REPORT Nº 001 EDITION ATHENS-AREA WEEK OF 07·13·26 STATUS SAMPLE — FREE

Intelligence
Report Nº 001

First issue: a June 1 – July 12 lookback plus the next two weeks. Weekly issues cover the prior week and the upcoming calendar. Every item below links to the source document it came from.

Signals filed

Open bids

$40M+

Capital in view

Items w/o source

Meetings / 14 days

§1 This Week's Top Signals

203-acre industrial park hearing Tuesday Tue 7/14

Barrow BOC hears a land-use amendment + AG→M-1 rezoning at Cash Rd / Atlanta Hwy SE / Bird Hammond Dr — including a special-use request for a concrete plant inside the park. 6 PM. Agenda

Barrow is starting a new Government Complex

$312,205 program-management agreement (Phase 1, LJA Engineering) on the same July 14 agenda — PM kickoff means a multi-year design + construction program follows. Agenda

“Project Orchid” decision August 3 (Jefferson)

Pattillo's rezoning package for a large electrical-switchgear plant near I-85 (parking variance up to 3,067 spaces; reportedly up to 3,000 jobs) was tabled to Aug 3 pending an NDA expiring. If approved: one of the corridor's biggest site/structure packages in years. Coverage

Watkinsville is teeing up a 2028 TSPLOST

Council took up an IGA with Oconee County plus public input on referendum projects — the road/sidewalk/intersection list is being shaped now, which is when relationships get built. Agenda

§2 Open Bids verified live 7/12

Barrow County
RFB2026-18: Atlanta Hwy at Jackson Trail Rd & Bowman Mill Rd intersection improvements — roadway, signal, drainage scopes. Bids page

Monroe · Walton Dev. Authority
RFPs #116 / #117: purchase + adaptive reuse of historic downtown properties, 111 E. Spring St & 203 Milledge Ave. Due July 31, 11:59 PM. Bids page

Oconee · Athens-Clarke · Jackson
Zero open bids as of 7/12 — but see the pipeline below.

§3 Money Approved / Awarded

Barrow · 6/9
$4,670,094 — 2026 TSPLOST paving program → Allied Paving (Pendergrass), unanimous. Minutes
$1,694,239 — TSPLOST sidewalk improvements → R&B Developers (Suwanee).

Jackson · 6/15
$4,300,000 — school-area roads (Hwy 332 frontage + Boone/Wehunt roundabout) → Wilson Construction Mgmt as Phase 1; Phase 2 (Sam Freeman realignment + second roundabout) still ahead. Design/bid coming. Coverage

Jackson Water & Sewerage Authority · 6/11
~$6,000,000 revenue-bond financing to finish the ~$11M Parks Creek Reservoir capacity purchase (bank RFP this fall) + preliminary water/sewer service approved for two spec retail buildings in Pendergrass' Town Square. Coverage

Walton · 6/2 & 7/7
FY27 budget adopted ($107.1M) with updated Capital Improvements Element incl. $1.2M impact-fee commitment to the O'Kelly Library. Packet
Fire Station #4 addition/renovation — budget resolution + design/PM award to Precision Planning (7/7). Construction packages follow design. Agenda

Oconee · 7/7
$217,445 — FY27 bridge repairs (Simonton Bridge Rd + Barnett Shoals Rd, GDOT-inspection-driven) → SunCoast Restoration; 7 bids received. Packet
$25,000,000 GEFA loan modified — Calls Creek Water Reclamation Facility 3-MGD upgrade, completion extended to Feb 28, 2027. Expanded capacity = future development-driven utility work.

Athens-Clarke · 6/9
FY27 operating + capital budgets adopted (millage held at 12.25); commission voted 6-4 to put a five-year 1% FLOST sales tax on the November ballot. Agenda · WUGA

§4 Moving Through Planning — site work 6–18 months out

Barrow
Beyond the 203-ac park: townhome special-use at 718 Patrick Mill Rd (Duncan Creek Capital); Atlanta Hwy self-storage condition change; PC 7/16 hears Hwy 211 NW AG→R-3 townhomes + AG→C-2 commercial (JPPN LLC). PC agenda
Winder-Barrow Industrial Building Authority (Mon 7/13, 4 PM): bond resolution for code-named “Project Billie” + development plan from Stonemont Financial Group. Agenda

Walton
74.79-ac, 50-lot “Ammons Bridge” subdivision approved 6/2 — clearing, roads, water/sewer, stormwater, amenities ahead (applicant Baldpates GC / Jersey Partners). Packet
PC 7/9: 7.49 ac A2→B2 at Hwy 81 / Bay Creek Church Rd — convenience store w/ fuel + office-warehouse/contractor-storage → heads to BOC. Water-rate study (Shpigler Group) on the 7/7 agenda — rate studies precede water capital programs.

Jackson
57 ac on Hwy 129 (Talmo) comp-plan-amended to industrial (seven-lot park). Choice Equipment's 108-ac, 785,000-sq-ft Airport Rd relocation tabled pending state DRI report — watch it return. Commerce adopted data-center zoning rules (M-2 + CUP, 10-ac min, buffers, utility-capacity proof). Commerce council votes 7/20 on Hospital Rd R-1→C-2 (staff recommend denial).

Oconee · Watkinsville
7-ac in-town rezone at 121 N. Main St (PRC→Detached Residential) heard 6/17; county Facilities Shop + future EMS Building (7580 Macon Hwy) entered site-plan review the same night. Agenda
BOC 7/7: AAC Land Partners re-tooling entitlements on 14.4 vacant B-2 acres at 1660 Plaza Parkway (Epps Bridge corridor). Packet

Athens-Clarke
PC 7/2: US 29 N corridor assemblage (two SUPs + AR→C-G rezone) → expected at M&C ~Aug 4; Forestar (national lot developer) modifying conditions at 1125 Newton Bridge Rd. PC agenda
6/2 consent: FY26 LMIG resurfacing list · Lavender/Roberts culvert replacement amendment · UGA IGA for North Oconee Access Rd extension · MLK Pkwy / Oconee River Greenway Trail design amendment (Garver). Agenda
SPLOST/TSPLOST Oversight 7/27: SE Clarke Park ballfield/tennis LED retrofit — $755,480 available; TSPLOST 2026 also on the agenda. Agenda

§5 Next Two Weeks

Date	Body	Watch for
Mon 7/13 · 4p	Winder-Barrow IBA	“Project Billie” bond resolution
Tue 7/14 · 6p	Barrow BOC	203-ac industrial park · Gov't Complex PM
Thu 7/16 · 6p	Barrow Planning Comm.	Hwy 211 townhomes + commercial
Mon 7/20 · 6p	Jackson BOC · Oconee PC	regular sessions
Mon 7/20	Commerce Council	Hospital Rd rezone vote
Tue 7/21 · 6p	ACC M&C · Walton Appeals	agenda-setting (reveals Aug 4 votes)
Mon 7/27 · 5:15p	ACC SPLOST/TSPLOST Ovs.	$755K LED retrofit concept
Tue 7/28 · 6p	Oconee BOC	agenda-setting
Mon 8/3	Jefferson-Talmo PC	Project Orchid decision
Tue 8/4 · 6p	Oconee BOC · ACC M&C · Walton BOC*	voting sessions (*pattern-based)

Coverage & honesty Scanned this issue: Oconee BOC + Planning Commission (CivicClerk) · Watkinsville Mayor & Council · Athens-Clarke M&C, Planning Commission, SPLOST/TSPLOST Oversight · Walton BOC + PC (Municode) + bid portal · Barrow BOC, PC, Purchasing, Winder-Barrow IBA (Granicus) · Jackson BOC + JCWSA + Commerce/Jefferson councils (county calendar + verified press — Jackson's official agenda portal is stale; we close that gap by monitoring the record another way, and items from press coverage cite the outlet). Not yet scanned: Monroe, Winder, Auburn, Braselton, Hoschton, Bogart, Bishop councils; Walton Water & Sewerage Authority (no 2026 agendas online). If it's not on this list, we don't claim it.