This is an informal rundown of the Statesboro City Council Meeting on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
Call to Order by Mayor Jonathan McCollar
All council members present. District 2 seat vacant.
Invocation & Pledge by Councilmember Ginny Hendley
Public Comments – Agenda Item
No one signed up to speak on any agenda item.
Consideration of a Motion to Approve the Consent Agenda
A) Approval of Minutes
a) 07-21-2026 Council Minutes
b) 07-21-2026 Executive Session Minutes
Consideration of a motion to approve staff to enter negotiations with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., to perform engineering design services for the Burkhalter Road Transportation Improvements Project, ENG 123i and ENG-124h, to be funded by 2023 TSPLOST.
On February 17, 2026, City Council approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with Bulloch County to assign responsibilities and cost-sharing for transportation improvements on Burkhalter and Cawana Roads. The City of Statesboro is acting as lead agency for this project, in cooperation with Bulloch County. The proposed project includes widening of Burkhalter Road from Herman Rushing Road to SR 67, as well as intersection improvements on Burkhalter Road at Cawana Road and SR 67.
The City advertised a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for engineering design services for the project in April and May of 2026. Responses were received from eleven firms. Following the GDOT procurement policies, a committee of staff members comprised of Bulloch County and City staff reviewed and scored the submittals based on criteria listed in the RFQ. Four firms were short-listed and asked to submit technical approach proposals, which were then scored by the committee and combined with the scoring of the qualifications, experience, and workload capacity. Kimley-Horn has been selected by the committee as the most qualified firm for the project.
Staff recommended approval to enter into negotiations with Kimley-Horn for engineering services for the
Burkhalter Road Transportation Improvements Project.
Approved 4-0.
Consideration of a motion to approve authorization to request four replacement transit vehicles from the Coastal Regional Commission for FY 2028. The City’s portion of the cost is estimated to be $65,000, to be funded by TSPLOST.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has adopted the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) minimum useful-life standards for GDOT-funded vehicles. With prior GDOT approval, vehicles are eligible for replacement once they have reached their minimum useful life and funding is available. For light-duty, mid-sized buses, GDOT’s minimum service-life standard is five (5) years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
SAT began operations in May 2023 and currently operates a fleet of four (4) buses. Based on the FTA useful-life criteria and the fleet’s current rate of utilization, these vehicles are projected to reach or exceed their minimum useful life during FY2028 due to age, mileage, or both. Although the buses have not yet reached their replacement threshold, staff is requesting approval to make this request to CRC at this time because the application for FY2028 GDOT grant funding is due September 15, 2026. Submitting this request in advance ensures the replacement vehicles can be included in the FY2028 funding cycle and procured in time to avoid interruptions in service once the buses reach the end of their useful life.
Delaying replacement beyond the useful-life threshold could reduce service reliability, increase maintenance costs, and negatively impact the overall efficiency of transit operations. Additionally, replacing these vehicles is necessary to maintain compliance with FTA Section 5311 program requirements and preserve eligibility for continued funding.
The replacement buses will enable SAT to continue providing safe, reliable, and ADA-compliant
transportation services to the community. When requesting the replacement vehicles, SAT will seek buses with the Twelve (12) passenger capacity originally recommended in the City’s Transit Feasibility Study to ensure the fleet continues to meet current and future transportation needs.
The City would be responsible for a local match of 10% of the cost of the buses. The City’s portion of the cost is estimated to be $65,000, and the funding source for the local match will be 2023 TSPLOST. Payment for the replacement buses would be due in FY 2028.
Approved 4-0.
Consideration of a motion to approve a one-year contract to provide property and casualty insurance in the amount of $1,511,065.00 to Travelers. If approved, this coverage will commence on August 14, 2026.
The City of Statesboro is in the first year of a three-year contract with Gallagher and Associates (Statesboro) that serves as property and casualty as well as workers compensation insurance broker. They are responsible for shopping the market for renewals, negotiating with carriers, processing claims as well as assisting Human Resources and Central Services in the yearly management of these two insurance program areas. These two areas of coverage involve property and casualty (property/vehicles/equipment/personnel) coverage and workers compensation coverage.
An umbrella coverage of $5,000,000 is also included in this package as well. This coverage extends over both the property and casualty and workers compensation areas and will be provided by Travelers.
Following, is a comparison of last year’s premiums and the premiums recommended for this year’s renewal. The coverage limits provided by these policies are $2,000,000 aggregate and $1,000,000 per occurrence for the property and casualty policy and a $1,000,000 coverage for the workers compensation.. The $5,000,000 umbrella policy provided by Travelers will extend over both the property and casualty policy as well as the workers compensation policy per an agreement between Travelers and Bitco. This provides a potential maximum coverage amount of $7,000,000 for property and casualty insurance and $6,000,000 for workers compensation insurance. These premiums are subject to change as vehicles, equipment and facilities are added throughout the year.
The property and casualty premium increased approximately 12% from the previous year and the workers compensation premium decreased approximately 3%. However, the 12% property and casualty increase takes into consideration payroll increases from the previous year and vehicle/equipment/facility additions that have been added recently. The 12% increase is approximately 7% when the previously mentioned factors (payroll, vehicles and equipment increases) are applied.
Approved 4-0.
Consideration of a motion to award a one-year contract to provide workers compensation insurance in the amount of $545,881.00 to Bitco. If approved, this coverage will commence on August 14, 2026.
(See above for description. Same as previous agenda item.)
Approved 4-0.
Public Comments (General)
- A woman who did not disclose her name addressed council about trash cans on “two of the city’s most beautiful roads” – Zetterower and Savannah Avenue. She said the city is not enforcing the ordinance about moving the trash carts off the street.
Other Business from City Council
City Manager Comments
Consideration of a Motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss “Personnel Matters” “Real Estate” and/or “Potential Litigation” in accordance with O.C.G.A 50-14-3(b)
At 9:14 a.m., council moved into executive session for personnel.
