JONES COUNTY
Applause broke out at the December Board of Commissioners meeting when a local church received the green light to construct a new building.
More good news was shared at the end of the meeting pertaining to ambulance service.
Board Chairman Chris Weidner called the Dec. 5 meeting to order, and Donald Black with St. Paul AME Church led the opening prayer and pledge. All commissioners were in attendance.
Planning and Zoning was first on the agenda, presented by Zoning Officer Tim Pitroski.
The first item was a conditional use requested by Greater Jordan Chapel AME Church to allow an additional church building on the property located at 1415 Highway 22 E. The property is zoned Rural Residential.
Pastor Maria Gordon spoke for the request. She stated the church has existed for 150 years and has been in its current location for 100 years.
“We want to continue our ministry in the same location,” she said.
The current sanctuary has been deemed structurally unsound by engineers, and the congregation is currently meeting at the old Turner Chapel on Dolly Street.
No one spoke in opposition to the request. Commissioner John Wood made the motion to approve the request, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Aggregates USA requested a conditional use to allow additional space for its asphalt plant when it is relocated. The relocation of the plant was approved by commissioners at their Nov. 7 meeting. Attorney Jack Nichols spoke in favor of the conditional use and noted that the additional property is wooded and provides a natural buffer. There was no opposition to the request.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to approve the request, and the motion was passed unanimously.
Other approved P&Z items included rezoning property on Daisy Circle to Agricultural Residential to allow a double-wide trailer, a variance on the same property to allow creation of a substandard private road and a conditional use to allow an additional dwelling on a small lot on Mallards Point.
New business
Public Works Director Shawn Wood presented bids for catchall roll-off containers for convenience centers. He said the bid from Sansom Equipment in the amount of $101,385 was the lowest bid that met the specifications.
Wood also had the next item, which was the request for an administrative assistant position for the public works department. He said the tasks had increased, and more help is needed.
The director explained the position would be a trade off with an unfilled position at no additional expense to the county.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens spoke in favor of the request and made the motion to create the position with no increase to the budget. The motion was approved unanimously.
John Wood brought up a traffic situation in Clinton. He said trucks and speeders are coming off Pulaski Street and damaging historic steps at the corner of Randolph and Pulaski. He said the speed breakers on Randolph Street are too low.
Earlene Hamilton and Cliff Bowen also spoke about the traffic issue. Hamilton said Randolph Street has become a cut-through route, and Bowen said something has changed in the past few months.
“In the past, Friday afternoons were worse; now it’s every afternoon,” he said.
Hamilton said more 20 mph signs were needed.
“The level of damage we are seeing is new,” she added.
Vaughn said increasing the size of the speed bumps on Randolph Street would help. She said speed bumps on Pulaski are good deterrents.
Weidner said public works can take care of those issues. He also suggested that mobile cameras could be placed in the area to find out who is causing the problem.
Hamilton said there are some commercial vehicles parked in the area, but commercial traffic is not supposed to go through the historic town.
Shawn Wood said the county had just received a new shipment of speed breakers.
Department heads
County Administrator Jason Rizner said he has reviewed the county’s road assessment and would like a work session before the January meeting. He said the purpose would be viewing the road assessment and selecting streets for the next LMIG.
Wood told commissioners he appreciated their support for employee training, updating equipment and looks forward to future support.
Citizen comments
Lashonda Whipple of Mt. Springs Church Road spoke to board members, asking for assistance with her road. She asked if the county could put down crush and run because the gravel being used was not sufficient.
Whipple said, when it rains, the gravel makes the road worse.
The public works director said there is a road plan in progress that would help with the problem.
Commissioners’ comments
Kitchens said the board had talked about issues with ambulance service, and he has been working on it. He said he thinks the county has an opportunity to have one fulltime ambulance and two part-time units dedicated to Jones County.
He said they are working through the details, and he hopes to be able to bring something before the board the first of the year.
The commissioner said the next step is to find a location for the ambulance and crew members.
“Our conferences are not just about the training we get. It’s also the people we meet,” Kitchens said. “We got to talking and made the right connections. That’s because of the relationships we form.”
Vaughn said she had been reflecting on the year and what has been accomplished.
“I think we’ve done a great job working together,” she said. “A big part of that is putting people in the right places to make a difference.”
The commissioner said it’s important that board members work together.
“I’m blessed to be here and thankful for our county employees who make us look good,” Vaughn added.
Commissioner Daylon Martin agreed some of their greatest decisions were hiring decisions, and those decisions had been rewarding.
“I appreciate the opportunity to work for people,” he said.
Martin said it was exciting to see the water and sewer projects coming along, and he was looking forward to having TSPLOST and liquor sales on the ballot for 2024.
“I’m not a big drinker, but I like tax money. There is a reason there are liquor stores at the edge of our county,” he said. “I also want to thank our constituents who have held us accountable.”
Weidner thanked the people who come before the commissioners and let them know about issues in the county.
“I would like to have this room full every meeting,” he said.
The meeting was adjourned to go into closed session. The next scheduled meeting of the commissioners is Jan. 2.
