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JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 7:00 P.M. This was the regular scheduled meeting for the month of September. It was held at the Jefferson County Commissioners Office. Those present were as follows: Mitchell McGraw, Chairman; Gonice C. Davis, Member: Tommy New, Member; Johnny Davis, Member; Wayne Davis, Member; Adam Mestres, County Administrator; Dalton Dowdy, County Attorney; and Bonnie Wells, County Clerk. Chairman McGraw called meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Wayne Davis gave the invocation. Chairman McGraw asked that those present keep Mr. John Peebles, a habitual attendee at commission meetings in their thoughts and prayers as he is gravely ill. He asked Commissioner Wayne Davis to give an update on Mr. Peebles’ health. Commissioner Wayne Davis stated Mr. Peebles’ health has deteriorated immensely. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to amend and adopt the agenda; the agenda was amended by adding Landfill Convenience Center as item j and the LARP Program as item k in New Business. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion to adopt the minutes. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion to forgo the committee reports. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Consent Agenda There were no consent agenda items. OLD BUSINESS Tax Assessor Board Appointments Chairman McGraw and Commissioner Johnny Davis tabled this item as they have not had an opportunity to find anyone to appoint to the Tax Assessor Board. Chairman McGraw asked the audience if they had someone in mind, the board is willing to accept recommendations. Hoyt Braswell Road Update County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, updated the board on the Hoyt Braswell Road project which is a TIA Project. The update included informing the board of the county’s acquiring the last right of way two weeks prior to the meeting thereby allowing the project to proceed. Pittman Construction was the low bidder and they will be the ones completing the project. Abandoned Housing Update County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, updated the board on the status of the abandoned housing issue in the Rufus Wren Subdivision. Mr. Dowdy shared with the board they have started with another group of abandoned houses; and that Code Enforcement Officer/Building Inspector, Jimmy Kitchens and Mr. Johnny Davis a resident of the Rufus Wren Subdivision, toured the subdivision where Mr. Davis pointed out additional property not included on the list. NEW BUSINESS Sheriff’s Office Vehicle Purchase County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented information from Sheriff Gary Hutchins regarding the purchase of new vehicles for the sheriff’s office road patrol. Two bids were received, they included the price for two F-150 pickup trucks and one Chevrolet Tahoe. The county administrator recommended the funds for purchase come from General Funds, with the SPLOST account reimbursing the general fund account when the monies become available. A summary of the bids and the recommended purchase are listed here. ---PAGE BREAK--- Sheriff Vehicle Quotes Commissioner Gonice Davis made a motion to purchase the vehicles from Brannen Motor Company with general funds, with the understanding the funds be paid back to general funds with monies from SPLOST. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner New asked if they were purchasing six vehicles. The administrator explained the purchase was only for three. Commissioner New asked if the old vehicles would be taken from the fleet once the new vehicles were purchased. The vote was unanimous. The sheriff took this opportunity to thank the board for raises his department received. Direct Deposit Commissioner Johnny Davis expressed a desire for all county employees to be enrolled in direct deposit. After much discussion. Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion for all employees to enroll in direct deposit, with the exception of the Sheriff’s Office, the Coroner’s Office, and State court (Constitutional Officers). Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion with the following amendment: employees will have thirty days to comply. Chairman McGraw added, employees would no longer receive check stubs. Discussion: Commissioner Gonice Davis stated he had a problem with forcing employees into direct deposit and if employees are doing a good job, he did not want them to get discouraged because of that. Commissioner Johnny Davis said he understood Commissioner Gonice Davis’ stance on the issue, but there were some places that mandated employees to have direct deposit. He also said the county went to direct deposit to save money. Commissioner New asked Public Works Director, Ken Thomas if he picked up the checks for the three public works people. Mr. Thomas stated he only had one employee at the shop that opted for direct deposit, one at the landfill, and one detail officer. Commissioner New wanted to know who picks the check up for those employees. Mr. Thomas stated he picks up the stubs for the road department. The county clerk explained the detail officer and the landfill persons check is picked up by the representative from the prison. Commissioner New asked how does the one employee at the shop get his check. Mr. Thomas explained the employee in question gets off work and picks up his check. Commissioner New wanted to know how they, the board, could differentiate between the employees, even if some of them were employed in an elected official’s office. Chairman McGraw stated he conferred with the county attorney who said the board could not mandate the elected officials to enroll in direct deposit. County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, stated the board could not mandate the elected officials enroll in direct deposit, however, the employees of the elected officials could be mandated to enroll because they are employed via the county. Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion for all employees to enroll in direct deposit including the employees of the constitutional officers. The only people who are not required to enroll would be the constitutional officers themselves; those officers are as follows: sheriff, clerk of court, tax commissioner, probate judge, state court judge, and coroner. Also, pay stubs will be mailed to all employees. Employees who are not enrolled have thirty days from September 9, 2015 to enroll. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Landfill Hours of Operation County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented information regarding the landfill hours of operation. The previous hours of operation were Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The hours changed with the landfill being opened on Saturdays, starting July 18, 2015, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The participation on Saturdays is little to none. Chairman McGraw recommended the landfill close on Saturdays until the spring of the year. Commissioner New asked the public be notified of the Saturday closure. Commissioner Wayne Davis made ---PAGE BREAK--- a motion to close the landfill on Saturdays, with it reopening in the spring of the year to see if there is any participation, if not then the only other time it would open, would be on “Clean up Day”, with public notification on the radio and the newspaper for two weeks. The last day for Saturday openings would be September 19, 2015. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote passed unanimously. Land Use Moratorium Extension/Land Use Ordinance Review County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, combined the Land Use Moratorium Extension and the Land Use Ordinance Review as the two items function together. Mr. Dowdy explained the Land Use Ordinance was still in the revision stage, thereby compelling a request for an extension on the moratorium. With a final draft available in a week to ten days that would be e-mailed to all the commissioners. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to extend the Land Use Moratorium for an additional ninety days. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Removal of Abandoned Houses Commissioner Johnny Davis declined to speak on this matter as the county attorney and the code enforcement officer had already addressed the issue regarding the removal of abandoned housing in the Rufus Wren Subdivision. Road Closure Policy Commissioner New requested the board review Jefferson County’s Road Closure policy. County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, stated he could have something to present at the October meeting. Region Six EMS Council Appointment Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to appoint Keith Boulineau to the Region Six EMS Council to fulfill the unexpired term of Ben Doyle on the board. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of three to two. Chairman McGraw, Commissioners Johnny Davis and Wayne Davis voted for the appointment. Commissioners New and Gonice Davis voted against the appointment. Repair Windows at Red Brick Building on Courthouse Square Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion to garner bids on replacing the windows in the red brick building on the courthouse square to ascertain the building is secure. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Gonice Davis asked if the workforce at the prison could get the building up to par. County Administrator, Adam Mestres, shared with the board a conversation he had with Safety Coordinator/Purchasing Agent, Robert Yonchak, regarding the condition of the building, i.e. rotting boards, etc. The county administrator explained Mr. Yonchak had already solicited a bid from Mulherin Lumber Company for windows, and that he did not ask if that were something the inmates could actually do, but he would check on it. Commissioner New stated they should not try to change the look of the building. Commissioner Johnny Davis amended his motion to read, replace the windows as they were according to the Historical Society. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Landfill Convenience Center Chairman McGraw expressed interest in the county establishing three landfill convenience centers, one in Louisville, Wadley, and Wrens. The chairman asked the commissioners to consider having the three sites for approximately six months to ascertain the amount of participation. LARP Program Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to reapply for LARP and the paving start at HWY 88 on Clarks Mill Road and go into the city limits of Avera. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. Discussion: Chairman McGraw stated because the road was not being widened, there would not be state funding. Commissioner Wayne Davis indicated state funds would be allowed with the LARP Program. Commissioner New said they could pave everything with the $450,000 in LARP and they didn’t have to widen any roads. Commissioner Gonice Davis asked if that were enough money to complete the road. Commissioner Wayne Davis said if were not enough he would use his portion of TSPLOST to complete it. The same way they did on Clarks Mill Road and the same way they did on Middleground Road. Commissioner New stated each commissioner has roughly $1,000,000 coming in on TSPLOST, once it’s spent it’s spent, the only thing the board has to decide is if they want to put all the LARP money on that or use more of TSPLOST, and that Commissioner Gonice Davis’ road will be fixed by TSPLOST. Commissioner Gonice Davis said he had one, Pinetucky Road, that was in need of repairs or the road would fall in. Public Works Director, Ken Thomas, stated he had Pinetucky Road figured in to be repaired. He went on to say he was not taking away from what Commissioner Wayne Davis was saying about Clarks Mill Road, but Sand Valley Road is just about gone; he just wanted to make the board aware of that, because it was the worst road in the county right now. Chairman McGraw stated more people lived on the road Commissioner Wayne Davis wanted to repair; but the road Mr. Thomas referenced was in worse shape. Mr. Thomas stated even though less people lived on Sand Valley Road, there was a lot of traffic on the road. He said he wasn’t saying Commissioner Wayne Davis wasn’t right about what he is saying, he was just informing them Sand Valley Road needs to be repaired. Commissioner New asked how much money they actually had in TSPLOST. The county administrator said approximately $1,200,000. Commissioner New said the only thing that bothered him about utilizing the LARP money was, there were a lot of little roads they could resurface with the LARP money and use ---PAGE BREAK--- the TSPLOST for the bigger roads, but they can’t spend the money before they get it. The motion passed with a vote of four to one. Chairman McGraw, Commissioners New, Johnny Davis, and Wayne Davis voted yes. Commissioner Gonice Davis voted no. Scheduled Public Comments There were no scheduled public comments. Public Comments on Agenda Items There were no comments on agenda items. Adjournment Commissioner New made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting and go into executive session to discuss personnel. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Executive Session. Adjournment Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.