County closes road, approves courthouse air conditioning renovations

Monday morning, the county commission voted to close a portion of a road in southern Coffee County and approved air conditioning renovations to the courthouse.

Calvin Sears had petitioned the county to close a section of Oakbend Trail, located off Waldron Road. The county had sent notices to those who lived on the road and had advertised the petition properly. Before the county commission voted, they opened a public hearing for the matter. No one spoke in opposition. Oakbend Trail leads to a dead end; Sears is the only landowner on the 1,376-foot section he petitioned be closed. With no opposition, the county unanimously voted to close the road.

Commissioners also voted to replace the HVAC system in the courthouse, which is a part of a larger courthouse renovation project that will begin this year. Three companies submitted bids: Pruitt Air Conditioning of Eastman ($900,000), Conley Sheet Metal of Waycross ($1.09 million), and Albany Air of Albany ($915,421). The commission voted to award the project to Pruitt Air Conditioning.

The commission also voted to appoint Morris Smith Jr. to the Southeast Georgia EMS Council and to set the qualifying fees for upcoming county elections. The fees are $127.17 for county commission candidates, $275.40 for board of education candidates, and $2,250 for solicitor candidates.