Jones County Commissioners met last week and approved the resolution to allow the package sales of alcohol, which will take effect Friday, and at the conclusion of the meeting shared opinions and concerns about previous decisions.
The Oct. 20 meeting was called to order by Chairman Chris Weidner. The opening prayer and pledge were led by Jones County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jimmy Howard.
First on the agenda was Tammy Sosebee, executive director of the Middle Georgia Community Action Agency. Sosebee talked about the agency’s services that include programs for senior citizens, headstart for children and weatherization programs.
The director explained the weatherization programs help seniors and families get their power bills down. Sosebee had another reason for attending the meeting, which was to present a plaque of appreciation to the Board of Commissioners for their continued support.
“We just wanted to say thank you,” she said.
The first item of new business was presented by Jones County Family Connection Coordinator Joy Carr and Operation Early Intervention Coordinator Shana Roberts. Carr explained the CHINS grant that was recently received as part of the next round of funding.
The coordinator said the grant was in the amount of $41,595 and would be used to continue to assist families through the Operation Early Intervention program.
Roberts said 11 cohorts had been completed over the past six years. She said each cohort is a 10-week class, and each can serve up to 20 families.
Carr said the funding provides a lot of programming for Operation Early Intervention.
Attorney William Noland presented the second reading of the amendment to the county’s alcohol ordinance. He explained there had been no changes to the document since the first reading that took place at the previous meeting.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to approve the second reading of the ordinance, and the motion was approved unanimously. Noland said the ordinance would take effect 10 days after the vote to approve, which would also open the application period.
County Administrator Jason Rizner presented the Alcohol Fee resolution that stated the cost of the initial license for package alcohol sales in Jones County is $5,000, and the annual renewal of the license will also be $5,000. Commissioner Daylon Martin made the motion to approve the resolution, and the vote to approve the motion was unanimous.
With no Old Business on the agenda, Weidner called for reports from department heads, but there were none.
Citizens comments
Brittany Calhoun stated she had serious concerns about the alcohol ordinance that the board approved.
She said she had emailed her concern to commissioners and asked the vote to approve the ordinance be rescinded. The speaker said she disagreed with the $250 required for appeal and the cap for four licenses in the county.
Commissioner comments
The chairman said he would not be in town for the Community Cleanup Saturday, and he challenged the other commissioners to break his record of tire collection. Weidner noted that his record was 188 tires.
He then continued with his comments stating that there had been decisions made in the past that he felt had cost the county millions of dollars. Weidner said some of those decisions were caused by the city and county not working together in the past.
The chairman went on to talk about Jarvis Lucas Lake being under the control of Bibb County and the decision against allowing a rock quarry in Bradley. He also pointed out a close call with the location of Tractor Supply.
Weidner said he has seen groups cost the county money with untrue comments on social media.
“I don’t like politics,” he said. “That’s why I ran for office. I’m a businessman in a political world.”
Commissioner John Wood said he agreed with the reason for joining the board. He said he is a businessman working in timber and cutting hay and is not a politician. The commissioner went on to talk about a mistake he felt he made at the last meeting.
Wood said he let bad information sway his motion, and he hoped an application would be submitted for a rehearing.
“I don’t like being rushed into a decision. I made a mistake, and I apologize,” he said.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens said the petition was sent back to Planning and Zoning to discuss a text amendment, which is said was the intent of the board. He said there were a lot of communication issues, but he believes the intent of the commissioners and the P&Z Commission are the same.
Kitchens said is not a businessman and his experience comes from 34 years of government service.
“I live on the same property my grandfather lived on,” he said.
Vaughn returned to the topic of the community cleanup and encouraged the public to participate.
“You can just pick up stuff in front of your own house. It’s up to everyone to keep our county clean,” she said.
Martin said this would be the first year he would be able to participate in the cleanup. He said he loves the idea of correcting errors and noted his regret in voting to rescind the motion to run water to Bradley years ago.
“When we have the opportunity for dialogue, it makes the process better.
Weidner asked Gray Mayor Pro Tem James Collins to come to the podium and thanked him for being instrumental in bringing the city and county together to do what is best for the community.
Collins said the city and county have a lot left to do but acknowledged the entities have come a long way.
“Let’s continue to work together,” he said.
The meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m. The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is Nov. 3.
