Jones County Commissioners considered the contract award for road paving, adjustments for the upcoming SPLOST renewal and supporting a new entrance for Vulcan Materials at last week’s meeting.
Chairman Chris Weidner called the Aug. 19 meeting to order, and the opening prayer and pledge were led by Capt. Travis Douglas with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.
Douglas also brought the first item of new business, which was the approval of roadways in Jones County for the use of speed detection devices. The six-page list included the road name, location, area approved for the detection devices and the speed limit.
The captain said the list was last approved in 2019 and had not changed.
Weidner said the request reminded him that the school system had asked about changing the speed limit in front of the high school. Douglas said that process begins by making a request to the JCSO or Gray Police Department.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens made the motion to approve the list of roadways, and the motion passed with a unanimous vote.
All five members of the Board of Commissioners were in attendance at the meeting.
Keep Jones Beautiful Director Mallory Lundsford asked the commissioners to renew the county’s contract with the agency. She said the contract expiration date is Aug. 30.
Lundsford said the new contract would include the area served by Keep Jones Beautiful and an update of the office address. Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to renew the KJB contract, and it was approved unanimously.
Jones County Board of Tax Assessors Chairman Leigh Stanford spoke to the board to request a budget amendment for the department. The request was for a new line item for Technical Appraisal Services, the company assisting with needs associated with current property assessment appeals and the revaluation of properties in the county.
Stanford requested to move $25,000 to the line item. It was not a request for additional funds.
She said Jim Davis was still Jones County’s interim chief tax appraiser, but his duties were being modified and compensation adjusted.
Commissioner John Wood asked about the search for a new chief appraiser. Stanford said had two good candidates, but they did not accept the job. Since then, she said, the prospects had been limited.
Stanford also talked about Jones County’s 2024 Sales Ratio Audit. She said she received information from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts that Jones County’s Sales Ratio for 2024 was 35.52.
That number was much better than expected, and she explained the reason for the pleasant surprise was the new methodology used in the calculation. Stanford said it was not the optimal 40 percent, but the amount paid by utilities would be much better than in past years.
Weidner told Stanford he appreciated the work she and the board of tax assessors has done.
“Before you started, I think we were sitting at 25,” he said.
Consulting Engineer Tim Ingram with Ingram and Associates presented the results of the Aug. 18 bid opening for the county’s annual road maintenance projects. Those projects are partially funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Local Maintenance in Improvement Grant each year.
He explained bids were received from four Georgia paving companies, and the low bidder was Blount Construction Company at $1,624,339.
Blount Construction is located in Marietta.
Ingram said this year’s projects were currently $240,000 under budget. Commissioners asked if more roads could be added the project, but County Administrator Jason Rizner suggested evaluating after the projects were completed.
Commissioner Daylon Martin asked why the only local paving company who submitted a bid was not given local preference. The difference in the bids was $40,000.
Kitchens said the local company had done good work for the county in the past and is familiar with Jones County.
County Attorney Ashley Brodie said Jones County has not adopted local preference.
“If you want it, you’re going to have to enact it. You just can’t do it when you want to,” she said.
Weidner said adopting local preference has pros and cons.
“If you have a policy of local preference, other companies are not going to submit bids,” he said.
Kitchens said there is not much of a choice based on the price but suggested a later conversation about local preference.
“I agree it has two sides, and the mechanism is not in place,” he added.
The commissioner made the motion to award the contract to Blount Construction.
The vote to approve was 3-2 with Martin and Vaughn opposed.
Rizner led a conversation about the project list for the renewal of Jones County’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. He said Kitchens has suggested using more of the funds to pay off more of the debt on current projects.
Kitchens said paying off those loans is necessary because the county is going to need more funding for upcoming water projects.
Wood and Vaughn both agreed with the need of paying off debt.
Kitchens made the motion to make the changes in the project list, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Rizner introduced the Director of Engineering for Vulcan, Brady Sterchi. He said the company is asking for a letter to the GDOT from Jones County in support of a new entrance on Highway 49.
Sterchi explained the plan for the new driveway entrance, and Vaughn asked about an area to allow buses to turn around.
Martin asked about covering the gravel trucks to keep debris from blowing out, damaging vehicles and creating hazards for bikers.
Weidner noted that the county needs assistance from the company for easements for water projects. Kitchens made the motion to approve the company’s request, contingent on receipt of the easements for the water project.
The vote to approve the motion was unanimous.
The final two agenda items was a request from Rizner for approval to extend the end date for a GEFA loan, and Human Resource Director Shannon Wagner said the commissioners needed to appoint a voting delegate for the upcoming Legislative Leadership Conference.
The end date extension for the loan was unanimously approved, and Vaughn was unanimously selected as the voting delegate.
The meeting was adjourned to enter closed session a few minutes before 7 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 8:36 p.m. only to be adjourned again with no action taken.
The next scheduled meeting of the Commissioners is Sept. 2. All county meetings are accessible live and recorded through the county’s website, jonescountyga.org.
