Lee County Commission looks at regional solutions

LEESBURG — Partnerships and relationships were at the heart of Tuesday night’s Lee County Commission meeting as commissioners agreed to move forward with three agenda items that will allow the county to work with and support neighboring counties.

According to Commission Chairman Rick Muggridge, the board agreed to first enter into an intergovernmental contract that allows the city of Albany to run additional gas lines and fiber optic cable in Lee County, which will help the Albany Utilities Board court additional customers and provide better service to existing customers.

Currently Albany Utilities maintains gas lines and fiber-optic cable in certain areas of Lee County through the use of state right-of-ways, and has been planning to run additional services along the city of Albany’s Rails to Trails route, which connects downtown Albany to Sasser.

The contract approved Tuesday night allows Albany Utilities to now use Lee County right-of-ways to expand those services into other areas of the county, with Quail Chase and The Groves subdivisions already lined up to receive services.

Muggridge said that, after some discussion, the two entities ultimately settled on a cost formula similar to one being used between Alltel and Bibb County. The City of Albany will pay Lee County an agreed upon fee of 94 cents per linear foot per year for access along right-of-ways.

Muggridge praised the the manner in which Lee County and Albany officials worked together to come to agreement that was amenable for both parties, saying representatives from Albany did a good job of communicating and discussing any issues that arose during the process.

“Our relationship with Albany has been phenomenal,” Muggridge said. “Any issues that arose have all been resolved with calmness and good communication. It’s a phenomenal give-and-take relationship.”

Muggridge said that level of cooperation between Lee County and not only Albany, but its other neighbors as well, was also on display when the commission discussed a resolution that would see Lee County continue with a regional communications system agreement the county is involved with.

Currently Lee County, Albany, Dougherty County, Crisp County, Thomasville and Thomas County share a public safety radio communications system maintained by Motorola Solutions Inc.

The current system Motorola provides is being phased out, meaning that continued maintenance of the system and acquisition of parts will become increasingly difficult.

Because of that, Muggridge said, the decision was made among the entities that use the system to upgrade to Motorola’s newer equipment and software.

Muggridge said that because multiple entities are involved, the group will receive a discounted cost from Motorola, making it more affordable for all.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of this alliance,” said Muggridge. “Now, it’s like we’re a member of a big buying group, which is good for Lee County.”

Although the details have yet to be worked out, Muggridge said switching to the new system will cost the county around $1.3 million. He also said the motion the board approved was contingent upon three factors, including County Attorney Jimmy Skipper reviewing the contract, the county having the ability to cut any items it didn’t deem necessary, and the city of Albany’s approval of the deal. The Albany City Commission approved the contract at its meeting Tuesday.

Muggridge again praised the cooperation between multiple entities, saying that the communication system, which is important for public safety, was something each county involved had to deal with.

“We’re just going to share,” said Muggridge. “We really a regional solution to a problem we were all facing. People assume we don’t get along (with our neighbors), but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Albany and Dougherty County are our best friends.”

That connection was further illustrated later in the meeting when the board discussed adopting an ordinance that will allow for a “local preference option” when accepting bids.

Muggridge said that discussion was driven by a recent news story about a nearby car dealership that lost a bid for services to an out-of-town firm despite its bid only being fractionally higher.

In the minds of commissioners, the county should have some leeway in awarding bids to local companies as long as the local companies’ bids are within a certain cost percentage of the lowest bid.

Muggridge said the board ultimately charged Skipper with drafting the ordinance to be voted on at a later commission meeting.

As part of the discussion, the commission agreed that the “local preference option” should also extend to companies located in counties that border Lee.

“That really speaks to the mood, the temperament and to the relationships,” said Muggridge. “We discussed three items that all related to our relationship (with our neighbors).”

In other matters, the board voted to move forward with an application to receive Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds from the Department of Transportation to repair a bridge on County Road 3/Smithville Road, over the Muckalee Creek.

Muggridge said the project will cost around $143,000, $70,000 of which will come from LMIG.

“We’re going to fix that bridge and at that point all of our bridges will be in good condition or better,” said Muggridge.

The board voted to approve three proposals to move which will allow the county to move forward with the planned Forrester Parkway Extension. One proposal was from Southeastern Horizons, Inc. to perform an archaeological survey, one proposal was from LG2 Environmental Solutions, Inc. to perform a threatened and endangered species survey, and the final proposal was from Red Oak Environmental, LLC, to provide environmental services.

The board voted to allow to zoning variances that will allow two county residents to each build car ports on their property that will sit in front of their homes, rather than beside them.

The board also passed a consent agenda allowing for the transfer of a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban from the County Manager’s Office to the Fire Department to replace a 2002 Ford Excursion, and the appointment of four members to the Lee County Development Authority Board.

Finally, the board voted to relocate the tax commissioner’s office from the former State Probation Office to an office in front of the county courthouse.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners is set for Tuesday, May 10 at 6 p.m.