Four land surveying firms get split of county project

Facing a Friday, July 16, deadline to complete the surveying of mitigation tracts which are part of the Tired Creek lake project, Grady County commissioners Tuesday accepted bids for the work from four different surveying firms at a total cost of $238,349.50.
County Attorney Kevin S. Cauley told county commissioners Tuesday the surveys for the mitigation properties are necessary in order to close on the mitigation tracts and the county’s options on these tracts will soon expire.
However, no one surveyor can complete the required work by the July 16 deadline, so county commissioners this week split up the work among the four lowest bidders on the various tracts.
The bids ranged, according to various tracts, from $8,937 on the smallest tract, up to $164,300 on the largest tract. A total of five bids were received, with two of the five being Williams Land Surveying and Joey Brock Surveying, both of Cairo.
Commissioners accepted the low bid of $8,937 from Larry Grogan & Associates of Camilla to survey the Harrison tract; the low bid of $48,572.50 from Cumberland Land Surveyors of Woodbine, Ga., for the Tenewitz tract; the low bid of $27,800 for the Herring tract from Williams Land Surveying; and the low bid of $153,040.00 from Joey Brock Surveying for the Redeisel tract.
All but the Redeisel tracts must be completed by next Friday, but Joey Brock, who attended Tuesday’s commission meeting, said he and his crews would need to begin work immediately to complete the surveying of the largest of the four tracts and be completed in the August or September time frame required by the county.
County Administrator Rusty Moye questioned whether or not the bid submitted by Larry Grogan & Associates included all of the work specified, but when contacted via telephone by Cauley during a meeting recess, Grogan assured county officials his bid included all of the work specified in the request for proposals.
Commissioner Bobby Burns questioned where the money would come from to pay for the surveying of the mitigation tracts.
“We will take it from reserves,” County Administrator Moye replied.
However, Vice Chairman Charles Renaud noted that if the commissioners decide to finance the lake project with revenue bonds, then the reserve account could be reimbursed with bond proceeds. County Attorney Cauley confirmed Renaud’s observation as being correct.
County officials are scheduling a meeting with bond counsel and bond brokers to discuss bond financing options. Estimates for the dam design and construction have been projected to run between $15 and $18 million.
On a motion made by Vice Chairman Renaud and seconded by Commissioner Charles Norton, the board voted unanimously to award contracts to the four surveying firms. Cauley was instructed to notify officials with Eco-South, who are consultants to the county on the lake project, who would, in turn, give instructions to the surveyors to begin work on the boundary surveys. Additional topographical survey work does not have to be completed by next Friday, but the bids submitted were required to cover all work.