Franklin BOC Approves Road Resurfacing Contractor

Franklin County will move forward with the resurfacing of five roads now that the county has approved a contractor for the project.

At their meeting last week, the board of commissioners approved the hiring of Allied Paving out Pendergrass, SC for the project, at the recommendation of county manager Billy Morse, who said Pendergrass submitted the lowest bid.

 “There are five roads to be resurfaced,” Morse said. “Harrison Bridge Road from SR51 to Brays Lake Road; Rocky Ford Road, the portion outside the city limits of Carnesville;  Hale Crossing from SR51 to SR174; all of Bond Bridge Road and Davis School Road.”

Morse said Allied Paving submitted a bid of $662,796 for the project.

The county is receiving a Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG) from the Georgia Department of Transportation to help pay for the project.

Other funding is coming from SPLOST monies, according to Morse.

In other business last week, the county narrowly approved a plan to buy a two-page ad in Georgia Trend Magazine in conjunction with an article about the county coming out in their December issue.

Before voting, Morse went over the terms of the ad with the board. He said the County would be one of ten entities to help pay for the ad. The county’s portion would be $1,450 for a two-page spread.

“The county does not have to pay for that now, we can pay for it in the next fiscal year, but they are asking for a commitment now,” Morse told the board.

Commissioner Jeff Jacques motioned to pay for the ad with the other entities and commission chair Tom Bridges seconded it.

However, commissioner Clint Harper said he was against the idea of buying an ad.

“I just can’t support it. I think there are other budget issues that we have at this time that are more pressing for the county and I just can’t support it,” Harper said.

Bridges then called for the vote, which passed 3-1 with Harper voting against and commissioner David Strickland absent.