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Wednesday, January 11, 2017 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
All five commissioners were present along with County Attorney Tom Morton, County Manager (CM) Hanson, and County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye to take the minutes.
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 December 14, 2016 Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUESTS - Greg Panzer, Field Representative for Congressman Drew Ferguson, was at the meeting and spoke to commissioners to open a line of communication. Here is Rep. Ferguson's contact information: 1601-B East Hwy 34 in Newnan, GA 30265. Office (770) 683-2033. Cell (770) 304-4731. greg.panzer@mail.house.gov
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.
b. County Manager Report
Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ............................................................................................ $2,715,582.04
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $4,595.25
BOC – Jury Account………………………………………………………………$0.00
Cash Reserve Account ........................................................................ ….....$506,093.10
Pike County CD Special Revenue funds………………………………………….$0.00
Jail Fund .......................................................................................................... $8,173.33
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $70,164.41
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $38,851.62
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $14,015.07
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $371,680.76
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $19,362.64
C.A.I.P FUND ............................................................................................... $23,009.65
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011 ...................... $446,353.79
L.M.I. Grant (DOT) ..................................................................................... $322,524.89
c. County Manager Comment
CM Hanson said that they are going to work on the setup in the courtroom so the public can see what is going on and commissioners can communicate well with each other as they conduct business. [Note from the Editor: Today was a different table set up for the commissioners but it was good for people to be able to see what was going on. Using those microphones is an absolute must because the room is so huge compared to what we have been used to for the entire time that I have been attending commission meetings. (That would be about 16 or so years for those who are counting. I’ve only been updating the public with my newspaper for 10 years. But who’s counting?!)]
He said that the county dodged a bullet with Snowmaggeddon and said that the Road Crew did a lot of prep work prior to the storm as a preventative measure. He said that if the public sees anything that needs to be addressed, please let them know. [Note from the Editor: You can call the County Commission Office at 770-567-3406 with your road concerns and thank you’s for a job well done. They have a list for potholes there at the office too. Public Works can’t address a problem unless they know that there is a problem to be addressed.]
SPLOST revenue is up $38,000 for the last 5 months. This is a good sign spending in Pike County and it is going toward our roads. LOST revenue is up $29,000 this period too.
He explained that the intersections in Hollonville are very congested during school time and he wanted to explore some options to slow down traffic there. Kings Bridge Road is already going to be changed by the DOT. Can we look at slowing down the traffic at both intersections? Maybe 35 mph and then go back up to 50 mph. Can you give me the latitude to explore that? Do you want to discuss it further? Motion to allow CM Hanson to look into asking the DOT to lower the speed limit to 35 mph through that zone.
d. Commissioner ReportsTim Daniel has been getting a lot of calls about the dog issue (that was apparently discussed in the 15 minutes prior to the meeting). Commissioners and the County Manager cannot comment on this, but the incident is under investigation. [Note from the Editor: I have not covered the incident where a dog was shot and killed on Christmas Eve, but the Pike Journal Reporter and Atlanta News have both covered it. However, I have obtained Open Records on this matter and am working on an article about not only this particular incident, but animal control in our county in general.] Happy late birthday to Chairman Johnson.
Tommy Powers said that 2016 is gone and said that he thinks it’s one of the best years that he remembers. He thanked CM Hanson for a job well done.
James Jenkins talked about office moving process that is ongoing. CM Hanson said that everything is about a week or so behind. The next move is Magistrate. 1st week of February is the goal now. There is a lock that is being made for courthouse security. Bringing Magistrate into the Courthouse will bring all of the court services to the county. We are looking at including some systems for security—cameras, etc. Safety for employees and citizens is a concern.
Time clock issues have been an issue of late. The system that we have is an older system and there are a lot of systems out there now that work through the computer rather than having to write out paperwork before turning in paperwork. This would make things much more accountable. CM Hanson said that he would be glad to look at this.
Title work is being worked on in relation to Ranchland Estates. The deed closing is rolling too but cannot be completed until the title work is done.
Chairman Briar Johnson said that he thinks that it is important to say the pledge of allegiance correctly. He says that there is no comma between One nation and under God. We’ve fallen into a bad habit, and he says that he will remind us before the next meeting and we’ll start reciting it correctly in meetings.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.
Tom Morton said that their office has worked on a myriad of problems over the past year with the commissioners. He said that they look forward to working with commissioners again this year. This means a constant review of cases decided by the courts, keeping an eye on legislation that will affect the county, etc. He said that last year was busy and expects this year to be the same.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input in regards to SE-16-13 – Diastole Investments, LLLP (Leslie E. Jones, Trustee), property owner and applicant, is requesting a special exception in an A-R zoned district to allow for the hosting of outdoor events on a portion of the subject property. The entire subject property, located at 2376 Strickland Road, has approximately 6460 feet of frontage along the northern side of Strickland Road. The property is located in Land Lot 182 of the 9th District of Pike County, Georgia. The entire subject property consists of 351.69 acres and is further identified as Tax Map Parcel #030 002.
Action: Discuss/Approve/Deny
Planning and Zoning Director David Allen advised that this went before the Board of Appeals on December 15 and the BOA recommended approval with conditions: adequate parking, no parking on the road, annual business license, signage abide with sign ordinance, litter ordinance, obtain approval, and is non-transferable to future applicants.
This is a large farm and they have posted events like weddings in the past and are seeking approval for events in the future. There are buildings out there now that can be used for events and are not visible from the road.
Leslie Jones spoke in favor of this proposal and said that they are happy to answer any questions about what they want to do with their family farm. It has been in the family for 40 years. She praised David Allen’s office for working with them through this process.
No one spoke in opposition.
Commissioner Daniel said that we have approved similar applications like this in the past. Motion to approve with conditions. Approved 5-0.
b. Consider three appointments to the Pike Industrial Development Authority to fill a four-year term, set to expire October 31, 2020. Applicants have met criteria.
John Barker, John Edwards, David Nix, Larry Lynch, and Bryan Oglesby were the candidates. CM Hanson said that these are for existing seats for Edwards, Nix, and Barker and the IDA has recommended reappointment. He said that he was happy to see the interest in these seats and asked to keep the extra applicants on a list for the future.
c. Approve/deny request from Kevin Teate to pay for fence improvements with Recreation Impact Fees.
The Rec Authority has done this in the past. This includes fences that need work and there are three bids presented. Recommended going with the lowest bid. $33,895 is the total. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
d. Elect Vice Chairman for the Pike County Board of Commissioners for 2017.
CM Hanson said that this is done every year. Last year it was Tim Daniel. Motion to approve Tim Daniel. Approved 4-0-1. Tim Daniel abstained.
e. Approve/Deny Pike County Board of Commissioners Regular Monthly Meeting dates for 2017.
There is a date in May that falls on a court day. Their calendar changes regularly so we are going to wait until we are closer to May 10, 2017 to decide what we are going to do. [Note from the Editor: There are two options here. Change the date for the Commission meeting or hold the Commission meeting in the smaller courtroom that can only be reached by standing in line to go through the metal detector with all who are going into the courtroom and walking across the big courtroom to go to the smaller courtroom. If the date approaches and the court date is not changed, I hope that we hold the meeting on another day.] Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
f. Approve/Deny 2015-2016 year-end budget amendments.
These are amendments that are needed before the auditors can finish out the audit and it can be presented at the morning February meeting. Example was given that the School Board election had to be budgeted, but the county was offset by funds to the county from the School Board. This is done every year. Motion to approve and allow the Chairman to sign the resolution. Approved 5-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person) None
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None
12. ADJOURNMENT: 9:40 a.m.
Agenda subject to revision.
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