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Dawson County commissioners table $443,000 Georgia 400 corridor beautification project
Summary
Commissioners voted to table a $443,000 contract for signage and landscaping on the Georgia 400 corridor and asked staff to engage the county tourism office for further public input and value engineering.
Dawson County commissioners voted 4-0 on Sept. 4 to table consideration of IFB 483-25, a Georgia 400 right-of-way beautification project that included separate bids for signs and landscaping totaling roughly $443,000.
The project packet identified Land Signs for the sign work at $211,850 and Mariana Enterprises (doing business as Ed Castro Landscape) for landscaping at $231,907. County staff said the funds for the work would come from the hotel-motel tax fund.
Commissioner Gaines, who moved to table the item, urged additional public input and asked the county’s Office of Tourism to take the lead on gathering feedback and seeking ways to reduce costs. “It would be my recommendation that we allow the office of tourism, which manages 75% of these funds already, to pick this up, gather additional information, feedback from the community, and try to value engineer potentially this project down,” Gaines said during the meeting.
Commissioner Bruce, who seconded other tourism-related motions earlier in the meeting, and other commissioners noted the corridor generates significant sales tax revenue and that improvements could support long-term economic activity. At the same time, several commissioners said the price tag raised public concern. One commissioner said, “It’s not our citizens’ money. It’s people traveling here, coming through here, and staying here through hotels and motels,” to explain the funding source and defend using the hotel-motel tax for tourism-oriented projects.
County staff presented the low-bid amounts and confirmed the procurement complied with the IFB. Commissioners discussed the scope of work and the need for soil and drainage improvements for plantings, which a commissioner with an agricultural background said would add to costs.
With the motion to table approved, commissioners directed staff to engage the Office of Tourism and gather additional public feedback and cost-saving options before returning the project for further consideration at a future meeting.
The board took no further action on the contracts at the Sept. 4 meeting; the item remains tabled pending additional outreach and potential redesign.
