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Wednesday, November 11, 2015 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia
This meeting was attended by all five commissioners, County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye, County Manager (CM) John Hanson, and County Attorneys Rob and Tom Morton.
1. CALL TO ORDER....................................................................................Chairman J. Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION………………………………………………………………………….Frank Winfrey
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 October 27, 2015 Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUESTS
a. Employees to be recognized for their service to Pike County.
Tim Carney has been working for Pike County for 8 years and received his 5 year pin. Director of Public Works, Todd Goolsby praised Tim's work ethic. He said that there is nothing that Tim can’t do out there at Public Works and that his attendance record is “out of this world.”
Sandy Mitchell 16 years of service and received her 15 year award. CM Hanson said that she is the reason that Probate Court runs and that she is helpful to everyone who goes in that office. Briar said that Sandy keeps the county where it needs to be with financials and he appreciates her hard work. Rob said that she is usually the first one there and she goes over and above on her work. County Attorney Tom Morton said that she is a dedicated Pike Countian and does a lot of community service including serving on the Meansville City Council.
Timothy Holt, Christopher Laggis, Chad Morris, Willie McDowell, and David Neal will be recognized at a later date.
b. Tom Lacey to present the Farm City Proclamation to the Board.
Chairman Johnson read the proclamation aloud. Agriculture contributes more than $65 billion annually. 1 in 7 Georgians work in agriculture, forestry, or agriculture-related field. November 22-28, 2013 is declared Farm-City Week in Georgia. Chairman Johnson signed it immediately. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
c. Chris Cannon, Asst. Director of Tourism Product Development with Georgia Department of Economic Development to speak on economic impact of tourism for Pike County.
Chris Cannon and Holly Winner attended our meeting. Chris Curry and the Pike Tourism Committee asked him to be here today. Chris Cannon advised that the state of Georgia has a major tourism industry that is developed and that tourism and agriculture touch every county in this state. They try to share the tourism, etc. from Atlanta throughout the state. It is a $53 million industry right behind agriculture. It offsets taxes when tourists come into the state. $2.8 million was offset last year. We are 7th in the nation when it comes to tourism. Pike County is in Presidential Pathways.
He advised that communities can request help to come in and look at the community so they can evaluate needs and potential in our county. A 150 page document is the result of this evaluation. Lodging and food for the team is all that they ask for. A request has to come from a county commission, etc. Economic impact measured through sales tax data and demographics of the county is compared. In 2013 because of tourism, there were 70 jobs (the equivalent of 4 fulltime jobs) and $6.2 million dollars were brought into our community. Pike has had a steady increase in tourism expenditures since 2009. They examine 10 year progressions as well. In an examination of 2003 to 2013, Pike County was stagnant in the first 5 years, but investment in our community through downtown development and several events began after that. Chris said that there are two bed and breakfasts in the county and there is a likelihood that restaurants would like to help out with this as well.
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 ............................................................................................ $1,039,571.39
Fire Dept. Donations........................................................................................ $3,821.40
Cash Reserve Account................................................................................. $589,484.84
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $25,193.59
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $69,022.28
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $35,088.41
Juvenile Court Fund....................................................................................... $15,751.18
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $305,358.93
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $13,992.16
C.A.I.P FUND................................................................................................. $1,895.63
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011...................... $525,547.34
L.M.I. Grant (DOT)..................................................................................... $122,660.51
c. County Manager Comment
[Note from the Editor: I obtained John’s notes to the commissioners so some of the following info was not stated explicitly in the meeting, but readers have as much info as I have.]
The county is working with the cities to get ready for the proposed 2016 SPLOST. [Note from the Editor: Click here to read about the proposed 2016 SPLOST that will be voted on by the people of our county in March of 2016. It will begin when the 2011 SPLOST ends. This article includes links to what was done with the 2011 SPLOST tax dollars.] CM Hanson advised that the SPLOST is up $10,000 this month compared to last year showing the efforts of getting people to buy local and people buying as they come through the county as well.
Public Works has been working hard because of the rain. Mowing, delivering gravel, filling potholes, etc. are all being done around the recent rains as well as working to get closed roads back in shape for travel. Molena has applied for and received LMIG funds for a project that the county will provide assistance with. After it dries out, the shoulders will be dressed on McKinley Road and the county will get striping done for several roads at one time.
Williamson-Zebulon Road project began again today. They only need a couple more days to finish the paving out there. In his report, CM Hanson praised Blount Construction for their work on the project despite the rain over the past two weeks as well as the way that they have worked with citizens that needed assistance with the residue on their vehicles from the paving project.
Region 4 meeting was held last week. ACCG did a good job with this. They got some relevant info from legislators at this meeting that was passed on to commissioners in their packets. (He also advised in the report that the General Assembly changed the use of county issued purchasing cards and credit cards by county elected officials and advised that he and the county attorneys are reviewing proposed policy that will come before them prior to the beginning of the new year.)
David Allen has been working on several issues as well.
Commissioner Jenkins asked about the consolidation of our phones lines. CM Hanson, we are still in discussion with Charter about the county. Their costs may be initially slightly cheaper, but we need to do some more research on this because of the cost of changing things. There are a couple of other companies that may be able to do the same thing too; however, there will be a cost to change over. John said that if we are going to ditch AT&T, they need to be gone totally. It needs to be a good overall process if we go with them and we need a firm overall figure. He said that the contract move that we made 2 years ago with AT&T is saving us money, but it’s still not where we want it.
d. Commissioner Reports
District 1 Daniel said that he has had a lot of road calls. There have been some calls from the past meeting. Thanked Chris Curry and the Tourism Committee.
District 2 Guy said that he has spoken to John on some road issues and appreciates Public Works’ hard work.
District 3 Powers said that he has had a lot of road calls.
Briar Johnson complimented American Legion Pike Post 197 for the program on Saturday. The American Legion wanted to thank the Board of Commissioners for signing the proclamation. He said that the room was full, and that this ceremony meant a lot to the families. He said that there is also a Veterans Day program on the Square at 11 a.m.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.
County Attorneys reported that all of the cities approved the resolution to enter into the intergovernmental agreement to be a part of the 2016 SPLOST. We are working to get this ready for a vote in March. This is a roads project first and foremost.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Consider request from Pike County Arts Council Jr. Players to use the courthouse grounds on Sunday, December 13, 2015 from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. for the Pike County Youth Christmas Parade.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
b. Approve/deny renewal of Alcohol License (Pouring-beer, wine and distilled spirits) for Ron Alexander, d/b/a Barnstormer’s Grill, 349 Jonathan’s Roost Rd., Williamson, GA. Applicant has met criteria.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
c. Approve/deny cancelling the Tuesday, December 29, 2015 Pike County Board of Commissioners Regular Monthly Meeting.
This is a normal occurrence. Motion to cancel this meeting. Approved 5-0.
d. Approve/deny designation of Tanya M. Perkins as the Pike County Animal Control Officer, Per Code Section 91.05, to replace David Allen at the same position.
Tanya has been with the county for 3 months now. She has been very thorough and has dealt well with citizens that have come in. He trusts her judgment with these cases, she has completed some training, and she will continue with her training. He encouraged commissioners to replace him with someone that he trusts in this position. He will still be her supervisor and will help out when needed, but he needs to step out of this position in order to do his work in Planning and Development. Motion to appoint Tanya Perkins as our Animal Control Officer. Approved 5-0.
e. Consideration of refund for a building permit in the amount of $350 for Tamera Rivers of Blount Road.
Planning and Development Director David Allen advised that she asked for to waive the Impact Fee several months ago and the county approved it. David said that when he spoke to her of late, she said that the house moving deal fell through. No work has been performed by the county. Motion to give her money back to her. Approved 5-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person) - None
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None
12. ADJOURNMENT: 9:43 a.m.
Agenda subject to revision.
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