Paulding County commissioners approve stormwater, road and maintenance contracts and move forward on Cedar Crest right-of-way acquisitions

Paulding County commissioners on Jan. 28 approved a series of routine but consequential contracts and project steps, including a stormwater repair award, a countywide roadside maintenance renewal, a $20,000 engineering supplement for a road realignment and a resolution to acquire property for a major road-widening project.

The actions are intended to advance local road and stormwater work across the county and to test a state-funded recycled-tire asphalt mix on two county roads. Officials said funding for the projects will come from a mix of department general funds, SPLOST and developer contributions.

The board approved awarding a stormwater maintenance contract to the low bidder for work at 336 and 376 Pine Way, with the stormwater department recommending Artido Construction LLC as low bidder at $89,536.80; funding will be allocated from the stormwater department’s general fund. (The contract announcement in the meeting included a conflicting company name earlier in the agenda text; the stormwater presentation named Artido Construction LLC as the recommended low bidder.)

Commissioners also authorized the chairman to sign a first-renewal supplemental agreement with AAA Landscaping Management LLC for the fiscal year 2025 countywide shoulder maintenance service contract. That contract renewal covers multiple mowing, trimming and litter pickup cycles for up to 520 miles of county roads and 21 miles of four-lane state highways and is listed at $868,085, funded from the general fund.

The board approved a supplemental engineering agreement with Heath and Lineback (listed as Heath and Lineback engineers in the record) for an additional $20,000 of preliminary engineering design work on a realignment of 7 Hills Boulevard and Gulledge Road south of the Wild Timber subdivision. County staff said the additional fee is an 11.6% increase over the original contract and reflects design revisions to reduce right-of-way impacts; funding will come from SPLOST, general funds and developer contributions. When complete, the realignment will create about 0.625 mile of divided two-lane roadway, staff said.

On new business, the board authorized the chairman to sign a grant agreement with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division to test recycled-tire products in asphalt on two roads (Angam Road and Arnold Lane). Commissioner Tabitha described the grant as intended to improve durability and traction while reducing production costs because the modified mix is produced at the plant. The agenda lists the tire-product grant amount as $86,500; the presenter’s spoken wording later in the meeting included conflicting wording on the dollar figure and is not clear in the transcript.

Separately, the board adopted Resolution 25.04 to permit acquisition of property needed for the Cedar Crest Road widening project (project PI001370). County staff told the board the project will widen Cedar Crest from Harmony Grove Church Road to the Cobb County line from a two-lane undivided roadway to a four-lane divided highway with a 20-foot raised median and a 45 mph design speed. Staff said 118 parcels were originally identified for the project and that 97 parcels remain to complete right-of-way acquisition.

Other consent and administrative actions on the agenda included declaring certain county items surplus (including vehicles listed by department), amending minutes to correct term dates for advisory boards, adopting a new job classification for a sheriff’s office media production coordinator, and authorizing the county to participate in a multi-district settlement related to PFOS contamination and to have the chairman, county attorney and water system director execute related documents. Those items were moved as part of the consent agenda and advanced without extended discussion.

The board went into executive session for personnel matters and later returned to open session; commissioners reported no final action resulted from the executive session before the meeting adjourned.

Votes at a glance

- Agenda item 2: Stormwater maintenance project at Pine Way — recommended award to Artido Construction LLC, $89,536.80; funding: stormwater general fund; outcome: approved (consent agenda).

- Consent items (surplus property, minutes amendments, sheriff job classification, PFOS settlement participation and related delegations) — advanced as part of the consent agenda; outcome: approved (consent agenda).

- Agenda item 6: First renewal supplemental agreement with AAA Landscaping Management LLC — $868,085; funding: general fund; outcome: approved (consent agenda).

- Agenda item 9: Georgia DNR tire-product grant for recycled-tire asphalt on Angam Road and Arnold Lane — grant listed on agenda as $86,500; outcome: approved.

- Agenda item 10: Supplemental agreement with Heath and Lineback for preliminary engineering design — $20,000; funding: SPLOST, general fund, developer contributions; outcome: approved.

- Agenda item 11 / Resolution 25.04: Acquisition of property for Cedar Crest Road widening (PI001370) — board adopted resolution to authorize right-of-way acquisition; outcome: approved.

What commissioners said

Commissioner Tabitha described the recycled-tire asphalt grant as an environmental and durability test: "the tires used are vulcanized making them stronger and safer because traction is better" and said the mix is "easier to handle because it's less sticky." Those remarks came during the grant presentation in new business.

Meeting context and next steps

Staff said the Cedar Crest right-of-way work is in the acquisition phase; no new schedule or closing dates for individual parcel acquisitions were provided at the meeting. The 7 Hills/Gulledge preliminary engineering work will proceed with the supplemental engineering funds approved by the board. Several items rely on SPLOST or developer contributions for partial funding. The board authorized staff and the chairman to execute documents required for the PFOS settlement participation and the Georgia DNR grant.

The meeting record shows no roll-call vote tallies recorded in the public portion of the transcript for most consent items; the proceedings moved forward after the chair sought and received general assent. The board recessed into executive session for personnel and returned with no action taken before adjourning.