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County talks 911, road resurfacing

• The Dougherty County Commission OKs an agreement for mutual aid between the Albany/Dougherty Emergency Management Agency and MCLB-Albany.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — Moving quickly through agenda items they had previously discussed during work sessions, Dougherty County Commissioners gave final approval to a number of issues at their business session Monday morning.

With the exception of a memorandum of agreement between the Albany/Dougherty Emergency Management Agency and Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany that will allow emergency personnel of both entities to receive and process all emergency 911 calls in the event of failure at either location, the commission approved agenda items with little discussion.

“Both entities operate PSAPs (public safety answering points), and this agreement will allow them to provide mutual aid if either party’s PSAP goes down,” Emergency Management Coordinator Jim Vaught said. “There is no cost involved in this agreement; it’s more of a goodwill gesture for the Marine base. It helps them out, and it could help us.”

Before approving $72,500 for Phase I engineering and design services from MACTEC Engineering and Consulting for the proposed Radium Springs Botanical Gardens, commissioners discussed possible changes to the project’s Master Plan by emphasizing their desire to incorporate personal-use activities for people in the community into the plan.

“The current design is wonderful; it’s beautiful,” Commission Chairman Jeff Sinyard said. “But the plans call for the botanical gardens only. I’d like to see us make more use of the springs, to explore all possibilities.”

In response to a question from Commissioner John Hayes, County Administrator Richard Crowdis said there were no changes in the Phase I plan for the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax V- approved project.

“What we did before was come up with the master plan,” Crowdis said. “We’re implementing that plan in phases.”

Phase I design includes walkways, a casino garden and plaza, terrace restoration, restrooms, a replacement bridge to the springs’ island, perimeter fencing, utility infrastructure, site grading, entrance road and parking and wall restoration.

The commission also approved the rezoning of land at 2321 Tarva Road (from agriculture to estate district) for EMC Engineering Services and land at 323 Old Pretoria Road (from agriculture to single- family residential) for owner Steve Johnson. They granted a $98,000 contract for concrete to low-bidder AAA Concrete and OK’d a list of roads to be submitted to the Department of Transportation for resurfacing.

Commissioners also approved a right-of-way agreement with DOT for the southwest entrance at Darton College; accepted a drainage easement from Maple Hill Landfill; and gave permission to the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce for use of the West Parking Deck for the second Hispanic Education Festival from noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 15.

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