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Published Thursday, July 09, 2009 in Local

Newnan to be Coweta's municipal voice on Regional Commission council

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Times-Herald

The city of Newnan will be Coweta County's municipal representative on the new Regional Commission council being created through the merger of the Chattahoochee-Flint and McIntosh Trail regional development centers.

The regional council will only have a seat for one county representative and one city representative from each of the 10 counties that make up the new regional commission.

The county representatives will meet tonight in Greenville.

"Once that initial meeting takes place, each of the counties has the ability, and the requirement, of selecting which municipality has a representative on the new regional commission board," said Commissioner Tim Lassetter at Tuesday's meeting of the Coweta County Board of Commissioners.

"There are a number of individuals who have served over the last two-and-a-half years who have done a great job," said Lassetter, who will be the county's representative.

"But I think with Newnan being the largest municipality we have, that it would make sense for them to be our municipal representative."

In other county business:

n The commissioners voted to add repaving of a section of Poplar Road to a current contract with C.W. Matthews for resurfacing of several county roads.

"One section of Poplar is in really, really bad shape," said County Administrator Theron Gay. As long as it is less than 20 percent of the total contract amount, "you can add a supplemental agreement to a contract."

The repaving will include the section of Poplar between Yeager Road and Goodwyn Road. The cost for the 1.3-mile repaving project will be $313,544.88.

Commissioner Al Smith asked why the project wouldn't be bid separately.

"If you turn around and bid a short section like this, you are going to drive the price up," Gay said.

n The board voted unanimously to send a letter to the chairman of the State Transportation Board asking that some kind of barrier be erected in the median of Interstate 85 south of Exit 41, to prevent crossover accidents.

In the past year, there have been three fatalities resulting from crossover accidents, said Commissioner Randolph Collins. Two people were killed in a crash in January, and one woman was killed in late June.

The Department of Transportation "is saying they do not have the funds to install the devices even though they have been approved," Collins said.

He wants the DOT to find the funds. "It will definitely improve the chances of someone living if there is a crossover."

n Members of the Coweta County Development Authority spoke to the commissioners about recent activities.

"We wanted to take this time to express our appreciation to the commission. Our successes could not have taken place without your support," said member Mike Barber. "It takes a lot of extra effort to land these particular industries in Coweta County, and we are working daily. We have projects coming daily," Barber said.

Chairman David Brown also spoke about CCDA President Bill Harrison. "All of you know Bill and how hard he's worked. I'm wishing he could be here tonight," Brown said.

"Bill came down with cancer while we were recruiting Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and he will retire as it gets worked out. But we couldn't have done it without Bill."

Harrison had announced his upcoming retirement in early 2008, long before the cancer diagnosis.

"He's a go get 'em, work-horse type of guy. We are going to miss him greatly," Brown said. Harrison plans to remain active, "helping us in any way he can."

n The board voted to award a contract for construction of the new Grantville Library to W.O. Kilgore Construction.

n Commissioners Al Smith and Randolph Collins will serve on a "caucus" to determine the next representative on the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District board. The county is rotating off the board, and a municipal representative will serve next. The municipality must have either a water withdrawal permit or a wastewater permit, Gay said. "Newnan's permit may be in the name of Newnan Utilities," Gay said. That needs to be determined before the representative can be chosen.

n Jeff Poquette of Southside Wrecker asked for the commission's help in getting put on the Coweta County Sheriff's Office's rotating list of wrecker services.

The company has recently opened a Coweta location, and has submitted two applications to be put on the list, Poquette said. He hasn't heard anything back.

The company has 16 trucks, including four for "heavy recovery."

"We have been sitting back all this time, watching wrecks closing 85 for four, five, six hours, and wondering why nobody's calling us back," Poquette said. The company is certified by the DOT's quick clearance program, Poquette said. "We really believe we can do a great job with the county."

n The board approved a proposal from the Center for Public Safety Excellence for an emergency communications center management audit.

"You guys have made a lot of great strides in the area of public safety over the last year," Gay said. "One of the last steps we would like to take is to make sure our emergency communications center" is operating as well as possible, Gay said. The audit will "give us ways to improve, and how to move forward in the future," he said.

n The board voted to extend a sign variance for Landward Holdings/Arbor Springs. The request was for five years. It was voted down 3-2 on motion of Collins. Commissioner Rodney Brooks then made a motion to grant the variance for one year. It passed 3-2.

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