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.
If you enjoy reading Pike County Times, consider buying an advertisement for your business or sending a donation to support the only free online newspaper in Pike County. Donations can be sent to: The Pike County Times, PO Box 843, Zebulon, Georgia 30295. Click here to donate through PayPal. Thanks for supporting Pike County Times.com!
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia
All five commissioners are present along with County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye, County Manager John Hanson, and County Attorney Rob 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))
CM Hanson asked to add a New Business Item to approve or deny the payment from Contingency for replacement of the heating and air units at the Library and Health Department. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))
a. Minutes of the May 31, 2016 Special Call Meeting.
b. Minutes of the May 31, 2016 Regular Monthly Meeting.
Both were approved.
6. INVITED GUEST
a. Fire Chief Rick O’Barr to discuss the ISO rating.
Probably 95% of the homeowners, business and industry should see a reduction in their rates with this change to the ISO rating. He also said that we can improve because he has a book that gives us something to work from as well as an idea of where to put more stations in order to cover those who are classified at a 10. He said that the department has come a long way and that our volunteers do a great job.
We are working on recruiting new volunteers especially since many work during the day. Some of the upgrades won’t cost a dime. Some things will cost a lot of money. But as we grow, we will continue to discuss what we will have to do as a county. CM Hanson commended him and the department and asked him to talk about updating at the consoles at 911 helped with this and some change could help a lot with public safety.
The consoles at 911 are old and updated. We don’t have radio coverage to talk to people all over the state. He looked into a grant last year and was given a quote from Motorola for $2.5 million just for radios for the trucks and that isn’t doable. But if the equipment we have goes down, we won’t be able to get parts for it and we are having problems with the radio consoles already. The Sheriff’s Office is in the same boat as the Fire Department if the equipment goes down.
A County Fire Marshal has been appointed. Patrick Kelly is a captain at Station 2 in Hollonville. He has completed his training and is in the process of taking classes to become an arson investigator. He will have to be mandated by POST at some point. He emphasized that this training was free of charge to the county.
The Fire Department is also in the process of drafting some ordinances for the cities and the county so everyone will be on the same page. He said that sprinklers save lives and help cut down on insurance rates. We have a 5,000 square foot breaking point for sprinklers in businesses. The state requires it at 12,000. CM Hanson said that any further changes to SOP (standard operating procedure) will come before the commissioners for approval.
He closed by saying that we have three fire training people now and that ISO will be back in 4 years. If we can show progress in 4 years when they come back, we may drop some more. We scored 50.95 and scored a 5. Barely. If we score a 60, we can go down to a 4. Click here to read more about this ISO ratings change and what it will mean to people in our county. You can also download a copy of the ISO letter to send to your insurance company.
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.
Commissioner James Jenkins pointed out that we are missing TAVT by a country mile. CM Hanson said that the true up will offset that some and we really won’t know until the end of July how short we will be yet. He pointed out that this is affecting smaller counties throughout the state and will have to be dealt with on a state level. We won’t close out the books until August. Further discussion on specific numbers and he made a request for a more detailed report so they will know approximately how much we may be short for the year. Building permits and timber tax are up this year. [Note from the Editor: TAVT is when the state changed how we pay taxes on our vehicles every year. It's been in place since 2013 and it was predicted from the beginning that counties like ours would get the short end of the stick. Click here to read more about it.] It was noted that the Board of Education paid for their Special Election in November and not the county. Commissioner Jenkins also asked about $141,000 in revenue and was advised that this came from where Caterpillar paid the county back for what was owed on the dump trucks. This is basically a wash because we got new ones that are working well instead. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
b. County Manager Report
Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ............................................................................................ $1,584,452.73
Fire Dept. Donations ........................................................................................ $3,944.05
BOC – Jury Account………………………………………………………………$0.00
Cash Reserve Account ..................................................................................... $3,645.93
Pike County CD Special Revenue funds………………………………...$1,000,000.00
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $22,611.26
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $79,081.68
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $38,178.27
Juvenile Court Fund ....................................................................................... $14,235.83
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $350,842.96
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $19,356.99
C.A.I.P FUND ............................................................................................... $22,373.88
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011 ...................... $609,070.49
L.M.I. Grant (DOT) ..................................................................................... $404,286.63
c. County Manager Comment
CM Hanson said that RFP’s went out on financing our bond. Look for sealed bids on the 16th. We may have a Special Called Meeting so we can review and get this done as soon as possible. The company is ready to go and excited about working here in Pike County. The dump trucks have been bought back by Caterpillar. Thanks to them for making a bad situation into a good one.
He wants to continue the contract with Grady on the Molena Station and get the one on Hollonville rolling. They are going to pay utilities plus a monthly fee. This will bring $7,000 back into the county's coffers. He gave a shout out to Grady as well. They have a volunteer fireman who works out the station and he has permission to take the fire truck and the ambulance follow him to a fire call. He commended Grady for doing that. There will be coverage in Hollonville 24 hours a day because of it and this is an added advantage to us.
He also complimented the Board for work done on the budget.
d. Commissioner Reports
District 1 Daniel said that the boom was heard by a lot of people in the county on Saturday evening and asked the County Attorney to clarify on this. There is not a state law that prevents that use and we do not have a noise ordinance though there are some state laws that can address this. This requires a measuring device and someone to be able to use it. There are individual rights that can be addressed but that does not require the county to be a part of this. This involves folks suing other folks. When you cause damage to someone’s property then law enforcement can help address this. If there is criminal damage to property, they can file a lawsuit. Like a car accident. The county isn’t involved in that. People do that themselves. Click here to read about the "Tannerite Incident" and how it has been resolved.
Chairman Johnson attended an ACCG meeting and shared that info with the Board. He asked about the Macon-LaGrange Highway. As of now, that is on the schedule for 2031 to 2040 so it’s been moved back. When the Port of Savannah dredging is done, this might be stepped up, but it’s on the back burner for now. Hwy 74 in Thomaston.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.
County Attorney Rob Morton said that they are working with the County Manager on Animal Control and Right of Way in the county. He advised that at least 7 cases are going to hearing next week and 2 status reviews. Planning and Development Director David Allen and Animal Control Officer Tanya Perkins are staying busy with ordinance violations.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Request for road closure of Flat Shoals Rd by Stalwart Films, LLC.
The location manager for The Walking Dead spoke to commissioners. Mike Riley said that the shoot will begin on July 6 and wraps on July 11. (They will need time then to break down the set.) [Note from the Editor: The official minutes say that the bridge will be closed from July 6 – July 13, 2016.] They are looking for a bridge that they can create a set on and the Flat Shoals Bridge fits their needs. They need to close the bridge for this. He will be going back to Meriwether County to ask them the same thing after this meeting. The issue that is going to crop up is that it will be closed for approximately a week. Close around the 6th of July and finish up on that Monday. They do not work weekends.
He’s been in contact with people at the Shoals. There is a gentleman that commutes to Atlanta every day and they are working on his 7 ½ mile reroute as well as drive through Woodbury to go south and an alternate route through Hollonville to go north for everyone else. This will be an inconvenience for approximately a week. Some have said that they have no problem with this. He said that if this is approved, they will get message boards out immediately to let people know and will work with law enforcement from both sides of the bridge.
CM Hanson said that Mr. Barrett (the gentleman who is commuting 71 miles a day to Atlanta every day) has contacted the county and said that it will be a real inconvenience for him. He isn’t in favor of the bridge being closed for week because of it.
Discussion: How will traffic on the river be addressed? They filmed on the river last season and the fact that they will be above the river on this will probably make this not much of an issue. What about the access there? When they are not filming there, it won’t be a problem. As long as people don’t try to get on the bridge, there shouldn’t be a problem with their security. They may be more stringent on the days that they film, but the rest of the time, it shouldn’t be a problem. The two main days are Friday the 8th and Monday the 11th right now. Cast availability is pushing this schedule. Chairman Johnson said that there is a lot of activity on the weekends. A short discussion of safety vehicles but this is on the county line between Pike and Meriwether. He discussed doing something for the community to offset the inconvenience for this bridge closure. Improvements/beautification to that area was discussed. Off duty officers will be paid to be on the set. Mr. Riley said that he is trying to be very responsive to the people. Those who live there will also receive a letter about this. There is about 20 or so commuter cars that come through there each day but not a lot of traffic otherwise. And they will try to work with people who live around there. A suggestion was made to talk to utilities in that area.
Motion to approve based on info provided today and would like for them to stay in contact with the gentleman who is being directly inconvenienced and work something out with him. A second was given with a stipulation that they get back with the county manager about the beautification for that area. Commissioner Guy amended his motion to accept Commissioner Powers’ friendly amendment. Approved 5-0.
b. Request from Kevin Teate to close Twin Oaks Road from the intersection at County Farm Road to just beyond the Soccer Complex entrance for the Pride of Pike Independence Day Celebration on Saturday, July 2, 2016 between the hours of 2:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.
Motion to approve. Discussion: The expenses incurred are coming out of their budget. Commissioner Jenkins asked about the total cost and the return on it. $18,000 is expected and they expect it to cover it with revenues and sponsorships and $5 per car admission. We won’t know until the event occurs. Approved 5-0.
c. Approve/deny the FY 2017 contract for public transportation with Three Rivers and Department of Transportation.
This is the standard contract. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
d. Approve/deny to pay for the replacement of HVAC for the Library and Health Department out of Contingency.
We have been replacing old units but the Library unit going out was unexpected. Bids went out on this and recommended to use the lowest bidder on both. Library - $10,748. Health Department - $2,185. Total - $12,933. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person) None
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None
12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn. 9:58 a.m.
[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.]