The first January meeting for the Jones County Board of Commissioners had positive news about the coming year concerning multiple ongoing projects.
Board Chairman Chris Weidner called the Jan. 6 meeting to order, and the prayer and pledge were led by Tim Ingram.
Under board appointments, commissioners approved the reappointment of Earlene Hamilton to the P&Z Board of Appeals and Adjustments for a five-year term. Justin Kelly and Andrea Riley were reappointed to the Board of Assessors for six-year terms.
Weidner and Joy Carr were reappointed to the Middle Georgia Regional Commission Board for one-year terms, and Weidner was also reappointed to the Middle Georgia Regional Aging Advisory Board for a two-year term.
Before getting into the business portion of the meeting, Weidner asked Public Works employee John Simmons to the front for a presentation. Simmons was presented with the plaque the county won for the Best Use of Theme in the Dec. 9 Gray Christmas Parade.
The county’s entry in the parade depicted the movie “A Christmas Story,” complete with Weidner in pink bunny pajamas and a giant version of the lamp made famous from the show.
“When I’m not in the woods building trails, I’m building 13-foot leg lamps. I enjoy everything the county lets me do,” Simmons said.
The employee was recognized in a previous meeting for his work with the walking and bike trails for the Jake’s Woods project. In addition to the plaque, Simmons was also gifted the bunny pajamas.
New Business
James Harvey brought the county a request for help with the JC Hoops program. Harvey is a Parks and Recreation employee and works with the program that provides structured mentorship for youth ages 5-14 during after school hours and during the summer.
The request was for a $5,000 grant to assist with the cost of equipment, uniforms and training supplies as well as referees and scorekeeper for games.
Harvey said the program currently has more than 40 basketball teams. Commissioner Sam Kitchens said the grant would not be possible due to legal issues, but the assistance could be funded through the Parks and Recreation department.
Kitchens asked County Administrator Jason Rizner to work with the Parks and Recreation Department to find a way to fund the program.
Harvey commented that his plan was to keep the program going with or without the funding.
Weidner thanked Harvey for what he was doing for the county’s youth and reiterated his support.
“We definitely want to help. We just need to make sure we do it properly,” the chairman said.
Commissioner John Wood made the motion to postpone the agenda item to a future meeting.
Rizner brought the commissioners a request to change the scope of the work for a GEFA loan that was originally for improvements to Griswoldville Industrial Park. The good news was the project bids came in under budget. The administrator and Ingram, in his capacity as consulting engineer, requested to modify the scope of the loan to include improvements to the River North Condo lift station and Cole Drive sewer.
Kitchens said that was a good problem to have and made the motion for the changes, which were approved unanimously.
Rizner presented a second GEFA loan modification request. The purpose of that modification was to amend the finish date of the loan for running the sewer to the industrial park. Kitchens made that motion, and it was approved unanimously.
Ingram presented a recommendation for the award of the bid for the Highway 49 Water project Phase 2. He said the project had 10 bidders, and he recommended awarding the bid to the lowest bidder, JJA Enterprises, in the amount of $1,357,803.
The engineer said the company was researched and references were checked.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to award the bid to JJA Enterprises, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Rizner talked to the commissioners about the upcoming LMIG application that is due Feb. 1. LMIG is the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant the county receives annually from the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The grant is in the amount of $851,064 and requires a local match of $255,319 for a total amount of $1.1 million. The administrator recommended using $100,000 for the application of the stabilization treatment Perma-Zyme for dirt roads, which would cover 12.5 miles.
The suggestion was portions of Mountain Springs, Pitts Chapel, Stallings, County Line, Fire Tower, Comer, Oliver Green and Skinner. The remaining funds would be used for reclamation and resurfacing of the next roads on the list, Confederate Drive, Trotter’s Ridge Trail, Stagecoach Drive, River Road and Laura Lane.
Kitchens made the motion to proceed with the application as recommended, and it was approved unanimously.
The final new business item was postponed for more information.
Old Business
Clerk of the Board and Human Resources Director Shannon Wagner presented the creation of a new position at the Jones County Library. The recommendation was the creation of a lead position.
Wagner said the additional funds for the position were available in the budget.
Kitchens made the motion, adding it would be good to have position in place when the branch manager was not there. The motion was approved unanimously.
The administrator presented the memorandum of understanding between Jones County and the University of Georgia pertaining to county extension personnel.
Kitchens made the motion accept the agreement, and the motion was approved unanimously.
Department heads
County Extension Coordinator Brennan Jackson presented an update. He said this is the midst of the livestock season with events every weekend leading up to the state show in February.
He said program planning is also underway for programs and projects like the 4H Dairy Quiz Bowl and shotgun teams.
Public Works Director Jerry Arnold said the use of Perma-Zyme stabilization treatment for dirt roads is a good idea and has worked well on Curtis James Road.
He gave a shout out for the public works crew who took care of a long-going drainage problem along New Clinton Road.
Jones County Water Superintendent Brandon Stark said he is excited because several multimillion- dollar projects are underway that should be accomplished in 2026. He ended his remarks with words of appreciation for board members.
“Thank you for all you do. It doesn’t go unnoticed,” Stark said.
At the conclusion of the agenda items and comments, the meeting was adjourned to enter into closed session.
