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Cusseta–Chattahoochee commissioners appoint leaders, approve contracts and honor former commissioner
Summary
At its Jan. 7 regular meeting the board appointed Charles Coffey chair after an initial motion to seat Timothy Biddle failed, approved routine minutes, named a library-board member, awarded planning and CDBG-related agreements, and authorized HVAC replacement funded from SPLOST.
The Unified Government of Cusseta–Chattahoochee County Board of Commissioners met Jan. 7 and reorganized its leadership before moving through a set of routine approvals and contract actions.
After roll call, Commissioner Gerald Douglas moved to appoint Chairman Charles Coffey to serve as chair; Commissioner Jason Frost seconded the motion and it carried despite Commissioner Damon Hoyte recording a dissent. An earlier attempt by Commissioner Hoyte to appoint Commissioner Timothy Biddle as chair failed for lack of a second. The board then unanimously appointed Commissioner Timothy Biddle as vice chair.
The commission approved the minutes of its Dec. 3 and Dec. 23, 2024, meetings and accepted the executive-session minutes as presented. A proclamation honoring James Edward “Jimmy” Lawrence — a longtime Chattahoochee County resident who served as assessor and as county commissioner and who died Dec. 5, 2024 — was adopted by unanimous vote.
On appointments and contracts, the board voted to appoint Linda Englebert to the county library board for a term through Dec. 31, 2027. The commission renewed the county’s zoning contract and approved an attorney rate increase. The board approved a Letter of Agreement with the River Valley Regional Commission to support a FY2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application; the packet notes a $750 fee for a new application and $500 for a rewrite.
Facility and operations items included approval to replace two HVAC units on the McNaughton Street building. The apparent low bid from Archie’s was $26,670 per unit for a 15-ton unit; a competing quote from Fire & Ice was $27,500. The minutes state funding will come from SPLOST. The board also selected Ingram Engineering as the county’s CDBG engineer after reviewing RFQ scoring information.
County Attorney A. Binford Minter’s engagement/terms from Clark Hill, PLC (dated Dec. 3, 2024) were included in the meeting materials; the documents outline scope, billing rates and standard terms. The board moved into executive session at 9:37 a.m. to discuss legal matters and reconvened at 10:23 a.m.; Chairman Coffey confirmed that the closed session was held under the legal exceptions to the open meetings law and that no votes were taken in the closed session. The meeting adjourned at 10:24 a.m.
The board’s packet includes affidavits documenting the statutory bases cited for the executive session and sign-in sheets for both the regular meeting and the Jan. 27 work session.
