About 60 spaces in the shell of the demolished parking deck downtown will be available for cars next week.

Gordon County Administrator Randy Dowling said about 30 public parking spaces should be open by next Tuesday.

The county also plans to open the remaining top portion of the parking deck with about 30 spaces for employee parking. The remainder of the upper level, Board of Commissioners Chairperson Judy Bailey explained during the board’s regular meeting Tuesday, is actually constructed on solid ground. The portion of the top deck that caved in during January’s snowfall under the weight of a snowplow truck hung out over the lower deck.

Dowling added that there will be concrete barricades around the spaces on the upper deck.

“This will be a temporary situation until we can build a permanent parking deck,” he explained.

Parking was already often at a premium in downtown Calhoun before the collapse of the deck. Calhoun City Council lifted the parking ordinance in the downtown area at the beginning of May for 90 days, allowing individuals to park in two-hour spaces without penalty.

Plans for a new parking deck – an approximate $1 million project – are included in the proposed project list for the 2012 SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax), should voters opt to pass it in November.

The demolition of the old county jail will begin June 11, Bailey said, with a completion date of Sept. 5. The county awarded the bid to Environmental Holdings Group earlier this month. A $20,000 contingency was added to the overall $226,000 cost of the demolition, mainly to offset possible costs for idle equipment.

Environmental Holdings Group agreed to accommodate a request from Gordon County Superior Court officials that noise be kept to a minimum during court days, but the company may require up to $15,000 in compensation, depending on how long equipment must be left idle.

Bailey said Tuesday that superior court judges have kept the days they will need minimal noise to two.

The demolition cost will be part of the 2011-2012 fiscal year budget, Dowling said.

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Also during the Tuesday, May 17 meeting, commissioners:

Approved the declaration of two sheriff’s office vehicles as surplus.

Approved a public transportation proposal for fiscal year 2011-2012 for North Georgia Community Action, Inc. to operate the 5311 van program. This is an annual agreement.

Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Calhoun for election services by the Gordon County Board of Elections for conducting city elections. This is a renewal of an existing agreement. According to County Attorney Suzanne Hutchinson-Smith, the only change is that there will be an automatic option to renew this agreement at the end of its four-year term.

Approved a facilities usage agreement with Greater Community Day Camp to operate a summer camp at the Sonoraville Recreation Department, beginning June 1. The recreation department does not operate a camp, BOC Chairperson Judy Bailey explained. “We feel like this will give that side of the county an opportunity for daycare,” she said, adding that the camp is similar to the Boys and Girls Club program the Calhoun Recreation Department runs during the summer.

Approved a rezoning request from Helen Barrett Paul and Harry Barrett to rezone a 1.4 acre property from C-G to A-1.