Dooly County secures grants and right-of-way to serve industrial prospect on Richwood Road

Dooly County’s Board of Commissioners voted throughout spring and summer 2008 to secure funding and land needed to build a rail spur, road and water improvements to serve a proposed industrial site on Richwood Road.

The board accepted a $500,000 Employment Incentive Program (EIP) Community Development Block Grant award from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and pursued matching funds through OneGeorgia and an Economic Development Administration (EDA) application that requested about $500,000 for public works. Chairman A. C. Daniels signed resolutions authorizing the county to execute grant paperwork and obligate local matching funds as required for the funding applications.

Why it matters: the infrastructure package tied to the grants is intended to enable an expansion associated with Reeves Construction Company that county documents state would invest in buildings and equipment and create local jobs, a central argument the commissioners cited when approving staff recommendations and contracts.

County action and legal steps: in March and April the board authorized outside counsel and appraisal services after staff briefed commissioners that acquiring additional 60-foot right-of-way (R/W) was necessary to pave and improve a section of Richwood Road. The county retained Daniel, Lawson, Tuggle & Jerles as conflict counsel and S. Gary Garrard for appraisals during the condemnation planning phase. After negotiation and property work, the board reported in August that the necessary R/W had been acquired for the four targeted parcels and formally stopped eminent-domain proceedings for those parcels.

Contracts and next steps: in December the board accepted an agreement with engineering firm Carter & Sloope to provide design and construction administration for the rail spur, road and water improvements, and authorized opening a grant-specific checking account for OneGeorgia/EDA funds. The board also adopted resolutions that commit county matching funds contingent on grant awards and spelled out administrative authority for the chairman to execute required documents.

Outcomes and open items: the board’s public minutes record the grant acceptances, the R/W acquisition, engineering contract and the county’s financial commitment for local matches. The planned infrastructure remains subject to completion of grant administration, engineering design and construction bidding. The county’s actions reflect typical sequencing—grant acceptance, R/W acquisition, consultant selection—while limiting further litigation after voluntary purchases of R/W were completed.

The board listed affected parcels and owners in public minutes and retained outside counsel where the county attorney had a conflict. The county’s next procedural steps include finalizing engineering plans, administering grant drawdowns through the new grant account and overseeing construction bidding and contract administration.