This is an informal rundown of what happened at the Bulloch County Commission meeting.
Call to Order
Invocation & Pledge
Presentation
Proclamation Presentation: Community Service and Engagement – Mrs. Robin Holmes-Lanier
Roll Call All Commissioners present
Approval of General Agenda
Public Comments
Keith Hamilton – Thanked commissioners for holding the town hall and shared that he wanted to support commissioners as they deal with growth in the county, but needed to emphasize the importance of infrastructure – roads, drainage, and sewage.
Consent Agenda
The items on the consent agenda were voted on collectively.
Items were approved unanimously.
Minutes Approval: Tuesday February 25th, 2025
Minutes Approval: Tuesday March 4th, 2025 05:30 PM
Executive Session Minutes Approval: Tuesday March 4th, 2025 05:30 PM
Motion to approve payment to Jenkins County Landfill
In clearing the storm debris with SDR, the mulched debris has been hauled to Jenkins County C&D Landfill for disposal. Disposal for the week of 2/17 – 2/21 is roughly 3,640 tons at a cost of $91,009.00.
Motion to approve payment to Jenkins County Landfill
In clearing the storm debris with SDR, the mulched debris has been hauled to Jenkins County C&D Landfill for disposal. This invoice covers Feb. 24th to Feb. 26th with 2,028.63 tons of mulch at a cost of $50,715.75.
Motion to approve and ratify payment to M W Collins
In clearing the storm debris with SDR, the mulched debris has been hauled to M W Collins for disposal. At this time 4,220 total cubic yardage, at a cost of $25,320.00.
Motion to approve and ratify payment to M W Collins
In clearing the storm debris with SDR, the mulched debris has been hauled to M W Collins for disposal. For hauling days 2/27 and 2/28 the cost was $33,486.00 for 5,581 cu/yd.
Motion to approve and ratify payment to M W Collins
In clearing the storm debris with SDR, the mulched debris has been hauled to M W Collins for disposal. For the week of 3/3/25 to 3/7/25; 6,223 total cubic yardage was disposed, at a cost of $37,338.00.
Motion to approve and ratify J L Derriso hauling service
Public Works had J L Derriso Trucking hauling additional rock from Augusta to the BCPW yard during Feb. 24th to Feb. 28th, at a cost of $15,390.00. Their services are aiding in the continued repairs using the Debby emergency fund.
Motion to approve and ratify J L Derriso hauling service
Public Works had J L Derriso Trucking hauling additional rock from Augusta to the BCPW yard during March 3rd to March 7th, at a cost of $15,408.25. Their services are aiding in the continued repairs using the Debby emergency fund.
To grant a 2025 alcoholic beverage licenses for package and retail beer and wines sales to Nouria Energy Retail, Inc., located at 6640 Hwy. 67 Brooklet, GA (formerly EnMarket #755) and 17500 Hwy. 301 North Statesboro, GA (formerly EnMarket #769).
Motion to enter into negotiations with the most qualified responsive firm for County Road Right of Way Acquisition Services.
Bulloch County seeks to improve a number of existing unpaved roads, various roadway drainage repair projects, intersection improvement projects, and road widening projects through design & engineering service contracts and construction contracting. Bulloch County has traditionally self-performed a large portion of its Right-of-Way acquisition needs through utilization of in-house resources while outsourcing specialty services such as Property Valuation Appraisal Services. However, the current volume of work contracted for design & engineering services coupled with construction delivery expectations will no longer accommodate the traditional approach to County Road Right-of-Way Services. Bulloch County understands the Right-of-Way phase of a project to be an essential component in the successful delivery of every roadway design project and roadway drainage repair project. The Right-of-Way phase includes varying levels of work detail associated with Property Valuation Appraisal Services, Property Acquisition Services, Pre/Post Project Preparation Services, Court Coordinator Services, Valuation Specialty Services, and all required Property Legal Services. Bulloch County has design & engineering service contracts with a need for County Road Right-of-Way Services on the following unpaved roads: W.D. Peacock Road, Moore Road, Lee Road, Old Happy Road, Lakeside Estates (Bream Road, Bass Court, Pike Road), R.L. Lee Road, Shuman Road, J.R. Parker Road, Club Road, Floyd Clark Road, Deer Run Road, Deer Run Court, Deer Run Lane, Grimshaw Road, Grimshaw Lane, and Prather Road. Various drainage improvement projects associated with damages caused by Tropical Storm Debby are in the early stages of development with FEMA. Bulloch County anticipates procurement of design & engineering services for the various FEMA approved roadway drainage repair projects during Spring-2025. These locations could bring potential impacts to adjacent properties requiring County Road Right-of-Way Services to successfully deliver the project. Therefore, Bulloch County is seeking a GDOT Prequalified full service Right-of Way Consultant with ample certified and qualified personnel resources fully capable of providing County Road Right-of-Way Services through all necessary means at a programmatic level for a period of no more than three (3) years form the dated of contract execution. The selected Consultant will be allowed to negotiate a cost increase to the terms of the executed contract on an annual basis with a maximum increase of 2% to its overall cost and a maximum of two (2) negotiated cost increases occurring annually during the entire term of the contract (i.e. occurs once in 2026 and once in 2027). Bulloch County reserves the right to extend the contract for an additional term (i.e. 1, 2, or 3 years) and at a cost mutually agreed upon by Bulloch County and the Consultant.
Bulloch County advertised this solicitation on the Georgia Procurement Registry, Statesboro Herald, Bulloch County Procurement Website, and also sent the solicitation to several qualified consultant firms listed in the GDOT Directory. A total of two Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) were received on February 28, 2025. Staff scored and ranked the SOQs, according to scoring criteria in the solicitation, and staff is requesting approval to begin cost negotiations with the highest scoring firm. The County Engineer recommends approval of this motion.
Motion to approve a bid and enter into a contract with Thunder Road, LLC for roadway crack sealing on various county roads, in the amount of $180,905.00, to be funded by TSPLOST.
This contract includes crack sealing of 66.5 lane miles of county roads. Crack sealing preserves roadways by preventing the infiltration of water under the asphalt pavement, thereby lengthening the lifespan of the pavement until more costly repairs will be required.
Sealed bids were received on March 13, 2025, as detailed in the attached memo from Faye Bragg, Purchasing Manager. The low bidder, Thunder Road, LLC, met all requirements of the County’s bid specifications. The low bid amount, which was $180,905.00, is lower than the County Engineer’s cost estimate of $266,000. The County Engineer recommends approval.
New Business
Beacon System at Ball Park Radio Tower Retrofit
The county was notified that the tower at Ball Park Rd had a beacon (tower light) that is not working. The system is no longer supported, parts are also not available. A retrofit is about 1/2 the cost of a replacement. The retrofit also allows the county to reuse the 3 good beacons if this issue happens at another site.
Approved unanimously.
Motion to approve and ratify payment to Sand Creek Land Construction
Public Works had Sand Creek Land Construction hauling additional rock from Augusta to the BCPW yard during Feb. 24th to Feb. 28th, at a cost of $16,542.75. Their services are aiding in the continued repairs using the Debby emergency fund.
Commissioner Toby Conner recused himself from discussion and vote due to a conflict of interest. The motion was approved 5-0.
Motion to approve and ratify payment to Sand Creek Land Construction
Public Works had Sand Creek Land Construction hauling additional rock from Augusta to the BCPW yard during the week of March 3rd to March 7th, at a cost of $21,123.00. Their services are aiding in the continued repairs using the Debby emergency fund.
Commissioner Toby Conner recused himself from discussion and vote due to a conflict of interest. The motion was approved 5-0.
Motion to accept bid from Central Fence
During Helene 14 collection center fences’ were damaged; either by wind or trees falling. After all damages were documented with insurance and FEMA, Public works reached out to three fencing companies to bid on repairs at all 14 centers. With that, the Public works recommends accepting the bid from Central Fence.
Approved unanimously.
Motion to accept a proposal from Pracademic Partners to provide executive recruitment services for the County Manager position
Bulloch County Board of Commissioners solicited responses to a request for proposals (RFP) for executive recruitment services for the County Manager position. Ten (10) submissions were received on February 20, 2025.
After review of each submission and the services offered, it is recommended that the Board accept the proposal and enter into a contract with Pracademic Partners to provide recruitment services on behalf of Bulloch County. $26,500
Approved unanimously.
Motion to amend the pay plan to include new pay rates for the Fire Department
From the staff comments:
The Board of Commissioners approved an amendment to position control to add positions to the Fire Department on March 4, 2025. The Interim County Manager along with Human Resources engaged Archer, the company that completed the County’s last compensation and classification study, to perform an updated study focusing only on the Fire Department in an effort to remain competitive with the economy and labor market rates. The labor market competition has aggressively raised Firefighter pay during the last few years and our pay has not kept pace. However, it is crucial that we make an effort to correct that to increase recruitment and retention. The last comprehensive pay study was completed by Archer in 2018 with minor updates in 2023.
Attached you will find the current pay plan before the amendment and the proposed pay plan with the amendments in red. Adoption of the amendment to the pay plan for the Fire Department is recommended.
Future consideration should be given to conducting a new comprehensive compensation and classification study for all positions as the economy and labor market has changed significantly, as well as internal factors, putting many positions behind in pay. This should be considered to mitigate recruitment and retention issues.
FY 2025 pay plan
FY 2025 Amended pay plan
Approved unanimously.
Commission & Staff Comments
Brad Deal, County Engineer – Provided an update on the bridge at Cypress Lake Road at Dry Branch, sharing with commissioners the tradeoffs between repair versus total replacement (which would close the road for several years). Repair with reinforcement contrarily would cost considerably less. The county also has $200,000 in bridge repair and maintenance that can be put toward the project to assist with costs.
Ron Nelson Asst County Engineer gave an update on the Nevils Denmark Road closure. After commissioners approved a contract for design and drainage in September, the county has continued working with FEMA on the hydrology study, which was approved last week. The procurement process has begun and the county is accepting bids for a contractor. Bids will be opened next week and commissioners will vote on the matter at the April meeting. After a Notice to Proceed is issued, employees expect 120 days to construct the culvert. The bridge is expected to be opened for traffic in late summer.
Executive Session (Personnel)
Commissioners moved into executive session at 9:35 a.m.
Adjourn
Watch the meeting:
