Paulding County commissioners approve equipment purchases, airport contracts and name Erica Parish DOT director

Paulding County commissioners on May 5 approved a package of equipment purchases, awarded a major road realignment contract and authorized airport-related contracts while confirming the chairman's nominee to lead the county Department of Transportation.

The meeting opened with a prayer from Michael Williams, pastor at New Freedom Missionary Baptist Church, and a presentation of colors by a local high-school color guard. The board then adopted the special-call meeting minutes from May 5, 2026.

Votes at a glance

- Purchase: two 2026 Ford Explorers for the sheriff's office from Hardy Family Ford for $77,250; funded from SPLAS funds; approved by voice vote.
- Award: Due West Road (SR 95) realignment awarded to Wilson Construction Management LLC for $2,472,653.54; funding noted as Sploss; approved by voice vote.
- Equipment purchases under Sourcewell contracts for Paulding County DOT: a Waller 400 front-mount broom from Yancey Brothers Company ($121,458); a Bobcat T770 skid steer from Bobcat of Atlanta ($77,146.03); a CAT CW-16 traffic roller from Yancey Brothers Company ($116,987); and a CAT 265 HF compact track loader from Yancey Brothers Company ($92,972). Each purchase was approved and identified as FY2026 capital-budget items funded from the county general fund.
- Airport agreements and resolutions: the board authorized an intergovernmental agreement for operations, maintenance and funding related to the Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport for July 1, 2026'June 30, 2027, and adopted GDOT-related resolutions (Res. 26-20 and Res. 26-21) to accept contracts and costs for taxi-lane and taxiway work at the airport; funding was allocated from general funds. Res. 26-22, to seek membership in a regional joint development authority, was also adopted.
- Right-of-way and property actions: the board approved Resolution 2026-19 to abandon a portion of Dewberry Creek Drive and authorized execution of a quitclaim deed; it authorized an option to purchase right-of-way for property along State Route 6 Business (Charles Hardy Parkway) with a stated price of $75,000 and approved a quitclaim deed conveying roughly 615 linear feet (about 0.572 acres) of Rich Osborne Road right-of-way to the City of Dallas.
- Personnel: the board added the chairman's nominee to the agenda and confirmed Erica Parish as director of the Department of Transportation by voice vote.

Nomination and appointment

The chairman nominated Erica Parish for director of the Paulding County Department of Transportation and moved to appoint her. "I would like to nominate Erica Parish to this position and make a motion to approve her as our new DOT director," the chairman said. The board voted in favor.

Context and next steps

Most items were routine, passed by voice vote with little debate. The largest single financial action was the award of the Due West Road SR 95 realignment contract for $2,472,653.54. Several purchases were recorded as FY2026 capital expenses for the Paulding County DOT and were budgeted from the general fund or from SPLAS/Sploss-designated funds as stated during the meeting. The airport agreements authorize the chairman to execute contracts and accept GDOT funds and obligations related to taxi-lane and taxiway work at the Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport. The meeting concluded after staff recognitions for commissioner training achievements and a motion to adjourn.

The board did not record roll-call tallies for individual votes in the transcript; actions were approved by voice vote. No public comments on agenda items were recorded.