Commission Hires County Manager and Lowers Millage Rate

In back to back sessions last night, starting at 5pm, the County tackled a number of high profile items.

First, a contract was executed for Mr. Parrish Barwick who will serve as the new County Manager. More details of the transition plan will be forthcoming. The current County Manager, Chuck Madray, who is returning to work with the State Department, will serve through October 9th.

The County discussed the blown engine on the 10 year old road grader and unanimously decided to not spend $27,000+ dollars to fix the aged equipment. Instead, the County will go out for bids to replace the tractor. The Commission voted not to rent any road graders. With two out of service, the Chairman had received quotes to rent a road grader in order to keep the roads in shape.

The County also discussed the Road Superintendent position, posting and job description. After much discussion, the decision was made to change the name on the job description for the Public Works Director, and call it "Road Superintendent". This position will oversee the road crew, pipe crew, shop personnel and solid waste group. This position will also be posted immediately in the local papers and State web sites. The goal is to find an experienced Road Construction Supervisor that has the expertise in road construction and management of a diverse 20+ member team.

The contract for resurfacing on Wainright Loop was awarded to the low bidder, Hyers Construction, and the attorney was instructed to develop a simple contract between Mr. Wilson Wainright and the County, as he has agreed to pay 1/2 of the paving costs, which was about $32,000. Hopefully, work will begin at that site next week, after the contracts are signed with the vendor. By allowing the County Engineer to spec and bid the job out, more work will be done for less money than had previously been discussed.

During the budget hearing, the Commissioners went through only a couple of iterations which brought the budget into shape. A summary of that budget is available under the Financial documents on this page. The millage was set at 21.73 mills, which is less than last year's millage rate. The garbage fee was left at $85 per household, as the Commissioners agreed not to attempt house to house garbage at this time. The Fire Tax was left at the rate set earlier in the year of 1.15 mils. Incremental fire tax revenues must be used by each fire department to build substations throughout the County, based on the County Commission's agreement with those departments. This will help lower homeowner insurance. $500,000 was assigned to debt repayment, with every incremental revenue dollar to also be allocated for that purpose.

All of this was accomplished while Brantley County lost over $500,000 in revenue when the State canceled the Homestead Exemption funding and with the County health insurance premiums rising over $400,000 above 2009 levels. Every department had to sacrifice. but the Commission feels like this is a sound budget that is fiscally responsible.

The Commission's long term goal from day one has been to:

* hold the millage rate steady or lower,
* pay back the debt over 3 or 4 years,
* maintain basic services through the general fund as economically as possible and
* leverage SPLOST dollars to build and pave roads and recreation.

This budget is further demonstration that this Board is dedicated to working toward those objectives.

For more updates stay tuned to this site or watch the videos provided courtesy of BTC Communication.

BTC Video by Robby Thomas

County Overtime Plummets

Efforts put in place early in the year by the Board of Commissioners, their Department Heads and Constitutional Officers have had a major impact on overtime within Brantley County Government. The attached chart shows the year to date overtime as reported by accounting and charted by Commissioner Greg O'Quinn.

This is just another example of how everyone is working to hold down costs within County government.

Ronald E Ham
Chairman, Brantley County Commission

Total Overtime Report YTD 2009

County Manager List Shrinks to Three

During the Public Participation, a conversation took place regarding why it is taking the County so long to repair Warner's Landing Road. The absence of material was the culprit, and it was discussed that perhaps the County should seek come outside help. The County Manager will take this up with the Road Supervisor and the County's Engineer, to see what alternatives there are.

The Commissioners handled a number of items on the Consent Agenda during their September Regular Session. The following items were approved with a unanimous vote:

* request to have the road department survey the primary drainage canals that provide drainage for the County Seat. The canals Southeast and Southwest have been clogged with beaver dams and the status of others are unknown;
* award the Removal of Scrap Metal at the Landfill to Jeri Foster, with him paying the County $120 per ton;
* purchase sign by Forestry for the new Recreation Park, for a cost of $1,189 out of Recreation SPLOST;
* purchase MT525B-4C ACGO wheeled tractor w/Diamond 25 ft boom mower, trading in M318C rubber tired excavator, for balance due of $39,070 to come from Road SPLOST;
* contract from LPA group for Electrical Improvements at the County Airport and Adopt Resolution Authorizing it;
* instruct the County Manager to research alternatives from Correctional Institutes for inmate work detail;
* approved agreements with Vincent L. Baker, Debra L. Baker and Peter J. Buglino for right of way on Buster Walker Road.
* approved the final closing of Buck Lake Road;

On the regular agenda, the Board approved the low bidders for the dirt work at the first four ball fields at the new recreation park for $58,950 to Underground Excavating Inc., and awarded the Baker Creek Paving Project to Precision Paving Company for $84,858, for almost 1/4 mile of paving along the new park entrance. Contract development, bond preparedness and other contractual steps are next with these vendors. The Board also approved for the County's Engineering firm to prepare the specification for Phase II of the basic four field design and to release it for bid, so that hopefully it will be ready to start as Phase One construction completes.

The Board approved an ordinance defining the process that the taxpayers have to use to request having tax interest and/or penalties forgiven. The attorney had reviewed this with the Tax Commissioner, which is where the process starts.

A proposal by the Satilla Regional Water system was discussed. The company wants to extend their water system down Central Avenue to Big Creek. The new water system would be a volunteer water system for paying customers. The installation of fire hydrants every 2000 feet would likely help lower ISO ratings, lowering home owner's fire insurance. The Attorney had not had the opportunity to review the contract and the Board asked him to define what a reasonable franchise fee would be to request. The Board tabled this item until the October Work Session.

Mercer Road was discussed. The section of road that is under discussion is actually inside the gate and on private property. According to the Road supervisor and the county manager, the County has never maintained that part of the road as it is on private property. No action was taken.

The Board voted to empower the County Manager to enter into negotiations with RGL and Associates for the collection of the back EMS debt, with totals in the neighborhood of $800,000. The Board also agreed to turn over any account that was over 6 months old on a monthly basis to the collection agency, unless payment arrangements were made.

The ATV Ordinance was again discussed and dissected. The Board voted to drop sections 4 d, e and f, replacing them with one statement making it illegal to drive an ATV in a public cemetery or in a public recreation park. Otherwise, the ordinance was left intact and was approved, with a November 1st effective date. The ordinance has NO provision making it legal for 4 wheelers to be driven on public roads, as State Law already prohibits this.

The County responded to a request from the State DOT for a list of roads that need to have their highway lines repainted. The below list, in priority order, was approved and will be returned to the State:

Old 259 – CR# 233 (9 miles)
Raybon Rd W – CR# 224 (14 miles)
Riverside Rock Rd – CR# 79
Buffalo Creek Dr – CR# 226
Caney Bay Rd – CR# 225
Oak Grove Rd – CR# 532
Raybon Road E – CR# 103
Highbluff Rd – CR# 231
Mt. Calvary Rd – CR# 191
Schlatterville Rd – CR # 15
Browntown Rd – CR# 168N
Post Rd N – CR# 229N
Post Rd S – CR# 229S
Knox Rd – CR# 92
Joe Knox Bridge Rd – CR# 81
Bennett Rd – CR# 13
Miles Still Rd – CR# 11
Whitehall Church Rd – CR# 8
Central Ave – CR# 5

The Commissioners voted to purchase $9,000 (20 loads, $450 per load, 26 yards per load)of crush and run from the portable plant that has been set up in Brunswick to demolish a concrete facility. The County was out and the Road Supervisor reported that this would be a good deal as a delivered price.

The Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance was passed, at the request of FEMA, and will take affect immediately. This will have an enormous affect on where a person can build structures, ANY structures in the County. More accurate flood maps are in the works. If you plan any construction in the County, you should check with Code Enforcement or the Planning Commission to understand the new rules about where you can build. FEMA is basically laying down the law about where we can build.

The County voted to allow the Chairman to get the County Engineer with the County Attorney and develop a contract for the County to have certain performance assurances and the proper bonds on the low bidder on Wainright Loop since Road SPLOST dollars will be spent on this road. Since the County's portion was less than $20,000 there was no requirement to rebid the job, based on advice of counsel.

The Board went into executive Session. Afterward, they resumed session and announced that they had reduced the search for the County Manager to three individuals. These include:

Parrish Barwick
Crawford, Florida

Steve Marro
Zebulon, Georgia

John Peterson
St. Simon's Island, Georgia

After the meeting, the current County Manager, Chuck Madray, approached the Chairman and explained that his last day with Brantley County would be Friday, October 9th. The Commissioners would like to wish Chuck the best in his endeavors, as he moves on to his new role abroad.

Ronald E Ham
Chairman, Brantley County Commission

BTC Video by Robby Thomas

Play Ball!

In their regular meeting on Tuesday night, the Commissioners heard a report of over 25 companies that placed bids on the paving of about 1/4 mile of Baker Creek road so that it reaches the new Recreation Park entrance. Some of these contractors also bid on phase one of the construction of a very "basic" set of fields so that games could be played at the facility next fall. The GIEC firm will have a summary of bids and a recommendation for how the County moves forward at Tuesday night's meeting.

With hurricane season approaching, the Planning Commission has suggested that the County review the four primary canals that drain Nahunta. Should a tropical depression park over Nahunta, the flooding could be serious, given that beavers have dammed up much of the drainage for the County seat. The County placed an item on the consent agenda to have the County Manager direct the Road Department to review these canals and put a plan together for how they are to be cleared. This should be completed in conjunction with the City which, it is believed, has a similar project.

A discussion was held on Wainright Loop. The homeowner(s) on that road have proposed to pay 1/2 of the cost of paving the road with the other 1/2 coming from SPLOST money. With a hardened base of crushed asphalt already on the road, preliminary estimates have come in around $35,000 to pave the almost 1/2 mile stretch. The County engineering group has reviewed the road and sees no drainage or construction issues. A specification will be developed and bids accepted for the project. This will likely be completed in October, if all goes well.

The Commissioners discussed the Sheriff's purchase of cell phones for his department. With the Sheriff discontinuing the use of his Southern Linc radios, the purchase and usage of cell phones for each deputy and department head will be a "wash" from a budget perspective. A legal opinion provided to the Commissioners from Attorney Tom Lee explained that the Sheriff has the legal right to spend his budget money in any legal manner without interference from the Commissioners. With this, the Commissioners decided to move on.

The absence of inmates from the local jail is a concern. When the previous Commission Board failed to adequately staff the jail, the Sheriff missed out on the first of the year agreements to house other counties prisoners. He's made it clear that it is much tougher to get hosted inmates in mid year, but promises he's doing all he can. The Commission has stated that if we can't demonstrate an ability to meet our revenue budget overall, we'll have to look at more ways to cut expenses from the general fund budget, and that budget is already very lean. This will be taken up at the budget hearing Monday September 14th.

Bids were accepted for white goods removal from the landfill. A Foster's Salvage won the bid, offering the county $120 per ton for the material. This is being verified with the vendor, as his insurance and other documents have to be in order as well. This will be formally accepted at the regular meeting next week.

A demonstration was given by the Satilla Regional Water and Sewer Commission. This group would like to extend their water system through Central Avenue and down to the Big Creek bridge. This will provide homes with city water from their system and fire hydrants every 2000 feet to assist with fire protection. This may also lower homeowners insurance in the process. The Board has tentatively agreed to support the project while the attorney reviews a draft contract. This would cost the County nothing. All the company asks for is the use of the right of way along County roads.

The Commissioners placed an item on the consent agenda to purchase a new sign for the recreation park to be placed on the side of 82 near the Forestry so that citizens begin to take heed of the location of the new recreation park paid for with SPLOST dollars.

The Commissioners placed the acceptance of three right of way agreements for Buster Walker Road on the consent agenda, as they work through the process of preparing Buster Walker for paving later next year. Anyone on Buster Walker Road, who has not reached an agreement with the County, should contact Vince Settles or the County Commission office.

The continuing saga that is the ATV ordinance was discussed and placed on the regular agenda. Some language about not riding 4 wheelers at night was in contention and will be discussed. All of the permitting process which allowed 4 wheelers to be ridden on County Roads has been stripped from the ordinance, as the State of Georgia has deemed that illegal. The penalties remain in place, with higher fines and specific language that will keep 4 wheelers off of the sandbars and out of the river. This was placed on the regular agenda.

The Commissioners placed an item on the consent agenda to trade in the little-used rubber tire excavator for a Caterpillar 418 right of way mower which will mulch overhanging foliage that encroaches the roads around the County. With the trade-in on the old tractor, the County spent about $35,000 of SPLOST dollars to purchase the equipment, so there is no payment for this "like new" tractor. It is a 2007 model with less that 200 hours on it.

At this writing, the County still has $2.7 million of the $3.1 million that was borrowed to operate this year. Some deposits are expected in this week. It is expected that the funds will dwindle to the point were there is approximately $1 million left in the account at year end. This will allow the County to reduce the debt by 33% and borrow only $2 million to operate through next year. By leveraging SPLOST dollars for projects, driving revenue through increased fees and fines and cutting expenses, the leadership team has made it this far. We have a LONG WAY to go, but by working together.......we can make it.


Ronald E Ham
Chairman, Brantley County Commission