Columbia County committee approves consent agenda for parks, rentals, contracts and a GDOT grant

Columbia County’s Community and Emergency Services Committee approved a slate of routine consent items at its meeting, including contract renewals for recreational programs and concessions, a county application for GDOT transportation funds, and an upgrade of a mutual-aid firefighting pact with the City of Harlem.

County staff presented the consent calendar and recommended approval of each item. On the recreation side, the committee approved new and renewed independent-contractor agreements for a senior-center ceramics instructor (Patricia Essick at $20 per hour, not to exceed 24 hours weekly), youth and instructional contracts with Ignite Soccer Academy, Hane Tennis Academy (Riverside Park) and Peter Petersburg Tennis Academy (instructor Woody Blunt). Staff said the Petersburg program generates about $25,000 annually for the county. The committee also renewed contracts for kayak, canoe and bicycle concessions at Wildwood Park and Savannah Rapids Park and a glamping agreement for six Wildwood sites (sites 52–57) carrying a $15-per-day base fee and an additional 2% of gross when sites are rented; staff estimated glamping generates about $37,000 in revenue for the county.

Staff also reviewed a management agreement with the Professional Disc Golf Association to manage Wildwood Park’s disc golf courses. Staff said recent pine beetle damage and hurricane impacts required redesign and repairs and that the county anticipates reopening courses in late summer or early fall. The disc-golf management contract carries a $1,000 per month fee ($12,000 per year).

The committee approved the disposition of a Georgia Department of Transportation surplus vehicle that staff said has more than 200,000 miles and is roughly 10 years old, noting it has already been replaced in the county fleet. Separately, staff presented the GDOT FY26 Transportation Fund application and said Columbia County was awarded approximately $200,000 to $202,426 for FY26; the committee authorized the chairman’s signature to move the funds forward.

In public safety business, fire and emergency services staff recommended converting the current mutual aid agreement with the City of Harlem into an automatic aid agreement for structural fire responses within the city and in a predefined area outside city limits, and asked to combine mutual and automatic aid terms into a new five-year agreement to follow the current arrangement (which staff said runs until 2028). The committee approved the proposed rewrite and upgrade on the consent calendar. Fire staff also presented year-to-date budget figures and monthly response reports and invited questions; none were raised.

The meeting included a brief commissioner question about how contracted programs are marketed to the public; staff said contractors handle primary marketing and the county provides social-media support and co-promotion. No members of the public offered comment. The committee adjourned without entering executive session.

Votes at a glance: The committee adopted the consent calendar, approving donations to Animal Services (Brian Henricon $100; Robert Hoffman $100), the Columbia County Cares lease renewal through June 30, 2027, a Loyalty Day proclamation request from Ronald Gilchrist of VFW Post 6445, the Convention and Visitors Bureau contract renewal through June 30, 2027, the Patricia Essick ceramics contract, contracts with Ignite Soccer Academy, Hane Tennis Academy, Peter Petersburg Tennis Academy (Woody Blunt), Professional Disc Golf Association management, glamping and concession renewals at Wildwood Park, kayak and bicycle rental contracts at Savannah Rapids Park, disposition of a GDOT surplus vehicle, the GDOT FY26 Transportation Fund application authorization, and the automatic aid agreement rewrite with the City of Harlem. All items on the consent calendar were approved by voice vote.

The committee did not take additional separate votes on any contested items and no public comments were recorded. The meeting was adjourned.