Friday, July 25, 2025–10:30 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Bids for the grading and site work for the new Floyd County Agricultural Center could go out as soon as September 1.
Ag. Center Director Kate Harman recently gave updates to the Floyd County Commissioners and members of the Floyd County Cattlemen’s Association.
She told county commissioners that when bids are issued for the grading and site work, bid packages will also be sent out for the build itself.
“So none of our engineers and nobody has to backtrack, we’re just going to get those packages ready,” she said. “Of course, we are not going to immediately put out the bid itself until we have a better timeline from the folks that we contract with for the site plan. But, at least we are kind of saving money and time by just getting all those packages done all at once while everyone is familiar with the project.”
The Ag. Center is a citizen-submitted Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) project, approved by voters in 2017.
There have been delays in the construction because the site plan had to be reworked following the discovery of wetlands.
Harman told commissioners that she truly believes they have been able to turn that into a positive.
“It gives us a little more green space,” she said. “We’ve got that aesthetic, and we can work with different programs, as far as our Master Gardeners and different wildlife groups. We can work with the ECO Center, where we can bring in native azaleas. We can revamp that ecosystem and actually make it a good working wetland. What I keep telling folks as well is that every one of us who has a farm, we’ve got to work with the land that we are given.”
The complex, situated between the mall and the tennis center, will feature a covered main arena, two practice arenas, livestock barns, wash racks, a bathhouse, a dump station, and parking for camping and trailers.
There is space for conference suites, catering-accessible kitchens, and offices for the Agriculture Center, 4-H, and Extension.
