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Wednesday, January 9, 2019 – 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.
This meeting was attended by all five commissioners, County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye to take the minutes, County Manager (CM) Bobby Bickley, and County Attorney Rob Morton.
1. CALL TO ORDER .................................................................................... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION………………………………………………………………………….……Bart Brock
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ................................................................... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. § 50-14-1 (e) (1))
CM Bickley asked to amend the agenda to add Invited Guest: Carolyn Williams and the appointment of Vice Chair for 2019. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))
a. Minutes of the December 12, 2018 Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUESTS
a. Employee Recognition for service to Pike County - Kim Chagnon
Kim Chagnon was recognized for five years of service to our county. Magistrate Judge Marcia Callaway-Ingram said that Ms. Chagnon retired from State of GA with 34 years of service in the Criminal Justice field and that she was the two time recipient of the Unsung Hero Award when she applied to work in Pike County and thought she would be a good fit for Pike County. She thanked her for her almost 4 decades of public service.
b. Pike County Superior Clerk Carolyn Williams announced that February 28 is her last day as Superior Court Clerk. Feb 1985. She became clerk in 1987. Chief Deputy Clerk Pam Thompson will take over as Clerk. Law states after 2 years, her appointment can fill the remained of her term. Pam was hired in 2001 and was sworn in as Chief Deputy Clerk in 2010. She thanked the commissioners and the public for working with her over the years. She said that it was an honor and a pleasure to serve.
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 ........................................................................................ …$3,007,144.68
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $5,934.09
BOC – Jury Account………………………………………………………………$0.00
Cash Reserve Account ........................................................................ ….....$107,311.82
Pike County CD Special Revenue funds………………………………………….$0.00
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $28,989.70
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $98,355.71
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $46,363.99
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $12,697.46
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $568,162.67
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $43,993.93
C.A.I.P FUND ............................................................................................. $241,969.74
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2016 .................... ..$577,600.34
L.M.IG. Grant (DOT)……………………………………………………......$1,399.50
c. County Manager Comment
The General Fund is increasing because of property tax collections.
He commended Todd Goolsby, Director of the Road Department, for working over the past week because of the rain that we’ve had. He said that Todd is working very hard on those roads and that a third motorgrader was rented to help with scraping the roads.
He has been working with Planning and Zoning Director Brad Vaughn to fill the Open position of Code Enforcement. We are accepting applicants for this. [Note from the Editor: The January 15 weekly Commissioner's Report from the County Manager advised that the county is going through the process to hire Dewey Yarborough as our Code Enforcement Officer. He advised that there will be a meeting with the City of Zebulon to finalize a dedicated portion of hours for service strictly within the City Limits as part of the Service Delivery Agreement with the City of Zebulon. The City has committed $4,000 toward the salary for this position. The county is exploring options to acquire a vehicle for this position.]
He met with Ken Pullin to get everything put together for the General Assembly about the Board of Election and Registrars. [Note from the Editor: More on this after the County Attorney Report.]
He attended a meeting with Rob and Ginny Blakeney to talk about the future and the possibility of gas for the industrial park.
Meeting about ideas for a possible animal shelter this afternoon.
[Note from the Editor: Other info from the January 15, 2019 Commissioner's Report includes as follows.]
CM Bickley attended the January Library Board Meeting and was asked for a memo that would help clarify what is expected of the Library Board. Click here to read about that two hour meeting.
He also attended a meeting with the Kiwanis that went well.
The Planning Commission meeting had two rezoning items--the Larry Lynch VA site and Buddy Ellis Auto Repair Shop, an overlay master site plan for K&K, and a revised final plat for Deer Lake subdivision. These cases will be on the BOC agenda for the 29th.
Economic development
According to the post agenda of the January 9, 2019 meeting of the IDA, the "Board reached a consensus to obtain construction estimates and quantify/qualify the project in order for a decision to be made in regards to the various funding options for the capital improvement."
Georgia National Fairgrounds has been contacted about sending events to Pike County.
He was going to meet with Parks & Recreation where part of the discussion was about the Pride of Pike Celebration.
There will be a strategic planning session for the IDA on February 27th.
d. Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Tim Daniel praised Superior Court Clerk Carolyn Williams for a job well done. He said that she was appreciated and that we hate to see you go. He said that he has had calls about the roads. No rain this week, but coming in this weekend. He has told people calling that we’re doing what we can do.
Commissioner Tim Guy thanked Carolyn for her years of dedication. He has also had lots of calls about roads, but said that we are taking care of them as quickly as possible. He thanked Todd for his hard work.
Commissioner Tommy Powers also thanked Carolyn for a job well done and thanked Todd for work on the roads.
Commissioner James Jenkins thanked Carolyn and wished her luck. He said that every call he has had about roads was taken care of within less than 24 hours of the call.
He said that requested info on Impact Fees and received it. He said that we need to see about whether the allocation needs to be revisited. He said that the Road Department and Sheriff’s Office are needs that need to be looked at. Commissioner Tim Daniel asked who set those percentages in the beginning. County Attorney Rob Morton advised that the county invested in a consultant in 2005 who issued a methodology report back then and that it may be time to reexamine these percentages. There are some criteria that will have to be followed, but the needs for these new developments may not be addressing the public service needs. [Note from the Editor: I was very impressed at the discussion on Impact Fees, and I appreciated how Commissioner Jenkins presented it. And yes, I was present at these meetings in 2005 when this study was done. Sometimes I forget how long I've been going to meetings and then a discussion like this comes up! LOL]
Chairman Briar Johnson thanked Carolyn for her years of service.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.
County Attorney Rob Morton thanked Kim for her work in Magistrate and thanked Carolyn for her years of service.
He said that we have received a court order on the opiod case. We have until February 15 to respond to a questionnaire about the impact of opiods in our county.
He clarified about Board of Registration. That document says that the General Assembly may approve. The folks at the state are putting the details together on this. How is the make up of the Board going to be put together? He said that there are partisan and non-partisan elections and that the county is trying to keep this as neutral as possible. The state will put this together.
[Note from the Editor: Per request of several readers, I have gathered some information about the Board of Elections. Thank you to County Attorney Rob Morton for answering my questions on this legislation and the by laws that seem to be different for every county. As I understand it, the county would need to obtain enabling legislation from the State of Georgia before the By laws would be written specifically for our county. Each county has discretion to write their own by laws, but as I understand it, there has been a push for the county commissioners to be able to appoint whoever serves on this board. There are less than 40 counties who operate as Pike County does with a Voter Registrar and Probate Judge working together on county elections. The following is more information about how this works with the state as well as a copy of current info for Upson County since they have a Board of Elections and Registration.]Click here to read Upson County's enabling legislation and by laws for their Board of Elections and Registration.
The Lamar County Board of Elections and Registration is set up differently than Upson County. According to their website, this board was established on January 1, 2008 and consists of a representative from the municipality of Barnesville, municipality of Milner, Democratic Party, Republican Party, and the County Commission.
[Note from the Editor: The more I look at this, the more I don't like this because it is going to cost money either way, and I haven't heard a good reason why we absolutely need to go to this process. And I kind of like having a representative from both the Republican and Democratic Party at the Courthouse on each election night to discuss questions on written ballots with the Probate Judge having the final say if they can't come to an agreement on any particular ballot. Maybe I'm missing something. Feel free to talk to me or send info to me on this.]
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-45 reads as follows: (from The Georgia General Assembly Website and click on Georgia Code on the left side of the page. This is the only way that the Official Code will work properly.)
§ 21-2-45. Authorization to create joint county-municipal boards of elections and boards of elections and registration; authorization for county to conduct elections
(a) The General Assembly may by local Act create a joint county-municipal board of elections in any county of this state for that county and any municipality located wholly or partially within that county and empower the board with the powers and duties of the election superintendent of that county and municipality with regard to the conduct of primaries and elections. Such board shall consist of not fewer than three members.
(b) The General Assembly may by local Act create a joint county-municipal board of elections and registration in any county of this state for that county and any municipality located wholly or partially within that county and empower the board with the powers and duties of the election superintendent of that county and municipality with regard to the conduct of primaries and elections and empower the board with the powers and duties of the registrars and board of registrars of that municipality and county with regard to the registration of voters and absentee-balloting procedures. Such board shall consist of not fewer than three members.
(c) The governing authority of any municipality may authorize any county within which that municipality wholly or partially lies to conduct any or all elections held pursuant to this chapter. In the event a municipality shall by ordinance authorize such county to conduct elections, such municipality may request such county to perform any or all of the functions:
(1) That the county shall perform all duties as superintendent of elections as specified under this chapter;
(2) That the county shall perform all duties as superintendent of elections as specified under this chapter, with the exception of the qualification of candidates; or
(3) That the county shall lease or loan any or all of its election equipment to the municipality for the purpose of conducting municipal elections without any responsibility on the part of the county for the actual conduct of the municipal election.
With reference to any election, such municipality shall pay such county all costs incurred in performing those functions which the municipality has requested the county to perform; and, unless otherwise authorized, such county shall only perform those functions specifically enumerated in the contract. Such county shall have authority to conduct elections in any and all counties in which any part of such municipality may lie. [End of 21-2-45]
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Approve/deny renewal of alcohol license (Retail Sales – beer) for Jack Park, Jr. d/b/a The Cedars Golf Course, 13080 Hwy. 18 W., Zebulon, GA. Applicant has met criteria.
Motion to approve. 5-0.
b. Consider request for tax refund for Amy Owens in the amount of $809.73
House burned down in March of 2018. This is for the remaining taxes for the year after it burned. Motion to approve. 5-0.
c. Approve/Deny regarding SUB-18-10 - George C. Norris, owner and Steve Reeves, applicant are requesting to present concurrent preliminary and final plats for a seven lot major subdivision. Applicant wishes to divide approximately 21 acres into a 7 lot major subdivision. Each lot will have 3 or more acres in total area. Three of the lots will be accessed via Cook Rd. Four of the lots will be accessed via US 19 S. To minimize the number of driveway cuts off of US 19, the four lots will be accessed via two common driveways. The remaining 20 acres will continue to exist as an estate lot. Property Location 67 Cook Rd. Zebulon, GA 30295. Land Lot 248. District 8. Parcel ID 070-024A & 070-024. Acreage 45.09. Commission District 2. Commissioner Tim Guy. FEMA Data property does not lie within a flood zone. Code Reference: CH 155 Subdivisions, CH 160 US 19/41 Overlay. [Note from the Editor: I like the extra info!]
Brad Vaughn advised that the DOT has approved the driveways and Todd Goolsby has approved the driveways on Cook Road. All 3 acres or above. The Planning Commission approved with stipulation of 1,800 square foot homes and no manufactured homes or trailers.
Motion to approve with staff recommendation. James Jenkins asked why we have preliminary and final plats together. He was told that Section 155 is set up that way. County Attorney Rob Morton said that the intent behind a preliminary plat possibly being amended as it goes to final plat approval. Nothing prohibits you from approving both at the same time though there will be no modifications to the final plat if the preliminary and final plat are approved at the same time. Rob advised that the Board can change policy if they want to. Sometimes lots sizes change. The simultaneous approval means that nothing can change from the beginning to the end. If there was a change, then it would have to go back as a revised plat and be reviewed by the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners again. Commissioner Tim Daniel asked if we can pick and choose? County Attorney Morton said that the code allows them to have discretion. In this case, the plat is going to be the same from beginning to end.
Motion to approve preliminary and final plays at the same time. Approved 5-0.
d. Appointment of the Vice Chairman for 2019.
Motion to appoint Tim Daniel. Approved 4-0-1 with Commissioner Daniel abstaining from the vote.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT - None
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None
13. ADJOURNMENT: 9:43 a.m.
Agenda subject to revision.
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