Commission approves park design geotechnical work, lighting and engineering contracts

Effingham County commissioners on Nov. 4 approved several professional services and contract actions tied to parks, water/wastewater modeling and roadway design.

Among the items approved:

- A change‑order/amendment to Pond & Company for geotechnical investigations at Atlas Park related to planned parking, paved areas and roadway alignments. Staff said the lengthy environmental mitigation process and voluntary remediation required careful geotechnical work before final design and bidding.

- A contract award to Musco Sports Lighting LLC to install or replace athletic field lighting at Paineora Park and Clio fields. Staff reported the combined contract value for both parks is $1,153,500; Paineora will receive new lighting and Clio’s existing poles and fixtures will be refurbished under a 10‑year warranty on supplied equipment.

- An agreement with Goodwin Mills Caywood LLC to develop and maintain comprehensive hydraulic models for the county’s water distribution and wastewater collection systems; staff cited a gap in in‑house capacity and a need for modeling to support utility planning.

- A task order with Thomas & Hutton for design of the Diamond Concrete roadway extension tying to Effingham Parkway, part of an agreement with a developer to facilitate heavy truck access.

Commissioners discussed the long timeline of the Atlas Park environmental work and clarified indefinite‑delivery contract processes for engineering services; each item passed by voice vote. Staff said future task orders would be issued under prequalified professional services contracts and returned to the board for project‑level approval as needed.