Grady commissioners address construction delays at Agri-Center

Published 1:09 pm Wednesday, March 8, 2017

CAIRO — Grady County’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) office has been without running water and its break room since September. 

The FSA office, which is housed at Grady County’s Agri-Center, has been undergoing renovation since September. 

The Grady County Board of Commissioners were alerted to the construction problems by former commissioner Charlie Norton at Tuesday’s meeting. 

“I suggest y’all take a field trip,” Norton said. 

Commissioners T.D. David and LaFaye Copeland, along with Chairman Elwyn Childs, went to visit the FSA office and its employees after the board adjourned from the meeting.  

Despite being in the midst of construction, FSA employees still continue to work. 

In an adjacent space next to the current office space — lined with protruding wires from empty spaces in the ceiling and stacks of wood and paint and plaster cans — the four FSA employees are scheduled to move their work into the space on Friday. 

“That’s what they should have done to start off with,” commission Vice Chairman Ray Prince said at the meeting. 

While in the adjacent space, the FSA’s current office space will be worked on. Once the current space is complete, the employees will move back and work will be completed in the temporary space. 

“Everybody’s waiting, just don’t know what to do and when to do it,” Sharon Brown, Grady County’s FSA director, said. 

Brown said since construction began in September, the office has been without its initial break room and running water. 

“It’s been a battle,” Brown said.  

According to Brown, this time of the year is a busy one for FSA and added that U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop’s (D-Albany) office has been trying to help. 

Virginia Vasquez, another FSA employee, was also present to speak to the commissioners. 

“We don’t know what’s supposed to have happened,” she said. “We’ve been working to help them.” 

Along with FSA, USDA Soil and Conservation is also housed in the same area. 

The renovation deadline for completion was scheduled for March 7. 

Brent Taylor, of Taylor Construction Group LLC, told David he anticipates the renovation to last a couple more weeks.  

The cause of the construction delays is due to issues with the building and waiting on certain renovation options. 

David told the Times-Enterprise Tuesday the commissioners hope to discuss an update on the building renovation at the March 21 commissioners meeting. 

The bid for renovations, at $96,300, was awarded to Taylor Construction Group, LLC at an August 2016 commissioners meeting. It was the lowest of three bids the county received.  

Reporter Jordan Barela can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1826.