Cusseta‑Chattahoochee awarded $600,000 SEID grant for Fort Benning trail; county to select engineer

The Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County commission was notified Dec. 2 that the county has been awarded a $600,000 SEID grant to fund the beginning of a trail coming from Fort Benning. County Manager Thomas Weaver told commissioners the county must formally accept the award and then undertake the usual engineering procurement and planning steps before construction can start.

Weaver said the county will perform a qualifications‑based selection and that commissioners will see engineer proposals and a scoring recommendation at an upcoming meeting. At a Dec. 22 work session he listed three firms under consideration — EMC Engineering, Ingram & Associates and Moon Meeks & Associates — and recommended EMC; he said the commission’s scoring committee will need to complete the selection process before the design and permitting phase begins.

Weaver cautioned that SEID grants and federal‑linked trail funding “tend to be a slow process,” so while the award is significant the schedule will depend on engineering, right‑of‑way and permitting work. He said the county must confirm interest with the grantor and then the grantor will begin “panning out the details.”

No formal vote to obligate county funds for construction was recorded at the Dec. 2 meeting; commissioners directed staff to add the engineer‑selection and grant acceptance items to a future agenda so the public may review proposals and scores prior to any contractual commitments.

Next steps: county staff will publish the engineer scoring materials and bring a recommendation to a regular meeting for a public vote.