Stonebank Road paving proposal remains unresolved in Habersham’s public record

Habersham County commissioners considered a proposal on July 17, 2023, to add the paving of Stonebank Road to the county’s 2023 LMIG resurfacing contract with Allied Paving, at an added cost of $85,527.50. But the meeting excerpt records discussion of the change order, not whether commissioners approved it or whether work ever began on the 0.38-mile road.

The unresolved decision carries practical stakes for a short county road that staff described as a one-lane gravel route. The proposed project would convert it to two 9-foot paved lanes with 2-foot shoulders and drainage ditches, using the existing right-of-way. It also would commit a proposed county share from SPLOST VII funds, making the question more than a routine contract adjustment.

The proposal arose as an addition to Habersham’s existing 2023 LMIG contract with Allied Paving rather than as a separately documented road project. At the July 17 meeting, commissioners considered using a change order to bring Stonebank Road into that contract. The cited minutes establish the project’s proposed scope, contractor and price, but the excerpt stops short of recording the decision that would have moved the work from consideration to authorization.

County commissioners were the public body considering the change order, while Allied Paving was the contractor identified for the proposed contract amendment. County staff’s described plan called for paving within the existing right-of-way and adding shoulders and drainage ditches. The material does not identify individual commissioners’ positions, record public testimony, or show any competing proposal; it documents the project as a proposal for commission consideration.

The $85,527.50 amount, the SPLOST VII funding proposal and the roadway design were all discussed elements of a proposed change order. They are not, in the cited account, proof that the county amended the Allied Paving contract, spent the money or paved Stonebank Road. The July 17 minutes excerpt does not state a final vote, approval or denial, provide a vote tally, or confirm a signed change order or completed construction.

The next meaningful public step would be a county record resolving what happened after the discussion: commission minutes showing action, a signed Allied Paving change order, or project documentation confirming work on Stonebank Road. Until such a record establishes an outcome, residents cannot determine from the cited minutes whether the county authorized the amendment, committed SPLOST VII funds or carried out the paving plan.