Streetlight and safety light improvements were a topic of dispute for the Columbia County Public Works and Engineering Services Committee July 27.
Kyle Titus, director of engineering services, wants Tanko Lighting to help audit and update streetlight policies and procedures.
Both Titus and Scott Johnson, county manager, noted to committee chairman Gary Richardson that while county does have an intersection safety light policy, it does not currently have a policy in place for corridor and commercial streetlights.
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According to the proposal, Tanko would be brought in to provide expertise and guidance in development of a comprehensive audit and policy for streetlights and safety lights. The update was projected to cost over $33,000.
Johnson emphasized the need for an updated policy to include corridor and commercial streetlighting for areas such as the Lewiston Road Bridge, Furys Ferry Road and Hardy McManus Road.
“As we start lighting these corridors, start doing diverging diamonds, different intersections, there’s a lot of expectation with lighting the corridors,” said Johnson. “We really need a good comprehensive policy.”
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While Richardson expressed concern about consulting Tanko, Johnson assured that the county would have the final word in developing the policy.
“We’ve got good engineers on staff, we’ve got good folks at GIS, and we can pick and choose what fits Columbia County best,” Johnson said.
The proposal was tabled for the committee to revisit at its meeting on Aug. 24.
The budget report for the meeting included an update on the Horizon South Parkway Widening Prior Rights Research findings. On Aug. 11, 2020 the committee approved forwarding to the Commissioner Board’s consent agenda entering into a contract with Surveying and Mapping to conduct prior rights research for the project.
Titus noted that the original relocation agreement with Georgia Power was for over $1 million. After Survey and Mapping did its research and renegotiated with Georgia Power, the new relocation agreement was made for about $530,000, saving the county more than $465,000.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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