COMMISSIONERS
Jones County Commissioners approved a housing study for Haddock and voted to move forward with renovations to the courthouse despite the escalating cost of materials.
The Nov. 1 meeting was called to order by Board Chairman Chris Weidner, who also led the opening prayer. The chairman introduced Webelo Patrick Carson, who led the Pledge of Allegiance.
All Jones County Commissioners were in attendance at the meeting.
County Attorney Ashely Brodie read the first zoning request. Linda Battle asked for a conditional use to establish a personal care home on Eatonton Highway for disabled veterans.
Battle said she had been in business 21 years, and there was a need for the facility.
Commissioner Daylon Martin made the motion to approve the request, and it was approved unanimously.
A request for a rehearing of a previous request to operate a deer cooler on Cheehaw Drive was denied for lack of new information.
New Business
Warren Selby with Warren Associates spoke to the commissioners about courthouse renovations. Information in his presentation included that the courthouse was constructed in 1906 and was rehabilitated in 1992. The original cost to construct the courthouse was $35,000 and it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The courthouse currently houses Magistrate Court, Superior Court, Probate Court and offices of the Clerk of Superior Court.
Selby said his firm was engaged to complete an analysis of the building March 3. The estimated budget to complete the needed repairs was $980,000 to $1.1 million. He was at the meeting because he said the budget was $155,000 over the estimate.
Selby said the increase amounted to 14 percent. Weidner asked if that was all material costs, and Selby said yes.
The speaker said he needed direction from the board of whether to cut the scope or adjust the project.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens said more increases in the cost of materials were expected in December.
“But this has got to be done. I don’t know anywhere we can cut,” he said.
Weidner agreed the renovations needed to be done to preserve the building.
Kitchens made the motion to continue with the project as is, and the vote to approve the motion was unanimous.
GICH Housing Team Chairman Donald Black and committee member Milton Appling spoke to commissioners about the need for a housing study. He said the last study was done in 2009 after Jones County and Gray became a GICH Community.
The study was divided into three sections – City of Gray at a cost of $3,500; south Jones County $8,000; and Haddock $2,500.
Martin made the motion to approve the study for Haddock, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Parks and recreation
Bert Rosenberger, Parks and Recreation director, presented the bids for three zero-turn mowers for his department. He recommended awarding the bid to Greenville Turf and Tractor.
The county received seven bids for the mowers.
Following a lengthy discussion, the commissioners asked for more information about repair costs, and the bid award was postponed.
Rosenberger presented the next bid award for a triplex mower for the golf course. Only one bid was received, which was also from Greenville Turf and Tractor, in the amount of $45,479.16.
Martin made the motion to accept the bid, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
The final item Rosenberger brought to the board was about the possibility of a creating a flag football league. He explained the league would be for youth and adults, male and female, and noted that one of the questions would be whether to have the competition in Spring or Fall.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn said the sport is growing in Georgia.
Rosenberger added that he has a lot of experience in running a flag football league, and it has many variations.
Kitchens made the motion to approve moving forward with the creation of a flag football league. The motion was approved unanimously.
Old business
Clerk of the Board and Human Resource Director Shannon Wagner asked the Board for a decision on the policy for employee pay increases for certifications. CDL certifications were added to the list with training programs from 16 to 80 hours with corresponding pay increases up to 10 percent.
Other certifications require 80 hours of classroom study and must not be a requirement for the job position. All certification programs must be approved by the HR Director and County Administrator prior to the training.
Martin made the motion to approve the certification policy, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Weidner presented two checks from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs that he received during a meeting earlier in the day. The first check was for $500,000 to help fund the sewer at Griswoldville Park and the second for $1 million was for the renovation of the Jones County Health Department Building.
The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled Nov. 15.
