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Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – 6:30 p.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia
This meeting was just about a full house. It was attended by all five commissioners, County Clerk, Jo Ann Wrye, County Manager Mike Phillips, and County Attorneys Rob and Tom Morton. A discussion of end of the year audits was added to New Business at the end of the meeting.
1. CALL TO ORDER.....................................................................................Chairman Doug Mangham
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE....................................................................Chairman Doug Mangham
3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. 50-14-1 (e) (1))
4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A.§ 50-14-1(e) (2))
Minutes of the October 10 Regular Monthly Meeting and the October 15 Special Called Meeting.
5. INVITED GUESTS
[Note from the Editor: Before the invited guests began, Chairman Doug Mangham advised them as a whole that they were only allowed five minutes to speak. He then carefully watched his timepiece as they spoke to be sure that they didn't get five seconds more than that. The manner in which this was done came across as something other than enforcing the rules across the board for everyone who speaks to the commissioners. It really came across as disrespectful to two volunteers for Pike County, and this did not sit well with me. There has got to be a better way to remind everyone to keep their comments short without gavelling them down in mid-sentence.]
a. Jayne Midura of CoCo’s Cupboard, Inc., address the board with issues and ideas concerning animal control in Pike County.
[Note from the Editor: This letter is on the Letters to the Editor page.] Jayne told commissioners that Coco's Cupboard stands ready to help Friends of Pike County Animals and the Board of Commissioners help get permanent animal shelter built for the safety and health of Pike County citizens and the welfare of the animals in Pike County. She said that steps have already begun toward an animal shelter with the county mananger reporting on the status of animal control at each meeting, and with the appointment of an animal control officer for the county, but said that the need will be even worse when CARE Inc. closes in December because there will be nowhere in the county to send animals because Coco's Cupboard is fullwith a waiting list. She said that she understands that there is not money in the budget for a new shelter right now but said that there is $147,000 in contingency and suggested that the county should pour a slab floor with this money. Jayne said that once constuction begins, municipalities and private donors will come forward to help pay for this. Coco's Cupboard offered to help write grants and said that it could talk to contractors in the area to see if they would be willing to donate time to work on the facility and maybe even help get materials at reduced rates. Then the county could plan for money from the next budget to continue construction. She offered thanks to Friends of Pike County Animals and Don Bailey for their work on the facility including the blue prints, research on facilities, and site approval from the Health Department. She said that with all of the details already figured out and with help from groups in the county to raise the money, she asked what the commissioners were waiting for on this project. Jayne said Pike County's Animal Control Officer described the animal control situation in Pike County as a "ticking time bomb" and a "grave situation" in the October 6, 2012 and said that the county should move immediately to diffuse it help from the community like Coco's Cupboard and Friends of Pike County Animals because the situation is too urgent to have a "wait until next year" position and asked what the commissioners were waiting for. And then she was interupted by the gavel of the Chairman advising that her time was up. Jayne had a copy of her letter for each commissioner.
Update 11.7.12:
b. Joy Walker, address the board regarding responsibilities of Commissioners and Volunteers.
Mrs. Walker said that commissioners have the responsibility to citizens with roads, building maintenance, police protection, fire protection, etc. She told them that showing leadership thinking and planning ahead for the future. She said that the board has not planned for animal control since Mrs. Doloris Smith was killed five years ago until now. She asked what good it was for volunteers to accomplish tasks when commissioners disregard what they are doing. She gave the SPLOST committee as an example and said that members were promised oversight on the SPLOST Courthouse project. She said that this promise was not kept and that commissioners fired the people [this committee] who were supposed to be a line of communication between the commissioners and the Courthouse. She chided Chairman Mangham for looking at his clock so closely to keep up with her five minutes of speaking time. She told the commissioners to do their job more competently than they have been doing and to look to the future.
c. Edd Sanders, Peter Potter and LaResa Price from Pike County Family and Children Services Board, desires to address the Board their final report regarding the request of the J. Joel Edwards Public Library for new computers for public use.
Mr. Sanders attended a DFACS meeting earlier this year that outlined changes to the food stamps and Medicaid programs statewide. Since that time, he has been researching ways to ensure that those who are on state programs are able to access computers when the state goes to a strictly online system. This is discussed here in the August 12, 2012 meeting. He advised that there are 4,018 people on food stamps in Pike County. He advised that since the last meeting where he told commissioners about a way to obtain three computers that would be dedicated to this use only in the library for a cost of $4,500, DFACS is going to make a kiosk available in their office that would help with this throught the current fiscal year and that there will probably be no need to deal with this until the next budget year. For the 2013 budget year, he suggested that the DFACS budget cover 1/2 of the cost of the computers--$2,250 and that the library budget have $2,250 included in it to cover this cost as well. This would cover the cost of wiring, connections, etc. Chairman Doug Mangham advised Mr. Sanders to get with CM Mike Phillips on this matter.
6. 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. There are no reports as they will be provided during the first Board meeting of November.
b. County Manager Report
▫ Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund $709,256
Jury Account $0
Cash Reserve Account $76,342.26
Jail Fund $20,797.95
E-911 Fund $101,672.39
DATE Fund $15,308.61
Juvenile Court Fund $26,912.82
Residential Impact Fees $276,276.25
Commercial Impact Fees $17,821.12
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011 $766,440.87
c. County Manager Comments
- Courthouse renovation update.
CM Phillips said that the courthouse is in good shape and that there have been small meetings on the renovation project. It appears that the project will be completed at the end of December as expected. He advised that he has requested a wants and needs list from all departments in the courthouse. Some items can be delayed until next budget.
- Update on any pertinent departmental issues.
None.- No draw as yet to the recently approved TAN line of credit.
He advised that no draw is anticipated on the TAN note.
- Update on Animal Control research.
CM Phillips advised that research is ongoing including the development of standard operating procedures for the facility and the high cost of getting a facility built.
d. Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Tamra Jarrett asked if the county was keeping up with monthly reports, etc. on the website. CM Phillips said that he would check on this.
Commissioner Don Collins discussed the trim in the courthouse. He said that he was advised that the trim in the Registrar's Office is still going to be plastic instead of wood. He said that plastic in offices where the public can see would be fun but that the public would see the difference between a the beautiful wood trim on the window and plastic on the floor. He said that "nickel and diming" to save a penny here and they're in the long run is going to hurt us. County Attorney Rob Morton asked if the board wanted Planning and Development Director David Allen (also the project manager for the courthouse) to ask the contractor to give the county a difference on the price to upgrade from plastic in that office. Consensus from the commissioners was for Director Allen to ask for this information.
Update 11.13.12:
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioner
County Attorney Rob Morton advised that is the end of the year and the auditors have been working here. He said that the audit required a litigation report on pending litigation and claims that had been received. This has been completed as required. Mr. Morton also asked for authorization on the behalf of the school board to allow their bus drivers to park their personal vehicles on county land for the time being. He advised that this agreement can be revoked at any time. This had already been approved by the BOC, sent over to and signed by the school board, and returned to the BOC for final signature. He asked for a motion to authorize signature by the chairman. Motion was given and approved. 5-0.
Commissioner Jarrett then asked Chairman Mangham if they could entertain a comment by citizen about the courthouse. [Note from the Editor: Joy Walker had held her hand up for permission to make a comment during the discussion about trim work in areas of the courthouse that was accessible to the public.] He said no and that this could wait til the end of the meeting.
7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Approval/Denial of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency-Homeland Security Statewide Mutual Aid and Assistance Agreement, carried over from the October 10 Regular Monthly Meeting.
Commissioner Jarrett asked if the agreement signed by former CM Sawyer had been formally rescinded and if the county had received any kind of written response from the state based on the prior vote. Attorney Morton advised that the state had been given written notification that the county was rescinding the former agreement because of any improper signature and had asked for the original copy to be returned. Commissioner Bass asked if proper notice was given in order to withdraw from this agreement. Attorney Morton said that they can see was taking the position that it never entered into the agreement because the former CM did not have the authority to sign this document. Commissioner Collins said that commissioners have seen on TV what can happen with the weather in the past three days and said that it was past time to approve the agreement. The motion to approve. Motion is approved in a 3-2 vote with Commissioners Tommy Powers and Tamra Jarrett voicing their dissent.
b. Changes to the form requesting use of Courthouse grounds to provide accommodation of other County facilities, i.e. Meeting Room, carried over from the September 25 Regular Monthly Meeting.
County Attorney Morton asked for clarification whether the board wanted to open up the meeting room at the Courthouse Annex or the fire houses for public use. There was extensive discussion about what facilities are available to citizens for public use and a consensus was given to limit county facilities to government type meetings due to liability and security concerns especially with regard to the courthouse. The question was asked about use of the courthouse lawn for public events like the Veterans Day ceremony. Commissioners were advised that the courthouse grounds are open to public use through another process. County Attorney Morton said that he understood that EMS and other entities related to county business hold meetings in the courthouse annex and that he understands that the board does not want to stop these entities from using the meeting room. Mr. Morton advised that he will have this agreement ready to be reviewed and signed soon.
c. Update from County Attorney Rob Morton regarding Implementation of Vehicle Use Policy, carried over from the September 25 Regular Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Morton advised that he has reviewed Pike County Code and that it seems to address most of their concerns already. He also advised that a log has been prepared for county vehicles and is being used at this time. This will also be added to county code. The only thing that was not covered was specific wording which would prohibit driving a county vehicle to lunch but stated that existing county code does allow a county vehicle to be used in this manner as long as it is in the course of county business. Discussion that logs on county vehicles even include those at Public Works.
8. NEW BUSINESS
a. County Attorney to address the Board for discussion and consideration of Securus.
Securus is a secured inmate phone system that is up for renewal. The sheriff has asked to enter into a new contract with a signing bonus that would be used to purchase and install a new inmate management system to replace the current one. In the past, this has not come before commissioners for approval but there were a state court case of late where the Court of Appeals decided in Lawson vs. Lincoln County (2008) that revenues from phone systems like this did not belong to the sheriff's office but were general revenues that should go through the county. The county auditor discovered this last year and made a line item for it in the budget. Commissioner Jarrett did a lot of research on this topic. She said that it is very common in jails but voiced a concern that this should come through the county commission so it can be shown with a record of all county purchases. There was a lot of discussion on this topic that even prompted a question to be asked whether the county commissioners were getting a copy of drug forfeiture info to which Mr. Morton advised that he would check into. In the end, commissioners decided that they needed more information on whether to accept $18,000 for a lump sum (that could be used for a software upgrade, modules, and accessories as requested) or whether to accept a monthly amount based on usage. Commissioner Bass suggested that there is money in the jail construction fund to buy this now. The county manager suggested that since families are paying for these phone calls from the inmates, that this money could provide the update to keep the service going so it will not cost taxpayers anything. There was a general consensus that the money should be used for the jail and not deposited into the general fund, but that it should not be used to pay for personnel. Commissioner Collins said that they are not reinventing the wheel but need to put our own system in place on how to track these funds. Mr. Morton said that regardless of lump sum or commission, the money will come through the BOC so we can be tracked. Commissioner Bass said that it should be used for the jail, but did not want to ignore the jail construction fund. Commissioner Powers agreed that the money should be used for inmate care. Commissioner Jarrett thought it would be smarter to get commissions when they come in rather than a lump sum. Mr. Morton said that they could go ahead and renegotiate the contract now and that they can get percentages and vote at a later date whether to get a lump sum or payments by a commission. Motion to authorize renegotiation of contract with the county commission. Approved 5-0.
Update 11.14.12:
b. Approval/denial of Pike County Emergency Services Operations Manual.
This is a standard operating procedure manual that is subject to review by the commissioners. There was a LOT of discussion about this manual. Commissioners asked a lot of questions to Chief Mike Grant. Most of the big ones had to do with keeping people at the station with things that do not distract from responding to fire calls so there is a decrease in response time if there is a call. Chief Grant advised that a lot of committees worked on this document over the past year and a half. The document tells how the department will run and what is expected of all of our volunteer fire fighters. The commissioners commended this document and those who worked on it. There was a concern that since there was a specific amount written in this document for $10 per call that it would have to be changed and approved in the future if that amount changes. Mr. Morton advised that it could be written with "subject to the availability of funds" and that would cover it. Commissioner Bass confirmed that they only had to review it and did not have to give approval on it, but Mr. Morton asked them to approve it out of an abundance of precaution. She advised that she hadn't read the entire document so Mr. Morton advised that a motion to review would be sufficient. 5-0.
Update 11.1.12:
c. David Allen desires to update the Board on recent developments with electronic signs.
Planning and Development Director David Allen advised Mt. Olive tested their sign of a few weeks ago and that it is operating now in full compliance with Pike County code. Patriot Motors was contacted by the church after they reached compliance to advise up the steps needed to reach compliance on the 15 minute requirement with no blinking, scrolling or flashing and, after the purchase of an additional $80 in software, Patriot Motors is now in compliance with that portion of code as well. However, the text size on the sign is still taller than the 6 inch requirement that is in the ordinance. Up until now, have been unsuccessful in changing the text size and have advised that they were going to apply for a variance with the Board of Appeals. Since the Board of Appeals has already given a final decision in June on this sign, a new variance will be required as well as a $200 application fee. Commissioner Bass commended Director Allen and the Board of Appeals with their efforts on these two cases. Director Allen commended Mt. Olive for its work to bring the sign into compliance and for sharing this information with Patriot Motors. Motion to waive the application fee if Patriot Motors decides to apply for a variance with the Board of Appeals based on the size of his letters on the sign. Approved 5-0.
d. Budget Amendments (added at the beginning of the meeting)
The auditor cannot finalize until these changes are made. This includes things like creating line items to clarify things in last year's budget. Motion to amend FY 2013 budget as recommended by financial record and authorize Chairman Mangham to sign budget amendments. 5-0.
Motion to allow Joy Walker to speak. 5-0.
Mrs. Walker explained that there are two people on the board who were not there when the SPLOST began and that it was originally supposed to be for $2.5 to $3.2 million for the courthouse, but that past CM Sawyer came on board, two new commissioners came on board, and the courthouse size was doubled. She said that the referendum did not mention cost to the courthouse project but only said that it would be completed and then any left overs would go to roads. She discussed the problem that Commissioner Collins brought up about the plastic molding not going anywhere that would be seen by the public and said that people go into the Registrar's Office and that she thinks it is doing a disservice to the people of the county to nitpick the things that the public sees. Said that the public was promised a bang up job that we could be proud of and that corners shouldn't be cut. She said that Bill Sawyer made a lot of changes on the courthouse and left commissioner holding the bag--especially since the oversight committee was disbanded after putting together the SPLOST project. She asked commissioners to please not cut corners where it is going to be obvious to voters. Said that plastic baseboard was fine in the closets and where the public couldn't see it. She asked commissioners to make sure that this project was done right.
9. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person)
10. EXECUTIVE SESSION
11. ADJOURNMENT: 8:17 p.m.
Agenda subject to revision.