Twiggs County Commissioners sell tractor for $17,000, other highlights from last week’s meeting

At last week’s county commission meeting, Twiggs County Commissioners agreed to sell a 2017 Case 100C tractor to a paving company for $17,000. 

The county previously advertised bids for the machine, along with three other county vehicles. On Thursday, Commission Chairman Ken Fowler opened the bids.

They received four total offers for the unit; however, because two of the bids were made after closing, commissioners voted to open only the two that were on time.

The first of the two offers was for $15,650. The second bid, submitted by Professional Paving, a paving company based in Middle Georgia, was for $17,000.

After hearing the stark contrast in bid prices, commissioners voted to accept Professional Paving’s bid at $17,000.

The decision to open only the two timely bids was made at the recommendation of County Attorney Kerry Howell.

“My recommendation is not to open or accept the late bids,” Howell told the board on Thursday. “We set up the ground rules, and my recommendation – that’s all I can do is recommend y’all – is not to accept late bids.”

To this, Fowler responded saying that they should open the tardy bids, arguing they could contain higher bids and potentially bring in more money to the county.

Eventually, Commissioner Keith Washington suggested they follow Howell’s recommendation and reject the bids. The remaining commissioners agreed, and the motion to reject the late bids passed 4-1.

The tractor was one of four vehicles up for bid last week. The other three included a 2001 Navistar International roll-off truck and two Ford F-150s, one from 1997 and the other from 2007.

The roll-off truck received one bid for $500; however, commissioners rejected the bid, saying the offer was too low. According to commissioners, the pumps on the truck alone cost more than $500, and they had another $2,000-3,000 in the hydraulics system.

“It’s worth more than that,” Fowler said.

Though Commissioner Lonnie Ford voted to sell the truck anyway, the motion to reject the bid passed 4-1.

A similar discussion occurred when Fowler opened the sole bid for the 2007 Ford F-150, which contained a bid of $100. Commissioners voted to reject the offer.

The 1997 F-150 received no bids.

In other business, commissioners voted to authorize Fowler to re-sign an ordinance previously passed in 2022. 

In Nov. 2022, commissioners approved a Twiggs County animal control ordinance. Recently, according to Howell, someone requested a signed copy of the ordinance, but he was unable to locate it.

Though the decision to adopt the ordinance passed during a Nov. 3, 2022 meeting, backed by the meeting minutes, he couldn’t find a signed copy of the ordinance in the county’s records.

To remedy the problem, Howell said he drafted another resolution and needed commissioners to authorize Fowler to sign it.

“It’s really a housekeeping matter,” he told commissioners.

Commissioners then voted to authorize Fowler to re-sign the ordinance.

Also during last week’s meeting, Jeanie Sanders approached commissioners asking for their help forming an animal services committee and obtaining a .gov website. 

According to Sanders, she’s been researching animal services and found that, for a committee to receive any kind of formal vetting or grants to fund animal rescue, her group would need to possess a .gov website. To do this, the group would need special permission and guidance from the county.

“I’m not here to ask for money. I’m not here to ask for a budget because I know the county can’t afford it,” she said. “If we don’t get the .gov site, then we’re not going to get federal grants. And we need federal grants to do anything.”

Based on her research, she said, a .gov website would give the group thorough vetting so donors would feel comfortable donating to the group’s rescue.

Sanders also requested that one of the commissioners serve on their board.

Howell told Sanders that, though he wasn’t opposed to the idea, he understands an agreement would bring the county certain obligations. Signing off on the group would mean the county assuming some of the responsibility.

In the end, he told Jeanie he wanted to meet with her to discuss the matter further.