JONES COUNTY
The focus for Jones County Commissioners at their third Tuesday meeting included roads and employee certifications.
Board Chairman Chris Weidner called the Nov. 15 meeting to order, and Consulting Engineer Tim Ingram, with Ingram and Associates, led the opening pray and pledge.
All Jones County Commissioners were in attendance at the meeting.
The first two items of New Business were also presented by Ingram, beginning with the suggestion of combining Department of Transportation road improvement funds for the years of 2022 and 2023 in order to make progress on Jones County’s road repair lists.
The total of the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants (LMIG) for the two years is estimated at $1,770,000, and the estimated total for the repair of the first three roads on the county’s road list is $1,692,000.
The speaker talked about different options for the repairs.
Commissioner John Wood said he spent most of the day riding county roads, and he would like to see the safety issues of the roads addressed first.
Commissioner Daylon Martin asked how some roads leap-frogged to the top of the list, and County Administrator Jason Rizner said the list presented was the one the board had previously approved. Rizner said the board needed to make a decision about the roads by Nov. 28, the date bids for the road projects would be opened.
The decision on the LMIG funds was put on hold while the next item Ingram presented was discussed. That issue was two road assessment proposals. The engineer explained the two proposals.
He said the first was an evaluation of the condition of all the roads in the county that would include a color-coded map. The cost of that assessment was $29,600.
The second evaluation was more of a continuing process that would start with an initial assessment that would be stored in the cloud and would include an ongoing strategy for roads.
Both assessments would initially involve riding and documenting all county roads. The cost of the second proposal was $67,500.
“These are two completely different proposals,” he said.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens said the county really needs a grading system for its roads. He agreed the proposals were different, and he made a motion to postpone the decision until they can get more information.
The motion to postpone the items was approved unanimously.
After the discussion of the two proposals, board members went back to the question of using LMIG funds.
Kitchens made the motion to use 2022 and 2023 LMIG funds to get as far as possible with the repairs of the roads on the county’s list. The first three roads on the list are Morris Stevens, Dye and Smith roads.
The vote to approve Kitchens’ motion was unanimous.
Water
Water Superintendent Brandon Stark recommended acceptance of a bid for a hydro Vacuum Excavator from Ditch Witch #1 in the amount of $61,000. Stark said he preferred that excavator because it was smaller and could be pulled by a pickup truck.
The superintendent said the county has another larger excavator that can be used when needed.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to approve the superintendent’s recommendation, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Marketing
Rizner told the commissioners that he was contacted with a request to terminate the contract between the county and Jonesco Marketing involving sponsorship agreements. County Attorney Ashely Brodie said the termination required a 60-day notice.
Martin made the motion to terminate the agreement, and it was approved unanimously.
The final item of New Business was a question from Clerk of the Board Shannon Wagner about the third Tuesday meeting in December. She said the board usually cancels the meeting.
Martin made a motion to cancel the Dec. 20 meeting, at the motion was approved unanimously.
Old Business
Wagner brought the only item of Old Business to the board, which was a request for more clarification for the county’s certification policy. The question was about a definite effective date for the policy and if college classes would count toward certification.
Board members agreed that the effective date of the policy was the date the policy was approved, which was the previous meeting.
Kitchens stated his opinion was the county would not pay for the college classes, but if the classes improved the employee’s ability to perform in their position, it should count toward certification. The commissioner then asked about the operators’ licenses in the water department and how achieving those licenses would affect the pay scale.
Following a confusing discussion about the licenses, Kitchens made a motion to postpone the item for more information, and it was approved unanimously.
Following comments by department heads and board members, the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting of the commissioners is scheduled Dec. 6.
