Votes at a glance: DeKalb PWI approves multiple public‑works contracts and project authorizations; several large items deferred

Below are the formal actions the DeKalb County Public Works and Infrastructure Committee recorded on Thursday. Where the transcript and committee discussion clarified details, those appear below; where details were not specified, the article marks them as not specified.

Approved by the committee

- Minutes (agenda item 2025-0867): Motion to approve the minutes carried by voice vote.

- GDOT right‑of‑way funds for Kensington MARTA Station (agenda item 2025-0805): Committee approved acceptance (GDOT PI #0017992) and S.P.L.O.S. match; staff to distribute plans and confirm crossing locations.

- Traffic paint materials, annual contract second renewal (contract 1350451): Awarded to Allstate Coating Company, amount not to exceed $130,000; committee approved exercising the renewal option and staff said a new county paint truck is expected in July with fleet turnaround roughly one week after delivery.

- Steel plates, change order (contract 1298435): Increase for LK Transportation Expedited LLC, amount not to exceed $200,000; approved.

- Tree cutting and removal services, change orders (contracts 1302440, 1302434, 1302441, 1302439): Awarded to KC Tree Experts Inc.; NEDA Inc. d/b/a Garden of Eden; Siemens Tree Service LLC; and 1 2 Tree LLC; combined amount not to exceed $750,000; approved. Commissioners asked staff to explore including invasive‑vine removal and periodic maintenance in future contract language.

- Valve and wet‑tap installation services, change order (contract 1252340): Increase for Georgia Hydrant Services Inc., amount not to exceed $150,000; approved. Director Reginald Wells noted the contract allows valve installation under pressure (wet taps) to avoid service interruptions when repairing hydrants.

- Cooperative piggyback electrical maintenance services (Cobb County contract 25-6865): Capital City Electric Services LLC, amount not to exceed $200,000; approved for use by Watershed Management to support treatment plants and remote sites.

- Construction management services, change orders (multiple related contracts used by Watershed Management): Committee approved increases for several firms that act as construction management/inspection augmentation, including Tetra Tech Inc. (up to $10,324,000), Benchmark Management LLC (up to $5,682,833), and EDT Wade Trim Reeves JV (up to $4,942,000). Audit confirmation for these items was noted during discussion.

Deferred by the committee

- On‑call water and sewer contracts / change orders (agenda item 2025-0389; contracts 1301526, 1301523, etc., amount referenced in packet $59,245,720.87): Commissioners agreed to defer several watershed items that exceeded the county’s $3,000,000 audit threshold until audit (OIA) completes review. The following agenda items were deferred for two weeks: 0389, 0606, 0453 and 0457. The committee requested OIA and staff return with clearance and any necessary clarifications.

How votes were recorded

Most agenda items considered in open session were moved, seconded and approved by voice/hand vote; specific mover/second designations were not consistently recorded in the transcript. Multiple items were noted as supported by the Office of Internal Audit prior to final motions; where audit support was stated on the record, staff referenced that clearance.

Notes

- Several motions referenced amounts and contract numbers as read from agenda material; committee members asked for plan sets, clarifications about vendor responsibilities, and follow‑up reporting. Where an agenda amount appeared inconsistent (for example, a GDOT right‑of‑way amount in the Kensington item that printed as $676,100,000), staff indicated that the agenda formatting or transcription likely contained an error and committed to provide the correct figure to commissioners.

Provenance: Actions summarized from motions, roll‑call/voice votes and staff statements across the meeting.