No space heaters are allowed in county offices

Courthouse workers and all others who work in county-owned facilities can no longer have space heaters at their workstations following action taken by the Grady County Commission on Friday.
During a special called meeting last Friday the board voted unanimously to ban the use of electric heating devices in county facilities.
Commissioner Charles Norton introduced the ban after having visited the Decatur-Grady 911 center in Bainbridge last week.
“Those 911 operators do not have space heaters. They’ve all got blankets,” Norton said.
The primary concern is that space heaters can severely damage computers and are also a fire risk.
“If they get cold at work then they can bring themselves a blanket,” Norton said.
Grady County Administrator Carlos Tobar said that the extensive use of space heaters in the courthouse had caused circuit breakers at the courthouse to trip in recent weeks.
“I would strongly recommend a policy banning space heaters, not just in the courthouse but in all county offices,” Tobar said.
Grady County Commission Chairman T.D. David concurred and stated, “We must protect ourselves. We have a lot of money invested in computers and other equipment that could be damaged by these heaters.”
According to Tobar, thermostats in county facilities are kept between 68 and 72 degrees in the winter.
Commissioner Norton made the motion to ban the heaters and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Billy Poitevint.
Tobar issued an advisory to all county personnel and tenants of county facilities notifying them of the new policy which went into effect Monday.
In other business during the called meeting, the board:
Accepted the low bid of $184,000 from Musco Lighting for new lighting at Barber Park. The county was previously awarded a $100,000 grant to help finance the project and approximately $19,000 was contributed to the project from private donors. The balance will be paid for with county funds. Tobar said the original estimate for the total project was $221,000.