The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution designating locations for a FY25 roadway design batch (FY25CPE05) that lists several County Roads to be paved, a county staff member said. County Attorney Jeff Akins explained the resolution is largely a procedural step that records the approval date for the location of the roads and allows the county to comply with statutory requirements should condemnation become necessary.

Lengthy public comment earlier in the meeting included a request from resident Lenore Harden for the board to allocate funds in the next fiscal year to expedite paving along Banks Creek Church Road between Rocky Ford and Ponderosa. Harden thanked the county for recent gravel work and asked officials to combine her community’s paving request with a nearby project to save money by using existing equipment and crews in the area.

County engineer Ron Nelson and County Attorney Jeff Akins described the purpose of the resolution. Akins read the relevant legal requirement, saying the condemning authority must advertise the approved location once a week for four consecutive weeks and that the provision historically applied to new roads but also applies when modifications to existing roads could require condemnation paperwork. Nelson said the public would be able to review plan sets once the plan is on file with county offices.

Commissioner Jeff Akins (county attorney) and staff characterized the action as a formality to preserve statutory timelines and provide public notice; the motion to adopt the resolution carried unanimously, with all seven commissioners recorded as voting in favor.

Why it matters: Approving the location and design package is a step that clears a procedural hurdle for the county’s paving program and ensures the public has a formal opportunity to review design plans; residents in at least one neighborhood asked the board for an earlier start and possible cost savings by combining projects.

Provenance:

- topicintro: block_id:block_22 local_start:0 local_end:218 evidence_excerpt:"Good morning, honorable commissioners. My name is Lenore Harding. 4285 Banks Creek Church Road, Porter, Georgia. I'm here to represent the Banks Creek Church Road community from Rocky Ford to Ponderosa. We have been speaking with you all about our road conditions..." reason_code:topicintro

- topfinish: block_id:block_42 local_start:0 local_end:200 evidence_excerpt:"Motion approved. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously." reason_code:topicfinish