Long County commissioners butted heads in regards to approving county contractors during a recent meeting.

Chairman Dwight Gordon opened four sealed bids from contractors desiring to do Sheetrock and painting work at the proposed code-enforcement office. Gordon said the low bid was $2,450 by Steve Bradley Dry Wall Company. Commissioner Gerald Blocker said this company is owned by the son of Chief Code Enforcement Officer John Bradley. Commissioner Willie Thompson said that if Bradley was approved to do the work, it would be a “conflict of interest.”

After a brief discussion, the commission approved hiring Bradley 3-2, with Thompson and Robert Long voting no and Blocker, Gordon and Clifton DeLoach voting yes.

Commissioners also disagreed over which carpet company to use to have flooring laid in the same building. The commission voted 4-1 to use the low bid for the floor work, with Long being the lone dissenter.  Prior to Thompson arriving for the meeting, the group could not agree on which electrician to use for work in the building, either. The low bid, which was $6,200, was provided by Collie Wilkes Electrical Company. In that vote, Blocker, DeLoach and Gordon voted yes, with Long once again being the lone vote in opposition.

“I oppose the manner in which we are getting these bids,” Long said. “We’re not going in the right direction in the way we are getting them.”

“The bids are subject to our approval,” Gordon said.

Long told his fellow commissioners that when he was elected, one of his goals was to clean up the courthouse and make the area around it look better. He said much of this work was completed, but that parking remains a problem. Long said he had a plan to have the parking area at the courthouse, annex and the sheriff’s office restriped. With the restriping, there would be one entrance and one exit from the area.  

Gordon said the cost for the materials to do the work would be between $1,200 and$1,500, with labor provided by county employees. DeLoach said he did not think having one entrance and one exit to the area was a good idea, so he could not support the plan. Once again, the vote was 4-1 with DeLoach voting no.

The commission did come together to recognize Finance Director Brandi Sollosi for completing the Certified Finance Officers Program.  On behalf of the other commissioners, Gordon congratulated Sollosi and said she is doing a good job.

In other business, commissioners unanimously:

• Appointed DeLoach to the Georgia Water Council Board.

• Appointed Danny Norman to the Georgia Resources Conservation and Development.

• Approved adopting the Regional Rural Public Transportation Program.

• Approved Gordon researching the possibility of purchasing vans from the Georgia Department of Transportation.