JONES COUNTY
The agenda for last week’s Jones County Board of Commissioners meeting contained only one agenda item, making for a brief business meeting.
The monthly meeting, however, was preceded by a work session that was not quite as short.
Board Chairman Chris Weidner called the Sept. 20 meeting to order. A Beer and Wine license for the new owners of Healy Point was the sole item to be considered by the commissioners, and it was approved unanimously.
Commissioners Wendy Vaughn, Sam Kitchens and John Wood attended the meeting. Commissioner Daylon Martin did not attend.
The 5 p.m. work session was called to discuss the restructuring of the Public Works department. Weidner stated that changes were approved at the Sept. 6 Board meeting to create positions for a Special Projects Manager and Assistant Special Projects Manager, and those positions would be filled by John Lowe and Sidney Pittman at their current pay.
The position of Public Works Director would be advertised.
County Administrator Jason Rizner said commissioners had an interest in restructuring all county departments, and they were starting with Public Works. He proposed starting with the key functions of the department and suggested the board may want to realign those functions.
“At one time, the department was divided into sections,” the administrator said. Kitchens started the conversation with a question about the use of contractors and how that has affected the number of employees in the department.
Rizner said Pittman previously oversaw the county’s construction crew, and then the employees were blended into different roles.
Lowe said no one was let go. He explained as some employees left the department, their positions were not filled.
Kitchens asked if everyone agreed that the county was not in the road building or paving business, and board members agreed.
Weidner noted that the county would have to continue patching roads.
Lowe said they needed to look at the process being used for the patches because what is being done not is not working.
Kitchens said he gets complaints from constituents because it takes a month to get a pothole fixed and then in another month it needs to be fixed again.
“We need a one-time fix, not just a patch,” he said.
Wood said something is not right on Stallings Road because wherever the road is fixed, it does not last.
Lowe said all soil is different, and Weidner agreed the roads should be evaluated on a case-bycase basis.
Chuck Loyd said a cold patch is supposed to be a temporary fix, and Kitchens said that could be the problem.
“Should we move from a cold patch to cutting it out and fixing it right?” he asked. “That will take longer, but it will last.”
Rizner asked if paved road maintenance should be its own section.
Kitchens suggested dividing the department into Rights of Way, Sanitation, Dirt Road Maintenance and Paved Road Maintenance.
Public Works employees attending the meeting said maintaining dirt roads is a constant battle.
Kitchens asked if the county was using its historic knowledge to work on problem areas in good weather to prepare for bad weather.
Lowe said they try, but recent rains have been unlike any seen before.
Kitchens asked how many mowers the county was using, and the answer was four. He asked if they had more mowers, were there employees to run them? The answer was no.
Weidner said he understood the county has two mowers that do not work.
“They need to go,” he said.
Kitchens suggested a spare mower that would be used when one of the others is being repaired or having maintenance performed.
“You’d be surprised; it would pay for itself,” he said.
Weidner asked that any surplus equipment be placed on the next meeting’s agenda.
Kitchens stated that the board has been working hard to get base salaries up for county employees.
“We want to be able to hire and keep good employees. It’s up to us to do our due diligence in our interviews,” he said.
Weidner asked about the maintenance program for Public Works equipment, and Lowe said that was already in place.
The next topic was sanitation. Kitchens said there had been a lot of changes at the recycling centers, and they no longer look like dump sites. He said attendants are needed at each center, but most of the attendants are no longer full time.
The commissioner asked if that causes problems, and Lowe said they had good people at the centers.
Kitchens said he gets calls about recycling all the time, but the issue is it is not being picked up by the recycling company.
Rizner said the challenge with recycling is the company is the “only game in town.”
Angie Hennessy, who supervises the recycling centers, suggested that more catch-alls at the centers could help. She added that the cans the county has are in bad shape.
Kitchens said he understands that it is frustrating for people who take the time to separate their recycling and breakdown their cardboard, to end up throwing it in the catch-all because there is no room.
The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled Oct. 4.
