Bond Resolution Needed
Jasper County Water & Sewer Authority members had been hoping that the County Line Road project construction would begin by the first of the new year. With the multi-million dollar project still in the process of acquiring a bond resolution, members are now hoping that the United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) loan paperwork will be complete by that time.
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The bond process, being handled by King & Spalding legal firm, has been stalled for some time and will need to be acted on before construction begins. According to authority secretary Linda Jordan, completing the process could take an unspecified amount of time.
Once the bond is set the board will have to approve the resolution and within 20 days of its approval a hearing will need to be conducted during a regularly scheduled court session.
County Line Road is not the only project the authority currently has in limbo. Their plans for an equipment storage area have been placed on hold by the commissioners pending more discussion. The commissioners had previously voted to lease the authority some land near the Jasper County Senior Center for storage.
Relative to the storage issue, Don Kelly and Doug Thomas reported that four bids had been received for fencing in the proposed area. The lowest bid was submitted by Wilson Fencing in Madison for a total of $6,155. Also, Brack Pound provided two estimates for storage trailers.
Pipeline installation on the Charlie Elliott project is nearly complete, said authority chairman Merrill Clark. All that remains is the installation of some two-inch pipelines. The authority also processed a payment of $148,000 to Mike Blackburn Contractors for the completed work.
Consulting engineer Tom Garrett informed the board that negotiations were continuing with the Dept. of Transportation regarding the bridge replacement over the Ocmulgee River on Hwy. 16 where Butts and Jasper counties meet. He also reported that the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) approved the authority’s request to ‘cross the lake’ for the County Line Road project.
In other business, the board took action to renew the authority’s liability insurance policy for $2,500. Additionally, a vote was taken to acquire membership with the Utilities Protection Center, whose slogan is “Call Before You Dig.”
A financial report included a balance of $28,094 in the general account; $30,239 in the USDA reserve account; and $279,893 in the Charlie Elliott account.
The board entered into executive session to discussion real estate acquisition.
