Board of Commissioners Work Session - October 5, 2026

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners’ October 5, 2026 work session included procurement and budget updates for public health, employee benefits, and county operations. Cobb-Douglas Public Health reported that its facility expansion has more than $5 million secured, including $4 million from the county and $50,000 in partner contributions, and that a request for $1.1 million in federal funding is pending. The architecture/construction RFP closed September 22 with six proposals; staff expected to identify a vendor in early November and develop a projected total cost during the design process. The 2027 benefits review recommended renewing the health, dental, vision, and Medicare Advantage plans without changing employee deductions; the health-plan renewal was projected to increase 10–12% relative to annualized spending. A new Regenex benefit was also proposed, with no board vote recorded in the transcript.

Other items presented included a $619,500 contract with Ascension Counseling and Mental Health for court accountability services; extensions of a CDBG grant and Smith Allen Consulting’s oversight contract, with no additional grant funding required; election office and warehouse leases of $2,895 per month and approximately $1,511.33 per month, respectively; and an $82,376.93 county network-support renewal. The board also reviewed $11,739.15 in landfill camera repairs, fire-service agreements, and an old EMS receivables collection arrangement at 4.35% of net collections plus $5 per account. For the Elite Energy Systems project under RFP26-023, staff corrected the project cost to $185,894, with $72,289.90 in federal grant funding and the balance from 2022 SPLOST; a 15% contingency was also discussed, and a commissioner requested supporting documentation. The transcript does not record final votes on these procurement items; the recorded unanimous vote was to enter executive session.