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County commissioners approve E-911 relocation, $1.47 million in road work and multiple routine contracts and grants
Summary
At its annual meeting, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners approved relocating the county 9-1-1 dispatch center, authorized $1,474,216.28 for resurfacing and related road work with $156,548.27 from T-SPLOST, accepted an ARP-funded courtroom audiovisual grant and approved routine contracts and donations.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners on a routine agenda vote approved relocating the county 9-1-1 dispatch center, authorized $1,474,216.28 for local road resurfacing and related projects, accepted a $133,467.67 American Rescue Plan-funded courtroom audiovisual grant, and approved a series of contracts, donations and resolutions.
The actions, taken during the board's annual meeting, front-load several items county officials said are funded by special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) and other designated funds, limiting use of the general fund. Commissioners voted to set the 9-1-1 relocation budget at not to exceed $200,000, to be paid from SPLOST, and approved a LMIG/T-SPLOST project list totaling $1,474,216.28, with $156,548.27 to be covered from T-SPLOST discretionary funds.
Why it matters: the 9-1-1 relocation is intended to move dispatch into the county Office of Emergency Services headquarters to avoid multiple temporary moves and to provide additional space and redundancy. The road and resurfacing approvals allocate state Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) and T-SPLOST funding to a package of county resurfacing, milling and patching projects commissioners said will cover roughly 19 miles of roadwork.
E-911 relocation and timeline
The board approved moving the Lincoln County E-911 Communications Center to available space at the county's OES headquarters on Global Drive and set a project budget not to exceed $200,000 to be paid from SPLOST. Director Seymour, who oversees community development and led the relocation planning as a member of the county's general government committee, said staff expect the full relocation and vendor installation to take about "somewhere in the 60 to 90 day range." Seymour also told commissioners the new space requires interior build-out and vendor coordination before equipment moves.
Road resurfacing: LMIG and T-SPLOST allocation
County staff presented an updated Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) list showing a LMIG balance of $1,317,668.01 and total project costs of $1,474,216.28. The board approved covering the $156,548.27 shortfall with T-SPLOST discretionary funds. Public-works items on the list include milling, patching and resurfacing work on several roads identified in the project list; commissioners said those projects will be bid to local contractors and are budgeted across LMIG and T-SPLOST sources.
Courtroom audiovisual grant
The board accepted a grant of $133,467.67 to modernize audiovisual equipment in the county courtroom. Court Administrator Doss told the board the grant must be paid up front by the county and will be reimbursed in full through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The board authorized the chairman to accept the grant and provide the initial payment pending reimbursement.
Other agreements and approvals
- Civic Plus: The board approved a contract with Civic Plus to consolidate the county's permitting, code enforcement, planning and SeeClickFix systems under a single vendor. Staff said first-year costs are approximately $7,700 with anticipated annual savings thereafter; the clerk was asked to confirm exact pricing in the final contract paperwork.
- GIS services: The board authorized a renewed GIS maintenance contract for the Board of Tax Assessors at $340 per month ($4,080 per year) and approved a separate, budgeted not-to-exceed $25,000 contract for GIS consulting services to community development.
- Hotel–motel funding: The board approved two $2,000 grants from hotel–motel tax proceeds to support the Little Roy and Lizzie festival and the Jeff and Sherry event, which commissioners said bring several thousand visitors to the county over two weekends.
- Liquor license: Commissioners approved a Class C beer and wine on-premises license for Soap Creek Social LLC; meeting minutes list the applicant as Elizabeth Jones Dupuy and state she had met licensing requirements.
- Donation to EMS: The board accepted donated equipment from the City of Harlem for Lincoln County EMS. Commissioners described the equipment as having an estimated total value of $40,000–$45,000 and directed staff to document the specific items in the minutes.
Resolutions, appointments and routine business
- The board adopted a resolution declaring April 13–19, 2025, as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Lincoln County and recognized dispatch staff present at the meeting.
- The board adopted a resolution supporting affected communities along the Broad River and directed county staff to transmit that resolution to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
- The board reappointed Renee Guthrie to the Department of Family and Children Services board for District 2.
Executive session and procedural notes
The board entered executive session to consult the county attorney on legal matters; no votes were taken in executive session. Commissioners authorized the chairman to sign the required affidavit attesting that no votes occurred while in the closed session.
Votes at a glance
The meeting record shows motions carried on the items listed above. Several motions were routine roll-call/voice votes without individual roll-call tallies recorded in the transcript; where a commissioner had a direct conflict, that was recorded (see actions).
