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Tuesday, May 26, 2020 – 6:30 p.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
Pike County Board of Commissioners will be following and enforcing the Executive Orders issued by Governor Brian Kemp due to COVID-19 virus.
www.pikecoga.com/novusagenda has an online agenda and accompanying information for this meeting. Monthly information from Animal Control, Coroner, Fire Department, Grady, Library, Magistrate Court, McIntosh Trail CSB, Planning & Development, Registrar, Superior - Juvenile Court, Tax Assessor, and the Water Authority are included as well during the morning meeting only.
Everyone but Commissioner Tim Daniel was present at the meeting last night along with County Clerk Angela Blount to take the minutes, County Attorney Rob Morton, and County Manager Ron Alexander. The room was pretty full with people who were there to speak regarding the cell tower in Meansville. Kudos to the commissioners for adhering to state guidelines with temperatures being taken outside of the courtroom and yellow tape on the chairs to try to help with distancing. There were more people there than yellow tape spots for people who lived in the same homes for the first time since the pandemic has broken out. Commissioners and all county staff still have seating that puts them 6 feet apart during the meeting.
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))
Chairman Briar Johnson asked to add an Executive Session for 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 the Administrative Personnel. Amended agenda was approved 4-0.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))
a. Minutes of the May 13, 2020, Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUEST
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. There are no Department reports as they will be provided during the first Board meeting of June. Revenue/Expenditure Statement and Detail Check Register is included.
b. County Manager Report
Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ........................................................................................ …$3,363,511.19
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $6,168.63
BOC – Jury Account………………………………………………………………$0.00
Cash Reserve Account ........................................................................ ….....$107,547.56
Pike County CD Special Revenue funds………………………………………….$0.00
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $28,938.00
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................. $245,715.66
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $53,149.14
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $11,082.40
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $688,100.06
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $89,829.39
C.A.I.P FUND ............................................................................................. $180,952.45
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2016 ................. ..$1,088,621.31
L.M.IG. Grant (DOT)………………………………….…………………..$422,549.40
c. County Manager Comment
Concord Road project. Public Works is moving forward on this culvert. Met with the firm on the site. Once the geo tech report is received, we will put out bids and then get funding from the DOT. It will come back to the commissioners for approval.
Subdivision Streets. Discussion from last meeting. Small amounts of funds left after other paving projects. Use this for seal coating and potholes. Subgrade failure will not benefit from surface type maintenance like seal coating. This would add a binding to prolong the life of the streets. Whitfield in District 1 and Wellington in District 4 will be at the top of the list. This will come back before the board at a later date when there are cost projections for the work.
Grady’s contract. Part of the lease agreement was to obtain consent on this from the Zebulon City Council so Grady can occupy the station. On May 12th, this was given. However, they expressed a need to update the county’s lease with the City. This has been negotiated. On June 9th, it will go before Zebulon and it will be presented here before comissioners on June 10th.
d. Commissioner Reports
District 3 Jason Proctor – He got a call about Country Brown Road. He asked if this could get on the paving schedule. The road is washing and starting to deteriorate. He also said that complaints say that curbing is needed, but noted that Public Works is doing a good job on roads overall.
He said that this is his first time going through the budget process and that he is trying to figure out how we are doing on the budget. CM Alexander said that he and Angela should have a revised schedule in the next couple of days. He noted that it should be on time. [Note from the Editor: I've been asking this question for a month now. The audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 has now been completed, and it's time to get the regular budget rolling. I have been advised that this will be on time as well, but there are mandates for hearings and a specific amount of time required between presentation and approval and this is what commissioners are concerned with. I have even had members of the public ask me about this as late as today.]
Chairman Johnson – Roads Workshop? CM Alexander has been doing background on this. No date sent yet but can send out dates in the next couple of days. Staff is ready to sit down and discuss it. Roads are a part of the budget.
Chairman Johnson made a plea on behalf of the county clerk when it comes to getting things on the agenda. He said that if we can get department heads to turn in info by Thursday at 5 p.m. it will help the county clerk to get everything done. We don’t need to be waiting until the last minute. It’s easier to delete something than to add something to the agenda at the last minute.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners
We have been busy helping with updates, courtroom guidelines with Superior Court, etc., and helped with contracts.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Consider use of Courthouse Grounds from Dan Dunnahoo with Pike County Arts Council for a concert on July 18, 2020 from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Motion to approve and second. Approved 4-0.
b. Approve/deny the Pike County Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2020-2025 and to authorize Chairman J. Briar Johnson to sign Resolution, Jimmy Totten to present the plan.
He will email the plan. This is a 5 year plan. It’s mostly about natural disasters. This is done so Pike County can be eligible for grants. FEMA gives us money each year with the county providing about $8,000 in in-kind work out of the $34,000. There are strings attached to the plan for the generators, etc. that we have in the county. Tim Guy asked if commissioners needed to approve this before they actually see it?
County Attorney Rob Morton said that this is an update of what we already have even though it wasn’t sent out to everyone yet. The Chairman, Brad Vaughn, and he were a part of the meetings and that this has been thoroughly reviewed. If you choose not to, that’s your prerogative. The county manager said that there was a copy of the draft provided to him and that he has thoroughly reviewed this.
EMA Director Jimmy Totten advised that there is nothing in there that say that the county will be forced to buy anything, change ordinances, or anything like this. Tim Guy then made a motion to approve. Proctor second. Approved 4-0.
c. Approve/deny renewal of Blue Cross Blue Shield Employee Health Insurance.
The renewal cost was advised at the last meeting. This is increased by 17.7% or $172,888 over the past budget. This the second Anthem quote, but the current quote is lower. A 17.77% increase rather than a 36.47% increase. Staff recommends going with the Anthem policy even though CIGNA is lower because CIGNA doesn’t have as many providers in our area and has higher out of pocket. Motion to approve and second. Approved 4-0.
d. Approve/deny request from Steve Reeves for revised final plat for SUB-18-05, Whitehorse Subdivision. Lots 22, 23 and 24 on the southwest side of Thunderbolt Lane.
Director Brad Vaughan advised that this was approved in November of 2018. There will be a new drawing of these lots. They are eliminating one lot and making this into 2 lots. It will be more than the requirements for setbacks, lot size, etc. The only issue was .95 acre difference than what was reported in the prior survey. This was a clerical error. Steve Reeves is here if they have any questions. Staff recommends approval. Motion to approve and second. Approved 4-0.
e. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding SE-20-03 – Applicant Leslie Carroll, Providence Consulting for AT&T and Owner Charles Allen Harris are requesting a special exception to build and construct a new telecommunications tower and supporting structure(s). Applicant and owner are also requesting a concurrent variance. The property is located on Pine Valley Road Meansville, GA 30256, Land Lot 139, District 8, Parcel 095-001.
Action: Discuss/Approve/Deny
20 minutes for each side. Then discussion from the commissioners and a decision.
Director Brad Vaughan said that this down below the Girl Scout Camp. There was a preliminary plat before commissioners regarding this property. This will be in place of that because the other plat has been withdrawn. A variance has been approved unanimously. This will be a self-supporting structure. Everything is compliant. Staff recommends approval.
IN FAVOR
A representative was here on the behalf of AT&T. The property is AR zoned and a cell tower must go through the process. The Board of Appeals approved this unanimously. This is to cover Meansville and Hwy 109. This will be a 250 foot tall tower. The first tower is over 5 miles away. It’s quicker and cheaper to tie onto another tower, but there weren’t any around there so they have walked through the process. This site will be 4G which can be upgraded to 5G. This tower will be equipped with the First Net Network. This is a federally funded First Reponders Network from after 9-11.
A resident said that they literally have no cell service in their area. No one puts in landlines anymore. It could be a life or death situation to get in touch with emergency authorities. He literally has to sit in the car at Ingles in Barnesville while his wife shops and make phone calls.
Another resident has AT&T DSL there as well as Viastat as well as Verizon. Nothing seems to work around there well. If there is an emergency, they have to call from different spots around the house. They are at home because of COVID and has to upload from Ace Hardware. The addition of a tower would be fantastic. They were 6 miles away from the tower. They are paying close to $200 a month for internet that doesn’t work well.
An Adams Road resident said that the kids haven’t been in school, and she has been working from home. She said that it has been literally impossible for the kids to do Zoom calls and her work from home. She said that she think’s it is time to do this.
Another Adams Road resident said that this is something that we need. He asked about why this location was chosen though he is very in favor of this. He asked about the camps that are on this road or even moving to the mountain or in the Girl Scout Camp. He said that this tower is needed but was curious of the answer to his question.
OPPOSITION
No one in opposition.
DISCUSSION
The representative from AT&T said that it’s a science where these towers go. A honey comb look is needed so they looked within a ½ mile of where they need to go. They reached out to land owners in that area. They need to be able to meet specific setbacks in the ordinance. This property was the best candidate, it was large enough to meet setbacks, and the land owner was willing to be a part of this. This is a 73 acre tract and will hide the tower fairly well. It was the one that worked best for the engineers out of the three sites that were given to choose from.
Chairman Johnson asked about the light on this tower. Strobe at the top and another in the middle. Lightning rod on it as well. This is FAA required. White during the day and red at night.
[Note from the Editor: This had been considered for a major subdivision, but that plat was withdrawn in order to put in this cell tower. A timeline was given in the notes from the February 20, Board of Appeals meeting. "Chairman Snowden asked what the timeline was for the tower to be operational if approved. Mr. Rottenstreich said before the end of the year they could be up and running." Also from the meeting are the particulars of the structure. If you would like to see all of this including a diagram of the structure, follow the link and instructions at the top of the page. "The request for the design variance was not to disregard the intent of the code, but was generated due to engineering requirements. Pike County code calls for all towers in the A-R zoning to be constructed as monopoles. The original intent was to lessen the visual impact in a rural area. Monopoles are designed to be shorter, telescoping designs, and their tolerances to withstand high winds begin to fade at 200 feet. A self supporting design has tolerances that begin at 200 feet and can go up to 500 feet. At 350 feet and up a guyed tower is recommended. The request for variance was to utilize the more robust construction to enhance safety and longevity of the tower."]
Motion to approve and second. Discussion. Rob Morton said that this was a conditional approval with the Board of Appeals. The record will be part of the minutes including the letter from the applicant if this had been rejected. Approved 4-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT
a. Randall Moss to address the Board regarding 2020 Bill of Peace.
Randall Moss talked about the law again. He said that there seems to be two types of law: one for the rich and one for those who are not. He said that he wants his grandchild returned. He has copies of all information filed in 2011. This child was taken without due process. He quoted law as he spoke. He said that everyone comes under the law, and that he wants his grandchild returned.
[Note from the Editor: The following--including the rest of this note--is from the April 28, 2020 meeting since I had several people ask me about this case last night: My search box is not bringing up all of the articles that I have written concerning Randall Moss and the fight that he has carried on for his granddaughter. I'm going to include them here for history's sake. I was not able to dig into this case more than I did, but I did attend several DFCS meetings and go to court to follow his case.]
REGULAR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONTHLY MEETING Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Pike County DFACS Holds Monthly Meeting from 2.22.13
Judge Dismisses Prewarrant Applications Against DFCS Representatives from 4.3.13
Pike Case to Be Heard in the Georgia Supreme Court from 1.5.16
[Note from the Editor: These articles are long and drawn out. If you only have a short amount of time to read through this case, this is from the Supreme Court. There is a complete overview of the case as it was presented to the Supreme Court. Obviously it was lost because Mr. Moss is back before the commissioners about his granddaughter last night.]
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION for 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 the Administrative Personnel.
Out of session at 7:18 p.m.
Back in session at 8:26 p.m.
Motion to adjourn. 8:27 p.m.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Agenda subject to revision.
[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.]