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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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.

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Forgive the slant but this gives an idea of the new layout.
 
REGULAR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONTHLY MEETING
Tuesday, November 29, 2016 – 6:30 p.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia

[Note from the Editor: The change of location the main Courtroom will be explained by reading the November morning BOC meeting notes located at pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BOC11.9.16.html. There was a PA system in place to make sure that the public could hear everyone during this meeting. I'm still adjusting to change so I'll reserve comments for a while longer on this because there are days that we need more room, but I have to find a good place that is "mine" in that courtroom and I can hear well without distracting people with the echo of my typing. (Not that you could get away from my typing in a regular meeting, but some places echo more than others! LOL)

UPDATED 12.13.16: Changes are ongoing at the Board of Commissioner's Office to accommodate the new offices there. Moving the Voter Registrar may even take place as soon as Friday. You won't recognize the old BOC meeting room when you see it! And I was advised that there will be signage on the side of the building to help direct the public to the new office locations.]

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

All five commissioners, County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye, County Manager (CM) 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))

Two changes per the County Manager: add new business re: selling chairs in the Commissioner's Meeting Room and discussion of Recreation Trails Grant Resolution.

5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))

a. Minutes of the November 9, 2016 Regular Monthly Meeting.

6. INVITED GUESTS - None

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 December Revenue/Expenditure Statement and Detail Check Register is included.

b. County Manager Report

▫ Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ............................................................................................ $1,193,834.70
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $4,595.06
BOC – Jury Account ............................................................................................... $0.00
Cash Reserve Account ................................................................................. $506,070.92
Pike County CD Special Revenue Funds………………………………...............$0.00
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $16,266.62
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $30,260.15
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $38,449.30
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $14,614.47
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $346,220.91
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $19,361.84
C.A.I.P FUND ................................................................................................. $3,009.53
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2016 ...................... $279,543.49
L.M.I. Grant (DOT) ......................................................................................... $6,007.06

c. County Manager Comments.

The old meeting room is under renovation and will probably be done next week. This will give us more space, and he appreciates the commissioners making this happen. This is the order of remodeling for the county. First, the previous BOC meeting room will be revamped for the Voter Registrar’s Office. Magistrate will move into the Voter Registrar's Office and the Tax Commissioner’s Office will move into the existing Commissioner's Office. (This will be the main part of the County Commissioner's Office.) Planning and Development will also move into the Commissioner's Office. (This will be the section that now houses the County Manager's Office.) Then the Commission Office will move to the former Magistrate Office and the District Attorney's Office will move into the current Tax Commissioner's Office. This will be between now and February. This will make it much more convenient to the public and all of the court issues will then be able to be addressed in the courthouse. He thanked the Board for their support on this.

d. Commissioner Reports.

No reports other than Chairman Johnson who thanked John and his staff for the time and work done to prepare for these moves.

e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.

None.

8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a. Approve/deny SE-16-12 Timothy W. and Sharon Manley, property owners, and Jeremiah Manley, applicant, are requesting a special exception in an A-R zoned district to allow for a domestic winery on the subject property. The subject property, located at 395 East Milner Road, has approximately 465 feet of frontage along the northern side of East Milner Road and approximately 298 feet of frontage along the western side of Nazareth Church Road. The property is located in Land Lot 158 of the 8th District of Pike County, Georgia. The property consists of 10.09 acres and is further identified as Tax Map Parcel #079 041.

Planning and Development Director David Allen advised that this was discussed on October 25. More info was requested including property values and the possibility of smell from the compost. He found that this is actually in Tim Daniel’s district rather than Tommy Power’s. Director Allen and CM Hanson went to a similar sized winery in Warm Springs last week. No smell whatsoever around the parking and building and not much of a smell inside either. It has a little tasting area with a very compact area including the fermentation inside the building. David said that he is satisfied that this is “not going to be that big of a deal.” There are federal and state guidelines to be followed as well as the county guidelines.

Commissioner Daniel said that this is truly a farm winery and there is a difference between that and a major outfit. This is agritourism and we support that at other farms. Motion to approve with the conditions listed. Approved 4-0-1 with Guy abstaining.

Conditions listed from the BOC Post Agenda:

1. Adequate off-street parking shall be provided for the general public on the subject property. No parking associated with the winery shall occur on the road shoulders or right-of-way.

2. Hours of operation for the winery and tasting room in regards to the general public shall be weekdays 1 pm to 7 pm, Saturdays 12 pm to 8 pm and Sundays 2pm to 6 pm.

3. An annual County business license shall be required.

4. Approval of this request is for the activities associated with a farm winery and wine tasting room only. It does connote approval for other types of special event hosting on the property. Changes in or additions to the scope of this request shall require another special exception application and approval.

5. The winery shall meet all State requirements for a “farm winery”.

6. There shall be no commercial access (deliveries, customers, etc.) to the subject property via Nazareth Church Road.

7. The winery tasting room shall meet all Pike County and ADA parking requirements.

b. Approve/deny 2nd reading of the text amendment to amend the Personnel Policy in regards to the new Exemption Law.

CM Hanson said that this has been postponed from becoming law and he asked that we postpone this until we have further information. Approved 5-0.

9. NEW BUSINESS

a. Consider one appointment to the Three Rivers Regional Commission Board to fill a one-year term, set to expire December 31, 2017. Applicants have met criteria.

Fred Roney and Patricia Morrison. Fred Roney has been on this board for a long time and is recommended by CM Hanson and Three Rivers to remain on this board. Motion to reappoint Fred Roney. Approved 5-0.

b. Consider two appointments to the Two Rivers R C & D Council as Pike County representatives for Executive Board Member and alternate to fill a one-year term, set to expire December 31, 2017. Applicants have met criteria.

Tom Lacey and George Norrison. Both have served and are recommended for reappointment. Motion to approve them both. Approved 5-0.

c. Consider one appointment to the Pike County Water & Sewer Authority to fill a five-year term, set to expire December 31, 2021. Applicant has met criteria

Tommy Powers. Tommy Powers has been serving on this board and was recommended for reappointment. Motion to approve. 4-0-1 with Powers abstaining.

d. Consider one appoint to Pike County Department of Family & Children Services Board to fill a five-year term, set to expire June 30, 2021. Applicant has met criteria.

Mark Harris. He was recommended for approval. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

e. Approve/deny Proclamation for Pike County Military “Killed in Action” Recognition Day, presented by Pike County American Legion, Post 197.

10 a.m. Saturday morning in the School Annex. [Note from the Editor: Click here to read about this event. I did not attend the event, but these shadow boxes of honor for each of our soldiers are open for public view when the building is open.] Motion to approve. Approve 5-0.

f. Discuss/approve/deny 2017 LMIG Project.

We have been working on a roads program for three years. This is a continuation of the program. East Milner Road beginning at Highway 18 and ending at the Lamar County Line. Howell Road beginning at Cook Road and ending at Old Zebulon Road. Chapel Hill Road beginning at Spalding County Line and ending at Patton Road. Wilder Road beginning at Highway 19 and ending at Shackleford Road. This follows a plan that is already in place for resurfacing. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

g. Approve/deny to sell chairs in former Commissioner’s Meeting Room on GovDeals.com.

The wooden chairs in the old meeting room need to be sold because they are bulky and take up a lot of room. There are 40 or 50 chairs to be sold. Discussion: There is no other department that needs them and no place for storage. Motion to put these surplus chairs on govdeals.com. Approved 5-0.

h. Approve/deny the Resolution for Recreational Trails Grant.

Authorizing this through the Department of Natural Resources. Our Comprehensive Plan calls for additional trails for the public. This does not approve any particular project but only allows application for the grant. If we are awarded the grant, the Board will discuss specifics. This is a matching grant up to $100,000. This would be for a $140,000 grant and our portion would be met with in-kind and not actual money. This would be in next year’s budget if we are approved. Motion to allow the county apply for this grant. Approved 5-0.

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

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION

12. ADJOURNMENT

Motion to adjourn: 6:57 p.m.

Agenda is 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.]

Updated 12.13.16
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