MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Colquitt County Board of Commissioners and Moultrie City Council took steps at their respective meetings Tuesday to help the Moultrie-Colquitt County Airport Authority receive state funds for work at the Moultrie Municipal Airport.

Mike Boyd, who in addition to being a county commissioner is chairman of the Airport Authority, said the new memorandum of understanding among the three groups replaces a 2019 agreement that specified the project they were participating in at that time. The Georgia Department of Transportation’s attorney recommended the new MOU be worded to include all airport enhancements, improvement and development.

As the state nears the end of its fiscal year each summer, the DOT may have unspent funds it can re-allocate, Boyd said, and updating the MOU is one thing the Airport Authority can do to make itself eligible for any money that materializes.

Both the city council and county commission approved the new MOU. 

In a related decision Tuesday, the county commission agreed to set up a new checking account for the authority’s use.

The county serves as a “pass-through” for state DOT money that may be available for work at the airport. Boyd said the authority wanted this arrangement because it gives a layer of oversight to the money coming in and what it’s spent on.

Also on Tuesday the county commission:

• Approved rental contracts with the state Division of Family and Children Services and Child Support Services for continued use of the DFCS building on North Main Street. Rent will total $18,064 per month for both agencies.

• Approved an agreement with Trinity Food Service to continue providing meals to inmates at the county jail and county prison at a cost of $1.46 per meal.

• Approved a bid from Ruis Fence Co. for a fence around the county’s pipe yard on County Farm Road at a total cost of $10,700.

• Approved a bid to repair the chiller on the Courthouse Annex rather than replacing it. The bid for the repair was $23,074 from Johnson Controls Inc. The best bid for replacement was $82,100 from Lasseter Mechanical; a lower bid was for $73,220, but county staff said the product from the lower bidder was not as good as the one offered by Lasseter.

• Approved payment of invoices for $21,675 to Synergistic Software, which supplies computer services to the E-911 center; for $9,000 to GMASS, Inc., which re-evaluated commercial property taxes in 2019-2020 and has been defending those assessments in appeals that started last fall and are continuing; and for $5,455.50 to County Attorney Lester Castellow.

• Approved a zoning change, from Agricultural to Commercial (C-1) to allow a couple to re-open a country store at 1461 Cool Springs Road, near Old Norman Park Road. The site was formerly a country store, but it’s been closed more than 18 months so it’s no longer grandfathered into the area’s zoning, according to Justin Cox, county compliance officer. “Nothing’s really changing,” Cox said. “It’s just opening back up.”

• Approved the final plat for a subdivision called Woodlands II, located on Highway 37 West at Calleighs Way. Three duplexes are already built and occupied there, Cox said, and the final plat calls for a total of 15 lots. 

• Approved a resolution in support of lawyers negotiating with the state for a division of proceeds from the national opioid lawsuit. Colquitt County is a party to that suit.