New Recreation Park Update

These pictures were taken from the Georgia Forestry tower this morning. You really can’t tell from the pictures, but we have some temporary grassing that is coming up in the outfields and where parking will be located. The contractors were beginning the concrete work between the four fields this morning. It is great to see the location start to resemble a recreation park.

Thanks,

Commissioner Greg O'Quinn

Brantley County Tax Assessor Board Posts Chief Appraiser Position

The Brantley County Tax Assessor Board today posted the job of Chief Appraiser in several places around the area and the State. The notice will be in the legal organ, as described by law, and is attached on the left column under personnel. If you possess the required credentials and are interested, please see the contact methods on the right side of the screen for the Tax Assessor's Office or stop by the Brantley County Courthouse and speak with someone in person.

For Angela Hicks, Chairperson - Brantley County Board of Tax Assessors

New Recreation Director Chosen

David “Reece” Turner has been offered the Recreation Director position and will start this week to prepare for baseball activities starting now.

Mr. Turner has several years experience in the recreation field and has held the director position. By far, he was the most qualified applicant able to accept the position. I know our Recreation Department will benefit from his energy and desire to succeed. I look forward to working with Reece to grow our department and make our youth programs better and better.

Parrish Barwick, County Manager

Commission gets USDA Grant for Road Grader

In what was described as the shortest meeting ever, the County Commission worked through 13 items in under 45 minutes.

During public participation, the question was asked about closing of the dump sites on 259 South. This had gotten confused with the closing of Dump Sites on 110 North and 110 South and them being combined at 259 South. The State Highway has notified the County that the sites on 110 encroach on Highway Right of Way and must be closed and relocated. Where some citizens are vocal about keeping the dumpster style of garbage collection, nobody wants them close to their house. And where ever the County places them, they are unsanitary, an eye sore and a maintenance nightmare.

A series of updates were given as the Board waited for the 6 pm start time. Commissioner O'Quinn attended a preconstruction meeting for the Recreation Phase III, fencing. Now that the infields are in place and the holes are bored for fence to be installed, the fields are really starting to take shape. OREMC reported that they had worked with the lighting agency to donate the illumination study to ensure that "tournament quality" lighting specifications were available, along with less expensive alternatives, so that the Board could decide on lights for the facility. The grass that was planted is starting to come up and things are really starting to take shape.

Warner's Landing road construction is underway, with the new geo-tech poly fabric in place with surge stone and GAB, which should provide a road bed that will not "blow out" the next time the river comes up. Where DNR regulations forbid the road to be raised so that it doesn't get overrun with water, this is the County's best effort ever to ensure that the road is still there when the river comes down. The new equipment and personnel put in place by the Board was all leveraged on this project.

The problems with the road at Deerwood Estates were also discussed. The recent high waters have worsened a problem reviewed last year by the Board. The water has eroded the dirt over the drain pipe and produced a cavern under one edge of the right of way. For this reason, the road has been closed, as this presents an unsafe condition for traffic and citizens. Citizens can access their property through alternative routes. As soon as the Albert Gibson Road repairs are compete, that team will move to Deerwood and dig out the hole and work with the County engineers to define a permanent solution to this problem. The goal here is not a quick fix but a permanent one.

Waynesville Road construction has been slowed by the rain. The grubbing, clearing and debris removal will continue once conditions improve. The Telephone Company and REA are in the process of moving utilities and will need another 3 to 4 weeks to complete their work. The Commission cannot let the bids for the next phase of construction without approval from state DOT for commitment of funding. The Chairman has requested an update from the DOT on the funding commitment.

On the Consent agenda, the Commission approved:

* Right of Way agreements for Buster Walker Road,
* A proclamation naming March 7th Girl Scout Week,
* A resolution naming Cindy Crews as Child Support Receiver and
* The purchase of 200 loads of rock from the area next to the Golden Isles Speedway for $265 per load, with the seller delivering the rock, to be paid for out of SPLOST for roads. This will be used to help with problem spots throughout the County.

On the regular agenda the Commission tabled a discussion about the Public Conduct Ordinance until the Board had a chance to review the ordinance and propose changes. This is the ordinance that deals with who, how and when someone can use Brantley County Public Property, and was previously confused with an ordinance that was considered by the Board that would have helped to recover costs from large events held in the County. That discussion ended without the Board taking any action.

The Commission discussed allowing the Satilla Regional Water and Sewer Authority to use 2000 feet of right or way on Central Avenue to supply water to Mr. Bennett, who is building 7 duplexes on his property inside Brantley County. Without this municipal water system, the landowner would have been limited to fewer duplexes or he would have to install a State permitted public water system and hire a State certified water management firm to treat the facility. Where there was some opposition to this, the Board passed the measure on a 3-2 vote.

The next item was the closing of Satilla Church Road from the end of last home owner to the intersection with Gilman road. Most who live on Smyrna Church Road are in favor of closing the road and some had called the office in opposition. The Commission voted to start the process of closing the road which will include public hearings and notices.

The Commission approved the use of Sun Trust Bank, who bid a 3.9% loan rate for 36 months for the new police car that was delivered in January. The County Manager shopped around and lowered the interest rate by almost 0.5%.

The Commission tabled a discussion on the new property that is under consideration next to the Recreation Park where there is a lake that could be used for irrigation for the new fields. The survey was not yet available, so the Board did not have the final numbers with which to make a decision. The deal struck by the County Manager with the timber company is for approximately $2000 per acre for the dry land. The site area under consideration is about 18 acres but the lake is believed to be about 6 acres, based on satellite imagery that is available through the tax assessor/EMA offices. That would leave about 12 acres of dry land and a purchase price of about $24,000. Jennifer Kline, with the DNR, is reviewing grant funding alternatives to see if there is some assistance available. If not, Recreation SPLOST dollars would be used to purchase the property.

The Chairman briefed the Commission on his trip to Paloma Road. Last Friday morning, the Chairman decided to eat his breakfast parked aside Paloma Road and see firsthand what the traffic volume and speeds were like. Between 7am and 8am he reported that there were several cars that came and went, most drove at what appeared to be the speed limit or close. Some returned to the 4 lane at a much greater speed than they arrived down Paloma and some flew in both ways. One had to have been doing 55-60 mph. With this first hand encounter, the Commission has requested the State DOT to install traffic monitoring equipment on the road. With that data, a formal traffic study can be completed at no cost to the County. The discussion on traffic management devices will be continued after that data is available.

The Commission approved the County Manager's request to use the recent Road Grader bids to replace a 10 year old road grader with a new Volvo with a few hours similar to the one that the County had leased when it was short handed a few months ago. The price on the grader was $180,500, the trade in value on the 10 year old grader was $65,000 and the buy back at the end of 5 years is $115,000. The lease price on the grader will be $15,479 for 5 annual payments which is $13,000 below the annual budgeted amount. This allows the County the use of new equipment, while still saving money.

The Grand Finale of the night was a presentation by the United States Department of Agriculture of a $57,225 grant toward the purchase of the Road Grader that was purchased back in January. The balance of the cost of the Road Grader will be financed through USDA at 4% with annual payments of $13,100, which is $15,000 less than the budgeted amount for graders in the Road Department budget. This is the first time the County has ever used the USDA for rolling stock purchases. The County Manager and grant writer Courtney Reich were commended for their efforts to provide the County with the opportunity to save money, while having the luxury of new equipment. This was a real win/win for the County!

Ronald E. Ham
Chairman - Brantley County Commission