FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. -- Officials continue to hit bumps in the road in the negotiations to bring a Costco to Catoosa County, a project code-named Project Hilltop.
At a special called meeting Thursday, Fort Oglethorpe City Council members voted unanimously to abandon a road running through the 17 acres where the wholesaler is said to be looking to build.
The contract with the company, which has not been identified by city officials, initially was supposed to be completed by Dec. 27, but legal hurdles and problems with the right-of-way on Interstate 75 have delayed finalization of the deal for more than a month.
The action Thursday cedes what council members called "Old Scruggs Road" at the south end of the 60-acre project area to the county Economic Development Authority, which is expected to buy the 17 acres for the site preparation.
The footprint of the development has been moved several times because of right-of-way issues, and abandoning the road would allow the building to be built where the road now sits.
At the meeting, Mayor Ronnie Cobb expressed a hint of frustration as he updated the council and media members on the progress of the negotiations.
"There's been approvals, and then approvals have been changed," Mr. Cobb said of talks with the state.
Earlier this week, officials said they expected a called meeting of the Catoosa County Commission to approve a site preparation contract followed by an official announcement today. The vote then was postponed until Monday and now has been postponed again.
"It's basically out of our hands and in the attorney's hands," said Mr. Cobb, who has been in talks with the company for nearly a year and a half.
He and Catoosa County Commissioner Ken Marks said the company had seen some delays of its own and was willing to wait, even if it meant opening the store toward the end of August or in early September.
"It's not all on our end of the table," the mayor said.