Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners to Discuss Road Work at Tuesday Work Session

DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners has a very busy work session scheduled Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Board will discuss approval of several key contracts, including one to facilitate the resurfacing 6.55 miles of county roads under the 2017 Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG).

The low bidder on the contract is Colditz Trucking at $679,175.78.The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has awarded Lumpkin County $510,614.09 in funding for LMIG projects the remaining amount of the contract ($168,561.69) will be paid for from SPLOST FUNDS.
This amount will be in excess of the minimum 30% matching funds required by the LMIG program. Staff also proposed to add additional roads to this contract that will be paid for from the SPLOST and the road department budget.

Commissioners will also consider a contract with GDOT under which GDOT would install signs and striping on various off-system routes. The only cost to the county would be clip shoulders and remove debris from edge  lines prior to striping and to remove all existing signs and posts along those off-system routes.

Another contract to be discussed is for the removal of trees at the airport as part of the Airport Capital Improvement Program. Townley Construction is the low bidder on the project at $59,258. The county can then contract with GDOT for reimbursement of funds. If the contracts are approved, GDOT would fund 75 percent of the project and the county 25 percent.

Other issues to be discussed include:

An annual agreement to provide maintenance for the four cardiac heart monitors owned by the EMS;

Improving the radio system used by the Lumpkin County Department of Public Safety. Several years ago, the federal government required the narrow banding of radio frequencies to allow for more channels, resulting in the county losing as much as 50 percent of its signal. Lumpkin County has already invested in acquiring two new digital channels and digital radios to help alleviate this problem. The next step is to build the backbone of the system and put it into operation.

The county has several options available. Staff has recommended purchasing a system designed by Mobile Communications that will operate digital transmitters at the Crown Mountain site and the Black Mountain Communications site. Additional receiving sites will be at Station 6 in the Nimblewill area, the new water tower near the intersection of Burnt Stand and Auraria and the Hester Valley area near Turner’s Corner. This system has a build out price of almost $390,000 and comes with minimal recurring monthly costs. This plan also leaves the existing system in place as a backup.

Commissioners are also expected to discuss the 2017 Comprehensive Plan, disolving the Comprehensive Plan Committee and Authority Committee, reappointing members to the Development Authority of Lumpkin County and appointment of a Veteran’s Affairs Advisory Committee.