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Wednesday, July 8, 2015 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia
All five of our commissioners attended this meeting. County Manager John Hanson was not in attendance at this meeting because he was in training.
The pictures above show our employees who have given so much to our county and are truly appreciated for their dedication. Chairman Briar Johnson is also pictured reading the plaque in honor of Edd Sanders to Edd's Mom. And the final picture is one that I took of Edd when he was delivering items to tornado victims in 2011. Edd had so much heart, and he touched a lot of lives around him.
1. CALL TO ORDER....................................................................................Chairman J. Briar Johnson
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 June 30, 2015 Regular Monthly Meeting.
6. INVITED GUESTS
a. Employees to be recognized for their service to Pike County: Marcia Callaway-Ingram, Geoffrey Zimbelman, Jr., Billy Dewayne Cook, Stephanie D. Long, Derek J. Rowan, and Kyle E. Gooden.
Marcia Callaway-Ingram was recognized for 5 years of service to Pike County in the Pike County Magistrate Court.
Geoffrey Zimbelman, Jr. was recognized for 5 years of service to the county. Sheriff Thomas praised him working on the roads as well with our kids as a school resource officer.
Billy Dewayne Cook was recognized for 6 years of service to the county. He started out mowing the right of ways and has been in the shop for 2 years and can do pretty much anything that is needed. Public Works Director Todd Goolsby praised his dedication.
Stephanie D. Long will be honored at a later meeting.
Derek Rowan was recognized for 10 years of service to the county. The Sheriff praised him for his work in the Civil Division including transports and working with the public. The Sheriff praised everyone getting recognition from the county and said that these workers are the backbone of our county government.
Kyle Gooden was recognized for 13 years to the county. David Allen praised his work on tax map parceling and work with the Q Public website and the Tax Assessors Office. He does all of the work with our maps including the ISO maps for Chief O’Barr.
b. Recognize Forrest Edd Sanders for his service to Pike County DFCS and the community.
Chairman Briar Johnson honored the service of Forrest “Edd” Sanders to DFCS and our community by presenting Edd’s mother, Peggy Sanders, with a plaque in Edd’s memory on the behalf of the Pike County Board of Commissioners. Several people were in attendance to speak in honor Edd.
Chaplain Don Bowen was Edd’s friend and has known him since Edd was the warden at West Central Prison. He said that Edd took care of his inmates, the community and the staff and that he was respected by those who knew him. He told Mrs. Sanders that Edd was a good person and that she raised a good son. He asked the Board of Commissioners to commission the Department of Corrections to change the name of the West Central Prison (now the West Central Integrated Treatment Facility) to bear the name of Forrest E. Sanders.
Mitch Turner of Pike County DFCS told how Edd began as a case worker with DFCS and how all employees got training before going out alone on a case. The first time that Edd went out by himself, he came back and the Supervisor was appalled at what he had done. The Supervisor asked Edd if that was how he was trained to handle situations. He said no, but that his way was better. Turner said that you could never doubt where Edd’s heart was.
LaResa Price from Pike County DFCS said that Edd never lost his passion for DFCS and the children in this community. She said that he was a vital part of the DFCS Board for years as its Chairman. He was very dependable.
Jo Ann Cash, founder and Executive Director of Family Reunificaiton Network, also spoke and said that Edd was a person who believed in giving someone a second chance. She told the commissioners that she is a returned citizen also known as a convicted felon. Eight years ago Edd Sanders and Chaplain Bowen trained her so she could go back into the prison and minister. He was also an advisory board member for her organization in Atlanta, and he was also her friend. She said that what Edd did extended far behind Pike County. 42,564 bars of Dial Soap were collected and that soap went into 24 prisons located throughout the state to help men and women who are incarcerated. She asked for help from the community in collecting and sending soap into the prisons in memory of her friend, Edd Sanders.
Sheriff Thomas said that he can’t tell how much Edd gave them at the Sheriff’s Office. He said that when he came into office, all of the cars were different colors. But Edd was able to connect the Sheriff’s Office to the Phillips State Prison where all of our cars were painted one color and it only cost the county for the paint. He said that the Sheriff’s Office also needed an impound lot to store evidence, and Edd was able to have a secure place for an impound lot with cameras. He said that he could go on about things that Edd had done and that Edd had never got any credit for any of that. He said that Edd left a legacy of returning to the community and if we all leave that legacy, we will be better off when we leave this world.
Two more people spoke who praised Edd for his love for children and his dedication to his friends. The Board of Commissioners was praised for recognizing Edd and the work that he did in our community.
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 ............................................................................................ $2,580,716.95
Fire Dept. Donations........................................................................................ $1,881.08
Cash Reserve Account................................................................................. $500,210.35
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $18,833.59
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $22,869.02
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $33,922.30
Juvenile Court Fund....................................................................................... $16,391.30
Residential Impact Fee ................................................................................ $280,217.99
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $13,446.85
C.A.I.P FUND............................................................................................... $13,921.23
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011...................... $454,359.77
L.M.I. Grant (DOT)..................................................................................... $157,805.46
c. County Manager Comments.
County Manager Report: Rob read this for John today. How much he appreciated the participation in the Employee Appreciation Event last Wednesday. He said that he has received a lot of compliments about the event. He is away doing a special kind of training with ACCG Design Team today.
d. Commissioner Reports.
Commissioner Daniel said that the Employee Appreciation Day and all of the work put into it and that he appreciated Commissioner Jenkins doing the cooking.
Commissioner Guy said that someone from Hilltop called him and asked about some beautification items in that community with cutting back some trees, filling potholes, and getting some children at play signs up.
Quite a few emails about the gun range and asked the Board to really look this over well.
Commissioner Powers had one report on McKinley. The ditches are already getting pulled and thinks it will be a good project.
Chairman Johnson thanked Commissioner Jenkins for being behind the grill and John Hanson for spearheading it and the staff for helping serve the employees.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners: None.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Approve/deny Second Reading of the proposed text amendment, Chapter 150 Building Regulations, Section 150.35 (B), relative to the process of obtaining permanent street addresses for properties in Pike County.
Motion to approve the Second Reading. Approved 5-0.
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Consider one appointment to the Pike County Board of Tax Assessors to fill a six-year term, set to expire June 30, 2021. Applicant has met criteria.
One applicant: Art Nyman. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
b. Approve/Deny Per Code Section 155.03 (A), the Board of Commissioners is requested to review and approve an alteration for a previously approved final plat portion on Lufbery Court in the Eagles Landing subdivision.
This was approved in 1978 for 2 lots. 1987 became a single lot. And the proposed lot puts it back as two lots. No real change except to remove the right of way in the middle of the lot. This meets the criteria and staff recommends approval. 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. 9:31 a.m.
Agenda subject to revision.
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