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Pike Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room - 8 a.m.
ZEBULON - The Pike County Development Authority met this morning in the Pike Chamber Meeting Room. Members present were Mayor Joe Walter, School Superintendent Shane Williamson, John Barker, David Nix, Kel Brannon, Stewart Essary, Bryan Oglesby, Director Kyle Fletcher, BOC Chairman Briar Johnson, Sonny Gwyn, and Dee McLeRoy.
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of the Agenda
Motion to approve. Approved.
3. Invited Guest: None
4. Approval of the June Minutes
Motion to approve. Approved.
5. Approval of the May, June, July, and August financials
Year to date. $238,574. Income $501,868 through May. Expenses $124,513.78. June. Fiscal year end. $1,870,080 in the bank.
Motion to approve the financials. Approved.
6. Old Business Park
a. Pike Business Park Update
Thomaston Milk Company. Completing the grading phase along the road. Start construction in January of 2026 and be operation in the summer. Ron Byrd with AAG is moving toward grading too. Hope to begin foundation work by the end of the month. Metts Electric has bought Lot 4 plus existing building from Meansville Properties. Helix is clearing their lot. (Lot #2 has sold to Helix.) Talked about the two year clause from buying to starting to build with any lots in the Business Park.
b. Flat Shoals Energy Center Update
The two attorneys are working on the MOU on this. The deadline has been extended to August 15. Talk about the relocation of the Molena substation there. We haven’t secured the project. There are about 60 properties competing for this bid. It’s not a done deal.
7. New Business
a. 2025 Audit Submission
Summary of the audit RFP.
McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks and Company. Macon. $7,500 to $8,500.
Fulton-Kozack. Current auditing firm. $9,750, $10,500, and $11,500.
Discussion on current level of service and the MMM firm and responsiveness. Also the low bidder. Better service with a lower price. Motion to go with McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks and Company. Approved.
b. Millage Discussion.
Email from the CM yesterday afternoon. Trying to get the county budget approved. .25 mills is the current rate. It’s about $240,384.50. We’re about to run out of lots so we are getting close to needing to buy more property. Walter said that he thinks that industrial growth will continue in Pike County. Oglesby. Industry in our county is working together in our county. Motion to continue with .25 mill. Approved.
Almost 100% of the taxes are from homeowners. We are working to develop a commercial base to help with property taxes. We are diligently recruiting businesses to the county. Most moving in are from Pike County and moving businesses outside of Pike to Pike. Already living and working here.
8. Additional Comments
Fletcher. A board member advised that a local business owner has property on Hwy 19. A service that the Development Authority can offer is providing a list of land that is available for use by getting it online, etc. Getting a basic site assessment free through the state can be a help to land owners. A way to help market without owning the land. Free marketing can be provided through the state.
Oglesby. If it’s piece of property, we could get a contract to market properties too. Maybe discuss this for later.
Barker. Formal process suggested with the solar farm discussion. There needs to be a separate process for solar. The threshold for businesses to qualify is too low. Dangerously too low. Policy states what must be done. Must be revisited. This policy did not come from the IDA. Way too outdated and way too low of threshold. We need to advise the county that it needs to be fixed. From 2017. Can’t say no if someone meets the criteria. Johnson. This will include a formal request on this? Yes.
Motion to adjourn
8:34 a.m.
August 6 at 8 a.m. is the next meeting.
Past Meetings that Pike County Times has attended
March 13, 2024 and April 3, 2024 IDA Meeting
August 21, 2023 New Development Authority Director Named
July 26, 2023 Special Called IDA Meeting
June 7, 2023 IDA Meeting and History and Background of the IDA
February 20, 2023 Joint Commission and IDA Special Called Meeting