Commissioners asked a few questions about the half a million for paving with no apparent competition at yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. Maybe you have more questions; you could ask them tonight at the Regular Session. You’ll have to catch them before the session starts, because you don’t get to speak in the session until after they vote.

8. Bid – Soil cement, bituminous prime (with sand), and paving for Bayhill Drive, Pinewood Drive, Grand Pine Drive, Glenn Hill Drive, Bay Wood Drive, Bemiss Knights Academy Road North, a portion of Old Bemiss Road, Payton Place, and Dodd Road

Purchasing Director Kari L. Sands said staff recommendation is to award the bid to Scruggs Company for $495,845. No other bids were mentioned. County Engineer Mike Fletcher said the money was already received from the LMIG program.

LMIG is the Georgia Department of Transportation Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant Program (LMIG), which, because Lowndes County rejected T-SPLOST, requires 30% match from the county. There was some contradictory discussion about that at the 10 December 2012 Commission meeting.

Crawford Powell asked if the county’s contribution was in kind. Engineer said yes, and specifically the county’s contribution is labor.

Commissioner John Page wanted to know:

On Dodd Road, what was the determination of paving that road? Not but a couple of houses there and it’s a dead end.

The County Engineer answered:

We have the right of way already on that road. And a portion of Dodd Road is already paved up to the bridge. That will finish that road out to where we don’t have to send a motor grader that way.

Nobody thought to ask the next question, which would be to Public Works Director Robin Cumbus: which costs less, sending a motor grader, or paving? Or perhaps the Finance Director or the County Manager could answer that question. If any Commissioner asked it. Which they didn’t. Instead they entertained awarding half a million dollars with no known competition to pave roads that may or may not need paving.

Here’s the video:

Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 May 2013.

-jsq

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