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Wednesday, November 13, 2013 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia
All five commissioners were present as well as County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye to take the minutes, County Attorney Rob Morton, and County Manager (CM) John Hanson.
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))
County Attorney Rob Morton asked the Commission to add an Executive Session concerning Magistrate Court and pending and potential litigation. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A.§ 50-14-1(e) (2))
Minutes of the October 29, 2013 Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUESTS
a. Tom Lacey to present the Farm City Proclamation to the Board. Chairman Johnson read the proclamation aloud for Farm-City Week. $71 billion is added to our economy through farming. Cooperation between farmers and city workers. Nov 22-28th declared Farm-City Week. Approved 5-0.
b. Barry Gooden from the National Weather Service and Ed Westbrook from GEMA to present the Storm Ready Community Certification presentation.
Motion to table until they arrive. 5-0.
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.
Commissioner Jarrett asked if the CM could make a card reconciliation sheet to clearly show what everything is for including receipts, dept, etc. CM Hanson said that would be cleaner and neater for the tracking process and it’s a normal practice in most businesses already. CM Hanson is going to look through the financial policy and this will likely make a recommendation that this be a part of it. Commissioner Bass agreed and pointed out a charge from Amazon on this sheet that could be easily clarified since you can buy about anything from Amazon.
Motion to work on creating the reconciliation sheet with the intent on making it a part of the financial policy for the county. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
Commissioner Bass said nothing from Agribusiness where used to get minutes. CM Hanson said that he spoke with Ken Gran and he thought that the county had been getting them all along. Tom Lacey said the same. This will be reconciled soon. DFCS didn’t send minutes either. Commissioner Bass said that it’s citizens’ money and we need to know how it’s being spent. IDA meeting was postponed until this week so that is probably why their minutes are not here.
b. County Manager Report
CM Hanson read the financial numbers aloud.
▫ Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund - $1,146,005.62
Jury Account - $0
Cash Reserve Account - $176,461.22
Jail Fund - $34,221.18
E-911 Fund - $44,549.09
DATE Fund - $22,606.51
Juvenile Court Fund - $20,845.70
Residential Impact Fees - $291,326.25
Commercial Impact Fees - $17,025.34
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011 - $318,171.81
PC L.M.I. Grant - $322,976.46
c. County Manager Comments.
CM Hanson has made some changes on the balance sheets after speaking to the auditors. This will put more money into the General Fund and help make more efficient expenditures. He said that he was looking to make some principle reductions on the SPLOST as well.
The first sale was made on GovSales.com. The county has received $800 for the car and that money should be received next week. This was a test sale for the county. 11 vehicles that will be loaded live this week. Everyone in the office is trained on this but he is doing them so he can get the process rolling. He said that the man who bought the vehicle was excited about the car and that the county got a good return on the vehicle and it will put some dollars back in our coffer that are needed. Assets from the Adams Street house will go on as well. When these items go online, the public will be notified because some of these items have historical relevance.
We have an 1850’s safe that came out of the Courthouse and the commissioners want to keep this and put it in the lobby of the Courthouse or somewhere that the public can enjoy it. They are looking to work with the Historical Society in order to add some history with it. Motion to keep the 1850’s safe and preserve it for historical purposes and allow CM Hanson to do some research on it and eventually display it for the public. Approved 5-0.
d. Commissioner Reports.
District 1 Commissioner Bass commended CM Hanson for his work on the county's funds. She had done a spreadsheet on the county funds showing the difference between October 9th and November 8th. On October 9th, there was $40,567.32 in the General Fund. On November 8th, there was $1,146,005.62 in the General Fund. On October 9th, there was $49,734.36 due in receivables to the county. Now there is $28, 425.22 which means that entities owing the county money have paid us. And funds due from other departments within the county have been reduced from $398,235 to $184,426.70. She said that CM Hanson has increased our assets by taking money that was already ours and moving it into our account. It kept us from having to borrow money and she said that she appreciated his efforts on this. [Note from the Editor: CM Hanson has done an excellent job of consolidating and tracking the money in our county. He was praised by commissioners for this work and specifically praised by Commissioner Bass who has always kept a close watch on county funds.]
District 2 Commissioner Tamra Jarrett said that she was really pleased with the staff that we have in the county. She said that she really appreciates the personnel in every department.
Chairman Briar Johnson said that the Veterans Day celebration at Pike County Middle School and at the airport were really great and recommends that people attend.
No comments from the others.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.
None other than what will be discussed in the Executive Session.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Approve/deny 2014/2015 LMIG project with a match of $97,179.68.
CM Hanson said that we need to go through the process and approve the 30% match. He said that he has ridden the road with Todd Goolsby and that we will lose Williamson-Zebulon Road if we don’t take care of it. Discussion that approval of specific roads will come later. Today is only to approve moving forward on next year's LMIG project. Motion to approve the LMIG project with a county match of 30%. Approved 5-0.
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Approve/deny to pay $16,327.20 from Contingency funds to cover the monthly cost of the Sheriff’s vehicles for the remainder of the 2013/2014 FY and down payment.
Motion to approve. 5-0.
b. Approve/deny First Reading of the revised Disorderly Conduct Ordinance and additional Misdemeanor Ordinances.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
c. Approve/deny renewal of Alcohol License (Retail Sales-beer) for Jack Park, d/b/a The Cedars Golf Course, 13080 Hwy 18, Zebulon, GA. Applicant has met criteria.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
d. Approve/deny renewal of Alcohol License (Retail Sales-beer) for Jack Park, d/b/a The Pines Golf Course, 3094 Reidsboro Rd., Williamson, GA. Applicant has met criteria.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
e. Approve/deny renewal of Alcohol License (Pouring-beer and wine) for Ron Alexander, d/b/a Barnstormer’s Grill, 349 Jonathan’s Roost Rd., Williamson, GA. Applicant has met criteria.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
f. Consider one appointment to the Pike County Planning Commission Board to serve a three-year term, set to expire November 27, 2016. Applicants have met criteria.
The two applicants were current member John Morrison and David Hughes. Motion to approve David Hughes. Jenkins, Bass. 4-1 with Chairman Johnson opposed. [Note from the Editor: I was totally caught off guard on this motion. I hope that the Board knows what it is doing. And Mr. Hughes is going to find out what it is like working within a group as one of five on this recommending board. Everything that comes from this Board has to be approved by the Board of Commissioners.]
Update 11.18.13: According to David Hughes' application for the Planning Commission that is dated November 5, 2013, he is a contractor and community interests include "Keeping the county with a rural atmosphere". When asked what his interest is in serving on this board, he replied as follows: "Try to help citizens with controlled growth". He has lived in the county for 17 years. [End of updated material]
g. Approve/deny to cancel the Pike County Board of Commissioners Regular Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, December 31, 2013 due to holiday schedule.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
h. Approve/deny the flyover contract from Sewall Company with 50% to come out of 2014 budget and 50% from the 2015 budget. Robert Marriott will present to the Board.
Bob Marriott presented this to the commissioners. We need the aerial coverage of the county and it has been in their budget for the past 3 years that he has put the budget together. The imagery is over 7 years old and is of no value to the county at this time. There are 2 adjacent counties that are going to do this and if we piggyback on this, we will get a 30% discount and spread this over 2 budget years. We have worked with this company before. County Attorney Rob Morton said that this was intended for this to be in their budget as part of the CAP program, but the CAP program did not get rolling this year with that money put back in the General Fund. He understood that this is a legal requirement and the State Department of Revenue requires comparisons of new and old photographs every 3 years. Marriott said that the county is probably going to find a lot of new swimming pools, outbuildings, etc. Discussion that the aerial map be placed on the Q Public website so the public can access this as well.
CM Hanson commended this board for what they have done for our county with the $8,000 savings on this project. CM Jenkins asked for an answer on whether this will be available to the public. Marriott said that the county will own this information and can probably do whatever they want to do with it. CM Hanson said that the county has the rights to this and that he believes that the county could use this however they want it. County Attorney Rob Morton said that the county will own the rights to this and can make it available however we want. Consensus that the commissioners want this to be available to the public. Marriott said that this is county tax dollars and that if the technology is available, the county should be able to make this available.
Motion to move $9,750 from Contingency to the Tax Assessor’s Office to move this and to go ahead and budget the remaining $9,750 in next year’s budget. Approved 5-0.
Motion to approve the contract with Sewall. Approved 5-0.
Motion to make this available to the public in the easiest way possible. 5-0.
i. Approve/deny to surplus two vehicles from the Sheriff’s Department.
Motion to surplus the 2003 Crown Vic and 2004 Crown Vic. 5-0.
Motion to remove 6b from the table and allow this to be discussed. Approved 5-0.
6b. Barry Gooden from the National Weather Service and Ed Westbrook from GEMA to present the Storm Ready Community Certification presentation. Pike County was the only county in area that was not Storm Ready before today. EMA Director Jimmy Totten has worked very hard on his own time to help Pike County achieve this status. Pike County is the 85th county to become Storm Ready. The community is now prepared with an Emergency Operations Center and it can receive warnings and disseminate that warning out to the community. Thanks was expressed to our community.
The commissioners were thanked for supporting EMA Director Totten on this plan for providing sirens in the cities, weather radios in public places, and all that is required for this certification. The commission also commended for caring enough for citizens to put someone like Jimmy in charge of our storm preparation in our community. Director Jimmy Totten is the second volunteer in the state of Georgia to achieve this Storm Ready certification for a community. All of the rest, with the exception of one, have been prepared by paid employees of cities and counties. They unveiled a sign and everyone took a picture together to commemmorate the occasion.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person)
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION
a. County Manager requests Executive Session for discussion of pending and potential litigation germane to Magistrate Court. 10:02 a.m.
Back into session at 10:37 a.m.
County Attorney Rob Morton asked commissioners to approve the following:
Motion to approve $1,500 stipend to County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye for serving as the acting Human Resources Administrative Assistant at the direction of the County Manager. Approved 5-0.
Motion to approve a resolution confirming and ratifying the 2013-2014 budget for Magistrate Court. Approved 5-0.
Motion to approve the movement of $2,000 from Contingency to the appropriate budget line item for the reimbursement of attorney’s fees made by Magistrate Court counsel related to litigation in Marcia Callaway-Ingram v. Pike County. Approved 5-0.
County Clerk Wrye said thank you very much to the commissioners. She was praised by the commissioners for her work for the commission. [Note from the Editor: Jo Ann was genuinely surprised by this. I appreciate Jo Ann for the ease with which she works with the media including Pike County Times.]
12. ADJOURNMENT: 10:40 a.m.
Agenda subject to revision.
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