Pickens County department updates: parks registration, water tank problems and recycling volumes

At the start of its Jan. 4 called meeting the Pickens County Board of Commissioners received several department updates during a shortened work session.

Parks & Recreation (speaker identified as Graham) said youth basketball is winding down, spring baseball/softball/tee‑ball registration opened and runs through February with late registration set for Feb. 16–18; the department reported about 650 baseball registrations last year and expects similar participation. Staff also said pickleball courts and gym stripe repainting were completed after a prior paint error.

Water staff described a string of service issues over the holiday period, noting crews worked continuously Dec. 21 through the New Year. Staff reported a tank losing pressure that left four nearby homes without reliable service and said they will install small booster pumps for those customers and that three large pumps that had failed to start over the holidays have parts on order; a site visit and electrical work were scheduled with the parts estimated to arrive with a two‑week turnaround.

Recycling staff said the county handled about 70,000 bags of trash in 2023 and had processed roughly 2,800 bags since reopening after the break. The board discussed animal‑shelter intake constraints related to mandatory three‑day quarantine and floor drainage that creates cross‑contamination risk; county staff said a new shelter would be a future project requiring separate budget action.

Next steps: departments will continue close‑out work on 2023 figures and return with detailed budget numbers at the regular meeting later in the month.