Commission Continues Focus on Core Items

The County Commission voted to approve the final three right of way parcels for Waynesville Road. Once these are signed by the land owners, the notice will go to DOT stating that Brantley County is ready to proceed with the Waynesville Road paving project. EMC engineering has the specifications ready to go out for bid after review by DOT.

The County currently has specifications out for bid on Baker Creek Road and the first phase of the new recreation park. Golden Isles Engineering is managing the bid process for the County. All funding for these projects will come from SPLOST dollars earmarked for those purposes and those purposes only. No funding will come from the general fund this year for these two projects.

The County also is currently accepting bids for the sale of the white goods at the land fill. Responses have to be in before the 19th of August. The Board also agreed to have the county manager refresh the bids for house to house garbage. The County has struggled with waste management for years. There is the a way to move funds around in the current budget and implement house to house garbage without raising taxes, if the previous costs are still accurate. But the Board has some reservations about tackling this at this time.

The Board postponed some changes to the subdivision ordinance that would close a current loophole in the ordinance and limit all minor subdivisions to 6 lots. There was a proposal that would also determine the distance between drive ways on public roads with speed limits of 45 mph or greater. These will be taken up at the Board's next meeting.

The Board also suspended the ATV ordinance which was to take affect September 1. A draft that has been paired down from its previous version was made available for the first time. The Board will review the draft and take it up in the September work session.

The Board voted to pay a one time "principal pay down" of $850,000 of over $1.3 million that is in the jail SPLOST fund. There is approximately $7.7 million in outstanding debt for the new jail. The quarterly payments that are now $162,000 will be recalculated and lowered, bringing them more in line with SPLOST collections, which are running $40,000 to $45,000 per month. This will still leave approximately $500,000 in the jail SPLOST payment prior to the next quarterly payment which should be around $120,000.

The 61 resumes received for the county manager position were paired down. Each Commissioner brought in their top 5 and they were turned into the Clerk. She will compile the list and get them back to the Commission. At next weeks called meeting, the Board will fine tune the process. The county manager explained tonight that he will be training in November for his new position with the State Department and will be on the new job the first of the year. But, he has agreed to stay on as long as he is needed through the transition period.

The County voted to start the process to close Buck Lake Road. Local home owners were in the audience supporting that action. The attorney explained the process and will start that process to close the road.

The Board heard from EMA / Code Enforcement Director Billy Lartz, who has almost 50 requests for accurate County maps with new road names from government agencies and businesses. The Board voted to purchase a printer from E911 funds that will print maps for a fee at the EMA Department.

The Board voted to hold a public hearing on August 20th at 5pm at the Court House, prior to the budget hearing, for the purpose of hearing public comments on the upcoming straw poll election. This election is to find out if the voters want their Commissioners elected by districts. The City of Nahunta has contracted with the County to hold an election in the one precinct in the City to fill a vacancy on their City Council. The County will pay to hold the election in all other precincts to provide a non-binding referendum. The proposal is to have 4 Commissioners from districts and the part time Chairman still elected across the entire County.

The board voted to hire James Yarborough as a laborer in the shop on the Road Department and for other purposes as needed. A motion also passed unanimously to start a search for a Road Department Superintendent. The objective, as explained by one Commissioner, was to hire someone with road construction experience and personnel management experience. The current working lead men, if neither is selected, would be returned to their previous positions once this position is filled. The County had this position in the budget for 2009. With the advertisement period and the selection process time line, a selection isn't expected until October or November, which is only slightly ahead of schedule.

On the consent agenda, the Board voted to approve:

* a plat by Richard McKinna and accept the additional 10 feet of right of way;
* increase in building permit fees, as recommended by the Code Enforcement Department;
* the increased recreation fees from $15 to $25, as proposed by the Recreation Director / Board and agreed to deposit these funds in a new account set up for recreation construction;
* the amended human resources policy on paid time off;
* approve the LARP priority list of High Bluff and Riverside Rock Road;
* the reappointment of J.O. Johns and Paul Bowers to the Planning Commission.

County Road Project Status

The Commission is meeting monthly with engineers, surveyors and the Planning Commission to review the status of the current road paving projects. The following is the status of the roads currently under focus.

Waynesville Road:

The final three parcels of right of way are nearly acquired. The County is waiting on one lien holder to sign releases for the last 3 parcels of land. Contracts and deeds are prepared for these parcels. Once this is completed, a notice to proceed will be filed with the State Dept. of Transportation. While the NTP is being reviewed by the State, a set of specifications will be released for bid to the general public. The goal is to release a specification for bids in August, award a bid in September and start the paving of Waynesville Road in October. It is expected to take 10-12 months to move all infrastructure, prepare the road and pave it. The County has been "told" by the State that there is $300,000 in matching funds toward the paving of Waynesville Road. Documentation is forthcoming on the matching funds.

Buster Walker Road:

The right of way stakes are being installed on BW to allow the land owners to see what the County will need to pave that road. About 1/2 of the right of way has already been acquired (by acreage). In coming months, the remaining ROW will be acquired and BW will fall in line with the other priorities in the County. The DOT has "told" the County that there is $300,000 in matching funds available for paving of Buster Walker Road. Documentation is forthcoming on the matching funds.

Boots Harrison Road:

The initial survey and engineering is being completed on the first mile of Boots Harrison Road. The bad double curves in that road will be removed and proper drainage will be established. The primary property owners around the curves have agreed in principal to exchange property and once the survey and preliminary engineering are complete, the local property owners will be contacted about right of way.

Baker Creek Road:

Engineering has been completed on 1/4 mile of Baker Creek Road so that the pavement is extended to the Southern edge of the new Recreation Facility next to the Fire Tower on Highway 82. A set of specifications for this road will be provided to the public for bid during August. This specification is being prepared as part of the specifications for the first four fields of the new recreation facility.

Satilla Church Road:

The initial survey and engineering is being completed on Satilla Church Road from 32 to the intersection at the church. Drainage for this road is going to be very important and access drainage ditches to get the water to the low lying area close by. Once preliminary survey and ROW display stakes are in place, the County will start meeting with property owners about right of way.

Mt Calvary Church Road:

The DOT has "told" the County that there are matching funds to help connect the bridge and the pavement on Mt. Calvary Church Road. Given the size of this project, it will likely be consolidated with another project and bid off. The County is also considering extending this project, to help facilitate the heavy traffic patterns that come and go from the Twin Oaks RV and Bluegrass Park. No engineering is scheduled at the moment for this road until other projects are let for bid and underway.

The priorities of these roads have been established based on the previous road paving list, matching funds availability and, most importantly, the number of work orders that the County completes based on complaints from citizens. When high maintenance roads are paved, it reduces the overall costs of maintenance and allows the County to spread those resources among the remaining roads. Waynesville Road is a priority also because the school will run 8 to 10 school buses every morning and every evening starting this Fall. The road won't be ready in time, and it may even be complicated because of the construction. But over time, the road will be paved and things will be better. Progress will be made through the use of SPLOST dollars and combined effort.

Ronald E Ham
Chairman, Brantley County Commission.

County Abandons $20 Recreation Fee

In an effort to complete the first phase of the new recreation park on Baker Creek Road, the County had proposed a $20 recreation fee. The County and Board were split equally on the support, or lack thereof, with this approach. In an effort to compromise and make progress, the Board, in its last budget hearing, struck the idea of a $20 recreation fee on each tax bill and instead moved the money around in the proposed budget to allocate an expense line item for this purpose. This will allow the recreation budget to supplement SPLOST dollars, so that the County has enough money to build the first four fields, with minimum facilities, to allow recreation events in the Spring.

This is just more evidence that this Board is reaching across the table to find compromises where progress can be made.

Ronald E Ham
Chairman, Brantley County Commission