it to get its capacity back to where it needs to be.”

Morse said the project cost about $900,000, well under the original estimate of $2 million.

Also, dredging work is now underway at the water plant lagoon and Morse says that is going well and that project may be expanded with city commission approval.

Elsewhere, Morse said the city has almost completed planned renovations at Henderson Falls Park.

“We have a new observation deck at the Falls,” said Morse. “We have new picnic shelters. The parking lot was re-surfaced last week.”

He said still to be completed are the lighting and the new tennis court fencing, as well as repairs to the amphitheater seating.

The city funded that work in part with a grant, as well as with SPLOST funds that were available.

Meanwhile, Morse said two other ongoing projects in Toccoa should also be wrapping up in the near future.

One is the city hall roof work, set to be done on November 8, and the Tugalo Street sidewalk, which should be done by the end of the year.

In addition to all of that, Morse said the public restrooms downtown have been re-painted, work is continuing on the city’s financial software conversion, renovations are underway at the Reflections events center at the Links at Lake Toccoa, and the fire department burn building construction is still moving along.