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ZEBULON - The Pike County Board of Commissioners will meet in the upper courtroom of the courthouse on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 - 6:30 PM for a regularly scheduled meeting. There will be a Town Hall Meeting at Town Hall Meeting at 6:15 p.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.

Click here to see the documents that have been uploaded with the agenda on the Pike County government page.

Present were Commissioners James Jenkins, Jason Proctor, Tim Guy, and Tim Daniel as well as Chairman Briar Johnson, County Clerk Angela Blount, and County Attorney/Interim County Manager (CM) Rob Morton.

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 the agenda. Approved 5-0.

5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

a. Minutes of the August 9, 2024, Special Called Meeting.

b. Minutes of the August 9, 2024, Executive Session.

c. Minutes of the August 14 2024, Regular Monthly Meeting.

d. Minutes of the August 14, 2024, Executive Session.

Motion to approve the minutes. Approved 5-0.

6. INVITED GUESTS - 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.

There are no Department reports as they will be provided during the first Board meeting in September. Revenue/Expenditure Statements and Detail Check Register is included.

Financial Reports

b. County Manager Report

Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund - $1,016,758.54
Fire Dept. Donations - $11,503.01
Cash Reserve Account - $118,085.56
Jail Fund - $32,329.66
E-911 Fund - $50,866.26
DATE Fund - $31,932.92
Juvenile Court Fund - $13,745.67
Residential Impact Fee - $299,852.50
Commercial Impact Fees - $8,336.52
C.A.I.P Fund - $217,359.07
General Obligation SPLOST 2022-2028 - $2,318,074.71
L.M.I.G. Grant (DOT) - $254,019.77

Motion to approve the reports. Approved 5-0.

c. County Manager Comments.

Int CM Morton put his comments in writing for the commissioners. [Note from the Editor: This was needed and appreciated by the commissioners. There is accountability in a written report. The meeting went very smoothly too. Things were very transparent. I appreciate that transparency and enjoy watching everyone work together for the good of the county.]

Met with UGA Extension Agent Brooklyne Wassel. University of Georgia is considering a change to the education position since Penny Cosper has retired.

Met with GDOT regarding information on access for a fire station on Hwy 362.

Meeting with rep from UGA related to a compensation study. There is a process to fill out a survey. Recommends limiting to the county employees to reduce the cost to provide job classifications, etc. rather than including those employed by constitutional officers and authorities. Motion to go with recommendation. Approved 5-0.

County Facilities Property. Been in contact with engineers currently and those who worked on the design of the jail many years ago. The design has been revised from years ago.

d. Commissioner Reports.

Jenkins. Last couple of meetings with the Tax Assessor Board he has attended seems to have issues with follow up. Greg said it takes 2-3 days to get things together for the meetings. Why can’t we have an audio help for the Tax Assessor Office with the minutes? Morton. Info has been given to the Assessors about the recording device in the past, but we’ll give it again to find out what they need and what is in their budget.

Chairman Briar Johnson. County offices closed on Labor Day. Behavior Health, Public Facilities, and EMS Council have openings. Happy birthday, Chris Goodman. Thanks for spending it here at the meeting.

e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.

None

8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a. Discussion of the part-time Magistrate Judge pertaining to additional supplement.

Met with Chief Magistrate and walked through this. Fiscal Year Budget is already approved. There is money for a full-time associate judge up to $68.405.09. The new judge agreed to work for $41,329.31 There was no need for a supplement at this time. There is funding there if more is needed up to the full-time position.

b. Discussion of County Roads and Etheridge Mill Industrial Park.

Ethridge Mill Industrial Park. No formal dedicated road that says that it belongs to the county. A quit claim deed can be drawn up to clear up any concerns on this if needed. No evidence of the county ever working that road, no easement to the county, etc. Proctor. Yancey wanted to buy the road, but we don’t own it. Commissioners left this alone since there is no evidence of the county owning the road.

ADDED: Equipment rented has been returned. He read the note to the county praising our Public Works Department. Click here to read, "Pike County Public Works Praised for Work on GDOT Project:" pikecountytimes.com/secondary/publicworks8.23.24.html

McKinley Road. All right of way and deeds have been filed. Engineer has checked these. Waiting on the response from the engineer on deeds and easements. When final design is complete, then the request for bids will be sent out.

Tanyard Road. The engineer has completed the design work. There are a couple of drainage easements that are needed. Looking at end of October. Bid Award in March and construction in April of 2025. Should be done by the end of 2025.

Commissioner Tim Daniel. Was contacted about a complaint about Tanyard Road. He rode it that night and saw brand new patchwork, and said that we have to maintain it between now and the spring. It’s terrible.

Morton. Machinery will take the existing pavement in a form to relay it and then a topping laid on it with a topping on top of that so it will be in good shape by the end of the project.

Bid out on several roads. Asphalt, patching, and triple surfacing. Bids will be awarded on September 11 for Paving for Watering Hole Pass and Roberts Quarters Road, and patching for Pedenville, Sandefur, and Chapman Roads. 8 roads were removed from this. Let’s get the bid out for drainage on these roads: Harden, McCard Lake, Caldwell Bridge, Friendship Circle, Gaulding, Scott, Ward, and Daniel Roads. Open until October 4 with bid award on October 9. Motion to send bids out on this. Approved 5-0.

Commissioner James Jenkins. What about Woodcreek? Morton will check on this. Chairman Briar Johnson also asked about Blanton Mill Road. Morton will provide info on this.

Received a lot of calls on Arthur Road. They asked for speed bumps on a dirt road. We have tried that before. [Note from the Editor: Insert eyeroll here. It did NOT work.] Complaint about the dust. We are getting away from crush and run on dirt roads and going with a wash stone application to help with the dust issues. Said that calcium chloride doesn’t last as long as it should. Do you want to consider the wash stone for Arthur Road? It would be a $6,000 cost at $600 per load. It will get better over time. This is not on the roads list. Chairman Johnson has received calls about this and received a picture. Discussion on how the road is doing. Most of the road is holding up. There have been some issues since it was scraped according to the neighbors. Pine Valley is bad too though not as bad with the dust. Morton. If you want to do something on this, let me know.

There is an understanding that we have the bushhogs and side cuttings, but we don’t have a written schedule or policy on these even though there is a general rotation for cutting and roadwork. [Note from the Editor: I am hoping to see written policy and schedules in Public Works when a new Director is placed into that position. I am also hoping to see some sort of a log system put into place to track where our vehicles and equipment are on any given day. Same goes for gasoline usage. Written documentation can defend our employees and this department as well as ensuring integrity and best usage of public tax dollars.]

Bushhogs at Pedenville Road. The long arms in Molena and heading to Harden Road today.

Need direction on 18 applications for Public Works Director Position. Do you want to end the time period on this and set a plan on how to address this? In the past, the commissioners go through these applications and we get this down to 5 or so in order to do interviews. Consensus to go ahead and close this out. Morton to provide all applications to commissioners for review. Put this on the next agenda for review. Commissioners need to narrow it down to their top applicants by the next meeting.

9. NEW BUSINESS

a. Discussion of Mileage Reimbursement Rate.

Milage 62.5 cents. Do you want to go back to 58.5 cents, 62.5 cents, or go to the current IRS rate? This came to the board because employees are asking why they aren’t being reimbursed like the IRS. Motion to follow the IRS rate. Approved 4-1 with Jenkins opposed.

b. Consider millage rate rollback.

9.639 rollback rate. Clint Chastain has looked at the numbers. If we go with the rollback, you’ll have a $570,00 shortfall.

[Note from the Editor: You can read this in an article if you prefer. Click here to read, "BREAKING NEWS: Commissioners Vote for Proposed Tax Increase; Public Hearings Scheduled" at: www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BREAKINGNEWStaxincrease8.29.24.html.

4 options: 1) rollback 2) 10.324 enough to cover the shortfall with no gain 3) 10.389 slight revenue of $55,000 4) increase 10.639 with a cushion of $263,000.

It is recommended to go with 4 first with 1 mill increase. Option 3 next. At a minimum if you won’t accept 3 or 4, please go with option 2 in order to cover the budget shortfall. If we do not consider an increase, we may run out of fund balance and not have enough funds to cover our payroll.

Any proposed increase will result in citizen phone calls. Option 3 is an $80 increase on a $300,000 home. Option 4 is $120 in taxes for a $300,000 home. That info will be in the notices, and it will be advertised. We do not recommend going with the rollback. Discussion. Will this recover in 2 years? Morton. It is a possibility, but there is no guarantee. What about ARPA supplementing the budget? Morton. We are reviewing the authorized uses. Some uses are not allowed. Have to modify earmarks on ARPA. We have to encumber by the end of this year for ARPA, and funds will have to be spend by end of December 2026. Salary increases and other projects are being reviewed with a plan to discuss at a future meeting. Option 4 does not include school increases. The school is required to have a minimum millage rate on their funding, but that has nothing to do with us. Still receiving interest on funds as long as money is in the account. Georgia Fund One account. Cash reserves. Those are funds that are unrestricted and being used for interest. If you go with the rollback, we are going to have to address the $570,000 shortfall whether it is cutting the budget, etc. Further discussion. 4, 3, or 2. Would love to say option 1, we are getting further and further behind every year. Once we get so far behind, we’ll never catch up. Motion to go with option 2. Discussion. We are not the only ones coming up short with other cities and counties around us. Coweta 39%. It will be a 7.11% increase here with this.

Clint Chastain. ACCG and other agencies are saying that 25% of general fund expenditures is a good base. We’re at 16% now. We’re in a hole with the budget with cash flows on a monthly basis. We’ll be in this same exact position next year if we go with option 2. Where we are at is not a good place. Morton. Millage rate will be set at a later date. This will put the advertisement out. More discussion. If there is money somewhere, we can change this. Chairman Johnson wants to go with 3 or 4 because this is kicking the can down the road to do anything else.

Vote on the Option 2. Tim Daniel and Tim Guy. 2-3. Motion fails.

Motion to go with option 1. Jenkins. Proctor gave the second. Proctor, Jenkins. 2-3. Motion fails. Discussion. Option 2 is floating above the surface and may not cover what we have. Option 1 is going backwards unless we find money somewhere. ARPA funds will be used for reassessments and in next year’s budget. Proctor is hoping that there is money somewhere. Jenkins said that Chastain has done his homework on this and has done a good job. Have to have a vote of at least 3 to pass. Some things will have to be cut unless we can find some money, and we’re concerned about rolling backwards. No one is willing to budge on this. Jenkins. Impact Fees have tripled. The commissioners are concerned with raising taxes.

Motion to go with option 3. Second for discussion. Daniel. We need to find some money and use it. And there is still an option to change at a later date after further review. 3-2 with Jenkins and Proctor opposed. Motion/second by Commissioners Guy/Daniel to approve Option 3 adding .75 mills, motion carried 3-2, with Commissioner Proctor and Commissioner Jenkins opposed.

c. Approve/Deny SUB-22-07 - Trademark Quality Homes Owners and Neal Spradlin Applicant for Flint Farms, a Major 31- Lot Subdivision. The Owner and Applicant are requesting Final Plat Approval. Property Location: Westside of Georgia Highway 18, North of Flat Shoals Road, Concord, GA 30206. Land Lot: 170. Land District: 9th. Parcel ID: 031 009. Acreage: 109.748 Acres. Commission District: 1st. Commissioner: Tim Daniel. FEMA Data. Does not lie within a flood zone. Code Reference: Article 21, Sec 2111, Major Subdivisions.

Planning and Zoning Director Gilbert. Final plat approval. Construction has been checked and approved by the county. The bond has been put up by the applicant for this road. We take possession the bond stays in place for 3 years. Staff recommends approval. Chairman Johnson. Had some questions. The 3 facing the road will have to go through the DOT to get driveway permits. Pointed out the location pertaining to the fire department. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

d. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding SUP-24-03 Dee McLeRoy Owner and Applicant request a Special Use Permit. The request is to allow a Self-Storage Facility in the Highway 19 Overlay District. Property Location: 10065 US Hwy 19 and McKinley Road, Zebulon, GA 30295. Land Lot: 33. Land District: 2nd. Parcel ID’s: 065 037 A and 065 037 B. Acreage: 12.26 +/- Acres. Commission District: 4th. Commissioner: James Jenkins.
Action: Discuss/Approve/Deny

Public hearing. 20 minutes on each side. Close the discussion. Then go to the commissioners for discussion and a decision.

Planning and Zoning Director Gilbert. Special Use Permit. We rezoned this to C3 last month for expansion. This is a formality required by our ordinances. They now have to meet the standards according to the Overlay District. Variance was approved but the overlay was postponed until a future meeting. The overlay requires to the entire property. Staff recommends approval with stipulation that all overlay requirements are met. Same with the Planning Commission.

IN FAVOR: None

OPPOSITION: None

Closed the public hearing. Question about bricking everything. Planning and Zoning heard a request to remove the bricking entirely but did not approve that. Those parts facing McKinley will be bricked or similar to Pike Plaza. They are ok to have the metal rollup doors on the back. Motion to approve with the stipulation. Approved 5-0.

10. PUBLIC COMMENT - (Limited to 5 minutes per person)

a. David Paulson to address the Board regarding a request to divide a 19-acre tract of land on Old Zebulon Road.

Lives across from the 19 acres. If you start allowing variances, then we have more later on down the road. Alternative. They can build a bigger house and have a separate entrance too. This is only for 5 years. It will take approximately a year to build anyway. Only 4 years to wait. The property was only for sale for 38 days. It would be wise to check on it before buying. He checked out the owner and saw that there were 4 houses in another subdivision that could have been used. He just wanted to point out alternatives and thanked commissioners for listening to his concerns.

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION

a. County Attorney Rob Morton requests an Executive Session for 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 pending or potential litigation.

Executive Session. 7:51 p.m.

Back in Session. 8:07 p.m.

12. ADJOURNMENT

Motion to adjourn. 8:07 p.m.

Agenda subject to revision.

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