$73,100 to Knock Down Flooded Homes

Metro Custom Contracting, coming in with a bid of $73,100, won a contract from the Douglas County Commission on Tuesday to demolish 14 houses and clear remaining debris in the Austell area.

The September 2009 flood ruined the homes, and the area, which could see future flooding, will most likely be left as “green space,” Commissioner Mike Mulcare said.

“A lot of flooding occurs because of changes that people and development have made to the environment—removing trees and changing contours and so forth,” he said. “These were flood-damaged properties in areas that should not be rebuilt in.”

Funding for the project will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

“Of course, all federal money comes from you and me—taxpayers—so it’s not like a gift from the federal government,” Mulcare said. “It’s FEMA and GEMA money coming back to Douglas County.”

Also at the meeting, which lasted 10 minutes, the commission approved paying $131,600 to the Atlanta Regional Commission. The ARC helps plan development for Atlanta’s metropolitan sprawl in 10 counties, including Douglas, and coordinates with government agencies in those counties.

“In a nutshell, that’s our assessment to be members of the club,” Mulcare said. “You could ask, ‘What do we get for that?’ … Probably more accurately, ‘What would we lose by not being a part of that?’”

He continued: “Most federal and state money is through the ARC.”

Mulcare said the annual fee is based on population.

“Gwinett and Cobb are paying a lot more than we are,” he said.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved an agreement with Douglasville to improve the intersection of Bright Star Road and Bright Star Road Connector.

• Approved funding for a study of tractor-trailer traffic on State Route 6. The study—named the Truck-Friendly Lanes Concept Study and Environmental Documentation—will cost $105,000. Douglas County will share the cost with Cobb County, which houses part of the road, and the Norfolk Southern Railway, which has rail lines affected by the road.

“Are we equally sharing the costs of this study?” Commissioner Kelly Robinson asked. Other commissioners assured him that the cost will be divided into three $35,000 parts.

• Declared county items surplus, to be auctioned off on the GovDeals wesbite. Mulcare said the items are mostly odds and ends, including cellphones and chargers.

“These are just things that have been collected out of drawers and empty cubicles and so forth,” he said. “And because it is property paid for by taxpayers, we have to go through a legal process of dispersing it.”

Mulcare said he doesn’t know when the items will appear on the website because the county is also checking into the legality of donating them to charity.

Asked how much the county will get if the property goes to auction, the commissioner joked: “I don’t know—$20?”