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This online news website is owned and operated by Becky Watts. The Editor can be reached at 770-468-7583 or at editor(at)PikeCountyTimes(dot)com. Pike County Times is a website for citizens to keep up with local events and stay informed about Pike County government. It began on November 13, 2006 as a watchdog on county government and has turned into an online newspaper.
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Wednesday, March 12, 2025 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
Town Hall Meeting at 8:45 a.m.
ZEBULON - The Pike County Board of Commissioners will meet in the upper courtroom of the courthouse on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 – 9:00 a.m. for a regularly scheduled meeting. There will be a Town Hall Meeting at 8:45 a.m. for anyone who would like to speak to the commissioners about any issues that you may have. The meeting is open to the public will be broadcast live on Pike County Times' Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pikecountytimes.
[Note from the Editor: It will be nice when our county joins so many of the surrounding cities and counties to record and broadcast its meetings in a central place so citizens who cannot attend the meetings can watch at their convenience.]
Click here to see the documents that have been uploaded with the agenda on the Pike County government page.
1. CALL TO ORDER ........ Chairman J. Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION ........ Silent Invocation
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ........ Chairman J. Briar Johnson
4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. § 50-14-1 (e) (1))
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))
a. Minutes of the February 25, 2025, Regular Monthly Meeting.
b. Minutes of the February 25, 2025, Executive Session.
Motion to approve both. Approved 5-0.
6. INVITED GUEST - NONE
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
Motion to accept the reports. Approved 5-0.
b. County Manager Report
Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ........ $1,842,809.18
Fire Dept. Donations ........ $10,905.91
Cash Reserve Account ........ $110,318.25
Jail Fund ........ $10,267.40
E-911 Fund ........ $67,072.35
DATE Fund ........ $25,158.18
Juvenile Court Fund ........ $13,746.25
Residential Impact Fees ........ $418,984.33
Commercial Impact Fees ........ $32,104.66
C.A.I.P FUND ........ $102,005.38
General Obligation SPLOST 2022-2028 ........ $1,198,258.88
L.M.I.G. Grant (DOT) ........ $43,339.59
c. County Manager Comment
This is the sliver of property next to the Concord Fire Station with the driveway for the next door neighbor. Discussed this last May. $1584 agreement with the purchaser. Asking for authorization and for the Chairman to sign. Approved 5-0.
Anticipating some weather issues this weekend.
Appointments for Boards are being advertised. Also for Building and Grounds.
Rezoning by City of Zebulon for purchase of the old Zebulon School. Maybe for mixed use including effienciency apartments, etc. Also restoring buildings in Barnesville. A 2009 Pike County graduate is doing the work.
Continuing with budget process. April 9th meeting will be the draft presentation. Public hearings are coming up. Final adoption scheduled for June 11.
d. Commissioner Reports
Tim Daniel. Driveway aprons? Received a complaint. Checking into this. Tim Guy. City of Molena driveways and ditch. Who is responsible for this? Morton. Have to look into this. Chairman Johnson. Driveways. Asked for years on contracts that aprons be put on driveways and same with where paved and dirt roads meet. Thinks aprons should be included. Morton. We will have to include this in future bids and continue the aprons further if needed. Looking into this.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners
Received some info on opioids.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - NONE
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Consider use of Courthouse Grounds, Main Courtroom and Judge’s Chambers, from Michael Feifer with Feeding the 5,000 Films LLC on Friday, March 28, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. for the production of a feature film.
Applicants are in the meeting. Motion to allow them to speak. Approved 5-0.
Have talked about making this movie for 15 years. Faith based movie about breaking addiction and coming to Jesus. Inspired by true life. A man from an abused household achieved stardom but drugs and alcohol ended him up in prison. Need a courtroom and a judge’s chambers for the movie. No issues with everyday work in the courthouse. The focus is to change lives. A Better Way Ministries.
We have had a lot of movies here over the years. Fees were paid in the past. Can they contribute to the county? Most of the movie has been donations instead of being a big budget movie. Maybe A Better Way guys help clean up around the courthouse if needed. They were willing to do work around the courthouse when needed.
Motion to use the courthouse grounds with no fees. Approved 5-0.
b. Approve/deny library books as surplus and authorize to sale on GovDeals.
Detailed list of books has been provided. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
c. Approve/deny 2 printers and 1 chair from Sheriff’s Department as surplus.
The intent is to salvage what cannot be used. Motion to surplus. Approved 5-0.
d. Discussion of assisting the City of Meansville with Milner Street.
We have helped with roads and right of ways in the past. The City needs help with this street. $87,755 in their SPLOST to contribute to this project. $43,966 balance on this. We have funds to cover this expense or possibly pay through SPLOST because this is SPLOST related.
Pullin. Is this typically the process? Morton. The county conducts the paving and handle the labor portion with the cities paying for the cost of materials. We can’t do the paving and labor in house now. The City will decide whether they want to walk through this process. We are deciding whether to pay the balance on this. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
e. Approve/deny Second Reading of the Text Amendment to Article 16, US Highway 19 & 41 Overlay District, of the Unified Development Code.
No changes since the first reading. Motion to approve 2nd reading. Approved 5-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT - NONE
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION: 9:33 a.m.
a. Interim County Manager Rob Morton requests an Executive Session for discussion or deliberation on the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a public officer or employee or interviewing applicants for the position of the executive head of an agency, as provided in O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(b)(2), germane to personnel.
b. Chairman Briar Johnson requests an Executive Session to discuss the possible acquisition of real property pursuant to O.C.G.A. 50-14-3 (b)(1).
c. Chairman Briar Johnson requests an Executive Session for discussion or deliberation on the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a public officer or employee or interviewing applicants for the position of the executive head of an agency, as provided in O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(b)(2), germane to personnel.
Motion to go back in session at 10:44 a.m.
The Pike County Board of Commissioners came out of Executive Session at the March 12, 2025 meeting, and the two finalists for county manager were announced to the public. The finalists are Rob Morton, the current County Attorney and current Interim County Manager, and Jeremy Gilbert, current Planning and Zoning Director.
Chairman Briar Johnson announced the names of the two candidates and asked commissioners if there was anything else that they wanted to add.
At that point, Pike County Times’ Editor Becky Watts interrupted the meeting to ask if the Board was going to clarify whether Morton was going to be just the county manager (or if he was applying to be both the county manager and the county attorney).
Newly elected commissioner Ken Pullin addressed this issue with his comments before there could be a discussion of whether or not to make a motion for a citizen to speak. Citizens are not allowed to speak in a county commission meeting unless there a motion, a second, and a majority vote of approval to allow them to speak.
Pullin said that he thought it should be made very clear to the public that the Board is not looking to hire a county attorney. Johnson replied that this was Pullin’s opinion.
Pullin replied that he had not seen a job put out clarifying that if Morton was hired, that there would be a separate position for county manager and county attorney. He added that he didn’t think that was Johnson’s plan. Johnson said that his plan was to announce the two candidates.
“So to be clear, Mr. Morton is applying to keep his county attorney position and also apply to be county manager,” Pullin said. “So, if he gets this job, he will occupy both positions at once in our county.” Nothing further was said other than motion to adjourn.
[Note from the Editor: A brand new commissioner (who began serving in January) addressed an issue that should have been made clear by the Commission Chairman (who has been serving in this capacity since 2012). It could have been simple: "We have these two candidates, and if Morton is chosen, he will be serving both as county manager and county attorney." People wouldn't have liked it, but it wouldn't have looked like the Board of Commissioners was trying to hide anything. But that isn't what happened.
This entire process has seemed forced with nothing said about the interview process in the February morning meeting (even though the cutoff for applications was on January 31). Though a couple of short statements were made in the February night meetings to let the public know that interviews were going on in both the special called meeting and the regular called meeting and just saying the board would keep the public abreast of what was going on in the process.
I'm trying to applaud the good and call out the bad here, but something really should have been said at those night meetings to let the public know that Morton was a candidate and wasn't a part of the other candidate interviews. Morton stayed out front, but everyone from the public might not have understood what that meant. His integrity and that of the board members is important. Transparency is important. And avoiding the appearance of impropriety is important. Or it should be. This should have been easy, but it wasn't. Why is that? I honestly don't know.
Pike County Times is in the process of obtaining applications and any accompanying documents for both applicants and will write a follow up article the near future that includes pertinent information like the fact that Pike County would be the only county in 159 counties in the entire state to be doing this if Morton is chosen. (Another county did it for a while but split their county administrator and county attorney positions back into two separate positions just last week.) State law has been reviewed (this is legal, but is it ethical?) and county ordinances will be reviewed in this article as well. There is also a Letter to the Editor on this subject that can be read by going back to the Home page and clicking on the Letters link at the top of the page.]
Click here to read the February 27, 2025 article entitled "BREAKING NEWS: Commissioners Begin Process for Finding a New County Manager."
Click here to read the March 12, 2025 article entitled "BREAKING NEWS: Finalists for County Manager Announced."
12. ADJOURNMENT: 10:46 a.m.
Agenda subject to change.
Click here to read my write up from the February 25, 2025 meetings: www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BOC2.25.25.html.
Click here to read my write up from the February 12, 2025 meetings: www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BOC2.12.25.html.
[Note from the Editor: If you appreciate being able to read information from county meetings for free on Pike County Times, please make a donation to Pike County Times through the PayPal link at the bottom of the page or by check to Pike County Times at PO Box 843, Zebulon so I can justify the amount of time that I am spending away from family. It may not seem like much but sitting in a meeting and then typing it up takes a lot more time than you might imagine! Thanks for reading Pike County's only FREE newspaper.]