Last year, Chattooga County Commissioner Blake Elsberry sent a letter to Try-Con in Lyerly demanding the company reimburse the county $47,000 for sewer line expansion at the company’s plant on Highway 114.   Now, the commissioner is rescinding that demand and Try-Con is looking to be annexed into the Town of Lyerly.

According to The Summerville News, on the advise of an attorney hired by Elsberry, the county is abandoning its demand for repayment of the money.  In fact, the attorney hired by the commissioner said that it was not evident that anything illegal had taken place and acknowledged that the State of Georgia and economic development leaders were fully aware of and signed off on the project.

The county provided some support for the project, as did the Town of Lyerly, Georgia Power and the Georgia DOT.

Try-Con’s Milford Morgan talked with WZQZ News on Thursday and said that he learned that the county was abandoning its demand when he picked up a copy of the local newspaper yesterday.  Morgan said, “I just hate it that it appears that in his zeal to damage the former commissioner in some fashion (Elsberry) actually brought Try-Con, and me personally,  into this deal without even researching it.”

Elsberry admitted to reporters last year that he did not know the details about the project and had no documentation at the time he made the demand to back up the claim that the county had improperly performed work at Try-Con during the previous administration’s tenure.

Morgan told WZQZ that Try-Con is now seeking to be annexed into the city limits of Lyerly.  Morgan says that he has approached the town and they are more than willing to have Try-Con and neighboring Smith Iron Works inside the city limits.  Morgan said that the move will allow his company to work with a yet-to-be formed Lyerly Economic Development Authority, instead of working with the county government in the future.

Morgan added that he stopped Commissioner Elsberry on the street recently and the commissioner asked Morgan if he realized his property taxes would go up if Lyerly annexes Try-Con.  Milford told WZQZ, “It will indeed go up – about $1400 per year.  I will gladly pay $1400 a year to have a good working relationship with a government entity.”

Try-Con tufting is still planning the multi-million dollar expansion at the Lyerly facility.  Morgan said that the pandemic slowed down the plans, but that the company is still looking to expand as the economy continues to recover.

For his part, Commissioner Elsberry released the following statement: