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Wednesday, February 8, 2012 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia
This meeting was attended by all 5 commissioners, County Clerk Teresa Watson to take the minutes, County Manager (CM) Bill Sawyer, and both Rob and Tom Morton to advise the county on legal matters.
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 from the following: Regular Monthly Meeting of January 31, 2011.
5. INVITED GUESTS
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.
Brief presentations will be heard from the following:
Update 2.11.12:
Chris Curry, Pike Agribusiness Authority: Chris advised the Commissioners that the Ag Authority had received a $3,000 grant from Southern Rivers for the lights and a $2,000 grant from Upson EMC for the wiring of the lights at Chestnut Oak. She said that they were given 6 poles for the lights—3 of which are usable and 3 which will be used for something else there because not safe for what they are doing—and asked the Commissioners to consider assisting putting up the lights. She asked for $1500 to buy the light poles that they need and a ditch witch to dig the lines. She said that everything has been done with volunteer work and grants and that this is a resource for Pike County. The online farmer’s market allows people to buy items during the winter and that the regular market will start up in late March.
Mike Grant, Fire Department: [Note from the Editor: Mike could not attend this meeting.]
Jimmy Totten, Emergency Management Agency: EMA Director Jimmy Totten gave an update on the DeltAlert system and advised that the federal government is sending a check on this and the $4,000 from donors should be available in the next couple of days but everything else is done on this. The first callout from the system is scheduled for February 23, 2012. There are links to sign up on the Fire Department, County website, and school website as well as getting info to other organizations—the Senior Center, local newspapers, etc.—to help get the word out to the community about registering other phones for DeltAlert. He also said that people can register for DeltAlert when they sign up for 911. [Note from the Editor: Click on the DeltAlert links on the Home Page to sign up.] Click here to update your 911 information.
Todd Goolsby, Public Works: Todd advised that all roads are open in Pike County. (Editor Note: After all of the rain, that is a big deal!) He said that they are currently in Molena making the rounds scraping the roads. Said that they have put out a lot of gravel. Residents can call in work orders to take care of problem areas. He asked that anyone giving information for a work order to be sure to provide complete information including a contact number and addresses for the work order. Commissioner Collins asked Todd how many people short his department is and was advised that there are 22 slots with only 17 people.
David Allen, Planning and Development: David gave a comparison from December of 2010 and December of 2011. He said that permits are up 30% and revenue is up 27%. He said that while the economy is still bad, he is cautiously optimistic. So far this year, there have been a couple of new homes, the Dollar General in Williamson, and the expansion of Johnson Battery in Zebulon. He advised that the Planning Commission is meeting about readopting the Zoning Map and ratifying the Pike County Code of Ordinance this week as well as a text amendment to the Impact Fee Ordinance. Board of Appeals actions included the Cemetery Special Exception was acted upon by Commissioners in the past meeting. Commissioner Collins asked if there was still a problem getting a quorum with the Board of Appeals and David advised that this was not a problem. He said that this is a dedicated and dependable board and that problem involved an odd set of circumstances that was not reflective of the board.
b. County Manager Report
• Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund $2,286,128.85
Jury Account $0
Cash Reserve Account $800,742.99
Jail Fund $32,282.65
E-911 Fund $101,498.24
DATE Fund $11,908.10
Juvenile Court Fund $28,703.12
Residential Impact Fees $276,988.61
Commercial Impact Fees $15,821.20
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011 $433,311.72
LOST Collections for the month $79,657.35
SPLOST Collections for the month $107,971.42
[Note from the Editor: The LOST and SPLOST numbers have not changed from the past meeting because they only come out once a month.]
c. County Manager Comments: CM Sawyer advised that the county should get some funds from the state for 911 this year. Also advised that he met with a prospect this week, went to Public Works Director Todd Goolsby to discuss the gas tanks at Public Works with the EPD and the county will receive a written report in the next 30 days, the CM has met with all the boards now, the CM and Pike EMA Director Jimmy Totten met with GEMA representatives, the staff is very heavily involved in next year's budget, the IDA (county Development Authority) and the DDA (Zebulon's Downtown Development Authority) held a joint meeting last week, the CM along with the heads of several relevant county departments as well as the SPLOST Committee with meet with the architect and contractor tomorrow at 10 a.m. about the Courthouse since this project will start on March 1st, has had several meetings with the Georgia Department of Transportation about road issues, will meet with the insurance broker on Friday to discuss next year's insurance costs, and the bid for the J. Joel Edwards Library parking lot should be opened by the Board of Commissioners on March 20th. [Note from the Editor: Thank you to the County Manager for making this business a matter of public record by advising the commissioners in an open meeting. It is reassuring to the public to hear some of the details from business out of the BOC office.]
d. Commissioner Reports:
District 1 Carol Bass: None.
District 2 Tamra Jarrett: She said thank you to the department heads for their reports today.
District 3 Tommy Powers: Said that he has had a few calls about roads but Public Works has taken care of them.
District 4 Don Collins: None.
Chairman Doug Mangham: None.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners: None.
7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
8. NEW BUSINESS
a. Approval/denial of new Alcohol License (Retail Sales) for Beer and Wine for Pratik D. Raval, d/b/a Jake & Gianella’s Food Mart,12471 Highway 18, Williamson, GA 30292. This convenience store was recently purchased by new owners. County Manager recommends approval; applicant met all criteria.
Motion to approve. 5-0.
9. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person)
a. Parrish Swift desires to address the Board on Board of Commissioner decisions.
CM Sawyer advised that Mr. Swift withdrew from Public Comment.
10. EXECUTIVE SESSION: 9:17 a.m.
a. County Manager requests consultation with the county attorney, or other legal counsel, to discuss pending or potential litigation, settlement, claims, administrative proceedings, or other judicial actions brought or to be brought by or against the county or any officer or employee or in which the county or any officer or employee may be directly involved, as provided in O.C.G.A. §50-14-2(1), germane to Magistrate.
b. Chairman desires discussion or deliberation on the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a county officer or employee as provided in O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(6), germane to Administration.
Back in Open Session at 9:30 a.m. No discussion. Motion to adjourn at 9:31 a.m.
11. ADJOURNMENT