Board approves consent agenda, contracts and multiple resolutions in quick votes

Effingham County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 21 approved a consent agenda and a series of separate motions to award contracts, accept resolutions and authorize projects, all by recorded voice votes with no roll-call opposition except where noted elsewhere on the agenda.

The items covered routine renewals, change orders and procurement awards. The board ratified a change order for the CEM gym expansion with Lavender and Associates Inc.; renewed a hardware warranty agreement with Dominion Voting Systems Inc.; approved a revised IDC contract with Moffett and Nickel; approved purchase orders for Musco Sports Lighting for McCall Park; and ratified lease updates for three 2024 F-150 police responder trucks and enterprise vehicle replacements for the sheriff's office.

Also on the consent/new-business docket, the board approved a preliminary plat for Bluejay Apartments (R-3 zoning, Map 326, parcel 17E), authorized submission of a GLAP application to improve eligibility for future federal road funding, and approved the award recommendation for Park construction (bid 25-ITB-077) to the lowest responsive bidder for renovations including pickleball courts, lighting, a kayak launch and a dog park. The board approved Change Order No. 4 for Southern Civil LLC on the Hodgeville lift station (to add a 12-inch insert valve and extend contract time by 90 days), intergovernmental lighting agreements with the Georgia Department of Transportation for several state-road intersections, and a scope, schedule and fee proposal from Johnson, Mermeron & Thompson Inc. for Goshen Road widening right-of-way services covering 113 parcels.

The board awarded a well installation contract at Meldrim Park to Shepherd Well and Pump Services at a low quote of $13,000 and approved a turnkey playground purchase and installation from Play South Playground Creators (installation by BERC), with a vendor timeline described as 6–8 weeks for procurement and roughly two weeks for installation. The board also awarded Old River Road Resurfacing 2025 (3.98 miles) to McClendon Enterprises Inc. and a construction contract for a new storage building for the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office to Waldorf Construction LLC.

The board approved a resolution (listed as Resolution 025-005 in the packet) to assure compliance with the Georgia Constitution by assessing and providing for collection of a direct annual tax to pay principal and interest on general obligation bonds issued by the school district; staff said the measure relates to the school district’s ability to issue debt tied to SPLOST-type revenues. For all motions on the agenda the chair called for voices; unless otherwise recorded the chair and all present commissioners voted in favor and the motions carried.

Votes at a glance: all motions listed above passed on voice votes with no recorded opposition in the meeting minutes unless otherwise noted in separate articles. Details for each action (motion text, mover, seconder, vote record and relevant identifiers) are recorded in the meeting actions list below.

Ending: The board adjourned after approving the full agenda and scheduled an in-person continuation on Feb. 18 for unfinished business.