BY HANNAH GOLDFINGER
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY —The Lee County Commission meeting opened Monday night with County Engineer Justin Hardee sharing about the opening of the new engineering facility.
The new facility is located at 2555 Society Hill Road in Opelika.
“This is a culmination of many, many years of work, and effort and support by this county commission in getting this facility to us,” Hardee said.
Hardee, who began with Lee County in 2002, said that when he began, he was already hearing that a new facility was needed.
The new facility encompasses just over 21 acres and includes a new administration building, new central maintenance facility, pole barns and more.
Previously, the engineering department was spread across five locations over less than 10 acres.
“It’s state of the art,” Hardee said. “Greatly appreciate the commission’s support. … When the American Rescue Plan came out, this commission said, ‘we want to spend the money and know that we’ve done something for years to come. And this facility will serve the citizens of Lee County for decades to come.”
Hardee also said the facility will allow room for growth — including land that can be developed.
“This will be the first time in my time with Lee County and prior that all of the departments and the staff underneath the county engineer’s umbrella will be at one location and that’s just going to make efficiency and coordination so much easier and so much better for what we can be doing for our citizens,” Hardee said.
The facility held a ribbon cutting right before the commission meeting. On the morning of Nov. 18, the facility will become open to the public.
Lee County Parks
Rentals:
Ryan Noris approached the commission Monday night with an issue regarding the multipurpose field at Beauregard park.
The incident in question occurred on Sept. 28 and was first brought before the commission on Oct. 7.
Some attendees of a group that rented the multipurpose field broke into a locked building, Norris said.
They then pulled out the infield machine and the UTV and rode the UTV around.
“With this particular group, and I’ve attached a couple invoices in your packets from previous damages that they have caused,” Norris said. “Kinda seems that it’s getting worse and worse.”
They’ve also damaged a field direction sign and a mirror.
Norris did specify that these incidents didn’t involve the children playing on the field or the coaches. The suspects appeared to be minors, he said, and while no charges were pressed, the commission did vote to suspend the remaining date the field is booked for 2024 and terminated their use for 2025 season.
Other Business:
- The commission heard from Commissioner Gary Long about concerns with the Oliver Trails Subdivision.
- The commission approved the final plat approval for the Pine Meadow Subdivision.
- The commission approved the reclassification of two positions for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
- The commission approved a contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for body cameras for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
- The commission approved an memorandum of understanding (MOU) for detention center inmate medical insurance for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
- The commission approved the results of Bid No. 2025-01 for dry cleaning for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
- The commission approved the results of Bid No. 2025-02 for fleet vehicle oil changes for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
- The commission replaced the FY2025 Budget to include capital.
- The commission postponed a vote on a contract with “First Due” for the Lee County Emergency Management Agency.
- The commission postponed discussion on a resolution for a one time supplement for the Lee County EMA director.
- The commission heard an update on the Lee County Free Disposal Day.
- The commission approved the 2024 Health and Benefits Fair f=unding request.
Ribbon cutting, open house held at county’s new Engineering Facility
The original engineering facility was purchased in 2014 to meet the growing demands of Lee County. A decade later, it has been expanded to double the size of current maintenance facilities and provides professional offices for staff. The new facility includes rooms in both the administration and maintenance buildings suitable for use during inclement weather. Set to open to the public on Nov. 18, it significantly improves working conditions, employee morale and public safety. Currently, some staff are sharing offices and working from the inside of closets, according to County Engineer C. Justin Hardee, P.E. “It’s been a long time coming and is going to serve Lee County for decades,” he said. “Employees are extremely excited about this.”
