County talks road conditions, paving

Commissioners discussed road conditions and paving plans at their Wednesday, June 10 meeting. County manager John Hanson said a request to the chairman of the DOT to help with the cost of widening Kings Bridge Road was denied. The road is set to be resurfaced, but widening will cost more. ’We had asked for additional funds through the LMIG program. I feel that road doesn’t just serve Pike County but it’s a regional road people use from Upson and Lamar as they travel toward Fayette County,’ he said. ‘ We are going to continue to press for additional funding to assist with widening the road. The traffic count on Kings Bridge Road is higher than it is out Highway 362 west. The width of that road is a concern and we have 911 reports of accidents there.’Hanson said it is difficult for large trucks to stay on the road and there are some significant drop offs along Kings Bridge Road. He said the county crew will do some repairs until it can be widened. Commissioner Tim Daniel said he went to see the paving progress on Cook Road and he said it is clear the county’s paving crew is learning to operate the machinery. He said they will go back and fix areas that did not turn out perfect the first time. ’Once they finish Cook Road, they will be moving on to McKinley Road, then to New Hope and then on to other areas around the county. Most of the areas they focus on will be short run patches,’ said Hanson. Hanson said the ditches on the unpaved portion of McKinley Road will be rolled out and packed in preparation for calcium chloride. ’We have already reached out to the company that did the calcium chloride previously and to other companies as well to get some competitive pricing,’ he said. Commissioners also discussed the need to widen Jonathan’s Roost Road where Peach State Aerodrome in Williamson is located. ’We did a preliminary study on widening it and there is an average of about 1,000 cars per week which is a lot for a road that size,’ said Hanson. Chairman Briar Johnson noted that he attended the Vintage Days festival and saw a vehicle pulling an antique car on a trailer and the road was so narrow, the person in the other lane had to go off the road to pass. He said he was amazed by the number of people from all over the state, noting he saw several tags from out of state. He said the road gets wider after passing the airport and is in better condition. Commissioners also discussed a required software conversion for accounting programs used in various offices. Hanson said he spoke with officials at Harris the company that bought out CSI, the software provider previously used by the county. He said he was able to get a better cost for the required conversion dropping the cost from $13,000 to $10,000. He said the cost for new services from Edmonds would be $56,000 and from Tyler would be $73,000. Hanson said over a five year period, the conversion and subsequent annual service fees would still bring the county significant savings. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve funds be spent from contingency to move forward with the conversion process.  The county also:’¢Â Heard the county received the preliminary contract with Grady and the county attorney and county manager will review it before the next meeting. ’¢ Discussed an ambulance that was given to the county fire department in the past. Fire chief Rick? O’Barr said the unit is ready to go with the exception of having IV bags and drug kits but it needs to be state certified prior to use. He said plans are to get the unit in use.’¢ Approved a special exception in an A-R zoned district to allow for a camper to be used by property owner James Quentin Evans for recreational use on a 49 acre parcel on Chapel Hill Road.