Council approves Ridge Road paving IGA; South Fulton to contribute $44,500, East Point $37,000

The East Point City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement on Aug. 4 to repave the unpaved/graveled portion of Ridge Road that is split between East Point and neighboring South Fulton.

The agreement presented at the meeting states South Fulton will pay up to $44,500 and East Point up to $37,000 for road paving and related services, for a combined not-to-exceed total of $81,500. Public works staff said the version attached to the agenda was updated during the meeting to reflect those contribution amounts.

City staff explained the final contractor selection will follow East Point procurement rules. Because the contract in the packet had referenced a single vendor attachment (a vendor proposal), the city attorney advised the council the team would instead use the city's on-call construction contractors list and solicit bids consistent with procurement policy. Public works director Jeffrey Reeves told the council staff expects to solicit on-call contractors, obtain firm pricing, and return with a contractor recommendation for council approval at the September work session.

Council members discussed oversight, whether the contribution amounts covered the full scope, and asked that any cost overrun be brought back to council rather than absorbed without notice. Staff said the MOU authorizes the cities to move forward with the paving; the procurement process will produce a firm award amount and any overage would be flagged for council consideration.

Why it matters: The paved link will affect traffic and maintenance responsibility along a corridor that crosses city boundaries and is currently partly unpaved; the IGA formalizes each city's financial commitment and sets procurement steps to complete work.