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.
If you enjoy reading Pike County Times, consider buying an advertisement for your business or sending a donation to support the only free online newspaper in Pike County. Donations can be sent to: The Pike County Times, PO Box 843, Zebulon, Georgia 30295. Click here to donate through PayPal. Thanks for supporting Pike County Times.com!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 – 6:30 p.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia
Commissioners James Jenkins, Carol Bass, Tommy Powers and Chairman Briar Johnson were present as well as County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye to take the minutes, County Manager (CM) John Hanson, and attorneys Rob and Tom Morton.
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))
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))
a. Minutes of the September 10, 2014 Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUESTS
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 October. Revenue/Expenditure Statement, Detail Check Register and Master Card Statement is included.
b. County Manager Report
▫ Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ............................................................................................... $833,816.31
Fire Dept. Donations........................................................................................ $1,200.52
Cash Reserve Account................................................................................. $176,535.68
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $35,814.99
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $27,657.43
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $34,890.81
Juvenile Court Fund....................................................................................... $18,377.66
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $267,157.59
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $11,427.53
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011...................... $239,404.25
L.M.I. Grant (DOT)..................................................................................... $233,022.36
c. County Manager Comments.
Update on the Fire Department/Pike County Emergency Services Chief position. It was advertised within the department first and is now open to the public. Click here to read about the fire panel that has been appointed to help recommend a new chief to the County Manager.
Update on Animal control: Dr. Curtis Crawford has agreed to assist with euthanasia for the county.
James Jenkins agreed to volunteer with this next week as the Leadership Delegate with ACCG.
CM Hanson said that he appreciated the work put into the Commissioner Bass and Ben Dunn on the probation service contract.
CM Hanson then followed up on SPLOST and LOST income for the county. He said that the numbers are up compared to last year and that the county took some pretty significant hits last year as far as SPLOST and LOST income goes but we are going to use these funds to fix up our roads. The SPLOST can be paid off on December 1, 2014 and maybe a little sooner so plans are being put into place for this. There will be a SPLOST and roads workshop on Thursday, October 30 at 6 p.m. to lay out the plans for roads and discuss what John and Todd have been discussing about roads. The public is invited.
He then closed by saying that letters were going to go out to neighbors about the alcohol rehab center, but the county was advised that the application has been withdrawn. Click here for more on this.
Old Zebulon Road project is open. There is still a small amount of work to be completed on the shoulder, but the road has been reopened.
Commissioner Jenkins will be our Voting Delegate at the 2014 Legislative Leadership Conference on Thursday, October 9th in Athens, GA.
d. Commissioner Reports.
Commissioner Bass asked for a letter of appreciation to Ben Dunn for working with the county with the probation service contract.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.
They have been working on getting updates to the website. They are researching a detention pond issue for the county.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Approve/deny probation service contract with Department of Corrections.
Judge Edwards has signed off on this with Public Works Director Todd Goolsby and Brandon Rogers overseeing the probationers. Motion to accept this. Approved 4-0.
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Consider 1st reading of the Revised General Appointment Policies and Procedures.
This is a draft that cleans up our current appointments and procedures that would be used with any boards and authorities that work with the county. Discussion included whether or not a citizen could serve on more than one board because it is written in our ordinance but Mr. Morton advised that this is a policy decision. Consensus that this will be a limit of two commission, board, and authority appointments per person. A criminal history background check will be required for any board, authority, or commission appointment. Motion to accept with changes. Approved 4-0.
b. Approve/deny contract between Board of Assessors and Traylor Business Services, Inc. related to personal property audit services.
Motion to approve the contract. Approved 4-0.
c. Consider one appointment to the J. Joel Edward Public Library Board to fill a three-year term, set to expire August 31, 2017. Applicants have met criteria.
Jonathan Henry Yoder and Danielle Morgan are the applicants. Motion to appoint Mr. Yoder. Approved 4-0.
d. Consider one appointment to the Pike County Recreation Authority to fill an unexpired three-year term, set to expire June 30, 2016. Applicants have met criteria.
Howard W. Busbee and Danielle Morgan are the applicants. Motion to appoint Mr. Busbee. Approved 4-0.
e. Consider one appointment to the Pike County Planning Commission to fill a three-year term, set to expire September 30, 2017. Applicants have met criteria.
Morgan, Richard Baskin, Vivian Crawley, and Kay Willis are the applicants. Motion to appoint Mr. Baskin. Approved 4-0.
f. Ratification of paying $2895.00 for storage building for Sheriff’s Department out of the Jail Fund.
The Sheriff has a need for space for jail files and this will be located adjacent to the jail. Motion to accept. Approved 4-0.
g. Discussion in regards to the Court Administrator to study the practices of judicial circuits of similar size to the Griffin Circuit for payment of Court Reporters and transcripts.
This was discussed during the budget. There has been some statewide discussion on this. Mr. Simmons met with the county last week to help understand how this works. The county would like him to review this and see how it is managed here compared to others that are similar to ours as far as payment, etc. is handled here in our circuit. CM Hanson needs authorization to have him review this to ensure that we are doing this the best way that we can be doing it as well as whether we are being as fiscally responsible as possible with taxpayer dollars. Motion to ask Mr. Simmons to move forward with this. Approved 4-0.
h. Consider request from Carolyn Williams for $800 for the Board of Equalization to be paid from Contingency Fund.
There have been some resignations on this board, and this is needed to bring in new people and pay for training, etc. Commissioner Carol Bass asked that she be allowed to go over and the county pay the overage on this rather than paying a blanket amount. She asked that the total amount come back before the commission for a final vote. Motion to allow Superior Court Clerk Carolyn Williams to go over on her budget, and for the final amount to come back before the board so they can ok the final amount. Approved 4-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person)
a. John Morrison to address the Board about their recent decision regarding zoning/land use.
John Morrison read a prepared statement to the commissioners that chided the commissioners for losing sight of people who voted for them because they voted to approve the solar panel farm with a 5-0 and passed an ordinance to regulate it and rezoned property located on Hwy. 41 for the IDA with a 3-2 vote even though the Planning Board recommended denial. He said that with the solar farm, it only took him a few minutes to learn that the property in question was “far from ideal” and that the tax revenues “were questionable, at best.” He also told commissioners that “industrial development is not a magic pill for our tax base” and that a look at industry that is present in the county is only a plus for the county if they “have a sales office on site and bring in a load of Sales Tax Revenue” to the county. He told them the best use for the Hwy. 41 property would be a Planned Residential Development (PRD) that could bring in 20+ upscale homes paying property tax and would actually increase the values of surrounding properties like Country Brown Subdivision. He said that commissioner actions on these two votes show “an unsavory call to action for big business and a blind eye to the concerns of the Average Homeowner.” He called on commissioners to reconsider these rezonings.
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION: None.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn at 7:06 p.m.
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.]