JONES COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
By the time the regular third Tuesday business meeting began last week, Jones County commissioners had already spent most of the day working on county business.
The April 18 meetings started with a water/sewer work session at 1:30 p.m. that lasted until a 4:30 session to work out a bulk water agreement for the City of Gray, the county’s largest water customer.
That meeting ended in time for the board members to have a question and answering session with members of Cub Scout Pack 485, then a public hearing for Capital Improvement Elements required because of impact fees and the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
The 6 p.m. meeting was called to order by Chairman Chris Weidner. The scouts stayed to lead the pledge and Webelo Rhett Renner led the opening prayer. All commissioners were present at the meeting.
The first speakers were Carolyn and Robert Shinholster, who talked about the condition of their road, Ellis Church Road. Their request was for their road to be repaired so when it rains they are able to get to church.
The Shinholsters presented the commissioners with a petition containing 586 signatures from people supporting the repairs.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn commented that it was one of 38 roads that were not passable because of flooding during the recent rains.
Commissioner John Wood said he traveled the road the past weekend and suggested crowning the dirt road and cleaning out ditches could help with the problem.
“There is a process for paving the road,” he said.
Commission Sam Kitchens said the first step in that process is a petition containing signatures of homeowners willing to give the right-of-way needed to construct the road.
New business
Parrish Capital gave a presentation about investment opportunities for Jones County.
County Administrator Jason Rizner presented the Capital Improvement Element resolution that was discussed in the previous work session and recommended its approval. Vaughn made the motion to approve the resolution, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Rizner’s next presentation was the agreement for Corporate Health Partners Client Services Wellness program for Jones County employees for the term from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024.
Commissioner Daylon Martin made the motion to approve the agreement, and the motion was approved unanimously.
Old Business
Attorney Bert King asked the commissioners for approval to convert one of the parking spaces in front of his office on Jefferson Street to a handicapped parking space for his clients. Kitchens made the motion to approve King’s request, and the motion was approved unanimously.
The next agenda item was the question of painting the courthouse annex. Rizner said the estimate for the project was $45,000, and the Gray Downtown Development Authority had agreed to pay $15,000 toward the cost.
The commissioners discussed the pros and cons of the project and ultimately decided not to spend the money to paint it. The reason given was the annex is scheduled to be torn down when the project to renovate the courthouse is done.
County Attorney Ashley Brodie also made the point that the painting of the annex could not be part of the current project to make emergency repairs to the courthouse.
Martin made the motion to give permission to the Gray DDA to paint the building, and that motion was approved unanimously.
Citizens’ comments
LaVern Bradford spoke to the commissioners about an issue with the bike trail at the Mattie Wells Gym. She said she lives in Hampton Lakes, and her back yard and those of her neighbors back up to the trial.
Bradford requested that the company that built the trail put up a fence as a barrier between the homes and the bike trail.
“We were not notified that bike trail would be in our back yards,” she said.
She also said their roads are being torn up by big trucks due all the building that is going on.
Martin apologized that the county did not do a better job letting the homeowners know about the bike trail.
Sharee Meriweather talked about May being National Bike month and asked the county for a proclamation. She said she would like to donate bikes for county employees to use in their wellness program.
The meeting was adjourned to enter into closed session to discuss personnel. When the meeting reconvened, Martin made a motion to make adjustments to the grades of several department heads. The motion was approved with a vote of 3-2 with Weidner and Kitchens opposed.
The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled May 2.
