Lee prepares for rec complex, new hospital, faster firetruck

LEESBURG — Lee County commissioners were mum Tuesday night as they anxiously awaited word on their application for a certificate of need to build a 60-bed hospital. On Wednesday morning, they received the news they’d been hoping for: the CON was approved.

Another topic that’s kept Lee officials’ busy in recent months has been been recreation.

County Co-Manager Mike Sistrunk opened bids for a piece of land Friday that could become the location for a future recreation complex. The only bid submitted was from the city of Leesburg for a 100-acre parcel of land located off the Leesburg Bypass, backing up to the Kinchafoonee Creek.

While City Manager Bob Alexander said earlier this week he was hopeful county commissioners would go ahead and vote on the property, that decision was delayed at least until next month to give commissioners a little more time to make sure all considerations are favorable.

“It looks good, but I would like a little more time before I approve spending a half-million dollars,” Commissioner Luke Singletary said.

According to the bid submitted by Alexander, Leesburg would purchase the land and then sell it to the county for $5,000 per acre, a total cost of $500,000.

In his proposal to the county, Alexander said that Leesburg has already submitted a proposal to the Georgia Department of Transportation for public road access to the site, and the city is working toward obtaining funding for a connector road and for utilities to the site.

Sistrunk said soil and engineering tests will need to be conducted as well as deed research.

Although Commission Chairman Dennis Roland suggested approving the purchase contingent upon all factors coming out favorable, fellow board members suggested waiting at least until the next board meeting, scheduled Dec. 12.

“We have until the end of April before the offer expires,” Singletary said, and County Attorney Jimmy Skipper confirmed the statement.

Even so, commissioners asked Skipper to draw up a contract between Lee County and the city of Leesburg that will specifically spell out the terms of their agreement should they vote to purchase the land as early as next month.

Also at the meeting, commissioners voted to purchase a truck with a knuckle-boom loader at a cost of $153,613 from Four Star Freightliner. Five companies submitted bids for the vehicle. Although the bid accepted was not the lowest, commissioners said they selected the Four Star Freightliner bid because the company is located in a neighboring county, making it easier to get service if needed.

Public Safety Director Wesley Wells discussed the pros and cons of three different offers for a tanker firetruck. One offer was fairly close to the $270,000 to $280,000 price tag Wells had previously told commissioners he was expecting. That bid, which came from Lamar White, a sales rep with Ten-8 Fire and Safety Equipment of Georgia LLC, was for $258,000. Another bid from Andrew C. Blesch with AAAA Auto and Truck Service Inc. of Rossville was submitted for $239,092.

A third bid, from Fouts Brothers, presented a significantly lower price and offered the shortest delivery time.

Wells said, “This truck would be deliverable within about six months, compared to the others that would take 10 to 12 months for delivery.”

He said the Fouts Brothers tanker truck can be driven by anyone holding a standard Class F license.

“Our other tankers currently require someone with a CDL designation, and that is very hard to come by,” said Wells, who admitted that there is no one qualified to drive the current tanker on one work shift, which would present a problem if the tanker were needed during those work hours. “This tanker I am proposing can be driven by anyone.”

Another benefit with the Fouts Brothers truck is that the water tank slides out. It features a canvas-type portable tank that allows firefighters to continue drawing water while the truck returns to a source for additional water. The current tanker truck in use by the fire department has a 5,000-gallon water tank capacity. Because that water tank is smaller, the Fouts truck would be able to get to a fire faster and would have less overflow or spillage en route, according to Wells.

Asked how long it would take to refill the tank, Wells said it could be refilled in three to eight minutes, an important factor if the truck is being used to fight a large fire.

Wells also told commissioners that the portable tank is collapsible and designed to last eight to 10 years.

After some discussion, commissioners approved a bid from Fouts Brothers for the purchase of the tanker firetruck at a cost of $209,019.