TIFTON — Bids to repair 40th Street and W.B. Parks Road were considered by the Tift County Commission Tuesday night. The two roads were damaged during the March and April rains that flooded the county, and their repair has been postponed while the Federal Emergency Management Agency was reviewing the damage.

Southern Concrete bid for both roads, with a base bid of $156,194.25 for 40th Street and $295,947 for W.B. Parks Road.

Jason Jordan, Tift County special projects’ director, said that FEMA will reimburse 75 percent of the projects total cost and that the city is expected to reimburse half of the remaining expense.

The projects, which will be approved or denied during the county commission’s regular session Monday, will be covered by SPLOST 4 funds until the reimbursements are received.

Jordan said that, barring any issues during construction, the 40th Street project would take about 35 days to complete once approved, and the W.B. Parks Road project would take about 45 to 50 days.

Lucretia Gaskins came before the commissions with a request that they reconsider the amount of money they award the Downtown Development Authority as part of the Tifton-Tift County budget, saying that much of their projects include the county and city and that the recent drop in allotted money has been noticed.

In the past, the county has awarded $50,000 and this year only awarded $30,000.

“We received lots of grants,” Gaskins said, “but they have to be applied for certain projects. They don’t allow for operating expenses. We’re asking for you to consider reinstating that additional $20,000 in the coming budget.”

Commission Sherry Miley asked that Gaskins provide a detailed budget including grant distributions for the commissions to review.

Charlotte Bedell, president of the new Tiftarea foundation Save Our Pets Inc., presented the commissioners with a copy of the foundations by-laws, explaining that their goal was to encourage monetary donations to go towards the development of a spay and neuter program and to programs to educate and expand on the adoption of animals at the Tifton-Tift County Animal Shelter.

To contact reporter Chivaun Perez, call 382-4321.