The county is moving another step forward toward starting several road and intersection projects.

The Board of Commissioners approved in a 2-1 vote on Tuesday, with Commissioner JaNice Van Ness voting against, to contract with the QK4 company for right-of-way acquisition services for the third phase of the Parker Road widening project and the improvement at the intersection of North Salem Road, Sigman Road, and Old Covington Highway. The amounts paid for the services would not exceed $160,298 and $88,158 respectively.

All three commissioners approved contracts to the Diana Hunt and Associates company for right of way services for the intersections at Ga. 20 and West Hightower Trail and Ga. 20 and Bell Road, not to exceed $33,800 and $19,460, respectively.

VanNess said after the meeting she opposed that in one of the QK4 contracts, the cost of services was going to be more than the cost of the right-of-way itself. She also pointed out that the breakdown of fees and costs for the Diana Hunt and Associates company was more exact.

She said she would like to see a system where right-of-way acquisition jobs were bid out to all qualified vendors. “We don’t do it that way. We randomly assign,” she said.

The right of way services are funded by the 2005 SPLOST, according to Fred Straub, an active member of the 2005 SPLOST Citizens Oversight Committee. The services, he explained, include appraisal, environmental certification, and negotiation for the acquisition of the land.

In other BOC business:

The county changed its health insurance company after they learned rates would go up by about 27 percent. The BOC approved signing up with Coventry Health Insurance for October 2011 to December 2012. Insurance broker Nu Vision Financial collected quotes of what the county would receive and recommended Coventry Health.

The company is the seventh largest in the nation, currently in 27 states, primarily along the east coast, with 14000 employees covered, according to Coventry VP of Sales Cory Scott.

Commissioners JaNice Van Ness said “I was pleased to see the extensive list of doctors and other conditions that are listed in the coverage.”

Chief of Staff Greg Pridgeon said the premiums would increase by a total of about $59,000 for the fourth quarter but the county would pay for that during the fourth quarter of 2011. County employees would begin paying the increased amount in January 2012.

Commissioner Oz Nesbitt said, “It takes some financial burden off our employees… This gives some relief as we enter into the holiday season and gives proper announcement come January.”

Other conditions in the proposal include: free on-site flu shots to employees, reduced office co-pay to primary care physicians from $35 per visit to $20, certain preventative services will be free, and financial incentives for a wellness program.