County awards contract for gymnasium; e-waste trailer will remain through Jan. 5

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners voted to award the bid for the construction of a new gymnasium to S.D. Clifton Construction, Inc. at its regular meeting held Thursday, December 13.

As part of the motion, the group authorized Commission Chairman Walker Norman to attempt to negotiate with the company to bring the $1,354,717 base bid within the county's $1.25 million budget. He was further authorized to sign the contract if negotiations are successful.

The gymnasium will be funded by:

(1) Monies generated by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), which went in to effect January 1, 2005. It is anticipated that the tax, approved by a county-wide referendum, will generate about $1.1 million for the project.

(2) A rollover of $126,640 in funds designated for recreation in the 2000 SPLOST.

Plans are for the gym to be constructed on the site of the old tennis courts at the Curry Colvin Recreation Complex. In addition to the actual gym, the building will house a concession stand; restroom and shower facilities; limited office space; storage space; a meeting room, measuring roughly 530 square feet; and a fitness center.

The gym will be built using preengineered steel.

The Studio 3 Design Group, an architectural firm headquartered in Bogart, Georgia, was hired by the commissioners in June to develop the drawings for the 13,800-square-foot facility.

In other business, Meg Burg, director of the Planning and Zoning Department, noted that response to the county's e-waste (broken or obsolete electronic equipment) recycling program has been tremendous.

"Due to the response we've received, we have decided to extend the program another three weeks, through Saturday, January 5," she stated. "We encourage anyone with any e-waste to drop it off at the county's convenience center on New Petersburg Road."

Electronic Recycling Services (ERS) of Norcross has stationed a special e-waste collection trailer at the convenience center. The center's hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

ERS has agreed to pick up and dispose of the e-waste at no charge to the county or the consumer. The electronic equipment will be transported to the company's plant in Atlanta, dismantled, and shipped to recycling facilities.

The company will only accept office related electronics. The list includes computers, monitors, printers, telephones, fax machines, copiers, calculators, cell phones, rechargeable batteries and wet or dry lead acid batteries, medical/testing equipment, all types of cables, power supplies and back-up power supplies (UPS), hubs, switches, and routers.

In further business, the commission:

.. Heard the Department of Public Safety Report given by Director Ernie Doss, who indicated that the ambulance and fire/rescue services responded to 112 calls for emergency assistance during the month of November. Call volume was up 39 calls when compared to November of 2006.

Concerning the E-911 center, operators handled 674 emergency calls last month, monitored 6,942 radio transmissions, and dispatched a total of 523 public safety, law enforcement, and fire calls.

In other comments, Director Doss said, "We have stabilized staffing by hiring a number of full-time and parttime employees. It's been a blessing the last two or three weeks."

.. Heard the Public Works Report given by Director Roby Seymour, who said his office billed 1,328 water customers and 417 "availability" customers for a total of $44,492.22 last month.

Concerning roads, the director reported that his staff has been busy taking down dead trees; working on equipment and trucks; bush-hogging; installing driveways; hauling sand, soil, rocks, and crush-and-run; grading roads; and patching pot holes.

Seymour added that the county has taken delivery of its new motor grader.

.. Voted to award the $220,708.40 bid submitted by Reeve's Construction for the resurfacing of Double Branches Road, from the Augusta Highway to Tankersley's Store at Highway 220. The Georgia DOT will cover approximately 60 percent of the project cost, with the remainder coming from the county's SPLOST Fund.

The project is expected to reach completion by April 15, 2008.

.. Heard the Recreation Department Report given by Director Kathie Davis, who said football season has ended, and there were no major problems. Also, basketball registration is scheduled to begin the week of December 17-21. The five-week season will start the first part of February.

.. Heard the Finance Department Report given by Director Traci Bussey.

.. Heard the Planning and Zoning Report given by Director Burg, who said her office issued 17 business licenses during the month of November for a total of $1,025. The county likewise received $800 in revenues from zoning requests.

Regarding code enforcement, 36 building permits were issued last month for a total of $1,119.50, and 163 building inspections were conducted.

.. Voted to rezone 1.02 acres of land on the Augusta Highway, belonging to Annette and Ronnie Johnson, from A-2 to C-1 to accommodate a small engine sales and repair shop.

.. Voted to grant the continuance of a non-conforming use of .82 acres of land, owned by Alexandra Williams, on Firetower Road.

.. Voted to approve the final plat determination for Phase II of the Stillwater Coves subdivision, located off of Hester's Ferry Road. Developed by George Miners and Bryce Grafton of Clark's Hill Lake, LLC, Phase II of the new subdivision will consist of 174 lots on 551.57 acres.

The road names in the second phase of the subdivision are as follows: Hardwood Drive, Magnolia Court, Rogers Road, Eagles' Nest Trail, Cody Trail, Edge Lane, Winding Ridge Drive, Galyn Lane, and Merganser Cove.

.. Voted to approve the final plat determination for Phase III (A and B) of Stillwater Coves, which consists of 16 lots on 97.09 acres.

.. Voted to grant alcoholic beverage license renewals to American Legion Post 597, Broad River General Store, and Soap Creek Lodge & Restaurant.

.. Voted to grant new alcoholic beverage licenses to Fishing Creek General Store, LLC and Golf de L, for- merly Rocky Branch Golf Club.

.. Voted to award the bid for Workers' Compensation Insurance for county employees to the Franklin Insurance Agency, the low bidder at $67,157.

.. Voted to waive the penalty on a 2006 tax bill for Robert Williams. The penalty was applied to the bill as the result of a clerical error.

.. Voted to correct the Tax Digest and release the tax bills to reflect the county's ownership of the new public works and planning and zoning offices and the land that was purchased to extend the soil pit off of Rowland-York Road.

.. Voted to grant a bond reduction request from the developers of the Eagle Pointe subdivision. The county will retain $182,076.28 of the original $735,270.08 bond.

.. Voted to release the $300,000 bond from Waterfront Group Georgia, LLC for the paving of Fishing Creek Estates Road.

.. Voted to grant a bond reduction request made by the developers of the Long Leaf Pointe subdivision. The bond will be reduced by $210,310.60, dropping the total retained by the county to $76,134.28.

.. Voted not to rope off a designated swimming area at Eddie Fletcher Memorial Park. To do so would not leave much swimming area due to the slope of the beach and the five-foot depth requirement.

.. Voted to award the bid for a new tractor to Augusta Turf and Tractor, the low bidder at $22,121.

.. Voted to authorize Chairman Norman to pay $500 to the United States Army Corps of Engineers for a right of entry permit for the Stillwater Coves subdivision, which will reimburse the county for the cost.

The permit will allow the developers of the subdivision to conduct an underwater sounding survey on Fishing Creek as well as ground surveys at several potential utility entry/exit points next to Fishing Creek. The purpose of these surveys is to pave the way for the subdivision to extend water lines from Tabernacle Church Road to Stillwater Coves.

.. Voted to acquire 1,075 feet of right-of-way easement on Ludwig Road (private right of way) to ensure that the most direct access to two county wells can be attained via the private road.

In addition, the Public Works Department plans to spend $1,920 in county funds to make desired improvements to the right of way.

• Voted to purchase a repeater for the sheriff's office at a cost not to exceed $7,200.

.. Voted to purchase a new antenna and light for the tower at Graves Mountain at a cost of $3,310.

.. Voted to purchase a direct deposit module for the Finance Department at a cost of $950. The annual maintenance and licensing fee is estimated at $265.

.. Voted to amend the county's contract with the corps of engineers to reflect a decrease in the amount of hours spent by the sheriff's office patrolling corps property. The contract cost was decreased by $8,636.37, from $16,913 to $8,276.63, and will result in a deficit in budget revenues.

.. Voted to approve a resolution in support of prescribed or controlled burning in accordance with a request made by the Georgia Forestry Commission.

.. Voted to re-appoint Robert Agurkis as the District 1 representative on the board of tax assessors.

.. Voted to re-appoint Michael Mongrue as the District 3 representative on the board of tax assessors.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Chairman Norman wished those present a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The next regular meeting of the commissioners will be held Thursday, January 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the Lincoln County Courthouse.