Waynesville VFD Receives $200,000 grant‏

Waynesville Volunteer Fire Department was notified this morning that they have received grant funds in excess of $200,000 for a Class A Pumper. Congratulations to Waynesville VFD for their hard work and diligence to bring new equipment to Brantley County with zero (0) cost to the taxpayer for the purchase.

Ronald E Ham
Chairman - Brantley County Commission

County Received Waynesville DOT Contracts‏

The County Commission has received the Department of Transportation contracts for the Waynesville Road Projects. In a called meeting this morning (Thursday)at 8am the County will approve these contracts. This will allow them to be processed and returned to the DOT. Once they have them, the actual DOT work orders can be issued for the $600,000 in matching funds for Waynesville Road paving project. The Commission felt the urgency to process these as the timeline for dry weather becomes shorter and shorter. Once the work orders are received, the specifications can be released for bids, which will take 20-30 days. Contract award, negotiations and finalization will take another 20-30 days. The winning vendor will need a few weeks to move in and the actual work will take months. The Commission's goal is to get as much dirt work completed during dry weather as is possible. Once this is done and in place the paving can be completed.

In other paving projects, the County has received all the ROW necessary to move forward with Boots Harrison and needs only one more parcel of ROW on Satilla Church Road and Dude Circle. The goal is to let some of these projects as combined projects in an attempt to leverage the volume of work for better price. The County is working on Mt. Calvary deeds for ROW parcels now. The paving for Baker Creek up to the recreation park should be completed in the next couple of weeks, if the weather cooperates. Finally, the ROW pursuit on Buster Walker Road continues. Commissioner Mike Edgy is working with local land owners that have responded to any of the correspondence over the years that this project has been in the works. Those property owners who are out of town are being sent one final certified return receipt letter. If there is no response from that in the time alloted, the attorney will begin condemnation processes on those parcels. This is an unattractive and expensive process, but necessary if the County is to make good on its commitment to the countless property owners who have provided ROW for this project.

These paving projects are not only improvement projects for the local citizens on that road. For every mile of road that migrates from dirt to pavement, that represents ten of thousands of dollars per year in maintenance dollar savings. The Commission sincerely appreciates the support and patience of those citizens that have been working toward the completion of these projects.

Ronald E. "Ron" Ham
Chairman - Brantley County Commission

Jail Demolition Saturday‏

The original Brantley County Jail came tumbling down Saturday as the Road Department utilized the day the courthouse and, as luck would haveit, the City, were vacant. Two dump trucks carried the debris to the landfill as Morris Franklin, recently hired road department, used the County excavator to bring down the old building. With a number of structural issues, from sewage leaks to mold to other, the County Commission voted unanimously some months ago to take down the old jail and move forward with a new parking lot between the courthouse and Highway 82. There are some grant funds available to enhance entrances and egresses to 4 lane highways in Georgia. The County Manager and grant specialist Courtney Reich will be pursuing those venues.

During the last court session a funeral was taking place and the City was literally jam packed with cars from Brantley Auto Parts almost to the Southeastern Bank. In fact, rumor has it there were some issues lining up the funeral and cars had to be moved. The new parking lot will help bring an end to those kinds of issues and be another step down the road toward the new look for the courthouse complex.

Schlatterville Walking Track Complete‏

The paving of the Schlatterville Walking Track has been completed. Waycross Paving was able to compete the project with County employees outlining the area for them to work. The company installed base material (crush and run) and then topped it off with actual paving just like is used to pave roads.

So, citizens from all over the County have an area to walk and exercise that could even be lit, should there be some parties playing tennis, basketball or softball. The new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) building that is currently being researched will be installed in front of that recreation facility, near the large oak tree. Their presence in the area will help reduce vandalism and will position them so that they are better suited to serve the West end of the County and to cover for the Nhunta and Waynesville EMS stations, should they need backup.

County Commission Meeting

County Commission Public Hearing

In the Public Hearing to discuss the potential closure of Smyrna Church Road, over 1 dozen individuals, families and companies came to oppose the closure of Smyrna Church Road in Lulaton. Several other individuals and companies wrote in that could not attend. One group presented a petition with 169 signatures. No member of the audience spoke in favor of closing the road.

When the County considers closing a road, the process begins with these meetings and research about traffic patterns, maintenance costs, ownership, etc. Smyrna Church Road is obviously used by a great number of citizens who are accessing their property, homes or the County land fill.

Almost every member that spoke asked the County not only to keep the road open, but asked that the road be widened in the narrow section close to the railroad tracks and eventually paved.

County Commission Meeting April 2010

On the consent agenda, the county Commission approved the following items:
1. Increase the water sampling fees at the Health Department to $30 each if performed inhouse or $60 each if taken to Waycross. Waycross has started charging a fee, so this must be passed onto the customers.
2. Renew the building lease/office space lease with The Family Connections.
3. Purchase 12 acres of land from Plum Creek next to the new Recreation Park, for future use, at $2065 per acre.
4. Adopt a resolution setting minimum acreage to 15 acres for Conservation Use, Authorized by O.C.G.A. 48-5-7.4(a)(3). This came as a recommendation from the Tax Assessor’s Office.
5. Appoint Tim Crews to the Southeast Georgia EMS Council.
6. Adopt a resolution authorizing a Pre-Application for funding from the Department of Natural Resources, Land and Water Conservation Fund, for lights at the Recreation Park.
7. Approve lease purchase deal for two 2010 Ford Crown Victoria Police Cars for the Sheriff’s Department. One is for new purchase and one is to replace the one that was wrecked some weeks ago and recently totaled by the insurance company. The other insurance company (not the County's) will pay off the wrecked car.

On the regular agenda, the following items were discussed and actions were taken.
The closing of Smyrna Church Road was voted down in a motion which included the County beginning the process to widen that road to a width consistent with the road just north of the narrow section. The County Manager will work with the land owners, road department and County engineers to put this project on the County road project agenda.

Joanie/Christian Cox’s request for a beer, wine and liquor license at “The Rack Shack” was reviewed. The County Manager reported that the facility was too close to the closest neighbor, which put it in violation of the County ordinance. The Commission discussed that Mr. Cox had come to the Commission prior to building his building and was given a copy of the ordinance and was told to make sure the site he constructed met the guidelines as outlined in the ordinance. Where the building was only 40 feet within that limit, there is no waver or appeal process in the County ordinance. The application was denied. In a subsequent motion, the Commission asked the attorney to review appeal or variance language for the alcohol ordinance that would allow some latitude in cases like this. During this discussion, comments were made in regard to stores in the City of Nahunta which sell beer, wine and liquor. The Commission explained that the City of Nahunta is its own jurisdiction and the County has no say so over those licenses.

A request to close Lee Cemetery Road was tabled to the May meeting, as there were concerns over the legalities, or if the adjacent landowners had purchased the rights to the cemetery, if the cemetery is still open to the public and what Ctate or Federal laws may pertain to public cemeteries. The County attorney will research all of these items and report back in May

Section 801 of the Subdivision Ordinance was discussed as developed in a joint County Commission–Planning Commission meeting. This language cleared up the issue around the six lots that the Planning Commission and the County Commissioners have been working with over the past months. The motion passed with one small adjustment from the County engineer.

The new owner of Blueberry Hill Restaurant, J.B. James Carter’s, request for a beer, wine and liquor license was approved. The ordinance on liquor licenses provides that a facility is grandfathered in if the previous owners have maintained a beer, wine and liquor license without lapse through the years. That is the case here.
The Schlatterville Building that was to serve as a combination EMS/Fire Substation was tabled to the May agenda so that the County Manager could get clarification on the bids. One Commissioner felt strongly that there needed to be windows in the back of the building, since it would be out front of the Schlatterville Recreation Park. None of the quotes included windows and one quote did not reference how much the installation would cost. This was placed on the May Agenda.

The Mobile Home Ordinance was discussed. The Commission has discussed removing the 15 year limitation and just leaving the language in that provides that all used mobile homes that are to be brought into the County pass an inhabitability inspection prior to entering the County. The County attorney suggested that input be acquired from the Georgia Mobile Home Association President and that the inhabitability inspection and checklist be made part of the ordinance. This was tabled until May and when the Planning Commission can take it back up. Some discussion took place on the impact this has for commercial mobile home companies that have to make repairs to mobile homes outside the County so that they can be brought into the County.

A request to start the procedure to close Memphis Way in Hortense was discussed. After a testimony by the resident that brought this to the Board, the Commission voted to begin the process to close this road. This is a very short route just off Highway 32 that impacts only one resident.

The Commissioners discussed dumpster consolidation. The dumpsters on 110 North and Browntown Road have been targeted to be consolidated to the 259 South dumpster site. The DOT has asked that any dumpster site on State or County right of way be considered for relocation, as they present a traffic hazard and safety hazard. The dumpsters recently relocated at the Waynesville Elementary School were a topic of discussion as well. With this, the County discussed at length executing the clause in the current garbage contract that will allow a transition to house to house (H2H) garbage pickup. The company has offered the service for about $11 per house per month. The County collects nearly $685,000 per year now in garbage fees annually. Where the addendum quotes 7400 households, this includes the cities of Nahunta and Hoboken, who already have H2H garbage pickup. A more realistic number should be around 6,600, which would increase the garbage fee approximately $200,000 annually. There are two personnel dedicated to dumpster clean up, prison resources dedicated to collecting garbage at the dumpster sites and along highways, there are various pieces of equipment and other expenses that will present savings in actual dollars or opportunity costs that will more than make up the difference in cost to manage the increase in garbage collection. The County is paying to haul 20% or more of their neighboring County’s garbage. The County also knows that the process in place today is simply not working. Trash is everywhere, sites are unsanitary and stray dogs and cats are constantly discarded at local dump sites. The County Manager will work with the current disposal company to complete the addendum to the contract and develop a migration plan from dumpsters to H2H garbage pickup. Given the savings available, this can be done with little or no impact to the budget. Once a process is worked out, it will be communicated and will likely include a parallel process. The landfill will remain open, as this had no affect on it.

The County held an executive session to discuss personnel in the EOC-911 department. Coming out of executive session, no action was taken. The meeting was adjourned.

Ronald E. Ham
Chairman – Brantley County Commission

Commissioner Mike Edgy Testifies‏

Commissioner Mike Edgy was invited to testify at the Senate Subcommittee Hearing in Atlanta on HB207, which pertained to protecting the river and other natural resources. Commissioner Edgy, accompanied by Representative Mark Williams and members of the Satilla River Keepers, attended the hearing to voice his support for an amendment to the legislation allowing for fines "not less than $25" to be levied against those violating "buffer zones" on the river with 4 wheelers. This law would also apply to any 4 wheelers in violation of State laws prohibiting their use on State or County roads or rights of way. Last year the Commission spent a considerable amount of time on a County ordinance pertaining to this topic, only to find that current State laws were in place which limited certain penalties. Commissioner Edgy carried with him a letter from the County Commission in support of the legislation, prepared by County Commission Chairman Ronald Ham, who was unable to attend the hearing due to a conflict. The passage of this legislation and appropriate amendments look favorable.

Congratulations to Commissioner Edgy and the Commission for defending our County's greatest natural resource, the Satilla River.

Roads and Revenue

The County Commission Meeting was true to the former name of the Commission which was “Roads and Revenue”. The majority of the items were on one item or the other.

Clay Lee from the Health Department recommended some new pass through user fees to the Commission. The State lab in Waycross has not previously charged Brantley County for completing water analysis testing. But now that office is forced to help drive State revenue by charging $30 per sample tested. In order to curtail spending, they have also started taking samples only two days per week. The Brantley County Health Department has acquired the equipment and will soon acquire the training and certification so that water samples can be done in-house. Thus, Mr. Lee recommended that the Health Department charge $30 to perform an in-house water test or $60 when it has to be sent into Waycross. This was put on the Consent Agenda.

There were two requests for beer, wine and liquor licenses. One was from Blueberry Hill’s new owner, James Carter, and the other was for “The Rack Shack” in Raybon by Joanie Marie Cox. The County Manager, Parish Barwick, will review both establishments for compliance with the County ordinance and will discuss the issue of the Blueberry Hill Restaurant being an existing establishment and what impact that has on the issue of the license. These were placed on the Regular Agenda.
The closing of Smyrna Church Road was put on the Regular Agenda. There will be a public hearing at 5:30, prior to the regular meeting next Tuesday, as required. Many property owners, citizens and even commissioners for that matter, have spoken against the closing of this road. In fact, most that have called in are asking that the County acquire the appropriate right of way and widen the road through the narrow section to eliminate a safety issue.

Eloise B Thompson requested the closing of Lee Cemetery Road. The Commission came up with an alternative and will approach the Thompsons with the alternative. They are concerned about all the 4 wheeler activity and undesirable and possible illegal traffic that is going on there now. Thus, they have dug a ditch across the road so that you have to park and walk to the cemetery now. There are two graves in this cemetery from the early 1900s. This item was placed on the Regular Agenda.

The Commission discussed the DOT traffic report that was presented. The test was performed over 24 hours on a Friday. The inbound and outbound traffic was monitored separately. There were over 140 trips in and out. Coming into the road all but 8 were traveling at a speed (44 mph or below) and traveling outbound all but about a dozen were traveling at or below that speed. With the vast majority of the traffic on the road traveling at a reasonable speed, there wasn’t sufficient evidence that traffic management devices needed to be installed. This was DOT’s evaluation as well.

The quotes were reviewed for the EMS building that is to be built near the big oak tree near the front of the Schlatterville Recreation Park. The low bidder was Lariat Steel Buildings at $17500. This item was placed on the regular agenda.
The Mobile Home Ordinance was discussed. There is an existing law that deals with the useful life of mobile homes, which is alleged to be in conflict with the existing ordinance which prevents mobile homes older than 15 years from being brought into the County. In the joint County Commission/Planning Commission meeting recently held, the group discussed eliminating the language about 15 years. The ordinance would still provide for an inhabitability inspection prior to a used mobile home being brought into the County. The specific language has not yet been provided by the Planning Commission, so this was placed on the Regular Agenda.
Section 801.1 was discussed and placed on the Regular Agenda. The Planning Commission will provide the proposed language and current language for section 810 in its entirety for the Board’s review prior to the meeting next week. The language that was worked out in the Planning Commission was agreeable to all those in attendance and closed out some lingering issues.

The dumpster sites that were previously voted to eliminate on 110 North and Browntown Road will have signs erected to the closing and relocation to 259 South. Other necessary notifications will be run. This item was placed on the regular agenda.

The discussion about defining actual fire tax districts for individual fire departments including Atkinson, Hoboken, Nahunta and Hortense took place next. Since the Fireman’s Association meeting the night before was canceled due to a large fire, this item was tabled until the May meeting. To perform this function, the County would only have to pass a resolution dissolving the current countywide fire district and would need to pass individual resolutions creating the individual fire tax districts. Given the recent tools purchased by the County for mapping at 911 and the tax office.

Mary Gibson gave an update on the Airport. Littlefield Construction was the low bidder (by unit of material). They are still defining the exact material needed to complete the project. This will be completed in a couple of weeks and the mobilization to the airport will depend on the contractor’s schedule.
The County Manager gave an update on a number of items. The Old Jail demolition is rocking along. The steel has been removed and sent to sell and much of the interior fixtures and walls have been removed by prison labor. The fence has been removed and will be installed in a place where taller fence will be helpful at the new jail facility. The shrubbery will be relocated to the new jail as well. The road department will work out a schedule to complete the demolition when it can be done safely. There will be some steel and wood to sort once the jail is down. This will be accomplished at little or no expense to the County. At this point, less than $2500 has been spent and the money has not yet been received for the loads of steel that were removed. The St. Illa office renovation is coming along nicely, with much of the empty offices already gutted. The Courthouse repairs were discussed next. The roofing is complete and the carpet installation is underway. The request for bids has gone out for the eve and trim painting, balcony repair, etc. for the outside of the Courthouse but NONE have been received at this point. They are due next week. The new Recreation Park is coming along but has had one setback. The fence company has used the wrong poles on some portions of the fence and has been informed that longer poles and sufficient concrete will have to be installed. It is unsure how much this will affect the schedule. The County Manager and Recreation director will work with the vendor to correct the problem. A complimentary irrigation design is being performed for the fields. The team is in hopes that volunteers will be able to install the irrigation system and save money on the project.

The County Manager also updated the team on the contract that has been acquired from Plum Creek on the property next to the new recreation park. They’ve agreed to charge the County for only the dry land at a rate of $2065 per acre for about 12 acres. The total acreage was about 18. This is significantly less than the County paid for the new Recreation Park and was placed on the Consent Agenda.
An update was given on the various road projects. Warners’ Landing is completed. Albert Gibson is completed and receiving rave reviews from those that live on or travel down that road. Wiltsie Way has been excavated and a permanent fix has been engineered by the Road Department and Civil Engineering team. Block layers should be on site on Wednesday and permanent repairs should be completed by the middle or end of next week if not before. Once the County was notified of the failure underground, there was no alternative but to close the road and excavate to define permanent repairs. The State DOT has notified the County that the $600,000 contract on Waynesville Road is in process. These should be in hand within 30 days. Once these are in hand, the County can move forward with dirt work and paving. With Buster Walker, Satilla Church, Boots Harrison and Mt. Calvary, the County is still working to acquire the right of way (ROW). The County Manager has discussed the needed ROW for Dude Circle with Plum Creek and has reached an agreement to exchange the current ROW for the needed ROW. Details will be given to the County Attorney so that the appropriate documents can be prepared.

A request has been submitted for the County to “cease maintaining” Memphis Way in Hortense. The resident claims that it is a private drive. Since the County has maintained the road and it connects two County roads, this is a County road. This item will be placed on the Regular Agenda.

A conversation about travel reimbursement forms took place. The County manager will send a memo to all employees explaining that travel reimbursement forms must be filled out completely showing where the employee has traveled to and from and for what purpose.

The County manager presented the Board with a request to purchase a police car. One of the older cars needed an automatic transmission and other work. Their general opinion was that there was no need to pour more money into a car with over 200,000 miles on it. The County agreed to purchase the car and finance it with the Southeastern Bank, if they will honor the quoted interest rate in the last bid cycle. The challenges with the last car purchased were discussed. The County had to rework the forms at least three times, with the County attorney involved each time at $165 per hour, with overnight fees of at least $75. The difference between the first and second place bidders represented only a $200 savings (0.05%) over the 36 month lease. So, the County didn’t really save any money and had enormous aggravation throughout the entire process. This was placed on the Regular Agenda.
The Commission placed items on the Consent Agenda to:

• reappoint Tim Crews to the South East Georgia Emergency Management Services Council.
• approve the Family Connections Lease.
• approve the grant pre-application with Land and Water Conservation Funding for lights on the new Recreation Park.
• set the Conservation acreage to 15 as requested by the Tax Assessors Board.

Schlatterville Walking Track

The West end of the County will be pleased to hear that the County broke ground yesterday on a walking track at the Schlatterville Recreation Park. The Park has been improved over the past months using prison and community service workers to keep costs in check. The walking track project will be no different. County Road Department employees, led by the newly hired Morris Franklin, removed the grass and existing topsoil so that a base layer could be installed for the nearly 1/4 mile walking track. As pictured below, the walking track will circle the tennis and basketball courts at that facility. Some time ago, the Board voted to move forward with the project using only the $9000+ that were in an account designated specifically for the Schlatterville Recreation Park. If the weather holds, the base should be in place in a week or two, with paving to take place soon after.

The pictures below show the general footprint and work underway.

Ronald E. Ham
Chairman - Brantley County Commission