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JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION NOVEMBER 7, 2016 7:00 P.M. The purpose of this meeting was to prepare the agenda for the November meeting. It was held at the Jefferson County Courthouse. 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 New gave the invocation. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to adopt the agenda. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Chairman McGraw welcomed the interim Hospital Administrator, Lou Semrad III, and allowed him an opportunity to speak. OLD BUSINESS There were no Old Business items. NEW BUSINESS Employee Gift Certificates County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented to the board, the list of employees eligible for the annual gift certificates (chamber bucks) in the amount of $50.00 per employee. Gift certificates will tentatively be distributed to one hundred forty seven eligible employees; the list is reflected below. Commissioner Gonice Davis made a motion to approve the gift certificates (chamber bucks) in the amount of $50.00 to the eligible employees; which comes to a total of $7,300.00. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Vehicle Purchase for Sheriff’s Office The county administrator presented, to the board, the sheriff’s wish to purchase new vehicles for his office. The quote below reflects the sheriff’s request. ---PAGE BREAK--- Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion to approve the sheriff’s request by allowing the purchase of the aforementioned vehicles from the specified funds (2016 SPLOST Fund & D.A.T.E. Fund). Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Rowland-McGraw Road Resolution County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, presented the following resolution regarding the name change from Rowland Road to Rowland-McGraw Road. The name change would honor World War II veterans, whose surname was McGraw. Commissioner New made a motion to proceed with resolution to change the road name from Rowland Road to Rowland-McGraw Road. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Courthouse Landscaping/Grounds Plan The Garden Club shared the following recommendations with the county administrator regarding landscaping at the county courthouse. They, the Garden Club, made a request for the county administrator to share the subsequent recommendations with the board of commissioners for approval, thereby allowing them, the Garden Club, to proceed. ---PAGE BREAK--- Commissioner New made a motion to accept the recommendations from the Garden Club and approve the proposed landscaping for the county courthouse. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. HWY 88 at HWY 296 Intersection Commissioner Johnny Davis brought before the board the necessity for a caution light at the intersection of GA State HWY 88 and GA State HWY 296, as there was a traffic accident the Friday before claiming multiple lives. After much discussion the board opted to table the item until a later date. Hospital Board Appointment Johnson Term Expiration) Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion for the following people to be considered for appointment to the Hospital Board. Those names are as follows: Tommy Shepherd, Burton Dye, and Walter Jones. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Hospital Board Appointment Davis Term Expiration) Commissioner New made a motion for the following people to be considered for appointment to the Hospital Board. Those names are as follows: Raymond Davis, William Toulson, and Michael Howard. The motion dies for lack of a second. Commissioner New stated he will bring three more names before the board at the regular meeting Tuesday night. Scheduled Public Comments There were no scheduled public comments. Public Comments on Agenda Items Carl Wagster made public comments regarding the 911 software and Jimmy Kitchens made comments regarding the convenience center/dumpsites. Adjournment Commissioner New made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Attest: County Clerk Mitchell McGraw, Chairman Gonice C. Davis, Vice Chairman H. G. Thomas New, Member Johnny A. Davis, Member Charles Wayne Davis, Member JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 15, 2016 7:00 P.M. This was the regular scheduled meeting for the month of November. It was held at the Jefferson County Courthouse. ---PAGE BREAK--- 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 the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Johnny Davis gave the invocation. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to adopt the agenda. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Proclamation – Dixie Youth The chairman along with the full board presented the Dixie Youth 9 and 10 Year Olds Baseball Team with the proclamation below for winning the state title. Minutes Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion to adopt the minutes. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Reports Chairman McGraw gave the chairman’s report; County Administrator, Adam Mestres, gave the administrator’s report; EMS Director, Chad Parker, gave the EMS report; Assistant Code Enforcement Officer/Building Inspector, Adrian Snell, gave the code enforcement report; Emergency Services Director, James Anderson was absent. Consent Agenda Chairman McGraw read the following Consent Agenda items. Motion to approve employee gift certificates (Chamber Bucks) Motion to approve vehicle purchase for sheriff’s office Motion to proceed with Rowland-McGraw Road Resolution Motion to approve courthouse landscaping/grounds plan Motion to appoint Tommy Sheppard, Burton Dye , and Walter Jones for consideration to the Hospital Authority Board Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda items. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. OLD BUSINESS Hospital Board Appointment ---PAGE BREAK--- Commissioner New made a motion for the following people to be considered for appointment to the Hospital Board. They are as follows: Beth McNeely, William Toulson, and Michael Howard. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. NEW BUSINESS Hadden Pond Road ROW County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented background information on Hadden Pond Road. The administrator and members of the board, as well as the public works director had been contacted previously regarding a dam that was erected on Hadden Pond Road, but was no longer there; moved, perhaps, because of a land dispute between families years ago. Contact was made by Victor Raley regarding erecting the dam again; there was concern for the location of the dam as it was and will be on the county’s right of way. The county administrator made contact with engineers from B. Ben Turnipseed Engineers and the county attorney regarding the dam being placed on the county’s right of way and was advised, allowing the dam on the right of way was not in the county’s best interest. Several weeks ago the county administrator was advised of construction of a dam on the right of way; Mr. Mestres spoke to Mr. Raley regarding the construction of the dam and contacted the county attorney; a stop to work order was issued, allowing the county attorney an opportunity to contact the land owner (Thiele Company). The county administrator shared with the board the letter below from Mr. Kenneth Green, an engineer from G. Ben Turnipseed. The County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, stated he contacted Thiele to ascertain their official position. He spoke with Mr. Jeremy Walters, who indicated Thiele has an existing lease with Mr. Raley. Mr. Dowdy explained the problem the county had with the dam from a liability standpoint also sharing work had been initiated on the dam. The county attorney said he sent a letter, dated November 3, 2016 to Thiele stating they would just agree not to have any more work done to the property. Mr. Raley spoke at this time regarding the dam at the pond, stating Thiele said they would not have a problem with the dam as long as a government entity did not object to the erection of the dam. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to allow Victor Raley to put the pond/dam back up. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner New said he was in favor of putting the pond back, but he would like to amend the motion. He wants a good guard rail up because if the pond is back up, you would need guard rail, because there is a curve coming right into it. The chairman said he would like speed limit (35 mph) and caution signs placed on the road before you come down the hill. Commissioner Wayne Davis suggested rephrasing his motion; Commissioner New agreed. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to allow Mr. Raley to put the pond back up and the county erects the guardrails on the east side of the pond and put speed limit signs at the top of the hill signifying the speed limit is 35 mph. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Gonice Davis stated if Thiele has given permission, make sure the board has the permission in writing. County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, stated Thiele is the landowner in this situation and Thiele is the individual as the title holder to make that request with Mr. Raley’s help as the licensee. The board needs to reach out to Thiele to make sure things were still good with them. The chairman took this opportunity ---PAGE BREAK--- to state the county administrator and the county attorney work hard to free the county of liability in different situations. Mr. Dowdy stated he would make the call to Thiele the next day. The vote was unanimously approved. T. E. Buchanan Road Park/Trail Update Commissioner Johnny Davis asked that Robert Yonchak update the board on the progress at the park on T. E. Buchanan Road. Mr. Yonchak stated they were clearing undergrowth so that the signs would be visible from the road and it was slowly taking shape. Vehicle Purchase for Public Works County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented the following bids on a new pickup truck for the public works department. The bids were from Brannen Motor Company, Fairway Ford, and Gerald Jones Ford, with the lowest bid coming from Brannen Motor Company. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to accept the bid from Brannen Motor Company in the purchase of a 2017 Ford F250 4 x 4 pickup in the amount of $30,506.00. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Vehicle Purchase for County Commission County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented the following quotes on a vehicle for the board of commissioners. Commissioner Johnny Davis made a request for quotes on a vehicle that would allow the entire board to travel comfortably together. ---PAGE BREAK--- Commissioner New made a motion to purchase the 2017 Expedition from Fairway Ford. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. Discussion: The county administrator stated he did not know how big the third row seating area was. Purchasing Agent, Robert Yonchak, informed the board the expedition the code enforcement department was receiving did not have the third row seating, but the admin vehicle does have third row seating. Commissioner New asked if anyone had seen the expedition with third row seating. He then suggested the item be tabled until someone has had an opportunity to actually see an expedition with third row seating. The board decided to table the item until they had an opportunity to see what the back seat looks like. Vehicle Purchase for County Wide Motor Pool County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented information on the purchase of a new vehicle for the county wide motor pool. The county administrator shared with the board some of the county employees did not feel comfortable driving the current car available to them because it was “too big”; they would feel more comfortable in a smaller vehicle. The following quotes were presented: Commissioner New made a motion to purchase the 2016 Chevrolet Impala Limited for $18,377 from Hardy Chevrolet. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Scheduled Public Comments Mr. Victor Raley was initially listed to speak at this time, but conveyed his comments during the discussion on Hadden Pond Road. Public Comments on Agenda Items There were no comments on agenda items. The chairman welcomed the interim Hospital Administrator, Lou Semrad III and allowed him an opportunity to speak. Commissioner New made a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Executive Session No action taken. Adjournment Commissioner New made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously passed. Attest: County Clerk Mitchell McGraw, Chairman Gonice C. Davis, Vice Chairman ---PAGE BREAK--- H. G. Thomas New, Member Johnny A. Davis, Member Charles Wayne Davis, Member