Patrol post land will get environmental assessment

Columbia County commissioners decided Tuesday to initiate an environmental assessment of land marked as the site of a Georgia State Patrol office.

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Though no cost estimates were available, nor a time line on when the environmental assessment might conclude, county Administrator Steve Szablewski said the assessment is a necessary step for an intergovernmental agreement with the state to deed the four-acre property on Chamblin Road to the state patrol.

Commissioners agreed to spend as much as $2 million in February to build a 10,500-square-foot post on the land near Grovetown High School to replace an inadequate facility in Thomson. Funding for construction will come from the county's general fund and likely will be reimbursed from the next round of sales tax proceeds or from bonds.

Officials expect the post to be ready in 2009.

In keeping with a public safety theme at the meeting, the commission awarded a bid of $132,000 to Wright Line to build new workspaces for operators in the Columbia County Sheriff's Office 911 Center.

A more orderly workspace will improve the efficiency of 911 operators, said county Assistant Administrator Scott Johnson.

Also at the meeting, commissioners gave final approval to a resolution that will allow Columbia County Animal Care and Control to sell pet identification tags for a $2 fee.