New map of county is in the works

Columbia County residents and visitors might soon have a current road map to navigate the fast-growing county.

//

Marilyn Heuer, the county public relations manager, told members of the Management and Financial Services Committee on Tuesday that she has received a bid from a company that would design the new map, including a grid and a street name index, for $2,900.

The company, Computer Creation, will allow the county to retain rights to the map, Heuer said.

"People will be grateful to have updated maps of the county," she said.

The computer-generated maps will be in a format easily manipulated by the county's GIS department and the map printer.

The maps, which will contain no ad space, will be given away. Blank space will be filled with information about county parks and other attractions, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, Development Authority and Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Public Works Committee members considered a request at the Tuesday meeting by Mai Tran, the owner of a piece of Belair Road property, to be entitled to future tap fees on a private sewer line she'll have to run to construct an Eggroll Express restaurant next to Rhineharts Oyster Bar.

Mark Hopper, a spokesman for Tran, said the line will cost $90,000 to construct and the request is to defray the cost.

"Basically, you've got two choices," Water Utility Director Billy Clayton told Tran and Hopper. "One is that you can run a private line down through there, which (you) would have total control over."

Hopper said they have tried to run a private line, but neighbors have not agreed to sell or donate easements on which to build the line.

The other option is to build a sewer line on county right-of-way and deed it to the county. The county would collect fees for future tie-ins to the line.

Committee members Tommy Mercer, Diane Ford and Ron Cross agreed to send the matter forward to the full commission to consider granting Tran a variance to construct a private sewer line in a county right-of-way.

Both matters will be considered by the board of commissioners before a final decision is made.