Pike County Times
The Pike County Times, PO Box 843, Zebulon, Georgia 30295. Click here to donate through PayPal. Becky Watts: Phone # 770-468-7583 editor(@)pikecountytimes.com
 
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REGULAR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONTHLY MEETING
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia

www.pikecoga.com/novusagenda has a download of the agenda and accompanying information for this meeting. This includes items listed on the agenda such as the Medical First Reponse License and the property being decided on Bottoms Road. 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.

1. CALL TO ORDER .................................................................................... Chairman J. Briar Johnson

All five commissioners were present along with County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye, County Manager John Hanson, and County Attorney Tom Morton.

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 December 13, 2018 Regular Monthly Meeting.

6. INVITED GUESTS

a. Employees to be recognized for their service to Pike County.

Lynn Vickers was recognized for 5 years of service to Pike County in the office of the Voter Registrar. CM John Hanson praised Lynn for being a hard worker, always being professional, and being a great volunteer too. Chief Voter Registrar Sandi Chamblin praised Lynn for being dependable, reliable and works in the community as well as the office. She said that it was a blessing to have her in the office.

Lateesia Anthony was recognized for 10 years of service to the Pike County Sheriff's Office. CM Hanson said that Lateesia is extremely professional in her job and that she does her job well whether it is directing school traffic or in other ways as a deputy. Sheriff Jimmy Thomas praised Lateesia as a deputy who wears many hats in her job and that she is does well directing school traffic as well as helping out when there are problems with students. He said that school administrators start looking for her when they need her to "Mama Up" on a student

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.

Commissioner Jenkins asked about the bidding process with phone/communications service. We are under contract with Charter for over a year now so only thing that we have with ATT is 911 and any remaining land lines, etc. Motion to approve. 5-0.

b. County Manager Report

Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ........................................................................................ …$2,694,293.46
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $4,661.32
BOC – Jury Account………………………………………………………………$0.00
Cash Reserve Account ........................................................................ ….....$506,465.18
Pike County CD Special Revenue funds………………………………………….$0.00
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $15,158.82
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $79,273.30
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $42,387.55
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $12,661.88
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $454,224.33
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $37,636.27
C.A.I.P FUND ............................................................................................... $33,252.39
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2016 ...................... $482,911.02
L.M.I. Grant (DOT) ..................................................................................... $164,356.72

c. County Manager Comment

CM Hanson said that he appreciated work on roads and that the county has gotten a lot of calls about roads. We have tried to jump on those quickly, but there were a few days that the ground was so hard that we couldn’t get a motorgrader to break the ground. Great time to do mowing though and caught up with grading when the ground wasn’t frozen. Our guys were working throughout the cold.

The county is working on the budget calendar. Very similar to last year and trying to line up so less days in the courthouse.

He was at the state capitol yesterday with state reps and DOT Commissioner to talk about Pike County. Discussed about the Kings Bridge Road intersection that Commissioner Daniel brought to his attention. They are going to revisit this site with attention to the right hand turn there.

Service Delivery Strategies have been delivered to the cities. Public is welcome to read at the office.

The Chappel Hill Subdivision has been withdrawn. They have chosen not to pursue this.

DFCS Director came in last week and there are increased needs with families that they are working with. They said that they are working to help parents work through hard times and that there is also a need for foster parents as well.

d. Commissioner Reports

Commissioner Tim Daniel wished Chairman Johnson a happy birthday.

Commissioner Tim Guy thanked staff, board, and county employees and workers for work accomplished for the county over the past year. Checked on Shortcut Road and the potholes there. It is on the list and there will be additional gravel laid after the potholes are filled.

Chairman Johnson reflected on 2017 as well. He said that it was a good year here in Pike County and he wanted to thank CM Hanson as the County Manager who deals with all of the commissioners and the citizens every day. He also thanked Jo Ann, Kay, Janice, and Ginny for their work as well. He thanked the elected officials and county department heads for their work and the County Attorneys as well. He said that our county commissioners work hard as well by riding the roads, answering phone calls, and they do so much more than just sitting in the meetings. And they are working together for the good of the county. He is looking forward to a great 2018.

e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.

Tom Morton said that he has looked back over the past year in reviewing his notes, and he commended the commissioners for their community service. He said that the upcoming year will be a challenge and that they are providing a community service and urged them to continue to have transparency. He said that the last year was a good example of how a county commission should work.

8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None

9. NEW BUSINESS

a. Approve/deny Resolution to Set Qualifying Fees for 2018 County Elections. County Manager recommends approval and fees will be published as required.

Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

b. Approve/deny Impact Fee request of $2,862.75 from Parks and Recreation for the Emergency Weather Warning Siren that has been installed at the park.

CM Hanson said that this is simply a reimbursement from a grant that is required to go through the county. The county split up the portions to each entity from the FEMA grant. Motion to approve. Approve 5-0.

c. Approve/deny two vacancies on the Two Rivers R C & D Council for Full Council Member and Alternate to fill a one-year term, set to expire December 31, 2018. Applicants have met criteria.

Rodney Hilley and Todd Goolsby are the two applicants. Tom Lacey was our long-term voting member and George Norris was our secondary. CM Hanson said that it would be in our best interest for Mr. Hilley to be the voting member and Mr. Goolsby to the alternate voting member. Motion to approve as recommended. Approve 5-0.

Tim Daniel asked CM Hanson to tell us what Two Rivers RC&D does. It’s a regional board out of LaGrange for soil and water conservation. There is a striping program for our region that includes equipment to do striping, but they need someone to head that up. We have used this in the past. This is where Todd Goolsby comes into play because he can train our people on how to use this and give his expertise to help the district on this.

d. Approve/deny to change the regular monthly meeting set for Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 9:00 am to Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 9:00 am.

This change is related to the budget. We haven’t had any conflicts with the use of the courthouse up until now. It’s a lot easier to set our calendar ahead of time so we are going to change this from the week of jury trials with two meetings on one day. We are required to have one in the day and evening along with the regular meeting day. Motion to approve. Approve 5-0.

e. Approve/deny request for Contingency Funds for E911.

CM Hanson said that we have done a lot of updates in there along with new consoles, etc. They have been having some issues there with recording calls that come in. We are required to keep information for Open Records and there have been problems with retention that have gotten worse of late so the director met with three primary companies to get software information that is available now because there are no updates for the system that we have. There is one company that will retain our old history for us with $14,450. It’s crucial to law enforcement and our citizens to keep this information. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

f. Discuss/Approve/Deny alteration of final subdivision plat off of Plantation Road, per Code Section 155.03 (A).

Director David Allen said that this is a previously approved subdivision and will combine some of the tracts. He wants to build a house and needs the tracts together for this. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

g. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input in regards to the First Reading of Text amendment to Title XV, Land Usage, Chapter 156, Zoning Code, Section 156.44 Development Standards, Section 156.64 Development Standards, Section 156.79 Development Standards, Section 156.94 Development Standards, Section 156.139 Development Standards, Section 156.174 Development Standards, Section 156.189 Development Standards, Section 156.204 Development Standards, Section 156.219 Development Standards, Section 156.234 Development Standards, Section 156.249 Development Standards, Section 156.264 Development Standards, and Section 156.279 Development Standards, relative to establishing certain standards for future flag (panhandle lots).
Action: Discuss/Approve/Deny

This is a public hearing and there will be 20 minutes for each side to discuss these matters. [Note from the Editor: All of this information was available on the web through the link at the top of the page so the public can review it prior to the meeting. This is standard practice.]

There used to be a standard spacing for flag lots that was inadvertently removed when another section dealing with flag lots was removed. The county is not trying to remove land lots, but they want to require the distance between them to 400 feet for safety purposes. It used to only be in AR zoning. This will pertain to all zoning districts for flag lots. Variances can be applied for.

In Favor: None
Opposition: None

Discussion: Mr. Morton said that he personally reviewed this due to the property rights that are involved in this and approved this change. Motion to approve first reading. Approved 5-0.

h. Aprove/deny request from the Water & Sewer Authority to us Committed Funds to purchase property

Water authority needs to use funds for capitol improvements. There is a well on Midway Road that has an EPA requirement to build a sediment pond so they can fulfill these requirements. S15,477 is needed. The Water and Sewer Authority has approved this but need the approval of the county in order to do this. The county attorney has reviewed this matter. Tim Daniel said that these are committed funds for the water authority so he made the motion to approve. Approved 4-0-1 with Commissioner Powers abstaining because he serves on the Water & Sewer Authority.

10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person) None

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION

a. Discussion germane to authorizing negotiations to purchase, dispose of or lease property.

No motion was made in regard to this executive session.

12. ADJOURNMENT

Motion to adjourn 10:13 a.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.]

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