Lowndes County commissioners approve multiple contracts, appointments and road projects
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Summary
At its Dec. 16 meeting the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners approved a slate of routine appointments, infrastructure contracts and road-project authorizations, adopted the 2027 budget calendar and approved procurement and right-of-way purchases for the Twin Lakes Road project.
The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 16 approved a series of routine appointments, budget-process dates and infrastructure actions that county officials said will keep several public projects moving into 2026.
The board reappointed John McCall to the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission and reappointed Felicia Williams to the Lowndes County Board of Assessors. The board also appointed Gary Weisenbaker to the Lowndes County Library Board after one commissioner recused from that item.
On capital projects and procurements, commissioners authorized the county to proceed with the Twin Lakes Road paving and drainage improvements and approved a Georgia Power utility-relocation agreement with a not-to-exceed figure staff reported as $721,989 to be covered by project funds. The board approved negotiated right-of-way purchases for the Twin Lakes project, including purchases listed in staff materials for $1,714, $3,000 and $6,008 for individual parcels.
The board approved Kellerman Construction, Inc. as the design‑build firm for the Lowndes County animal shelter project and authorized the chairman to sign the contract. Staff presented a preliminary budget breakdown for the design‑build arrangement that included $450,000 for site work, $4,050,000 for construction, $200,000 contingency and $300,000 for architectural/engineering services.
Commissioners adopted the proposed fiscal-year 2027 budget calendar, authorized continuation of county participation in the Southern Georgia Regional Commission's rural transit program, approved an ACCG workers' compensation renewal that county staff said produced a net premium of $280,452 after a dividend credit, and approved stop‑loss insurance placement through Swiss Re at the county's specified attachment level.
The board also adopted the Motorola Migration Assurance Plan (MAP) to continue maintenance, upgrades and eventual replacement work on the county's public‑safety radio system; staff described the work as replacing core infrastructure and 12 radio consoles to improve redundancy.
Procedural items included approval of work-session and regular-session minutes and a motion to table a Grass Road abandonment request for further legal review. Several items were approved without public opposition during advertised hearings.
What happens next: most approved agreements and purchases will proceed to implementation steps identified in staff materials; specific construction timelines and contract proposals will be presented to the county as projects move from design to procurement and construction phases.
