The Jones County Board of Commissioners took the final steps at their meeting last week in the removal of the two remaining members of the county’s Board of Tax Assessors.
Chairman Chris Weidner called the April 1 meeting to order, and the opening prayer and pledge were led by Rev. John Haney, chaplain for the Jones County Sheriff’s Office. At the conclusion of the prayer, the pastor spoke to the commissioners.
“I appreciate the work you do that goes unappreciated,” he said.
The issue of the removal of the tax assessor board members was one of the final items on the agenda. County Administrator Jason Rizner presented the item to the commissioners stating that a March 19 hearing before Superior Court Judge Amanda Petty was the last step in the process of the removal of Tim Andrews and Scherryl Morgan from the Board of Tax Assessors.
Petty ruled in favor of the county, stating that the court found the decision to remove the board members was warranted. The judge’s order was dated March 28.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens made the motion to remove Andrews and Morgan, effective immediately. The vote to approve the motion was 4-1 with Commissioner Daylon Martin opposed.
Interim Chief Appraiser Jim Davis gave the commissioners an update of the department’s progress with the tax digest and property values. He said the staff has additional help, and they are working to catch up.
Davis said there were some changes coming in the law, and they were also preparing for those.
“We have a lot going on, but we are progressing,” he reported.
Rizner asked the commissioners how they wanted to handle the appointments to fill the two vacancies on the tax assessors board. He said the county has received several applications for the board positions.
The consensus of the board was to conduct interviews as they had with the three appointments in January.
P&Z
Planning and Zoning items took the majority of the time of the meeting. Zoning Officer Tim Pitrowski presented the first zoning item, the approval of a planned unit development for a portion of River North Subdivision to allow a 32-unit townhome development on 5.2 acres.
The property is located near 632 River North Blvd and to the rear of River Point Condominiums. Developer Childers Adams said the units would be single-family homes that would be permanent housing, not condos.
Adams said the water and sewer issues had been addressed by the engineering designers.
Kitchens said he really liked the design of the project but asked if it could be approved before the engineering design was approved.
Pitrowski said if the design did not address the water and sewer issues, the building permit for the project would not be issued.
No one spoke in opposition to the request.
Following a discussion, Kitchens made the motion to approve the development, contingent on the water and sewer issues being resolved. The vote to approve was unanimous.
The most contentious of the items, and the reason for the attendance of a majority of the audience members, was a request by a business owner to park his trucks on his property on Bone Creek Road.
Pitrowski explained that a conditional use to allow a paving company was needed for the paving trucks to park on the property. The staff recommendation was approval, but the Planning Zoning Commission denied the request. The final decision, as always, is up to the commissioners.
“All I want to do is park our dump trucks on the property overnight,” he said.
The owner offered to pave the road at his own expense.
Commissioner Daylon Martin said the business had been there for six years, but he has been getting calls about it for the past two weeks.
“There has always been a business at the entrance of the subdivision,” he said.
The issue for those opposed appeared to be that, while the dump trucks are being backed into the property to be parked, the road is blocked. It was also brought up that the large trucks are over the weight limit for the road and are damaging it.
Kitchens asked if the entrance to the property could be moved to Joycliff Road. He added that the offer to pave Bone Creek Road was generous.
Commissioner John Wood asked if there was a way not to block the road when pulling in.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn said she watched the Planning and Zoning meeting and had done some research. She said Bone Creek Road is number 180 on the county’s repaving list.
“This property has been commercial for at least 15 years,” the commissioner said.
Vaughn also noted that the weight limits of the road does not include a vehicle that is parked at the owner’s home.
The complaints of those opposed to the conditional use included road damage, inconvenience of the road being blocked, safety concerns, the size of the lot in relation to the trucks and the trucks being visible from nearby residences.
After listening to both sides of the issue, Martin made a motion to allow the conditional use if the entrance is made from Joycliff Road.
“That eliminates 90 percent of the complaints, and the bonus is he paves the road,” Martin said.
The vote to approve the motion was unanimous.
The remaining two zoning issues, a conditional use to allow demolition and reconstruction of a building addition at Clinton Methodist Church and a variance to allow an additional dwelling on a private road were both unanimously approved.
New B usiness Jones County Fire Chief Thomas Coleman presented board members with a Georgia Forestry Commission Rural Fire Defense Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding for their approval.
The chief explained that the agreement was needed due to a new Georgia Forestry lead ranger for the area, Ricky Williams.
Martin made the motion to approve the agreement and MOU, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Assistant Public Works Director Laurinda Mason, Jones County High School CTAE Director Lisa Collins and Instructor Michael Denaro presented the next item. Mason said she was considering the advantage of training in a simulator, but the $1 million cost to purchase one was out of the question.
Collins said the JCHS heavy equipment simulators are a pilot program. She said Mason reached out and toured the facility. The idea of a partnership between the school system and county was the result.
Denaro said the classes would be in eight-hour sessions, utilizing four simulators. The cost would be $100 per session. The training would focus on safety as well as getting familiar with the equipment.
Public Works Director Jerry Arnold was in support of the training, and Weidner, who is an experienced heavy equipment operator, said the simulator is the closest thing possible to the real equipment.
Mason said the county would also be interested in giving JCHS students hands-on experience with the hope of attracting some who would want to work for the county. Kitchens stated it was an amazing opportunity to reduce accidents and create a pipeline for the county to attract future employees.
Collins said the simulator training would need to be scheduled the first or second week after the school year is completed.
Martin said he was excited about the partnership and made the motion to approve the project.
The vote in favor was unanimous.
During commissioners’ comments, the chairman said he received a call from the Georgia Department of Transportation, and there will be no rumble strips installed on Highway 11.
The meeting was adjourned to enter closed session.
When the meeting reopened, Martin made the motion to rescind a previous offer of assistant public works director and offer the employee an opportunity to go back into the administrative assistant position. The vote to approve the motion was unanimous.
At the conclusion of the vote, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled April 15.
