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Tuesday, January 14, 2014 – 9:00 am
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson St., Zebulon, Georgia
ZEBULON - (Continental Breakfast Items w/Coffee Available Prior – 9:00 am)
Attended by all commissioner with the exception of Commissioner Powers who is in the hospital today. CM Hanson asked that Commissioner Powers be kept in our thoughts and prayers.
1. CALL TO ORDER ................................................................................. Chairman J. Briar Johnson
Invocation and pledge.
2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. 50-14-1 (e) (1))
3. COUNTY MANAGER COMMENTS .......................................................................... John Hanson
Welcome from CM Hanson: Great group of staff and constitutional members who have put a lot of time into this as we look forward to 2014.
4. PRESENTATIONS BY DEPARTMENT HEADS
David Allen .......................................................................... Planning & Development
Planning and Development David Allen: 3 person department. Improvements to code. Don’t see a lot of changes to the code this year because been working on it for the past 5 years. Residential Impact Fee was changed last year and may need some more addressing. Enforcement of the uniform numbering system may come up as a potential safety violation. Would like to provide some help with this. Standards like naming of buildings, roads, etc. in memoriam of someone. Would like to provide some criteria for that. Said has provided some good code updates in the past and working with the County Manager and County Attorney have worked to make sure that annual updates have been done. Working with a new website provider to get updated code on the website for the average citizen to be able to look at this too. Hoping for improvements in the economy in the upcoming year.
Commissioner Bass said that there is no one taxed with enforcing this 911 numbering system. Thinks that someone needs to be in charge of this. Director Allen said that he doesn’t mind doing this though it will take some time to do this though sending out a number of letters with postage costs are a concern. Potential for danger if 911 can’t find them. CM Hanson said that it would be good to notify residents through a letter when they are identified through Pike County Emergency Services or law enforcement, etc. County Attorney talked about an advertising campaign to let the people know. Zebulon did a public notification and then let people know when the code enforcement would begin. Just a question of who can give citations. Commissioner Jarrett asked about a call to notify citizens. Commissioner Bass commended Director Allen for his work over the past few years and working two jobs. She said that some of the ordinances are not applicable or outdated like Keep Pike Beautiful, solid waste management, etc. and asked that he work with the Mortons to remove those that are not applicable or note that they are no longer active. Bringing things up to date and removing names and just cleaning up the code.
Commissioner Jarrett asked about the www.pikecounty.ga.gov website. This is in use now but can be updated as needed. Talked about putting fresh updates on there including the budget and the code too. She asked about making flash drive copies of the code available to the public for a nominal fee. Can do this through Open Records Request now. She said that there should be a disclaimer page to go with the flash drive to notify them that the code is effective for a certain date and that there are updates each year.
Animal control: HB 685 is state law. There were several workshops that came up with a short term strategy for the county. Site plan for County Farm Road too. 2nd reading concerns about things that we can’t implement right now. 2nd reading was postponed and going to plan a workshop on this. They went ahead and discussed the 2nd reading. Commissioner Bass had some points about it that Commissioner Jarrett asked her to present. Commissioner Jarrett said that this impacts so many people and we want it to be right and we are taking this seriously. Said that their concerns about the initial ordinance was passing an ordinance that we could not enforce as far as picking up dangerous dogs was not something that we could do. Director Allen said that most of it was verbatim according to state law. Nuisance dogs could be handled with citations and Magistrate Court. Commissioner Bass said that without an ordinance in place, we can’t enforce anything but state law. When are we looking at an operational facility? This is tied to the upcoming budget. Electricity and water are hooked up yet but this would not take long to do. We are avoiding a minimum bill for now until this is operational. Director Todd Goolsby said that it would only take a couple of months to get everything running when given the green light. Commissioner Jarrett asked how much time it took of his time to enforce Animal Control. About 20%. Looking at needs for the future including someone to take this job in the future when the facility is up and running. July 1, 2012 the state made Pike County applicable through state law. This is an unfunded mandate from the state. CM Hanson asked about a vicious dog situation and discussion that we will need a trained person to handle the actual picking up of vicious dogs and there is someone who may be able to handle this on a per case situation with the county. David said that he would be willing to continue with citations, administration, etc. but is not comfortable with the actual picking up the dogs. Commissioner Bass said that it sounds like the ordinance itself is pretty solid so we need to move toward a facility and putting the plan together to make this happen. CM Morton said that in the 2013-14 budget year, there is a plan that we are working through. Said that it is better to deal with through Magistrate Court through a county ordinance than through Superior Court like we would have to do through enforcement of state law. Magistrate Court fees would support our county animal control facility, etc. Main cost is going to be fencing so people don’t start dumping animals out there because that is NOT what this is going to handle now. It will only be for dangerous dogs. There will be NO adoptions or taking in of unwanted animals. There was a rough estimate for $15,000 for a smaller area that is budgeted this year so we could have housing for dangerous dogs along with contract for euthanasia for those that are required to be put down. Commissioner Bass said that there was talk about animal control supporters who might want to help out on down the road when this blossoms into a $150,000 department. Discussed what would be needed to get the 2nd reading approved like taking out the 50 cent vaccination, etc. and citations could go through Magistrate so the county can start helping out with nuisance situations. There will be an in between period as we get this up and running. [Note from the Editor: I am encouraged as I listen to the discussion this morning. The county is working toward a solution.] David said that his main concern is that he did not want the momentum to die on getting animal control in place.
Jimmy Totten ...........................................................Emergency Management Agency
EMA Director Jimmy Totten: Mitigation process is going to be a major project over the next year. Said that county EMA has been working with various entities in the county and the state too. We are housing state equipment for public health in a trailer in a secure location in case of a need for public health in an emergency situation. There is quarterly reports that are required through the state now. There are other quarterly and yearly requirements that they go through. He brings info from FEMA and GEMA to the county so commissioners can approve or change what they don’t like. Mitigation is a 5 year Emergency Management Plan. Floods, tornadoes, and storms are what we deal with normally. How to deal with this before and after. Loss of property and loss of life are the two big topics. 2015 is when our plan is due to GEMA. We are working through a process on this with meetings, documents, etc. This is why we got a grant from the state to deal with this. In the future, he wants to get generators on trailer so the county can get critical buildings like the Board of Commissioners, etc. up and running as an emergency facility. No way of getting to people with a vehicle to carry to safety say a mile away from the road. Carrying someone to safety on a backboard is labor intensive. Have a major river going through the county so we need to look toward a dive team, etc. for rescue. We don’t have a formalized dive team now that he knows of. The yearly grant could buy equipment toward needs like a motor for a boat or safety needs like trailers or a trailer for emergency supplies like chainsaws or an ATV for getting someone out on a backboard so not being carried by individuals. This is how we got the generator for Public Works and the emergency call out system. Said that EMA was broken out of the budget by itself because GEMA likes a clean way of keeping account of money. Commissioner Bass asked about people in the county or other entities donating to the county. CM Hanson asked if we could set up an emergency situation at Public Works since there is a generator there. We could do this now, but the ideal facility would have fax, phone, television, cots for cat naps, etc. We have never had an emergency here in the county for something like this but other counties have dealt with this.
Randy Snyder .................................................................................... Fire Department
Chief Randy Snyder: 859 calls last year. 70% EMS and 30% fire here in the county. Trying to standardize our training including a driver training course. Working on legitimacy and working to be kind, polite, and know that they are representing the county to people who may not have any other contact with the county. They have issued ID cards to personnel for this and wearing fire t-shirts or jackets and ID cards if not in their turnout gear so people will know who they are when they respond to a call. Pushing the stations to keep the stations and the apparatus clean and just working to keep up morale and pride in the department in what they do in the county. [Note from the Editor: We are a volunteer fire fighter county and they need to hear thank you for what they do for us.] Said that he is emphasizing that everyone has a place in our fire department. Some can drive the truck but not actively fight in a fire. Some can’t physically fight a fire anymore but have a place in our fire department and provide a needed role in our fire department. Presented a list of needs to the county that represents an investment in the safety of our community. Fire prevention and public safety education had 36 events. There are several staff members who are certified to do this and many who help out with things like helping kids through the fire safety house, etc. We are currently an ISO 6/9/10. 6 means that within 5 miles of a fire station and a hydrant within 1,000 feet. 9 is within 5 miles of a fire station but no hydrant. 10 is farther than 5 miles from a fire station. Said that they are working to get mapping done for the county which will match the actual properties here in Pike County. Some will require a site visit, etc. Someone with a hydrant in front of their house should not be classified as a 10 with an insurance company. Said that water is killing us because we do not hydrants all over the county. ISO only gives us so much for water tankers. Some insurance companies will give credit for the tankers and some don’t care if there isn’t a hydrant there. Said that he wants to look at what it would take to do a new inspection for the county that would bring the entire county under the same coverage. Said that he would like to do a new inspection next year and that the county would have a year to fix any problems that are found. He wants to look over our current inventory and work toward this. 2008 was our last ISO rating. People contacted their insurance companies and many could fix things themselves. They had to help with some. It helps people save money. Fire Auxiliary is a group that provides logistical support on incident scenes-food, water, shelter, etc. They are like a station without a station. They have a new certification by the state that they are required to have before they can do this.
Wanted to correct some misconceptions about the Auxiliary. It is not a wives club or a non-profit. These men and women are covered by workers comp and they do have to train on what to do at an incident. He wants to be sure that they have the tools that they need and that they are properly trained medically, etc. so they can help fire fighters stay safe on an incident with cooling down, etc. Emergency Medical Services: responding as 1st Responders on calls for a while. Looking at how to provide care according to personnel certifications. We wait an average of 14 minutes for an ambulance in the county. They provide life saving care and support until an ambulance get there. They do NOT want to transport patients. EMS and fire is a natural relationship. There are 76 fire fighters and 109 total personnel. Fire fighters are trained as CPR and basic first aid all the way to paramedics and physician’s assistants. The EMT course is $1,500 to $2,000 and they can get some help with tuition if needed. We teach basic classes here, but volunteers are paying out of pocket to attend higher classes though they are not required to be EMT’s or paramedics but it would be nice here in the county. Commissioner Bass asked about reimbursing volunteers for costs for higher classes. Said that our volunteers are appreciated. Said that we have come a long way with our fire stations and equipment brought up to date through SPLOST but asked how much of our budget is given to training. Said that she doesn’t want to go backwards but asked if we are putting enough money into our 1st responders. Randy said that we do have budget for supplies for those who respond on calls. She asked if there a law that there be a minimum of cars to show up at an accident? He said that we work hard to scale our responses with cancellations of trucks, extra volunteers, etc. if they are not needed but have to make sure that there are enough people there to handle the situation and work to park vehicles off of the road so their vehicles don’t compound the problem. Talked about the 2 different responses that were needed at Vega Road last week because 1 was working the rescue and another was setting up the air ambulance scene. Said that there is no law to have a certain number of vehicles there but it is better have people there and not need them than to need them and not have them. Said it can be busy but they work to scale this up or back as needed. There was a lot of praise for our volunteers here in the county. Commissioner Jarrett asked whether reimbursing for training is a tax issue for the county because of 1099’s. Rob Morton said that there are delineations on this and the county should not have to issue a 1099 on this if it’s training.
Said that they are governed by national regulations with fire fighter physicals, etc. This was due in 2012 but hasn’t come out yet. This is going to be a cost at some point when they decide what to require. This would be like an employment physical and the department would have to pay for this. Mr. Morton said that we have to look at the healthcare insurance requirements because we may not have to bear the entire cost. Staffing: said that want to be sure it is right and where they want to go. Infrastructure: coverage is 15% out of 219 total miles in the county. In a fire where there are no hydrants, we respond all of our tankers and pump off of tankers in order to cover a fire, but there is a time factor there. We can pump out of pools, creeks, and lakes, etc. Travel time back and forth from a fire does affect our fire fighting efforts. Demand can outpace supply. Said that SPLOST really helped them because the trucks and equipment was really needed because some of the old equipment broke down on a regular basis. Our brush trucks are all 35 years or older. Having dependable equipment is a must. Our fleet is in good repair right now. 15 years is 1st line. 20 years is secondary and then replace older. We can’t afford this, but he would like to see some type of apparatus replacement policy to ensure that the county ensures that we have dependable equipment in place and don’t end up with an aging fleet and trucks that break down on calls. Stations and facilities: In the south eastern side of the county, need a substation. Maybe need to look at financing a new building instead of paying rent. Commissioner Bass asked about whether fire and EMA could share an office. He said that they need a bigger administrative space but that this could be looked at in the future. EMA is in with fire now and it could be covered on down the line. CM Hanson to look at this with EMA and fire. Personnel protective equipment needs to be looked at. Have found that products are very different over the past 10 years and have chosen to go with standard equipment. Needs 10 sets of equipment that need to be repaired now. Stuff like this can be covered under warranty now. Portable radios need to be durable and need to go with a standard manufacturer in the future so they can have batteries, parts, etc. on hand as needed. Said that these costs are an investment in our county. Mr. Morton said that some items were removed from the last budget and put into the CAP program so we can start replacing over the next 5 years so the county can address replacement issues. Commissioner Bass said that she received a letter from a citizen that she needs to follow up with Randy and CM Hanson. Praise for our department.
Todd Goolsby ......................................................................................... Public Works
Director of Public Works Todd Goolsby: 18 employees—of which 2 are mechanics and 2 of them are buildings and grounds. Wants 2 more equipment operators. Wants enough for 2 pipe crews. Does the best that they can with what they have to work with. Everything gets handled as it they get work orders and can get to it. Commissioner Jarrett asked whether the 4 day work week is getting done what we need to get done. Asked about a Monday through Thursday group and a Tuesday through Friday group. He asked if there complaints. She said that there were complaints about mowing during the summer but there was a lot of rain. She asked what it would entail. Savings is coming from not opening up the shop and running the equipment. CM Hanson said that he can look at this with Todd to make sure that we are getting our bang for our buck. Said that we are probably getting more production in a 10 hour day than we would be from a longer work week. Commissioner Bass said that overtime went away when we changed our work week. They have also worked around the rain and he works on Fridays a lot even outside of the 4 day work week. Commissioner Jenkins said that he gets a lot of praises for their response time to a complaint so he is fine with what they are doing now. Discussion about how to help with customer service with that office. CM Hanson said that their office gets follow up calls when citizens leave a message out there and then call the BOC office too. Citizens do get follow up calls when they contact Public Works if they leave a message out there and ask for a return call. There just isn’t a person in the office answering calls every day. Public Works has been moving Magistrate back and forth with the pipe breaking there. They are getting everything taking care of even though the weather is hammering us right now. Applications have been filled out for the state to help us with our two roads. We should hear something pretty soon. They paid a good part of the last culvert the last time we had something like this. Commissioner Bass said that Building and Maintenance was moved under Public Works in the past but said that she would like to see those costs be removed from his budget and put into its own budget with its own line items and still maybe see Todd oversee this department so it doesn’t look Public Works is getting extra money in their budget. Said that she would also like to see a fleet maintenance report over all of the vehicles in the county so there is a list of what has been done on each individual vehicle so you know what the use is and know if a particular brand of tires lasts longer, etc. so the county can realize savings as much as possible. Those reports would be a computer tracked log rather than something on paper. This had not been tracked before CM Hanson came in. This would help us know what it costs to operate and ensure that we get the best bang for our buck here in the county.
LMIG (state money for roads, bridges, etc.) has been awarded but the weather has been a factor in this. 4 roads are going to be worked on and the contracts have been extended to the spring so we can get this done. SPLOST Update: He has been discussing this with CM Hanson. We are looking at November or so with our fund collection. We need a workshop to decide where we want to go. Pavement deterioration is a problem. Commissioner Bass said that equipment for this might be something that we need to look at. CM Hanson has been talking with Todd and the auditor to check whether we can buy the equipment. There may be a county-wide patching program in the future. Discussion that we need county equipment to deal with county-wide programs. DOT is going to help us with traffic numbers so we can apply use as well as needs for our priorities here in the county too. It’s $586,000 for the county to purchase a patching machine that will help cut the road, dig it out to the base, pack it down, and then pave a large patch instead of filling a pothole that is going to be a pothole again in the future. These saw patches are helping us here in the county. [Note from the Editor: I applaud the county for being proactive on our roads. It makes sense to make a bigger patch than to keep filling the same potholes over and over too.] Todd said that he will need to get some more people if we go this route because flagmen are required as well as the people who are needed to work the machine. CM Hanson said that this might be good for a workshop as we are looking at a new budget year. We don’t want to take away mower operators so we can run a machine to patch. He also said that 6 ½ years ago there were 22 employees there and there were no building and grounds workers in his department. He was praised for doing what he has done with the number of employees and equipment that he has.
Said that they have equipment to work with our cars but the county cannot do diagnostics on everything because we it costs money to upgrade our diagnostics every year and sometimes it is more cost effective to send them to a dealer. We do a lot for the cities through intergovernmental agreements. Rob said that we have gone out of our way to handle city problems because they are county taxpayers, but we need a way to budget for these items. CM Hanson is going to discuss a way to communicate with the municipalities and how to pay for problems in the entire county. It doesn’t make sense to replace a patch three times when a water line may need to be replaced because we are paying for the patch from county money. Said that we need to allow more money for heating and air. CM Hanson said that we need to go through every building and timestamp hot water heaters, heating and air, etc. so we can prepare for replacements in the future so we are not hitting contingency and impact fees and Todd’s budget too. Consensus that we need to plan for future needs and we can do this by building up a history on our county equipment. Landfill monitoring: 2 wells were put in for the EPD and they are monitoring them. There is going to be an update status meeting with our engineers on this regarding these EPD requirements. Praised our landfill monitoring engineer who has helped our county with making decisions. Commissioner Bass asked about logging and pulp wood. They pay for the permit in the office and have to abide by bonding on our county roads. Everything else is governed by state regulations, but we do get timber taxes. They don’t have to get a permit off of state roads though. She said that the ordinance dealing with Public Works might need to be updated or if it needs anything else.
5. Lunch Break ............................................................................................................................12:00 pm
6. PRESENTATIONS BY CONSTITUTIONAL/ELECTED OFFICERS………………..1:00 pm
Sheriff Jimmy Thomas ...........................................................................Sheriff’s Office
Said that it’s been a pleasure to work with CM Hanson. Housed out 28 females last year because we don’t have a place to house them. $48,895 paid just in housing out. If 2 inmates are needed to be separated or there may extenuating circumstances where will need to house someone out, but there is a cost with this. Families visit and have to wait outside for their turn because there is only so much room. Records retention is a problem because of space. We are having a problem with employee retention. Each one of them had to go where there was more opportunity and more money where they were going. He said that we are training from the ground up with a 22 week program and they are free to go after 2 years if that is what they choose to do. For example, Hampton is starting them out with $40,000 a year. Records retention and case files are currently housed in the old jail and they need to be in a vault of some sort. Talked about setting aside money for vehicle replacement policy and trusting our mechanics on these decisions. Said he doesn’t care if we replace or refurbish but says that we need to determine what is best for the money for the county. Wants his employees to be able to get to the call safely. The SO made almost 1,700 traffic stops last year. There was a total of over 8,651 total calls last year including 157 animal cases, 42 burglaries, 849 suspicious vehicles, 199 speeding and wreckless vehicles, 110 deer accidents, 58 911 hangups, and 689 intrusion alarm calls. Talked about a multipurpose building that can be used for training, records retention, storage place for evidence, etc. Said that a training/multipurpose building could save us money in the long run. Commissioner Jarrett asked for the cost of training an officer. Salary plus equipment. Don’t have a set figure. We do have a training officer on the Sheriff’s Office staff so that helps. They do pay for lodging expenses if needed. They provide a vehicle and usually send a minimum of 2 people back and forth to Forsyth for training.
E911. Faced with volume of calls there. Can’t talk on three calls at once. We are paying for tower space per month when some of these services could be pulled together and maybe save the county in the long run. We have some dead zones in this county that are significant. Mentioned Blanton Mill Road and a call where this lack of communication was a problem. Commissioner Jarrett asked about whether he is suggesting that we build our own tower. He said not necessarily but that the county has water towers that may be able to house a repeater, etc. He also mentioned an old agreement with cell towers in the county for a reduced price. Mr. Morton could check into this. 3 or 4 people trying to use the radio at once could have them walking all over each other. He was asked and said that they have not given any raises except for where someone took on extra responsibilities from another position if someone left, etc. The repeaters will help with reception and there is a digital service tracking system that throws calls into separate numbers. CM Hanson asked about a problem of finding addresses like the fire department has had. He said that it is a constant problem to find residences in the county. Mr. Morton asked if Code Enforcement should issue a citation or should the Sheriff’s Office do this? He suggested doing a verbal warning first and then a citation if needed. Rob asked if he would be willing to sit down with David Allen and CM Hanson and figure out who needs to enforce this ordinance. Commissioner Jenkins said that they are doing a good job with training because they are always nice and polite when dealing with the public.
Donna Chapman……………………………………………………….Tax Commissioner
The TAVT is state mandated and it has made our county amounts go down last year. Our LOST and SPLOST are a little ahead this year. It may be a little different next year. There is less ad valorem taxes collected because of people are paying the entire amount when they buy a car rather than paying yearly amounts on a birthday. Sales tax is going to go down each year and the county needs to plan for this. CM Hanson said that the county is trying to plan for the next budget. TAVT affects the entire state. [Note from the Editor: This is highly technical with the dollars and I am not going in depth on this because I don’t understand all of it myself. It would be nice if the state would quit messing around with stuff that doesn’t need to be messed around with.]
Judge Marcia Callaway-Ingram………………………………...Magistrate Court
There has been some water damage and they are settling into the courthouse for now. The courtroom section is where the line separated but there was damage all of the way through the building to the DA’s office. The sound system and other equipment in there are gone. Some of the furniture is salvageable. Concern about files that have to be under lock and key that are not in a vault that is not fire or water proof. She said that she agrees with Sheriff Thomas that the county needs to look at something for storage. Commissioner Bass asked why we are not utilizing the Clerk’s vault in the Courthouse. Rob Morton said that this would have to be researched before we did this because there are regulations on both sets of records. Chairman Johnson asked how they conducted court. There is a day set aside for county ordinances each week. Rob commended them for setting up a calendar already and they are working to get this on the website too. Commissioner Bass asked about time and revenue costs on this but they have taken on another responsibility and lessening responsibility of Superior Court. Question whether Superior Court will have less to do with county ordinances. The Sheriff’s costs with booking, etc. should see some immediate cost savings. [Note from the Editor: This refers to the county ordinance on misdemeanors that was passed recently.] Commissioner Bass asked that all constitutional officers give a report to our county manager so we can track costs on this information.
Development Authority of Pike Update/Projections ....................................Dee McLeroy
Asking for a Director/Recruiter to recruit businesses into the county because everyone is volunteering and doesn’t have the time to recruit business. Asked for some in kind services so it would be ready for a business to move right in. CM Hanson asked about clearing a driveway so a potential business owner could see the property up closer than just from the road. We may have to spend a little money now but if we can attract businesses to come in, it will pay off. He specifically mentioned the Family Dollar that closed in Zebulon and left to go to Griffin across from Ingles. CM Hanson said that we would have to find someone who has experience in recruiting for our county based on our assets. Dee said that a recruiter calling people would help at bringing in businesses. Commissioner Bass said that many of our businesses have not been through a recruiter and asked if the Chamber of Commerce could help with this. The Chamber doesn’t have an active recruiter either. Dee said that if our tax base stays like it is, our taxes are going to continue to go up and we need businesses to supplement our tax base. Commissioner Jarrett asked about the vision for the recruiter. Someone to bring in business for our county that would not be detrimental to the county. She commended the IDA over the years for being considerate of the county and our rural atmosphere. Chairman Johnson asked about the wifi study. CM Hanson said that Three Rivers has asked for people to participate in a study about broadband. Dee asked for direction from the board as far as who they want to see here and who they don’t.
7. Break………………………………………………………………………………………...2:00 pm
8. PRESENTATIONS BY AUTHORITIES/COUNTY ATTORNEY/COUNTY MANAGER
Parks and Recreation ...…………………………………………………….Kevin Teate
Community Recreation Center. He gave commissioners a copy of the floor plan for this. All of the preliminary work was done about 3 years ago after getting permission from the BOC to move forward. This would be for indoor recreation. He said that this would greatly enhance what could be provided for citizens and it can be a revenue provider. All that they lack now is the money to provide it. He said that the 6,000 square foot pavilion would be of better use as an indoor facility. He said that they would have to have some parking closer to it for handicapped accessibility. The tennis courts are on the Capital Improvement Element for 2010. Ball field fencing and lighting is on the list of needs. There have been some improvements but a lot of the fencing is in need. A new bike path could be made with the help of Jacob Woerner’s family. They are raising funds for this project now. It’s not high enough to put in a gymnasium for basketball.
There is $105,000 in Impact Fees for them. He would like to use them toward the Recreation Center. Prior estimates were $200,000 to $300,000 three years ago. Gymnastics, music, karate, arts and crafts, birthday party rentals, family reunions, meeting room, registration for leagues, etc. could be held there. Doesn’t think that finding room for parking will be that big of an obstacle if they can get the funding for the building. He said that he feels like the indoor recreation center is a bigger need than some of the other needs that are on their list. Other than soccer and cheerleading, PCPRA is running everything out there. Commissioner Jarrett asked about numbers of children participating. And out of county children are allowed to play though they pay an extra $25. Mentioned that adult softball is something that is needed in the county. #1 need on their survey a few years ago was an indoor facility. He said that he feels like they are very good stewards of what they are given and feel like they are in a negative fund balance because of the cuts that have taken place over the past several years. Have taken furlough days and have cut back on personnel. 2 people in the office and 2 maintenance people at the office. They want to hire someone part-time for maintenance and have them work 8 or 9 months out of the year and a part-time recreation leader like someone who can help cover activities on nights and weekends. Trying to save on personnel costs.
There has been the beginning of a discussion about becoming a county department. This hasn’t been approved by the authority to make the change, but they are open to discussion on this. They have to do e-verify and everything that the county has to do and that a normal Recreation Director would have to deal with in a county department. Being a county department could help them financially too because there are things that could be done through the county rather than doing things on their own. If they were a county department, they wouldn’t be paying $5,000 for their audit. There might be some costs that wouldn’t be there if they were a county department. This may change and it may not. Chairman Johnson commended PCPRA for their work over there and the nice facility that we have here in Pike County.
Agribusiness……………………………………………………………...….Chris Curry
Opened by telling a story of talking to a farmer who told her that if you own a large block of land, it has to pay its way. Said that their job is working with our farmers to help them make the land pay its way. Working with Ag teachers at the school and getting kids more involved. Want to help build the barn at the middle school. We have 2 farmers markets. About $1,000 in product is sold each week in the Wednesday Market. The Saturday Market has diminished because they don’t have the budget that they used to. We spend a lot of the $10,000 keeping up Chestnut Oak. It is used regularly for walking, horseback riding, and they rent the facility to a farmer for a bull riding exhibition. The money raised from that rent is put into lights, crush n run, etc. Agriculture is Pike County’s #1 industry. She asked the board to think about agriculture as a thriving industry for Pike. One of their objectives is to protect land around the Flint River and another is gaining public access to the Flint. Maybe working with another entity to do this. She said that they would love to do more with Chestnut Oak but they don’t have anyone to do this. Commissioner Bass said that they have done a good job. Chris said that 12 to 15 hours a week is not enough to do everything that needs to be done. They want a covered arena. CM Hanson asked if they could work with the Chamber and the IDA and said that he understood that they want to help raise revenue within the county and not just at their event. There is an impact when there is out of town people coming through. They have a 3 to 5 year goal with a focus on agritourism. This would be using our strength of being rural to enhance our county. Having a covered arena with open sides is a long-term goal. A land trust with a property owner might be a way to provide access to the Flint. They are going to do a farm tour in the fall and invited the commissioners to attend. Commendations to those who are working with the Wednesday Market. Commissioners were advised that the agribusiness underwrote this for over a year and now there are 4 volunteers working with this. If there hadn’t been enough money in the budget to pay for the beginning of this, it would not have happened.
County Attorneys………………………………………………...Rob and Tom Morton
Tom said that each person who presented today had a wish list and the county is funding. He recommended that they give some serious thought to what should be Pike County’s priorities in the upcoming year because we will not be able to fund everything that everyone wants. Every presentation had legal issues that has to be addressed and we have to think down the road as far as ordinances and policies go. Also need to think about how to increase our funding sources.
County Manager……………………………………………………………John Hanson
Opportunity to test our abilities and this was a good overall meeting. Thanks to the commissioners and all who participated today.
COMMISSIONERS’ COMMENTS......................................Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, At-Large
Carol Bass: Thank you to Jo Ann and to CM Hanson for their work on this. She has been looking at ordinances and what needs to be upgraded or tweaked. Commissioner Jenkins said that commissioners could each take a section and look at it if needed. CM Hanson said that they need to look at several things to be more efficient. Has enjoyed this meeting and she enjoys the board of commissioners.
Tamra Jarrett: Thank you to all and this was a good meeting.
No update on Tommy Powers.
James Jenkins: Thanked CM Hanson for his work on this.
Briar Johnson: Said that he has learned a lot in this meeting. Thanked Jo Ann, John, and all who participated. Our ACCG rep from this meeting said that Pike County has picked a winner with CM Hanson. It’s being noticed by other people.
Carol (and Tammy agreed) commended the group for sharing information because they have been on the other end of working in the county when information was not shared.
9. FINAL COMMENTS......................................................................... County Manager John Hanson
10. ADJOURNMENT: 4:30 p.m.
Agenda subject to revision – Times are best approximates
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