County officials are considering helping to fund the construction of roads through the Resaca Battlefield site in hopes that the state will make good on a commitment to fund the overall battle-field park project.

Commission Chairman Alvin Long announced Tuesday night that the state had pulled approxi-mately $2 million of the $5,750,000 dedicated to the project. The state has dedicated these funds to projects in Cobb County, and state officials say they do not want to start the battlefield project with-out enough money to finish it now, he explained.

The county was notified of the shortage only about 30 days ago, Long said. Of the $3,750,000 left, about $750,000 was to be used for the roadwork the county is now considering contributing to.

State officials have asked Gordon County, the city of Resaca and the city of Calhoun how much money they are willing to put into the project, Long said. When local officials met with the Depart-ment of Natural Resources recently, the state was 45 days away from pulling all funding from the battlefield, he stated.

He said he hopes a commitment from local entities to help build the roads may encourage the state to move forward.

The county is still in the process of figuring out how much money it would need to contribute, ac-cording to County Administrator Randy Dowling.

The county has been trying to get the state to develop the battlefield for the last 10 years, or so, Long said. The state purchased the property and local officials worked with the DNR to secure the needed $5 million in state funding.

Long said the park, if completed, will provide a “tremendous boost” for the county and for Resaca.

It would be similar, he explained, to the setup at the Chickamauga Battlefield and would include a museum, a manned welcome center, theater and educational walks, among other attractions.

MACTEC contract

Commissioners voted to renew an annual on-call contract with MACTEC Engineering and Con-sulting, Inc. for $2,500 per month or $30,000 per year.

According to a letter from MACTEC to the commissioners dated, Sept. 25, the company provides the following on-call services for the county: “rezoning application reviews, variance application reviews, comprehensive plan amendments, unified land development code amendments, zoning map amendments, grant assistance, landscape plan review and technical assistance to the Gordon County Historic preservation commission.”

The letter says, “MACTEC will coordinate with county officials on a minimum of once per week to collect planning applications for review and to deliver comments on work product to the county.” The letter also said MACTEC representatives will attend county planning commission meetings on and monthly basis and one commissioner’s meeting per month.

The entire contract is viewable at www.gordoncounty.org.

Also during the Aug. 15 meeting, commissioners:

- Announced the next county sponsored movie night will be Oct. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sonoaraville Recreation Center.

- Announced the annual surplus auction will take place Friday, Sept. 25, at the county fairgrounds.

- Presented a gift to recently-retired sheriff’s deputy Tom Owens.