CAIRO — Paving and money were on the Grady County Commission’s mind during

Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting.

First on the agenda was the repaving of a one-mile stretch of 20th Street from Highway 84 to Joyner. Carlos Tobar, Grady County administrator, said the road is so bad that new businesses can’t be recruited to that area.

The total cost of the project is approximately $490,000. The county’s part of the road is 41 percent and the city’s is 59 percent. By a 3-2 vote, the commissioners approved the roughly $31,000 for its part contingent upon the city picking up its approximately $44,000 and the Joint Development Authority picking up the remaining $25,000. The county would be applying to the Georgia Department of Transportation for the other $390,000.

Next up was an update on the widening and resurfacing of Old Highway 179 from the Mitchell County line to Highway 84. Commission Chairman T.D. David said, “179 is wore out.”

Tobar agreed but said that project was “not going to be cheap.” He said that Stacy Watkins of Watkins & Associate LLC, an engineering consultant, recommended 12 box culverts be extended six feet on each side of the road.

Stanley Elkins, Grady County road superintendent, said, “When tropical storm Faye came through, water was over the road.”

Commissioner Charlie Norton asked, “But it’s handled the water 98 percent of the time, hasn’t it? We got to look at things through the taxpayers’ eyes, not just the engineers.”

Elkins nodded in agreement. Norton also suggested pipes be used instead of culverts because they costs less.

Commissioners Norton, David and Elwyn Childs suggested that Tobar needed to rely more on Elkins than on the Watkins engineers.

Childs said, “Some projects, we don’t need an engineer.”

Norton commented, “Engineering sometimes is two-thirds the costs of a project.” He asked, “What did we do for the 17 years before we had engineer consultants?”

“That makes me nervous,” said Tobar about working without a civil engineer. “All the grant applications require an engineer.”

Tobar said in an interview on Wednesday, “The engineer consulting costs depend on the project. For instance, the 20th Street project, Watkins will be paid 1.25 percent of the costs.”

He continued, “Our county staff does not maintain culverts. A contractor has to do that and I want Stacy Watkins to work with the contractor to make sure the widening is done right.”

He said. “This project will require a full depth reclamation.”

Tobar said, “My priority for road projects is if we can get someone else to pay for it. I look at grant applications and what the criteria and goals are. Then I try to find projects that fit those grants.”

“Unfortunately, Highway 179 doesn’t fit neatly into one of those,” explained Tobar.

Commissioners also spent quite a bit of time debating a request for the county to be closed Friday, Dec. 26.

Norton said, “It ain’t my money and I hate to say ‘no,’ but it’s the taxpayers’ money.”

The board approved Commissioner LaFaye Copeland’s motion to give county workers half of Christmas Eve off and all of Christmas Day, but for workers to return on Friday.

Also discussed was progress on the Monrovia Growers property where an access road from Tired Creek’s double boat ramp and Gainous Road will be built. It was also mentioned that construction on the fish habitat for Tired Creek will begin on Dec. 1.

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