Last week’s Jones County Commission meeting had an exciting beginning with accolades for a team of small girls who brought a state championship to the county in Girls Coach Pitch.
Board Chairman Chris Weidner opened the July 7 meeting with prayer and called the champions to the front to lead the Pledge of Alliance, which they did with gusto.
The team was announced and applauded, and their coach explained the 8U Girls Coach Pitch Team had a rocky road to the championship. He said the team lost the district at home to Dudley and also lost the sectionals but as the second place team advanced to the state playoffs.
Jones County overcame Dudley in a Saturday playoff game and then run-ruled the team they played Sunday 18-8 to win the state title.
The agenda began with Planning and Zoning items presented by Zoning Officer Tim Pitrowski. The first item was a proposal to amend the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution to allow keeping up to 10 chickens in residential districts for personal use.
Pitrowski explained the staff analysis supports the request with strong safeguards in place. One of the requirements was a minimum density of 10 square feet per hen, and only female chickens (hens) would be allowed. He said if approved by commissioners, Section 107 and the related regulations would be added to the CLDR.
Following the discussion, Commissioner Sam Kitchens made the motion, and it was unanimously approved.
The board approved a conditional use to allow a billboard at 3477 Gray Highway and to begin the text amendment process to create a new section to allow distilled alcohol package sales as a conditional use in the C-2 district.
The last P&Z item was a request to create Section 108 Conditional Reuse of former non-residential buildings. The request was to begin the text amendment process as recommended in the staff analysis.
The issue is being able to use buildings that were previously commercial buildings but are currently in a non-commercial area. The intent is to allow the buildings to be used as commercial as a permitted conditional use. Following a discussion, Kitchens made the motion to begin the process, and it was approved with a unanimous vote.
Board appointment
Prior to the board meeting, Commissioners held a work session/ interview with an applicant for the vacant position on the Historic Preservation Commission. The applicant was asked questions about his background, experience, qualifications and reason for wanting to serve on the board.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to appoint Grover Murray to the HPC for a three-year term, and the motion was approved unanimously.
New business
Keep Jones Beautiful Director Abigail Barton spoke to the commissioners about the program and scheduling for the next Clean Up Day. Barton said she has checked off the items needed for the Adopt-a-Spot program, and part of the checklist is the Clean Up days.
Her suggestion for the fall clean-up date was Oct. 24. She said that gives time to apply for the tire grant to handle all the tires that are collected. Barton said 1,075 tires were collected at the Spring Clean Up event.
“It will be a great time to clean up before Halloween,” she added.
Barton went on to say the Saturday falls on a bye week for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Both Kitchens and Vaughn, who have traded the trophy for the most trash collected, said they would be available on that date.
Weidner, who claimed the trophy for his tire collection in the spring, said he would not be available that weekend but said he would be collecting tires leading up to the date.
Kitchens stated that he loved Barton’s enthusiasm.
“I truly do have a passion,” the director said.
Consulting Engineer Tim Ingram with Ingram & Associates recommended the contract for the Highway 49 Phase 5 project be awarded to the low bidder Ohmshiv Construction LLC. The base bid for the project was $2,648,070. He also recommended accepting the ductile iron pipe option, adding $935,000 to the contract, bringing the complete contract amount to $3,583,070.
Kitchens asked if the bid was within the project budget.
Ingram said the remaining ARPA funds to complete the project was $2,648,070, and the additional funds were available from bond money.
Vaughn made the motion to approve the contract award to Ohmshiv, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Jones County Emergency Management Director Jessica Tyler recommended contracting with Ceres Environmental Services for Pre-Event Disaster Removal. She explained it is important to have the contract already in place before the services are needed.
“It’s not a requirement, but we learned when Helene hit, if you didn’t have a contract in place, you have to wait. The county doesn’t pay anything until there is a storm,” she said.
Tyler said she had checked the company’s references and got good feedback.
Vaughn made the motion, and it was approved unanimously.
Tyler also recommended approving the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan pending FEMA’s approval. Commissioner Daylon Martin made the motion to approve, and the motion was approved unanimously.
Department heads
Parks and Recreation Director Bert Rosenberger thanked the county for the great Independence Day Extravaganza. He said the county set another record for attendance.
“Events like this is why people want to live in Jones County,” he said.
Rosenberger said baseball and softball are wrapping up, and registration has begun for fall sports. He said they are looking at possible youth volleyball.
At the conclusion of the agenda, the meeting was adjourned to enter closed session.
