Julia Pierce | July 18, 2026

Today, I had a moment to go back through the county’s meeting minutes for the last three years. I decided to look at all the road repairs that were requested, who requested them, which district they were in, who did the repairs, and how were they funded.

Interestingly enough I found that there is/are was/were:

1. One road (Doyle) that is in question as to whether it has been repaired in District 1, which is Norman Royal’s district;
2. Four roads (Fouche, Woody Stubbs, Sales, and Norris Jordan) and two bridges (Walter Wells and Fouche Road Bridge) that are in question as whether they have been repaired in District 2, which is Shane Grier’s district;
3. Three roads (Morgan Ford, Towerpoint, and Firehouse) that are in question in District 3, which were in Matt Gunnels’ district; and
4. Four roads (Flem Smith, Harts Mill, Frank Powell, and Bill Merritt) that are in question as whether they have been repaired in District 4, which is George Neal’s district.

I found that Shane Grier’s District – District 2 – has the most roads and bridges in need of repair, where one bridge is seriously deficient even though it was approved for repairs on April 9, 2024 and those repairs in the amount of $41,000 have not been done. He wasn’t even the first commissioner to respond to the citizen requests or concerns and in some cases he said nothing and gave no approval.

I found that Robinson Paving was awarded a contract to repair 1/2 mile of Fouche Road in that same month and yet it still may not have been done. The commissioners approved it’s repair four times – twice in 2024, once in 2025, and once in 2026. Robinson Paving was also granted approval for other repairs of these roads and yet they may not have been done either.

I also found that the commissioners were approving these repairs from money we didn’t have and knew we didn’t have it because they asked Connie Harris, their county manager, to look for funding.

I have broken up the roads that have been in question from 2023 to current and what the commissioners’ meeting minutes say about them. I started listing them chronologically, so they are not in district order. I have additionally listed questions for each road for consideration?

Flem Smith Road and Harts Mill Road – District 4

On June 13, 2023, Robinson Paving is noted as being the only company to enter a bid for Flem Smith Road and Harts Mill Road, by which Marshall Fontaine, Commissioner at Large, and Shane Grier, Commissioner for District 2 approved.

On April 9, 2024, Commissioners Fontaine, Grier, and Neal approved for one mile of Harts Mill Road to be resurfaced.

On July 8, 2025, the Board of Commisioners approved for a second time, the repair of Harts Mill Road, specifically 2.9 miles of Harts Mill Road, and they indicated that it would be paid for from LRA funds and the 2025 LMIG funds, which we have evidence ad nauseam that we did not have.

Questions to be Answered

1. Was Flem Smith Road repaired?
2. Was Harts Mill Road repaired?
3. If Harts Mill Road was approved for repair in June of 2023, why did they now need to approve one mile of it to be resurfaced in April of 2024?
4. Was that one mile of Harts Mill Road resurfaced?
5. Who was approved for these repairs (Robinson’s Paving or some other entity or individual)?
6. Why were these repairs not done if they were approved?
7. Why was Harts Mill Road not repaired in June of 2023, or April of 2024 when it was approved both times?
8. Why did the Board of Commissioners have to approve a third time for the repair of Harts Mill Road?
9. Which commissioners approved the repairs the third time?
10. Where did they get the money from if there were no funds in the LRA or the LMIG, since it has been proven that our county received no grant money from 2023 to current due to our financial records not being up to date?
11. Have these repairs been made since they were approved as of June 2023, April 2024, and July 2025?
12. If these repairs have not been made, why did Commissioner Neal approve or second these repairs initially in his district and not see that those repairs were made?

Walter Wells Road Bridge – District 2

On September 12, 2023, Southern Concrete Construction provided a quote for the repair of Walter Wells Road Bridge, in which it is noted that the commissioners had to look for funds.

On April 9, 2024, Commissioners Fontaine, Grier, and Neal approved the funding for this repair from LRA funds in the amount of $41,000, which again, we have seen ad nauseam that we did not have.

It is reasonable to believe that this repair has not made, over 2 years later, though it was approved for repair, because bridgereport.org has it classified currently as structurally deficient.

Questions to be Answered

1. Why was a quote provided if there were no funds?
2. Why were there no funds?
3. Why were funds then available from the Local Road Assistance through the Georgia Department of Transportation?
4. Why, if this fund was there and approved, have repairs not been made?
5. Where did the $41,000 go?
6. Why, if this bridge is structurally deficient, has it not been made priority?
7. Do we even know what weight this bridge can handle before it collapses (i.e. school buses, garbage trucks, land graders, etc.)?

Morgan Ford Road and Towerpoint Road- District 3

On March 12, 2024, meeting minutes reflect that ” it was discussed that Morgan Ford Road would be improved to our county standards,” and that “Towerpoint Road would also need to be looked at for road improvement due to increased traffic,” whereby Commissioners Gunnels, Royal, and an unnamed commissioner approved. Interestingly enough, only 4 commissioners out of the 5 voted, and Commissioner Grier opposed the repairs.

Questions to be Answered

1. Has Morgan Ford Road been repaired?
2. Has Towerpoint Road been repaired?
3. If so, when?
4. If not, why, if they were approved to have been repaired?
5. Who was responsible for the repairs (i.e. road department or contractor)?
6. Why did Commissioner Grier oppose their repair?

Fouche Road – District 2

On April 9, 2024, Commissioners Fontaine, Grier, and Neal approved the resurfacing of 1/2 mile of Fouche Road to the bridge on Fouche Road. Commissioner Grier, whose district this road is in, wasn’t even the commissioner to motion for the repair; Marshall Fontaine was.

On August 13, 2024, Commissioners Fontaine, Grier, and Gunnels awarded the bid from Robinson Paving for the repair of Fouche Road.

On July 8, 2025, The Board of Commissioners approved, yet again, the resurfacing of Fouche Road, whereby it is noted that the LRA fund and the 2025 LMIG fund would go toward the project.

And on February 10, 2026, Commissioners Fontaine and Royal, followed by the rest of the commissioners, unanimously approved “the use of a portion of the 2025 LMIG funds in the amount of $14,500 to complete the repairs on Fouche Road-Bridge.”

Questions to be Answered

1. Was that 1/2 mile of Fouche Road resurfaced?
2. If not, and it was approved in August of 2024, why did Robinson Paving not complete the resurfacing?
3. What was the amount of the bid by Robinson Paving?
4. Why did the Board of Commissioners have to approve this repair for a second time in August if they already approved it in April of 2024?
5. Why do we not know which Commissioners gave their approval for the work being awarded to Robinson Paving?
6. Why did the commissioners have to approve this 1/2 mile project to be done a third time as recent as February 10, 2026?
7. Are the multiple approvals and delays a reason for Robinson Paving to be paid ambigously?
8. Why did Commissioner Shane Grier, as District 2 commissioner not initiate the motion for it’s repair since it is in his district?
9. Why has Commissioner Grier not followed through with accountability for this repair which has appeared to take Robinson Paving over 2 years to complete a half mile of resurfacing?
10. Have they been paid any money by the county for any work?
11. If so, how much?

Fouche Road Bridge – District 2

On June 10, 2025, “The Board of Commissioners advised Connie Harris to apply for funding for the Fouche Road Bridge closure.” It does not say which Commissioners on the Board advised her.

Questions to be Answered

1. Why did the commissioners advise Connie Harris, as the county manager to apply for funding, if they already had been given funding for the year?
2. If they advised Connie Harris to apply for funding, is it because they knew that there was no funding?
3. Was this bridge ever closed?
4. What did it need to be closed?
5. Is this bridge in need of repair?
6. Did Connie Harris ever apply for funding as she was commanded to do so by her commissioners and superiors?
7. If not, why?

Doyle Road – District 1

On August 13, 2024, Robinson Paving was awarded a bid for repairs for Doyle Road, but there was no approval prior to this bid for any approval to have been made. Where did the bid come from if there was no talk of it’s repair and there was no approval on record?

Questions to be Answered

1. Why was the repair of Doyle Road not discussed or approved by the commissioners in any prior meeting for the year?
2. Why was Robinson Paving awarded the bid for the repair of Doyle Road, when Doyle Road repairs were never discussed or approved in any previous commissioner’s meeting for the year?
3. How much did Robinson Paving bid for the repair?
4. Was Robinson Paving paid for the repair?
5. Did Robinson Paving make the repair?
6. If not, and it was approved for them to make the repair, did they not make it?

Woody Stubbs Road – District 2

On September 10, 2024, a citizen, Emily Dunson, approached the commissioners about the road condition of Woody Stubbs Road. There is no comment from any commissioner, any approval, or any action for follow-up from any commissioner for Mrs. Dunson’s concern about her road.

As a side note, when these minutes were provided to me, they had no signature from the county manager or the chairman. I am unsure if these things even happened or were manufactured by the county manager, Connie Harris and her clerk, Heather Wright, when I performed the original open records request for the commissioners’ meeting minutes.

On December 10, 2024, two months after her first appearance, Emily Dunson, along with her husband, Justin Dunson, appeared before the commissioners to question their concerns about the maintenance for Woody Stubbs Road. Once again, no comment, action, or follow-up was noted by any commissioner.

Questions to be Answered

1. Why did the concerns of the citizens about Woody Stubbs Road go ignored by all commissioners both times they brought their concerns before the commissioners?
2. Why did Commissioner Grier not speak up about their concerns since this road is in his district?
3. Why was it mentioned that “They were advised that we are in the process of keeping equipment at the end of the County to do drive throughs with a leveler to service those roads between grading to assist with the maintenance,” as a resolution to their concern that their road isn’t getting graded enough in the current rotation.
4. Does it appear that Mr. and Mrs. Dunson were being ignored by their own commissioner as well as the other commissioners?
5. Has Woody Stubbs Road been maintained properly since then?

Frank Powell Road – District 4

On December 10, 2024, Ms. Annie Statum approached the council about the run-off and the previous drainage design concerns for Frank Powell Road. Commissioner Fontaine approved for the road department to clean the culvert and dig a ditch for the run-off and Commissioner Grier seconded the motion for approval, whereby the rest of the commissioners approved as well. This was a unanimous approval.

Questions to be Answered

1. Was this ever actually done?
2. If it was done, was a full resolution to the issue that Ms. Annie Statum presented.
3. Why did she get a unanimous approval for this repair?
4. Why didn’t George Neal as her district commissioner motion for this first or second?

Bill Merritt Road – District 4

On April 8 2025, Bill Merritt Road was noticed as being damaged by Peach State Timber Company, whereby their bond was pulled. That means that the county filed a claim against the bond of Peach State Timber Company to pay for the repairs that needed to be made due to their damage to it.

Questions to be Answered

1. Was the claim ever made for the damage?
2. How much was the claim for if it was made?
3. Were the repairs for the damage ever made?
4. If the claim was made and the money collected, and the damage wasn’t repaired, where did the money go?
5. If the money was collected for the claim, and the damage was not repaired, why wasn’t it repaired?

Sales Road – District 2

On September 9, 2025, citizen Mary Underwood was scheduled to appear before the commission to address Sales Road repairs that were necessary. Though it says she did not show up, “the Commissioners asked that Mrs. Connie Harris get with Jeremiah Johnson to ride Sales Roads and make recommendations.”

On October 14, 2025, and additional citizen, Tommie Brown, approached the commissioners requesting them to repair Sales Road. The minutes reflect that “Mr. Brown was informed that gravel has been ordered and scheduled to be spread on the worse [sic] parts of Sales Road.” There is no indication that the previous recommendations were received by the commission or approved before they were ordered.

Questions to be Answered

1. What specific commissioners approved Connie to get with Jeremiah to make recommenations?
2. Did Connie Harris ever get with Jeremiah Johnson to ride Sales Road and give her recommendations?
3. Did Jeremiah every ride Sales Road and give Connie Harris those recommendations?
4. If so, were those recommendations ever followed?
5. What specific recommendations were brought before the commissioners?
6. When were those recommendations brought before the commissioners?
7. Why were those recommendations not on the meeting minutes before gravel was ordered and scheduled to be spread?
8. Was gravel ordered for and spread on Sales Road?
9. Was Sales Road ever repaired?

Firehouse Road – District 3

On September 9, 2025, Joseph Miller approached the commissioner about Firehouse Road. He gave “recommendations to fix the spots that are the worse [sic] and add gravel as needed.”

On October 14, 2025, commissioners Fontaine and Gunnels followed by all other commissioners in a unanimous vote “approved for the County to repair the worse [sic] areas of Firehouse Road from the VFD Firehouse to Ga Hwy 41N only.”

Questions to be Answered

1. Why are there no comments, actions, or follow-up actions by any commissioner on this item?
2. Why did Commissioner Matt Gunnels not respond to this item, since this road was in his district?
3. Were Mr. Miller’s recommendations ever carried out by the county?
4. If repairs were approved on October 14, 2025, were they ever made?
5. If so, when?

Norris Jordan Road – District 2

On October 14, 2025, citizen Charles Brown requested that the county make repairs to Norris Jordan Road. He indicated that the road was holding water. The minutes reflect that “County Manager Connie Harris and Roads Supervisor Jeremiah Johnson will evaluate Norris Jordan Road.

Questions to be Answered

1. Which commissioners approved for Connie and Jeremiah to evaluate Norris Jordan Road.
2. Were recommendations ever brought before the commissioners?
3. Were repairs ever made?

In Summary

Why does it seem that most of these roads and bridge repairs are in District 2, which Shane Grier’s district?

Why does it seem that the commissioners forget what approvals for road repairs they have already given?

Why does it take Robinson Paving over 2 years to resurface 1/2 mile of Fouche Road?

Why are the commissioners approving the use of money from a fund they do not have?

If these repairs are being made and materials being ordered, why are they not on the commissioners meeting minutes for approval?

Why are certain items for road request by citizens ignored?

Why are there no specific commissioners listed for approvals?

What do you see?

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