Commission approves engineers for sewer and SEID grants, OKs regional planning contract

Chattahoochee County commissioners approved engineering selections and a regional planning contract during January meetings.

On Jan. 6 the board amended the agenda and approved Barge Design as the engineer for a sewer grant application and selected EMC Engineering as the engineer for the SCRC SEID 2025 grant; both motions passed unanimously. Evaluation notes reviewed by the board showed comparable scoring between firms but included fee differences: Moon Meeks & Associates listed a $6,000 charge for a preliminary engineering report (PER) and a 17% construction engineering fee, while EMC listed a 9% engineering fee and no PER charge.

Commissioners also unanimously approved a technical assistance contract with the River Valley Regional Commission to provide planning and zoning support for the county. The contract, effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, includes consultation, ordinance and map updates, meeting attendance and maintenance of the base and zoning maps. The estimated annual fee is $6,000, with automatic renewal for successive one-year terms unless 30 days' written notice of non-renewal is given.

Board members and staff recorded RFP evaluation criteria (100-point scale) for both EDA and SEID projects that assess experience, project familiarity, community familiarity, staff qualifications, completeness of the evaluation sheet and local government experience. The commission directed that the procurement choice be reflected in the meeting minutes and that the chosen firms assist with application preparation and grant documentation if the grants are funded.