The Jones County Board of Commissioners had a brief meeting on the third Tuesday in July with a short agenda but lengthy closed session at the conclusion of the meeting.
Chairman Chris Wiedner called the July 21 meeting to order with the opening prayer and pledge led by Commissioner Sam Kitchens.
For the second meeting in a row, the visitor who asked to be on the agenda with questions pertaining to data centers did not attend.
The one New Business item on the agenda was a budget request from Jones County Department of Family and Children Services for 2027. The request was for a budget amount of $50,000. County Administrator Jason Rizner presented the request and explained the timing of the request was due to the state’s fiscal year.
Commissioner Daylon Martin made the motion to approve the request, and the motion was approved unanimously.
With no more county business items on the agenda, Wiedner called for reports from department heads beginning with Public Works Director Jerry Arnold. The director said, due to the storms of the past two months, the focus has been on rightof- way cleanup.
Arnold said the department has also dealt with drainage problems on Joycliff Road and pavement reclamation on Stagecoach Road.
“And we are mostly trying to keep up with the grass,” he added.
There were no other reports from department heads, and the chairman moved on to comments from board members.
Commissioner Comments
Kitchens began by thanking public works department employees for their quick response.
“We’ve had a lot of storms, and they are doing a good job,” he said.
Commissioner John Wood went further to say the work of public works had been phenomenal. He said he saw a complaint on social media about the high grass along state highways and decided to call the Georgia Department of Transportation for answers.
The commissioner said a GDOT representative called him back and explained that the company contracted to cut the grass did not fulfill their duties, and the agency is currently looking for another contractor.
Wood said he asked when the problem would be resolved and received no date that the grass would be cut.
“I’m concerned if a car pulls off the highway into that tall grass, it could start a grass fire,” he said. “I’m also worried about deer coming out of that tall grass unseen and causing accidents.”
The commissioner said he looks forward to the problem being resolved and the grass cutting going back to normal.
Weidner gave kudos to all county departments.
“I’m proud of the work you do to stay ahead of problems,” he said.
Vaughn said she also received calls about the grass on state roads, including Gray Highway. She said the caller asked how the road could be taken over by the county since the county does cut the grass on its roads.
“I think we work for some great county employees,” she said. “I don’t think they work for us; we work for them. I want them to know we are grateful for all they do.”
Martin said he called public works about a problem on a road Monday morning, and it was resolved the following day.
“It can’t always be that quick, but we appreciate it when it is,” he said.
Citizens comments
A resident of Gray asked board members for help with an issue that was the result of a house fire two years ago. She said her home was a total loss, and the city is asking for the remains of the home to be removed and the lot cleaned up.
The resident said she did not have the means to comply.
Wood said he had spoken to the woman and advised her she needed to go to city council but also thought it was worth asking the county for help.
Weidner explained that the county cannot go on personal property, but he had suggestions, as did Vaughn. He said the Middle Georgia Regional Commission has an aging agency that may have grants that could help.
Vaughn suggested contacting the Middle Georgia Community Action Agency that also has an agency division with resources.
Rev. Wilbur Greene was the next to come to the commissioners with a request. He said he had a death in the family and needed more time to work on the State Place Cemetery issue.
Greene said he has been talking to interested parties and felt progress was being made. Board members agreed to wait until September to put the cemetery back on the agenda.
The last two speakers included an individual with questions about the process to protect citizens when addressing data centers, and the final question was about how to apply to the Public Facilities Authority Board.
At the conclusion of the agenda items, Weidner called for a motion to adjourn to enter closed session to discuss personnel, litigation and real estate.
Vaughn made the motion to adjourn at 6:32 p.m. for the closed session. The commissioner made a motion at 7:45 p.m. to reconvene the meeting, which was immediately adjourned with no action taken.
