The Oglethorpe Echo
The Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners approved a payment of $217,000 to C.W. Matthews Contracting at its meeting on Monday.
C.W. Matthews was hired to resurface Hargrove Lake and Smithonia Roads. C.W. Matthews also restriped nearly every county road as a part of the project.
The amount was an additional fee not in the original bid approved by the county due to an error in the specifications sent to the company. The initial measurements given to C.W. Matthews, which were used to estimate the cost of the project, had the roads narrower than they are.
“This is the second year in a row that we've used C.W. Matthews; they have been the lowest bidder both times,” Public Works Director Adam Nation said. “We have saved money by going with them.”
The commissioners didn’t know about the discrepancy until C.W. Matthews asked for the extra payment. C.W. Matthews has informed the county it will make sure to doublecheck measurements for future work.
“We've had a good working relationship with them,” Nation said. “Yes, there was some error on the width. Some was on the third party that did the bid package for us. Some was on C.W. Matthews. But at the end of the day, all the material that they're asking us to pay for is on the road.”
Commission Chair Jay Paul said the county budget can absorb the extra payment.
In other news, the commissioners:
- Approved a request for rezoning for 376 Harris Road from general agriculture to residential agriculture in order to subdivide for family. The Oglethorpe County Zoning Board unanimously approved, with the condition to only use the easement from Harris Road.
- Approved the reappointment of George Gray to the Board of Elections. His term was set to expire at the end of the year.
- Approved the reappointment of Alice Hughes to the Library Board. Her term was set to expire at the end of the year.
- Tabled a discussion and vote over special revenue funds to January’s meeting.
- Appointed Brenda Mattox and Kristie Huff to the Northeast Georgia Aging Services Advisory Council for a term of four years.
- Discussed proposals for a project on Salem Church Road. The project would remove tree cover on the stretch of road to reduce long-term maintenance and resurface it.
- Set the qualifying fees for the 2024 election:
- Chairman, Board of Commissioners: $1,927.66
- District Commissioner: $126
- Sheriff: $1,927.66
- Magistrate Judge: $1,693.55
- Probate Judge: $1,660.34
- Clerk of Court: $1,660.34
- Tax Commissioner: $1,660.34
- Coroner: $72
- Board of Education (member): $43.20
Qualifying for those offices will begin at 9 a.m. March 4 and end at noon on March 8, 2024. The general primary will be held May 21.