The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners on Monday took a step that Chairman Jevin Jensen said could keep historic Prater’s Mill “available to the public for many years to come.”
The board voted 4-0 to approve a $159,000 contract with Gresham Smith, a planning and design firm with offices across the nation, for engineering and architectural services for the south side of the Prater’s Mill site.
Jensen typically votes only if there is a tie.
In June, commissioners accepted an Improving Neighborhood Outcomes in Disproportionately Impacted Communities grant from the state that is funding the contract.
Before the vote, Commissioner Barry Robbins asked if “the engineering firm has been vetted and we are confident they are going to do what” the county wants.
Jake Bearden, coordinator of the Greater Dalton Metropolitan Planning Organization, who is the point man for the county on the project, said Gresham Smith has done other work for the county and officials have been satisfied with their work.
“Jake, they are not just engineers, they are sort of project managers, right?” said Commissioner Greg Jones.
Bearden said the project manager for the Prater’s Mill work will be Gresham Smith’s Eric Lusher.
“He has worked with us on other projects in the past from a planning capacity and based on the proposal they have done other projects using similar funds similar to what we are requesting,” Bearden said. “Gresham Smith is very respected across the state. We’ve done reference checks on them. Everyone is happy with the work they’ve done. and they helped us with the updating of the Prater’s Mill master plan, so they are very familiar with the project.”
Jensen said Gresham Smith did “a good job” with helping the county update the master plan for Prater’s Mill, keeping commissioners, the Prater’s Mill Foundation and the public updated throughout the work. The Prater’s Mill Foundation sponsors the country fair at the historic grist mill near Varnell and has worked to preserve the mill for more than 50 years.
“They didn’t just wait until the end and say ‘Here’s the final proposal,” Jensen said.
Bearden said the contract calls for Gresham Smith to keep the county updated throughout the planning process. He said the plan will be presented to commissioners and to the public for review and comment before it is finalized.
Built by Benjamin Prater in 1855, the mill quickly became a hub of economic and social activity in Northwest Georgia. Farmers from across North Georgia brought their corn to be ground at the mill. The mill remained a vital part of the area for almost a century. But by 1971 the mill had fallen on hard times.
Two businessmen, Jim and Kenneth Boring, owned the mill, and a group that grew into the Prater’s Mill Foundation went to them and expressed the desire to lease the mill.
With a lease in hand, the group began the Prater’s Mill Country Fair to fund repairs to the mill. The first fair was Mother’s Day weekend in 1971.
In 2010, the Boring family donated the site to Whitfield County.
The Prater’s Mill site includes the 1855 flour mill, 1898 country store, Shugart Cotton Gin and Westbrook Barn. The mill is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the site is a Whitfield County historic site.