BOE hears construction project updates

Sep. 27—MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County Board of Education received an update on three upcoming construction projects by Travis Petitjean of Altman and Barrett architects, at the board's Monday evening meeting.

"Hopefully, in February, we're moving earth on all three sites," he said.

Petitjean started with the Canning Plant and Agriculture Facility, pointing out different aspects of it on a PowerPoint slide that showed an aerial view of the site across the road from the high school where it will be built. The next slide was a blueprint of the facility, and Petitjean pointed out the multiple entrances off of Darbyshire Road and the parking spaces and loading dock.

"We have enough room there for three cars or three trucks to back in and load or unload at the same time," he said.

He also pointed out the livestock facility at the back of the site and told the board that the entire site would be fenced.

The next slide that was presented was a floor-plan of the canning plant, which will be 6,967 square feet and will house eight workstations, each with a 60-gallon kettle, blancher, table, sink and retort. Equipment will include shellers, peelers, juicers, an ice machine, mobile carts and a walk-in cooler.

A blueprint of the livestock facility was also shown and Petitjean said that there would be individual lockers for the students to keep their feed. The barn will accommodate both large and small animals.

"We worked a lot with the agricultural department and all the faculty and received a lot of input from them. ... It's their plan. It's not our plan," he said.

The next series of slides, presented by Petitjean, was the Williams Middle School building additions project. He said that the two oldest buildings on the site, which are next to the Colquitt County Arts Center, will be demolished.

"And a new classroom wing added where those buildings are and a very large parking lot. Much needed in that area," he said.

There will be 163 parking spaces added between the middle school and the arts center.

"It not only serves the school but it serves the stadium and the arts center, as well," Petitjean said.

He said the classroom wing that will be added will replicate the wing that exists now.

He said the cafeteria would be enlarged to accommodate more students. He pointed out on a blueprint an adjustment to the serving line area. He said they talked to the faculty and the food service director and they felt like if more students were added, the approach to the serving line needed to be streamlined. Petitjean said that the cafeteria would accommodate about 175 more students.

A blueprint was also presented of the new classroom wing that will be built at the middle school and it will have 12 classrooms, two family living classrooms, an art classroom, a sensory room, a teacher workroom and restrooms.

The last construction project that was addressed by Petitjean was an addition to the Colquitt County High School, which would be attached to the existing building.

"You see the floor-plan. Fairly simple, 16 classrooms, student restrooms, teacher work room. We did add an administrative office in there for a vice principal," he said when a blueprint of the addition was shown.

There will be an enclosed corridor connection to the existing building, he said.

The new classrooms at the high school will accommodate moving the ninth grade students from C.A. Gray Junior High to CCHS.

The final slide shown gave the board a timeline of all the events that would happen to get to the construction phase.

"The two highlighted in the gold color are board dates as far as approvals. So if everything goes as planned, we'll get those dates and continue the process from there," Petitjean said.

The projects discussed Monday are three of the four projects approved by voters in March to be funded by an Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The fourth project, demolition of some of the buildings at C.A. Gray, can't start until after the ninth graders have been moved to CCHS.

In other business, Bill McCalley, school district attorney, presented information about a tract of land next to Lasseter Tractor Company that the school district is getting.

"The land is an agricultural use covenant... And it runs out on 12/31/25, so we have to keep it in agricultural use at least through that date," he said.

Currently, the school district doesn't have any plans for the land yet and right now, it's being leased by farmers with the lease terminating this year. McCalley said they have the option to stop the lease or to extend the lease with the farmers.

"We can extend it up through 2025 or longer," he added.

It was the board's decision to extend the lease with the farmers to 2025, which would coincide with the end of the agricultural use covenant.

Presentations were made during the work session and regular meeting to individuals by Summer Hall, principal of R.B. Wright Elementary School; Dan Chappuis, principal of Colquitt County High School; and Cleve Edwards, athletic director of Colquitt County High School.

Hall presented Lindsay Martin with the 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year Award for Wright Elementary and she presented Joy Croy of Rocky's with a Packer Business Partner Award.

Chappuis presented the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce with a Colquitt County High School Packer Business Partner Award, which was accepted by Chamber President Caitlyn Hatcher and staff, Cynthia Baggett and Jasmin Luna.

Edwards presented photographer Connie Southwell with the Colquitt County School District Packer Business Partner Award.