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Wednesday, March 13, 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. 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
Commissioners James Jenkins, Tommy Powers, Tim Guy, and Tim Daniel were present along with Chairman Briar Johnson, County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye, County Manager (CM) Bobby Bickley, and County Attorney Rob 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 February 26, 2019 Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUESTS
a. BJ Lawrence, Board member of Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to talk to the Board about a survey regarding individuals in Georgia with mental illnesses, substance use disorders and intellectual/developmental disabilities.
Statewide survey for the state of Georgia and they are asking everyone to participate. Short, anonymous survey that will be used to improve disability services. (Only 14 questions.) April 15 is the closing date with a June follow-up. This is for anyone to fill out with no prerequisites. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/georgianeeds
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 ........................................................................................ …$3,633,168.04
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $5,935.96
BOC – Jury Account………………………………………………………………$0.00
Cash Reserve Account ........................................................................ ….....$107,331.82
Pike County CD Special Revenue funds………………………………………….$0.00
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $34,046.49
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................. $147,864.72
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $45,554.94
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $11,152.30
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $595,580.14
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $44,008.15
C.A.I.P FUND ............................................................................................. $197,713.70
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2016 .................... ..$782,009.57
L.M.IG. Grant (DOT)……………………………………………………......$1,399.95
c. County Manager Comment
Our April 30 meeting is after our training in Savannah. We can work to be back in town or we can postpone it if needed. There should be a quorum. Consensus that the meeting will remain as scheduled.
Janice and Bobby have been working on the budget process this week as well as finishing up the 2017-2018 audit.
Roads crews are working hard putting in driveways. They are also working on patching on our roads. Said he appreciates their time and hard work.
From the County Manager Report: (Much of this is simply cut and pasted from the email that is sent to commissioners each week.)
Community Development Block Grant- The notice for the Public Hearing to be held at our meeting on Wednesday has already ran in the paper. All we are waiting on is the public hearing and for the completion of the 2017-2018 Audit Report to be completed and uploaded to Carl Vinson.
Janis and I have been in contact with Clifton, Lipford, Hardison & Parker on several occations this week. They have been trying to wrap up our 2017-2018 county audit. Because of the turnover in the administrative offices over the last 6-8 months, it has been difficult to put all the pieces together. We are very close and hopully we will have a completed audit within the next two weeks.
Facility Dude/Dude Solutions- This is Job/work order tracking system that several of the surrounding counties are using. This program is a great resource that has the ability to really reduce the amount of paper work and calling that is involved with placing and tracking work orders county wide. I have a web meeting set up with the company on Wednesday March 13th at 1:00. If you are free, please plan to stop by to review this system. I think you will find that it could be a very valuable resource for everyone. In the meantime you can visit www.dudesolutions.com to learn more.
Last week, I received a call from Sheriff Thomas about some miscommunications between Grady and Dispatch. Grady was not communicating properly with dispatch as to the their status while on a call. This was creating issues where Dispatch thought that Grady was still out on a call and would call for mutual aid. However, Grady would in fact be back in the county an available. Wendy was able to reach out to the local Grady supervisor and I reached out to Paul Beamon. Since our contact, Wendy says that communication has gotten alot better. Hopefully that issue has been rectified.
Me, Janis, and Jennifer met with Holly Caston by phone on Thursday. Holly works for Harris Local Government (Smart Fusion). They have a program that provides a cloud based time clock service that we have been inquiring about. As all of you know, Janis and Jennifer along with all the department heads are doing payroll manually. This new system will drastically cut down on the time spent calculating payroll as well as cut down on any errors. The current process is very time consuming and usually takes at least 2 days to complete. You can take a look at time clock plus here: https://www.timeclockplus.com/. We have been given a questionaire to help narrow down our needs. Once that is completed and submitted, we will have a clearer picture of the cost. I will keep you informed.
Attached is a letter from BB&T announcing their equal merger with SunTrust.
We have received a total of 13 applications for the Clerk position. You all received 10 of them at the last meeting. If you havent already, please remember to pick up the other 3 applications which are in your box here at the office. If you have already picked up the applications from last week, you now have one more application ready for pick-up and review.
Concord Fire Department - Gail is working on getting estimates to move forward with the Concord Fire Department. As it stands right now, the location of the Fire department will remain within the city limits of Concord.
Storage Facility - All we are waiting on is the shelving.
Aside from what is on the agenda in NovusAgenda for discussion next week, this is all that I have to report. If you have any question please feel free to give me a call.
Meetings attended this week
1. Alex Cerra with Dude Solutions
2. Larry Mitcham with City of Zebulon
3. IDA Meeting
4. Call with Mark Hardison
5. Bill Twomey with ACCG
6. Holly Caston with TimeClock Plus
7. Pike County Hazard Mitigation meeting
Road Department
- Woodcreek Rd - After fielding a call on Woodcreek Rd, Todd and his crew had to shut the road down temorarilly to replace a crossdrain that was stopped up. This issue also resulted in the replacement of a driveway and driveway culvert. The issue has been corrected by todd and his crew.
- West Rd- Cross drain replacement
- Motes Drive - At the intersection of Motes and Powder Creek there was an issue where the busses had been making a turn-a-round. This created muddy mess with potholes. Todd and his crew were able to get out there this week to fix the issues.
- Society Street in Concord- Small resurfacing job to be completed in the next week.
Economic Development
Project Wheelie - Ginny spoke with them after the IDA meeting on Wednesday to let them know the result of executive session. They were looking at an existing building (outside of Pike County) yesterday and then planned to review their options and let Ginny know if they thought they were going to be able to move forward with us in the negotiations process. She am waiting to hear from them, the owner is currently overseas at the manufacturing plant so it may be some time before we hear anything back.
Industrial Corridor Gas - the IDA agreed to move forward with the project at their meeting on Wednesday. Ginny has engaged AGL to get the formal pricing and a project timeline composed. Our representative is transitioning out of the company so I'm sure we can expect additional delays at this point, but this gives us time to solicit that second opinion and verification of what we have been presented with.
Upson Kiwanis VA Update - Ginny attended with Kyle Fletcher, Upson IDA Director, in order to make sure we hadn't missed any news or updates. Nothing new was learned from the meeting, the field representative from Congressman Ferguson's office was just visiting, introducing himself, and sharing brief updates about projects in the area.
Business Retention and Expansion Training - Ginny attended this training in Athens this week. She came back with several takeaways to begin working on immediately, and will start to implement some of that as soon as she can get it all put together and sent out to the businesses.
Planning and Development
February Report
Permits: 30
Permits fees: $10,436.15
Residential Impact Fees: $14,424.90
Commercial Impact Fees: *Permit number 2019-02-044 is for a commercial hangar located at Peach State Airpark. The owner has asked to use impact fee credits in the amount of $3,696.91 to cover the impact fees generated by this
permit.
Plats Recorded: 7
Fees Collected: $400.00
Business Licenses: 43
Fees Collected: $4,441.70
The Planning Commission approved two overlay applications. One for T&T Landscaping on US 19 and one for Ellis Cycle on US 41.
The Board of Appeals heard 3 out of 4 applications. Two special exceptions were recommended to the BOC for approval and one variance was approved. SE-19-01 was recommended for approval for Ellis Cycle to have an automotive (motorcycle) repair facility within the overlay. It was subsequently approved by the BOC. And SE-19-02 was the Highland Ranch situation about keeping animals in a subdivision; it was also subsequently approved by the BOC. There was one variance application that was postponed to the March meeting due to the absence of the applicant/owner. The owner/applicant has been contacted via mail and their presence is requested at the March BOA meeting.
The Boundary Annexation Survey (BAS) was submitted in accordance with the US Census Bureau guidelines.
Kevin’s truck has still had issues. We have replaced more coil packs as they have gone bad. And his seat belt broke. Todd’s crew at Public Works has gotten him back up and running, and hopefully the additional expenses will keep the vehicle in operation for years to come. However, I want to explore options when we sit down and discuss the budget for looking at cutting our losses and looking for a new (to the department) truck in the next few years.
Code enforcement has been able to respond nearly same day to potential violations. Several cases of Chapter 51 waste management violations have been handled without the issuance of citations. We have two open cases with the GA Dept. of Agriculture regarding animals that we have coordinated with Tanya on. Other cases are still pending and Dewey has been on point.
Kevin completed his OSHA 30 Outreach Training—Construction certification. With this certification he has enhanced his knowledge base and credentials as building inspector extraordinaire and plenipotentiary. This is the course that he elected to take on his own and paid for out of his own pocket. I would also like to note, Kevin did this out of his love for Pike County in anticipation of the VA and other large projects that we will need his expertise on. [Note from the Editor: Thank you, Kevin!!]
I would like to recognize Pam Thompson and Anita Horton from the Superior Clerk of Court’s office. Pam has greatly increased communication with this office and given Sherlonda access to their online recording site so that we may efficiently serve our citizens when the time comes to record plats. Anita has completed an “audit”, if you will, of 212 recorded surveys from the last time the county updated the official zoning map. Gregg Hobbs and his staff continue to work on the records from the Tax Assessor’s office of the 660+ differences we discovered from the old GIS data and what they had on record. Once all this data has been compiled, we will be able to get it to Paragon to have a correct map to submit to the BOC for final approval of an official zoning map of Pike County.
The ISO map has been completed by Paragon and we are waiting on final delivery of the necessary hard copies that Chief O’Barr will need to complete his report to the appropriate agencies.
The annual ACA report has been submitted to the US Department of Commerce as another requirement for the upcoming 2020 Census. This is a very basic and rudimentary tracking of new home building permits. It takes 9 minutes to complete each monthly update and 23 minutes to complete the annual update. I have elected to submit our reports annually for efficiency purposes. Pike County had exactly 130 new home building permits for the 2018 calendar year and the average estimated cost of each new home was just shy of $200,000 (based on permitting data; actual taxable value will be determined by the Tax Assessor’s office).
d. Commissioner Reports
Commissioner James Jenkins said thank you to Public Works Director Todd Goolsby for work on Blanton Mill and Watering Hole Pole Pass. He said that it is being noticed. Todd said that is county is preparing for resurfacing in that area.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.
None
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input in regards to the development of the application of the CDBG grant project. Action: Discuss/Approve/Deny
Carol Southard of Carol's Consulting in Americus has been working to get this together to submit to the state. The grant writer talked to the commissioners today. We are going for a million dollars. $1.27 million for the entire grant. This will cover street paving and other improvements in the Hilltop area. Mr. Parks has been so much help to her on this. The state wants to see phases so she has done this to meet state requirements.
Mayor George Ingram asked if the City of Molena could be a part of this. The cities are stand alone and each one is a separate entity that could ask for $750,000 to a million dollars. This is an every other year grant.
b. Approve/deny Resolution of Pike County Community Development Block Grant Program.
In favor: Mayor (of Molena) George Ingram said that he is in favor of this and asked how the City of Molena can help with this. He will get with CM Bickley after the meeting about this.
Carol was commended for her hard work as well as Joe Parks.
County Attorney Rob Morton said that the county can clarify that the current application is from last spring that is ongoing. This is for the City of Concord only. The City of Molena could do this on their own. Mayor Ingram thought that the cities could join together on this. He wants to work with the other cities and the county as a group to work with a common goal in the spirit of cooperation. Bobby said that the Service Delivery Strategy will allow this in the future.
Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
c. Approve/deny 2017/2018 Budget Amendments Resolution and to authorize the Chairman to sign.
This is common practice to close out the budget before the end of the year in preparation to allow the auditors to finish the audit. Motion to approve. Discussion that there is good explanation on this. For example, this includes the entire amount for the $1.2 million for 5 years of leasing equipment for Public Works because it is recognized in this year. These are transactions that have already occurred. Bobby was commended for his explanations on this. Approved 5-0.
d. Approve/deny letter of support for the City of Zebulon to redevelop the Old Zebulon School to house a boutique hotel and a restaurant/event facility.
County Attorney Rob Morton said that they are working on funding opportunities on a state level and this letter of support is needed for the project. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT - None
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION
a. County Manager requests Executive Session for discussion or deliberation on the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a county officer or employee as provided in O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(6) germane to personnel in the Administration Office.
Executive Session. 9:29 a.m.
Back into session at 9:51 a.m.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn. 9:51 a.m.
Agenda subject to revision.
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