By Fred Woods
Editor
In their regular bimonthly meeting this week, the Lee County Commission completed the reconstitution of the Lee County Public Building Authority with the appointments of Adam Littleton, Randy Price and Julie Rendleman. This action enables the completion of right-of-way acquisition for the Bush Road Project, a cooperative effort involving the city of Opelika, Lee County and Georgia-based Bush Industries, Inc. The project will greatly facilitate, and improve the safety of, traffic to and from the T.K.Davis Justice Center and Corporate Drive.
The commission also voted to permit Chairman Bill English to sign a new two-year contract with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) providing up to $125,000 in subsidy payments for the collection and disposal of scrap tires. The program is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to Chris Bozeman, county environmental services director, the new contract has a little more flexibility than the expired one it replaces. The collection of scrap tires is limited to those discarded on county rights-of-way.
Commissioners heard an ATRIP status update from County Engineer Justin Hardee. Of the 23 projects awarded to Lee County, three of eight road resurfacing projects have been completed with 23.2 of the total 41.56 miles awarded.Two of 15 bridge projects have been completed. The resurfacing of Lee Road 54 (Society Hill Road), delayed last fall, is expected to resume within the next few days. The remaining projects are in various stages of commencing.
In other actions the commission:
approved the reduction of the speed limit on Lee Road 265, near Bridges Truck Stop (I-85 Exit 70) to 30 miles per hour,
agreed to accept into Lee County maintenance a 0.2 mile section of Lee Road 313 (off Summerville Road near the Chattahoochee River) that was erroneously omitted from the Highway Reference Guide and Maintenance Map when it was assembled in 2004,
heard from Marshall Carter, president and crew chief of Low and Slow Cruisers, a Lee County car club.. Mr. Carter asked for assistance in getting publicity for his organization’s charitable activities, the latest of which is sending 5,000 gallons of bottled water to Flint, Michigan, to help with that city’s well-publicized water problems.