County approves Memorandum of Understanding, appoints new MIS Director

PERRY — In a relatively short meeting to start 2026, the Houston County Commissioners still had important business to discuss in their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6. 

Just one day after the new HEMA Warehouse groundbreaking ceremony, the Board approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) proposal from Parrish Construction who was awarded the contract to build the warehouse. The GMP is $1,679,073.00 and is funded by reserve funds which were included in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget. 

“I appreciate the Public Works staff and the commissioners that participated in both this process of selecting Parrish [Construction] and getting to a GMP,” Chairman Dan Perdue said. “That’s an important milestone in this project, and we look forward to it being delivered by July 1.”

The Board also approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office for background checks. According to the agenda, the MOU between the Board of Commissioners and the Sheriff’s Office will be for fingerprinting applicants. It also includes obtaining background checks for alcohol licenses, solicitors, peddlers and taxicab licenses. The MOU went into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. 

“As part of our process of issuing alcohol licenses, we must do a background check and the Sheriff’s Office does that background check for us,” Perdue said. “The state audits that process and occasionally they like to see changes to the memorandum of understanding.” 

Other new business included the naming of the new Management Information Systems (MIS) Director, Will Davis, as current director, Gail O’Quinn, is retiring in March. 

“I want to congratulate Mr. Davis on this appointment and I appreciate his service to the citizens of Houston County and look forward to [his] future in this role,” Commissioner Mark Byrd said. “I appreciate what you’ve been doing for Houston County and what you will do for Houston County in the future,” Perdue said. 

The next Houston County Commissioners meeting will be Jan. 20, at 5 p.m. located at the Houston County Annex on 200 Carl Vinson Parkway. The full agenda of this meeting can be found at www.houstoncountyga.gov/minutes/2026-01-06_department%20head%20agenda%20copy.pdf