The Columbia County Public Works and Engineering Committee approved moving forward with an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Grovetown for Harlem Grovetown Road.
Engineering Services Director Kyle Titus told committee members that due to recent development along Harlem Grovetown Road and the fact that the city and county boundaries are not contiguous, it was difficult to determine who owned what property.
“We worked with the county attorney, we reviewed state law, which ended up being a little ambiguous, so we needed to draft this intergovernmental agreement with Grovetown,” Titus said. “Both the city and the county attorney reviewed the language and they agreed to it, along with the county management.”
The agreement designates Harlem Grovetown Road from Old Berzelia Road to just past Caroleton Road as the City of Grovetown’s to own and maintain, Titus said. He added the IGA has been presented to the Grovetown City Council and was approved.
The item was moved the consent agenda for the full Columbia County Board of Commissioners to approve.
The Columbia County Community and Emergency Services Committee approved moving forward with an independent contract agreement with Bliss Products and Services, Inc. for two shelters for the dog park at Martinez Park for a cost of $122,715.37.
The CES Committee also approved moving forward with an independent contract agreement with Petersburg Tennis Academy, LLC for tennis instruction at the Columbia County Racquet Center. John Luton, community services director, told committee members the contract is with Brian Blount, who the county has been working with since taking over the facility.
“He came over from the previous ownership,” Luton said. “We gave him a trial basis, he’s done a great job out there, so we want to keep that going and sort of formalize the contract with him.”
Board chair and committee member Doug Duncan asked about the pickleball courts.
“We are working on engineering drawings. We’re close to selecting a layout, I believe, 10 courts, looking at about 10 courts,” Luton said. “As soon as we have those, we’ll put those out to bid and start that process.”
County Manager Scott Johnson mentioned there will be ADA pickleball courts.
Fire Chief Jeremy Wallen presented service agreements with the Burn Foundation of America and Columbia County Community Connections to receive the proceeds from the 2023 Columbia County Fire Rescue Boot Drive. Each organization will receive $31,355.
Stephanie Hill is the managing editor and covers Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
