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Wednesday, January 13, 2021 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
www.pikecoga.com/novusagenda has an online agenda and accompanying information for this meeting. Monthly information from Animal Control, Coroner, Fire Department, Grady, Library, Magistrate Court, McIntosh Trail CSB, Planning & Development, Registrar, Superior - Juvenile Court, Tax Assessor, and the Water Authority are included as well during the morning meeting only.
We encourage that attendees follow recommended Covid-19 guidelines which include staying home if you are ill/not feeling well, washing your hands, maintaining social distancing, and wearing a face covering (recommended but not required)
Chairman Briar Johnson and commissioners Tim Daniel, Tim Guy, Jason Proctor and James Jenkins were present along with County Attorney Rob Morton, County Manager Brandon Rogers, and County Clerk Angela Blount.
1. CALL TO ORDER .................................................................................... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION……………………………………………………………………………Ben Maxedon
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ................................................................... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. § 50-14-1 (e) (1))
CM Rogers asked the Board to add an executive session germane to Magistrate Court personnel. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))
a. Minutes of the December 9, 2020, Regular Monthly Meeting.
b. Minutes of the December 9, 2020, Executive Session.
Motion to approve all. Approved 5-0.
6. INVITED GUEST
a. Employee Recognition for service to Pike County.
Patricia Maxedon has worked at the Tax Commissioner’s Office for 30 years. Tax Commissioner Donna Chapman was not able to be here today but sent a letter that CM read aloud. Donna said that she is dedicated, reliable, and willing to go the extra mile for everyone. Glad for her as a coworker and a friend. She serves our community well. Patti has been here 6 years longer than Donna.
Robert Snowden has been the Sheriff’s Office for 15 years. Sheriff Jimmy Thomas said that laughter, determination, and just are three words to describe him. He said that Robert works on some pretty high profile cases and has done a great job for our county. He said that Robert is in this job for the right reasons and wants to serve with others for same reason.
Ronald Smith. We will honor Ronald Smith at a later meeting. He could not be here today.
7. REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONS, DEPARTMENTS, COMMITTEES, AUTHORITIES
a. Monthly Reports submitted from County Departments and County Authorities, including a Revenue/Expenditure Statement for all departments and a summary check register.
Discuss/Approve/Deny
b. County Manager Report
Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ........................................................................................ …$1,586,224.84
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $6,169.63
BOC – Jury Account………………………………………………………………$0.00
Cash Reserve Account ........................................................................ ….....$307,574.53
Pike County CD Special Revenue funds………………………………………….$0.00
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $24,809.39
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................. $158,668.75
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $56,150.71
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $11,636.69
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $848,977.15
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................. $143,020.21
C.A.I.P FUND ............................................................................................... $48,624.09
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2016 .................... ..$786,056.96
L.M.IG. Grant (DOT)………………………………….……………….…..$657,380.85
c. County Manager Comment
Update on Covid. CM Brandon Rogers advised that the county is working with the Department of Public Health. He talked with the nurse in charge there. They do have an option for volunteers if anyone would like to help out. Go to https://dph.georgia.gov/georgia-responds to help. You can help sign in people. You don’t need to be nurse.
The appointments for COVID phase 1a are filled up. 18008474262 Option 1. Get appointment in line now. First drive thru clinic for January 19 at Christ Chapel is already full. Not sure when next drive thru for vaccinations will be scheduled. Please be patient. They are doing the best they have with what they have.
They are offering testing every other Tuesday. Not the coming Tuesday but the next Tuesday. Call 770-567- 8972 Old Meansville culvert. This was scheduled during Christmas break. It was done in two days. That is kind of unheard of. He praised them for their work. Zebulon Road culvert has begun. It’s going for 4 or 5 days. Expecting some issues with this. Late last night, received a request to reduce the speed on from 5642 and 5274 Blanton Mill Road where there are some really bad curves. 35 to 25 mph reduction. Need a vote to make that effective. Want to do all three at the same time? Chairman Briar Johnson asked about Sheriff’s Office or other needs to drop the speed limit. Anything over 10 mph reduction would require more research, but with this being a pass through on a dirt road, you can make a decision today. That goes for all three today. Commissioner Jenkins said that they are going 45 in a 35 mph zone. This might encourage people to slow down. Motion to combine all three. Discussion on item c and d. 2nd to the motion.
C. Recommendation to reduce from 35 to 25 mph on Old Chapel Hill Lane. This is more of a drive through area.
D. Recommendation to reduce from 35 to 25 mph on Woodard Road as well to help reduce the wear and tear on the road and for safety.
Rob Morton said to include that an investigation has been done as well as the County Manager in the motion. Chairman Johnson is not going to support this because Blanton Mill was last minute, and he was not able to investigate it himself. Approved 4-1 with Johnson opposed.
d. Commissioner Reports
Commissioner James Jenkins. February 9 is the next election, and it is important. Do your homework and vote. There will be early voting too. [Note from the Editor: Info about the District Attorney election is in the top of the page at www.pikecountytimes.com.]
Chairman Briar Johnson said that there are 4 reports that we are missing. He asked that everyone submit their reports.
He also advised that Dr. Duncan was chosen as superintendent for the entire state of Georgia. Congratulations to him.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners
Ongoing work with ordinances from the workshop in October. Chapter 155 and 156 have had a lot of work of late. Attorney Rob Morton met with Planning and Zoning Director Brad Vaughan twice in the past couple of weeks. The county will begin advertising for the Planning Commission to look these changes over in February and March.
Also noise, nuisance, and hotel/motel ordinances to be reviewed at the future. Agreements have been reviewed too. Reviewing issues related to abatement. Litigation and open records were part of last month. 40 hearings before Board of Equalization on Jan 28 and 29 for evaluation appeals.
8a. Even though we are in our 2nd reading, item L is impacted as well. We don’t have to have a 1st and 2nd reading for changing the numbers. No changes for these fees. Attorney Morton said that there are typically 2 readings for ordinances but this is not an ordinance though the method of calculation is in our ordinances. This is changing ratios and amounts. He recommends that these fee changes be adopted without two readings for both residential and commercial. Motion to approve the changes effective today. Approved 5-0.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Second Reading of Residential Impact Fees.
Even though we are in our 2nd reading, item L is impacted as well. We don’t have to have a 1st and 2nd reading for changing the numbers. No changes for these fees. Attorney Morton said that there are typically 2 readings for ordinances but this is not an ordinance though the method of calculation is in our ordinances. This is changing ratios and amounts. He recommends that these fee changes be adopted without two readings for both residential and commercial. Motion to approve the changes effective today. Approved 5-0. Readers can view this information by clicking here.
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Elect Vice Chairman for the Pike County Board of Commissioners for 2021.
Motion to approve Tim Daniel. Approved 4-0-1 Daniel abstained.
b. Consider one appointment to the Pike County Water and Sewerage Authority to fill a five-year term, set to expire December 31, 2025. Applicant has met criteria.
Candidates are Lee Lewis, John Morrison, Jeremy Craig, Jack Hancock. CM did interviews for these applicants. He thanked them all for applying to help our county. The WSA and CM made a recommendation for Jeremy Craig. He works for the Henry County Water Authority and would make a great addition to our WSA. He was present at the meeting. Approved 5-0.
c. Approve/deny speed limit reduction on Old Chapel Hill Lane.
Already discussed and approved.
d. Approve/deny speed limit reduction on Woodard Road.
Already discussed and approved.
e. Approve/deny closure of Nazarene Church Road.
Nazareth Church Road. Citizen complaining of the safety of the road. He’s had some issues of theft. He thinks that is because the road is open. CM does not recommend closing this road. County spent more than $20,000 improving the culverts on this road, and he does not recommend closing it because of this. There are 9 homes on the road at this time, and additional homes could be added at some point in the future. Motion not to close the road at this time. Approved 5-0.
f. Approve/deny Impact Fee increase for J. Joel Edwards Library renovations.
In the past meeting, there was a document on the remodel for the restrooms. He met with the Library Board and they agreed that this fits with their expansion plan for the library. The original quote was changed to go as low as possible without hurting what they want to do. $12,500 for a previous 50/50 grant. Asking to increase to $17,000 for county match from Impact Fees because the project amount from the state bid is higher than expected. Approved already up to $12,500. This is for the remainder. Only $15,900 and if the amount is not used, then it remains in the account. Motion to approve the extra Impact Fees for this project. Approved 5-0.
g. Approve/deny water lines for Peach State Airport.
Kevin Sasser inherited some credits on the airport. $169,455.50 owed to the airport. This would allow the county to purchase water lines and reduce the amount of credits as well as improving water and sewer. $24,901.87 is the actual cost to county to run water lines to the Peach State Airport. $69,179.24 total cost of the project that Mr. Sasser has agreed to. This will reduce the credits owed to Peach State Airport to $100,276.26. The county will do as much as possible in house on this project that will allow for expansion of the airport hangars as well as the infrastructure that belongs to the Pike County Water and Sewerage Authority. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
h. Approve/deny Fire Department grant.
CM Rogers advised that the Fire Department has asked to join in on a regional grant for ResQCPR and Lucas Devices. The Fire Chief has requested to join a 20% matching grant for $22,500 for 15 ResQCPR devices and $100,000 for 5 Lucas devices. This would be $24, 000 for the county if the grant is awarded. CM Rogers said that he would like to see 2 of the Lucas devices loaned to the Veterans Ambulance Service to see that these show up at every scene. Each Lucas device is more than $22,500 each.
Chairman Johnson said that these are normally for transport vehicles. Why do we need these? If we get these, our first responders who are certified could be outfitted for these for a multiple casualty situation to work on an additional patient. We don’t have transport other than Veterans, but this could be helpful. The county would own these. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
i. Approve/deny MOU for Solar Farm.
CM Rogers advised that this is being brought to commissioners since the economic incentives are in excess of what is allowed in our Code of Ordinances in section 114. The original agreement with Orsted was completed in 2017, but there have been some changes in the project since then. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) here and tax schedule is a reasonable request based on today’s numbers. We believe that the current schedule in our ordinances will not allow us to be competitive.
Commissioner Jenkins said that we are always looking at reductions in taxes. Year 1 still building. 2 years to get up and running. 100% tax abatement for year 1. 20 year abatement rather than 10 years like our ordinance.
Year 1 is 100%. Years 2-15 is 75%. 16 and after is a 0% abatement. The IDA is negotiating this, but the county has to approve this because it is not what is in our ordinance. County Attorney Morton advised that the Tax Commissioner’s and Tax Assessor’s Offices will have to sign off on this. Brandon reminded them that we are looking at $568,000 per year versus the current tax value of about $11,000 on the property. These are estimates. Abatement is only for 15 years. The panels are only good for about 20 years. He thinks that another agreement will be renegotiated in about 20 years. Commissioner Jenkins asked a lot of questions about this.
Motion to approve the agreement with a stipulation as long as they go along with our permit fees. $15 million in permit fees. County Attorney Morton asked that something be given to both parties in writing about the stipulation on this approval. Approved 4-1 Jenkins opposed.
Click here to read the current Chapter 114 of our ordinances. Click here to read the county's MOU.
j. Approve/deny Chairman Johnson to sign agreement between Board of Commissioners and Pike County Parks and Recreation.
Presented with a written agreement based on Phase 1 of their development. They went to the bank and got approved. The bank needed some backing from the Board for the next 15 years. Payments no more than $6,300 a month in the future. The county is not a guarantor. This is from a previous approval to support this debt service. Motion to allow Chris Childress to speak. Approved 5-0. Around $800,000 for the loan amount. The Authority will be considering this on the 19th and will be able to move forward. Motion to approve the agreement. Approved 5-0.
k. Discussion of GDOT traffic engineering study.
A study on New Hope and Shackelford has been presented. They would like to put in a U turn there rather than going straight across. It will be like the U turn at Grove Street in Lamar County. CM said that there are plenty of areas to avoid going north or south and would have very little impact on citizens there at Shackelford. However, he would like to a round about or something different at New Hope Road. Residents would have to go 1.4 miles south in order to go north. There have been 5 accidents in 5 years here. If the Board recommends something different, the CM will try to work with GDOT. They are asking for input, but we can’t make them do anything. Maybe encourage a round about instead because there is a hill at Trice that would make this dangerous. Motion to authorize moving forward on the CM’s recommendation for a roundabout. Approved 5-0.
Click here to see a picture of what Grove Street in Barnesville looks like. Click here to see the proposal for the U turn where Hwy 41 is currently able to be crossed in a straight line. Click here to see the U turn proposal for Shackelford Road.
l. First Reading of Commercial Impact Fees.
Already discussed and approved. Click here to see the Impact Fee Schedules.
m. Approve/deny SUB 20-13 – Southern Cousins Properties, LLC., owner and Steve Reeves, applicant are requesting concurrent preliminary and final plat approval for a 13-lot major subdivision to be named “Vaughan Estates” subdivision. Property Location: No Address Assigned; GA Highway 362, Williamson, GA 30292. Land Lot: 169. District: 1st. Parcel ID: 038-001. Acreage: 95.61 acres. Commission District: District 4th. Commissioner District: James Jenkins. FEMA Data: Does not lie within a flood Zone.
Planning and Zoning Director Brad Vaughan advised that this is not related to him in any way. 13 lots with private septic and water. Lots 2-13 will have 6 GDOT approved shared driveways. EPD will have guidelines on one of the lots that has a stream with regard to the driveway. Staff does not anticipate any changes. AR Zoning will remain. Agriculture use is forfeited because of the naming of the subdivision per our ordinances. 1,500 square feet is the required minimum. Question was asked about the size of the homes on these lots. Steve Reeves advised the Board that these will probably be 1,800 or 2,000 square feet with what they are paying for the lots. These are 5 acre lots. The builder hasn’t specified. Just selling the lots. Chairman Johnson said that he is hoping for at least 1,800 square foot lots. Steve said that if the county is going to ask for bigger home sizes, we really need to change our ordinance instead of changing this at this meeting. [Note from the Editor: Stever Reeves makes a good point on this. Constantly making changes from what is in our ordinances is not a good way to do business.] Commissioner Jenkins said that Steve has done a good job on his other lots. Motion to approve as written. Approved 5-0.
Rob asked that if commissioners would like to see named subdivision restrictions being changed to 1,800 square feet. Chairman Johnson said that he would like to see it based on the location in the county. Closer to cities, smaller is ok. In the county, go larger. Rob is trying to get our ordinances so some things can be handled administratively rather than the Board having to see everything. All major subdivisions would still come before the Board. Minor could be handled in house by Planning and Zoning Director Brad Vaughan. How many were around 1,500 or 1,600 square foot over the past year? He’ll research it. Chairman Johnson said that we need small homes in some places.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT - None
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION
County Manager Brandon Rogers requests Executive Session for discussion or deliberation on the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a count officer or employee as provided in O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(b)(2); Germane to Personnel in the Magistrate Court.
Executive Session at 10:15.
Back in session 10:56 a.m. Motion to adjourn. Approved 5-0.
12. ADJOURNMENTAgenda subject to revision.
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