[0:00] All right, ladies and gentlemen, it is 4
[0:02] o'clock, so we'll go ahead and get the
[0:03] meeting called to order for the August
[0:05] meeting. I want to thank everybody for
[0:06] being here. I know we've uh just got two
[0:08] of us sitting here in person. We got
[0:10] Commissioner Tiffens connected by phone.
[0:12] He had a last minute work trip that he
[0:14] had to had to take off and go out of
[0:15] town for. So, he's connected by phone.
[0:18] You can also see that because there's
[0:20] two presentations during the work
[0:22] session that are going to be done, he's
[0:24] going to be able to to see the uh the
[0:27] screens as they're going. So, um he
[0:32] um but we'll we'll get things kicked off
[0:34] here at 4:00. Um and as we get ready to kick off the meeting, one one quick
[0:41] thing. I know that there was a weather
[0:42] alert that came through just a few
[0:44] minutes ago where we got put into a
[0:46] severe uh weather watch for this
[0:48] evening. So, hopefully it'll be a little
[0:50] bit later, but they're popping up in
[0:52] North Georgia from time to time. So, a
[0:54] little bit later in the evening. I know
[0:56] our our EMA director is already
[0:58] scheduled kind of activating a couple of
[1:00] people at the EOCC to monitor just in
[1:03] case uh later this evening, but
[1:04] hopefully hopefully this is one of those
[1:06] that that just messes over all of us
[1:09] completely. Um but with that, since I've
[1:12] already talked about our EMA director,
[1:13] Dr. Robbie Westbrook, I'm going to have
[1:15] Dr. Westbrook do our invocation and
[1:17] prayer and then beyond that, Mega
[1:18] Weathers will lead us in.
[1:21] >> Y'all will pray with me. Father God, we
[1:23] thank you so much for the honor to serve
[1:25] this county, Lord. God, we just ask you
[1:27] to be with us as we make decisions and
[1:29] do the things for the good people of
[1:31] this county, Lord. God, we ask you to be
[1:33] with the people that we know and love
[1:35] that have lost loved ones or friends
[1:38] over the last few weeks, Lord. We know
[1:40] so many of them, and we just ask you to
[1:43] keep their hearts full of uh peace and
[1:46] love, Lord, as they navigate these
[1:48] waters. God, go with us. Keep us all
[1:50] safe. In the name of your son Jesus
[1:52] Christ. Amen.
[1:54] >> Amen.
[1:57] >> To the flag of the United States of
[1:59] America and to the republic for which it
[2:02] stands. One nation under God,
[2:05] [clears throat] indivisible, with
[2:07] liberty [groaning] and justice for all.
[2:10] >> Thank you.
[2:12] I always want to make a joke when I ask
[2:13] somebody to lead the pledge is let's all
[2:15] get turned around first because I miss I
[2:17] pledge allegiance card each each month
[2:19] when we start. I do it each each month.
[2:21] Uh as we go through that um if you can
[2:24] look at the agenda uh that there were
[2:26] copies before for those that came in. I
[2:28] know that at least it sent one to each
[2:29] of the commissioners. So as we review
[2:31] those for the approval for the agenda uh
[2:34] I will entertain a motion for approval
[2:37] of the agenda.
[2:38] >> Motion to approve.
[2:40] >> Second motion.
[2:41] >> Motion and a second. Do you have any
[2:43] discussion or questions related to it?
[2:45] >> No.
[2:46] >> With none. All in favor? I none
[2:48] >> opposed then we'll move forward with the
[2:50] agenda as it's been prepared to present
[2:53] it. Uh the first item on there is the
[2:55] director of internal operations report.
[2:58] Uh it's kind of humorous that I asked
[3:00] the director of internal operations to
[3:02] be in another meeting at 4:00. So
[3:04] because of that she's not in here. U the
[3:06] development authority has a meeting that
[3:08] got called at 4:00. So she's there uh on
[3:10] behalf of the county. So, I'm going to
[3:12] go through and attempt to do what Miss
[3:14] McDow would would do for you just on an
[3:17] update to a couple of the items uh
[3:19] projects that are going on. One that's
[3:21] not on here, but it's uh relevant when
[3:24] we approved uh the the moving forward
[3:27] with the purchase of property for the
[3:28] public safety center that that property
[3:30] closed on Friday. So, we now have the land that's there. We'll start
[3:36] working through the process of of
[3:38] getting all the final steps in place for
[3:40] construction and getting those out the
[3:42] bid like we did with the other two
[3:44] projects plus projects uh at our last
[3:46] meeting two weeks ago. Um so if you
[3:49] notice when if you came in the front
[3:51] door the the awnings are finally back
[3:53] up. We had some wind damage to the
[3:55] canvas awnings that were there before.
[3:56] They've been replaced with metal. Uh
[3:59] they finalized a little bit of of
[4:01] caulking today and I think that we're finally finished with that one. Uh
[4:06] airport FBO building construction is
[4:08] still moving along. Uh they have an
[4:10] anticipated furniture delivery to move
[4:12] things in on September the 10th. So
[4:15] we've kind of set the clock and I've let
[4:17] the contractor know we're going to evict
[4:19] him as soon as we can close to that date
[4:21] to get him out and get us in. Um, I know
[4:24] Stacy's looking forward to to being back
[4:27] in in in space to where she has some
[4:29] room to move. So, she's got that fire
[4:32] station, Talking Rock, uh, station
[4:34] number seven. Uh, work's continuing
[4:36] [snorts] to be finished with the curb
[4:39] installation, the power and fiber
[4:40] connections, radio tower preparation,
[4:42] water service signage, uh, and the low
[4:45] voltage infrastructure. It is also on
[4:47] target for midepptember as well for
[4:50] being able to to take that building. Uh
[4:53] the state has been working on some
[4:55] renovations to the health department.
[4:57] They they put out the bid to do some
[4:59] interior redesign and they've just
[5:01] awarded that to a contractor. So we're
[5:04] hoping to see them finalize those steps
[5:06] and get that up and going soon. Um
[5:09] working on camera systems for the Cove
[5:11] Road Recycling Center to get that all
[5:13] taken care of. the conduit and outdoor
[5:15] cabling has been installed. They're now
[5:17] working on trying to finalize getting
[5:18] those cameras in place and up and
[5:20] running a little bit more more beefed up
[5:23] than what we currently have. And uh
[5:26] we're continuing to to work and that's
[5:27] all on the property management side of
[5:29] things. The finance side, we're
[5:32] continuing to work through the 2027
[5:34] budget process. I know that the tax
[5:35] assessor's office completed the 45day
[5:38] appeal window uh last week. They're
[5:40] working through trying to enter all that
[5:42] information in to try to get that digest
[5:44] created over to the tax commissioner who
[5:45] will then send it to us. So, we're we're
[5:47] still working on getting that date
[5:48] scheduled for millage conversation. And
[5:51] that's that's a big key component on the budget process as we're going, but
[5:55] we are working through each step with
[5:58] the department heads and elected
[5:59] officials that have provided those as
[6:01] well. So, that is [clears throat] what's
[6:04] going on on the internal operation side
[6:06] of things. Um, [clears throat] I I'll
[6:09] open it up for questions for the
[6:10] director of internal operations and I'll
[6:12] do my best because I meet with her
[6:13] regularly to answer them. But, uh, if
[6:16] you got any questions of any other
[6:17] items.
[6:18] >> I'm good.
[6:21] >> All right. Well, we'll move from that on
[6:23] into our public safety operations
[6:25] report. We got Director Lrod here, so he
[6:27] can kind of give us an update on what's
[6:28] going on in the public safety world.
[6:30] >> I know you're not going to believe this,
[6:32] but 911 is still busy.
[6:35] and honor blue. Um still still high call volume. Um on
[6:42] the EMA side, we had a
[6:45] multi-jurisdictional full scale exercise
[6:47] on uh July the 30th at Harmony School.
[6:51] We had a active shooter trainer uh that
[6:54] entailed the county, the city and state
[6:57] resources. Um a full action afteraction
[7:01] report should be submitted in 45 days.
[7:04] We need to do full scale operations
[7:07] every few years. They have to turn in
[7:09] the state. So um the wildat community
[7:14] evacuation plan is near completion. Um,
[7:17] emergency management county fire and the
[7:20] wildcat community association has been
[7:22] working for several months
[7:24] um to not only develop the plan uh to
[7:29] provide training to residents when
[7:30] completed.
[7:32] Um
[7:35] plan to bring the community volunteer
[7:37] agencies together during disaster
[7:39] recovery has been completed. Uh the
[7:42] Pickkins family connection led by Leslie
[7:45] Long has agreed to be the primary agency
[7:47] working uh with emergency management to
[7:50] prepare
[7:52] for the coordination of shelters,
[7:54] donated goods, other unaffiliated
[7:58] volunteers
[8:00] and filling
[8:02] the gap for other unmet human needs.
[8:06] Um
[8:07] other major contributors been pickings
[8:10] collected and sheriff's office
[8:12] authentic.
[8:14] Uh pick skelly fire. I know that's hard
[8:16] to believe. They're also been busy. Um
[8:19] but they did do a lot of training last
[8:21] month. They done 670 hours of training.
[8:24] U
[8:26] between vehicle extrication.
[8:29] We've also started a paramedic class
[8:32] with nine students in it running through
[8:34] faithful guardian which will be a a big
[8:37] asset for the county and surrounding
[8:39] counties. There's a few in also
[8:43] involved. Um
[8:46] a EMT class is they're wrapping up
[8:57] wood right now. We got all our engines
[8:59] and stuff and running good. So,
[9:03] y'all got the real wood up there.
[9:06] >> Made the statement.
[9:07] >> I did. I did. Well, that's why I set my
[9:14] » Any questions for
[9:19] the Wildcat community? Being at the high
[9:21] elevation, the evacuation plan, you
[9:23] almost want to say just go downhill and
[9:25] you're going to work your way out
[9:26] somehow.
[9:28] Is Clayton is here. I shouldn't make that a joke because it is
[9:32] a serious matter. But uh it's it's
[9:35] always a challenge when you get into
[9:37] some of those higher valuation areas and
[9:39] how to set those evacuation plans
[9:41] depending on where an incident occurs.
[9:43] >> We're worried about the fire coming up.
[9:45] >> Yeah.
[9:45] >> Not going down.
[9:46] >> Yeah, I know. That's why I regretted my
[9:49] joke as I said it, but I it was too
[9:51] late. I already let the words come out.
[9:53] >> Um
[9:55] >> so we actually have uh a guest here with
[9:57] us today. We've been working closely
[9:59] with DCCM uh engineering firm that's
[10:02] been working with us on a variety of
[10:04] projects, but one of the projects we
[10:05] kind of tasked them with is to bring in
[10:07] somebody that was outside independent
[10:09] from either the county's water system or
[10:11] the city's water system. We could go
[10:13] back a few months where the city had
[10:15] requested to kick off service delivery
[10:16] negotiations
[10:18] and made a request during that time for
[10:20] us to consider or to look into the
[10:23] consideration of acquisition of portions
[10:26] of their territory that were outside the
[10:27] city limits. Uh in an effort to to do
[10:30] due diligence, we have requested DCCM to kind of help us with identifying what
[10:36] that process should look like, could
[10:38] look like, what the challenges were,
[10:40] what the opportunities were. Um they
[10:42] have got one of the one of the most
[10:45] recognized individuals in the state of
[10:46] Georgia that's working with them, Mr.
[10:48] Chris Quickley in the water system. Uh
[10:50] highly highly regarded as as one of the
[10:53] best. And we've got the honor tonight of
[10:55] having Mr. Quickley here with us. So uh
[10:58] Chris, I'm going to turn the floor over
[10:59] to you and allow you to give an update
[11:00] as to what's going on with the process
[11:02] and steps forward.
[11:04] >> Thank you. Thank you, sir. So I'm a
[11:06] water engineer. I've done this for 40
[11:08] years. This is all I've ever done. So,
[11:11] um, you have the accumulation of a lot
[11:14] of mistakes and errors and and a bent
[11:17] nose and some gray hair. Um, our role,
[11:21] just to be clear, is to give good
[11:23] advice.
[11:25] They have a much harder job is you all
[11:28] have to make a decision. In my mind's
[11:30] eye, there are two you could go either
[11:34] way decisions and they're both hard. Um,
[11:38] I it reminds me of my grandmother's old
[11:41] house right before she died and and you
[11:44] go in and you look at the house, you go,
[11:46] "Oh my god, what what are we going to do
[11:48] with this thing?" And and this what
[11:50] we're about to do reminds me of of that
[11:53] experience. Um th this is the story.
[11:56] This is Pickkins County.
[11:59] Uh the blue lines on the perimeter are
[12:02] the county's water lanes. The red lines
[12:05] in in the center and towards the bottom
[12:07] are the city's water manes. The pink is
[12:11] the service area
[12:14] of the city.
[12:16] So in the service delivery strategy,
[12:19] that's their area. The the green is the
[12:23] city limits. Uh I just want to say
[12:26] there's draft on every one of these.
[12:28] This is a snapshot of our work in time.
[12:32] It's based on information come coming
[12:34] from a lot of different people. We try
[12:37] to be as accurate as possible. And after
[12:41] all these years, I'm pretty good, but
[12:42] we're not perfect. So, if you see
[12:45] something that is not 100% right, please
[12:48] let us know and we'll we'll correct it.
[12:52] This this graph freaks me out a little
[12:55] bit. I love it. is we put monthly bill
[12:59] on the left side and we put water usage
[13:02] on the bottom and all we did was graph
[13:05] who sells water in the county and how
[13:07] much is it. We put a rectangle around
[13:10] 5,000 gallons. That's about average. And
[13:15] if we go from lowest to highest, Jasper
[13:18] inside the city and then it's up to
[13:20] Pickkins County and then there's J
[13:23] Jasper outside. I always put what does a
[13:27] cell service your cell phone? How much
[13:30] does that cost in Georgia? It's about
[13:32] $90 for an individual.
[13:35] Uh, and the reason why I put that on
[13:37] there, your cell phone's real important,
[13:40] but water is the number one important
[13:43] thing in your life.
[13:45] 7 days, you're done. So, I I put that on
[13:49] there just to give reference to it. Look
[13:52] at the two private water systems, Bent
[13:54] Tree and Big Canoe.
[13:58] Those are some that's some some big
[14:00] breaks. Uh, what does that mean in
[14:03] dollar amounts? So Jasper inside the
[14:05] city is about 50. Pickings County is
[14:08] about 60. Jasper outside 70. The cell
[14:12] phone's at 90. But look at Bentry 122.
[14:15] And Big Cano is about 160. Those are
[14:19] significant uh those are significant
[14:22] bills. I show you the money because
[14:25] there's rumors that the city is going to
[14:27] privatize their water system. Privatize
[14:31] means profit. Somebody gets a profit. I
[14:34] am all for privatization
[14:37] if the municipality is dysfunctional
[14:40] because we're talking about water and
[14:42] what you pay for it. My preference
[14:44] though is to fix the municipality and
[14:48] get it to run locally because there's no
[14:51] shareholders getting money. They just
[14:55] plow them the excess funds back into the
[14:58] system and make it as good as it can be.
[15:01] So that's that graph shows all. I'm
[15:04] sorry for how wordy it is, but it's that
[15:07] was that's a neat graph to do. When I
[15:10] started, just so you know, it was about
[15:13] a dollar a,000 gallons and a $10
[15:17] initiation fee. So you were talking
[15:19] about $15 and now we're talking what?
[15:23] 160.
[15:27] Um, this I'm sorry for all the words,
[15:29] but I put a rectangle around the the
[15:31] most important thing. This is the
[15:34] Jasper's water audit highlights. And
[15:38] what it shows is they're losing about
[15:41] 50% of their water. So, they'll make 100
[15:44] gallons and they'll lose 50 of them,
[15:48] which is absolutely crazy. In the state
[15:51] of Georgia, a normal water system will
[15:54] lose 10 to 12%.
[15:57] They say if it's less than 10%, they're
[15:59] not really telling the truth. And a lot
[16:03] of systems are are at the 15%.
[16:06] So that's when we walk around into a
[16:08] system and say, "Hey, are we in good
[16:10] shape?" This would be alarm.
[16:14] Something needs to be done right quick.
[16:16] And look, it's been going on. I don't
[16:18] have any data before 2019, but this has
[16:21] been going on a long time. Ouch.
[16:26] So, we got with uh our understanding is
[16:29] the city wants to get rid of the areas
[16:32] outside the city limits. We put uh areas
[16:36] that made sense and we we we number
[16:40] them. And then what we did is we just
[16:43] looked at area two. Let's keep life
[16:45] simple and let's see what area two says.
[16:49] This is the Cove Road area. You can see
[16:52] the limits of the county water in blue
[16:55] and then the city is in red.
[16:58] And what does that look like? Well,
[17:00] there's a master meter with Pickkins
[17:02] County which is in the bottom right hand
[17:04] corner. There's only 47 customers.
[17:09] That that blew my mind. [clears throat]
[17:11] There's two pump stations, booster pump
[17:14] stations. So, what happens? Water's at
[17:16] this level and when you go up a hill and
[17:19] you go too far, you got to pump up to
[17:21] it. And then this area goes so much
[17:23] higher, you got to pump up to that one.
[17:25] So, you're double pumping.
[17:28] Um, water manes, there's about 51,000
[17:31] linear feet. There's 34 hydrants, and
[17:34] [clears throat] there's about 40 valves.
[17:36] That's what we could find. We did a
[17:39] quick inventory.
[17:41] On the left hand side is the master
[17:42] meter with Pickkins County. And then
[17:45] these are just water meters that we ran
[17:48] by and took a picture.
[17:50] I always thought what your water meter
[17:52] looks like, what folks can see generally
[17:55] says, hm, how am I how am I maintaining
[17:57] my system?
[18:02] Pump stations. So there's two pump
[18:05] stations. There's the bigger one on the
[18:07] left. in the point where it is and it
[18:09] pumps up to the upper system and then
[18:11] the little ones on the right and then
[18:13] there's a bladder tank somewhere in the
[18:15] upper system that that's used to store a
[18:18] little bit of water.
[18:21] These facilities are not the greatest. I would not want to go around and show
[18:28] everybody my great pump stations. Th
[18:31] this stuff needs some work to be brought
[18:32] up to date.
[18:35] Oh, I always tell people stuff like this
[18:37] is like a giraffe taking a drink of
[18:39] water. You know how vulnerable they are?
[18:42] This is a giraffe taking a drink of
[18:44] water. This is going to happen at 2:00
[18:47] in the morning, Christmas Eve. The
[18:49] superintendent's going to get a call
[18:50] from folks. We have no water.
[18:53] Um the pipe, the 51,000 ft. I got 1,000
[18:58] ft of galvanized. Don't want it. Um
[19:01] polyethylene 2,000. I got 3,000 ft of 2
[19:04] inch. I don't even know what it is. I
[19:07] have 6 in some C900 PVC and 8 inch C900
[19:13] PVC. That is great pipe if it's
[19:16] installed correctly. It'll last a long
[19:19] time. It's a good product. Um I I don't
[19:24] like galvanized in my mind. Where's 50%
[19:28] of the water going? You know what I
[19:30] mean? So, alarm alarm. That that's that
[19:33] 2-in pipe is is where I would focus on.
[19:38] And then we got 34 hydrants. Hydrants to
[19:41] me are like like the meter boxes. What
[19:44] do they look like? Uh the left one is a
[19:46] little messed up. The middle one's
[19:48] tilted back. The fire chief probably
[19:50] wouldn't even connect to that. That's a
[19:52] little dangerous having one so so out of
[19:55] whack.
[19:57] Um, and then the right one I got the
[20:00] valve in front is popped up off the
[20:02] ground.
[20:04] Uh, the 40 valves on the one we got
[20:07] valves hanging up. I got a just a PVC
[20:10] pipe and I got ones surrounded by cones.
[20:14] Um,
[20:16] what what are some concerns we see? I
[20:18] got low customer count. There's only
[20:21] five per mile.
[20:23] There's a lot of issues with that. is a
[20:26] is could this thing pay for itself at
[20:29] five people per mile?
[20:31] >> And then when you treat water at the
[20:33] water plant, you put chlorine in it and
[20:36] the chlorine you want to get to the tap
[20:41] cuz chlorine means there's disinfection.
[20:44] Do I really think five customers per
[20:47] mile is going to be? So just alarm bells
[20:51] are going off of, hey, that's a little
[20:53] bit concerning. There's definitely
[20:55] limited fire protection, especially on
[20:57] those small lines. And to me,
[21:00] significant improvements are needed to
[21:02] this infrastructure to keep it in good
[21:04] working order. [snorts]
[21:06] And what does that mean? I would install
[21:09] a new master meter at the Jasper city
[21:11] limit. So, I would keep this one here,
[21:15] but I would put a new one way over here
[21:18] if I was going to take over this system.
[21:21] I would I would put a master meter in
[21:23] there and then I could still sell water
[21:25] to the city as they needed it. The
[21:28] customer meters, I would replace their
[21:30] meters and make sure they're on ours. I
[21:33] would fix the meter boxes. I would make
[21:35] sure they look good and everybody's
[21:37] reassured. The booster pump stations,
[21:40] obviously, they need to be renovated. U
[21:43] water main replacement, I'd go right
[21:45] after the galvanized and the unknown.
[21:49] Um, hydrants. I would put some hydrants
[21:52] in on the dead end line so I could flush
[21:54] them. Remember we talked about that
[21:56] chlorine issue. Um, I would do valve
[22:00] maintenance. I would uncover. There's, I
[22:02] think, a lot out there. They're just
[22:04] paved over. And I would put some valve
[22:07] markers so our operations folks could
[22:10] find them easily. And then I would put
[22:12] in valves so that I could isolate little
[22:16] areas. So if I had a water man break
[22:18] here,
[22:20] say here, I could have a valve here and
[22:22] just close that line and just those
[22:25] folks get uh impacted.
[22:31] All right. So I'm like an animal
[22:35] on four big things.
[22:38] I love good funding. I love grants and
[22:42] really, really low interest loans.
[22:45] I like to grow the customer base because
[22:49] the more folks we have on it, it's
[22:51] cheaper to run it per customer.
[22:55] I like to make improvements that reduce
[22:57] operating costs.
[23:00] So, what are things that we can do to
[23:02] make the operations easier
[23:05] um and and and lower those costs and
[23:09] focus focus focus. How do I reduce water
[23:12] loss and improve the efficiency of the
[23:15] system? So everything I talk about, I
[23:17] want to do those four things as much as
[23:19] possible.
[23:21] Um, this is an interim report, but I'm a
[23:25] funding animal.
[23:27] And the way the grants work, I tell
[23:30] people it's like going to the senior
[23:32] prom in high school. I had to ask for
[23:36] girls, but I finally got one to say yes.
[23:39] Grants are like that too. You have to
[23:42] ask and ask and ask and you might get a
[23:45] no, but eventually you'll get you'll get
[23:48] a yes. Last year our company hit the
[23:52] mother boat of grants like like once in
[23:56] a generation. My advice to all our
[24:00] clients is submit submit submit ask ask.
[24:05] Why am I bringing that up? There's a
[24:07] deadline for a planning grant
[24:12] and the first thing the grant people
[24:14] want to know is
[24:16] what's wrong and what are you going to
[24:18] do about it and what's it cost?
[24:21] Well, to put that planning document
[24:24] together, they just come out with a
[24:27] grant that they'll cover 90% of the
[24:29] cost. So if the commissioners are going
[24:32] to take any action, I think you should
[24:34] authorize the grant submitt for the
[24:37] planning document. Let me keep going.
[24:41] The other thing on number two, I love a
[24:43] water service petition. So what we do is
[24:47] we send a note to everybody in that
[24:49] number two area and say, "Hey, the
[24:51] countyy's thinking about working with
[24:53] the city, taking over this area. would
[24:56] you be interested in tying on to the
[24:58] water system? And the county wants to
[25:01] make improvements so the system's more
[25:04] reliable and more efficient. Are you on
[25:07] board?
[25:08] What that tells us is, hey, maybe we can
[25:11] double how many people we serve and
[25:14] reduce the cost for everybody. I need to
[25:17] complete the project planning documents.
[25:20] I need to finalize cost estimates to do
[25:23] that work.
[25:25] That planning document gets submitted to
[25:28] I think it's seven agencies
[25:32] and they they do this and what they do
[25:35] is they give you a coupon that says you
[25:37] have environmental clearance to do all
[25:39] that work and you can do it in the next
[25:41] five years. Why do I want that? When we
[25:45] go to submit for grants to do the work,
[25:48] they give you points for having your
[25:50] environmental clearance. So, I want to
[25:53] play the game as fast as I can and get
[25:55] that in my back pocket ready to go. And
[25:58] then what we do is we submit for the
[26:00] grant application for the work that
[26:03] needs to be done. Can we do everything
[26:06] at once? The funding people want you to
[26:09] do everything at once. They hate me
[26:13] because I don't want to do everything at
[26:15] once. I want to do the most critical
[26:18] things now and get the biggest grant I
[26:21] can.
[26:23] Then I come back later
[26:26] and then I do the most important things
[26:28] and I get the biggest grant I can. They
[26:32] only want to give you a one grant and
[26:34] have you do a giant project and I want
[26:37] to do projects in increments of the
[26:40] grant a maximum grant amount. Does that
[26:43] make sense? So it takes a little bit of
[26:46] time but we get pointed in a good
[26:49] direction and we just take steps and
[26:51] move forward.
[26:53] Um, number three, the number one thing I
[26:57] think is the hardest thing we're going
[27:00] to talk about is we need to negotiate
[27:02] system operation ownership with the
[27:05] city. Are they going to just give it to
[27:08] us and say you take it over? Are they
[27:10] going to try to charge us an arm and a
[27:12] leg for it? I have helped people
[27:15] purchase water systems before. Um, you
[27:19] know, I told the the chairman before,
[27:21] you know, when uh Sandy Springs became a
[27:24] city, Fulton County tried to charge them
[27:27] for the police stations and the fire
[27:30] stations and the parks. And people said,
[27:33] "Does that make any sense?
[27:36] The people who lived in those areas
[27:38] already paid for those facilities."
[27:41] And and I would argue the same thing
[27:44] here. the people in area 2 have already
[27:48] paid for those improvements. So, whoever
[27:51] operates it really should take over
[27:54] ownership. That's my opinion. If I was
[27:56] on the city side, I might argue
[27:58] differently, but I'm on this side, so I
[28:00] want to be honest. And then implement
[28:03] prior
[28:04] priority improvements as favorable
[28:07] funding becomes available. Remember,
[28:09] that's the prom date. It might not
[28:12] happen today.
[28:14] It might happen next year, but we just
[28:18] have to be ready and we have to ask.
[28:25] That's all I have. This is just a
[28:27] snapshot in time of where we are and the
[28:30] only action I ask the county to take is
[28:33] authorize us to submit for that planning
[28:35] grant and let's be keep focused and try
[28:39] to proceed with with all of this as
[28:42] quickly as possible. Awesome. Any
[28:44] questions there?
[28:45] >> So, I'll open it up to to you and Josh.
[28:48] >> I don't think so at the moment. I
[28:50] probably will come up with some as I
[28:51] look
[28:52] >> as we're as we're sitting. Well, since I
[28:53] went out of order in the agenda and I've
[28:55] got to call Bill up afterwards because
[28:57] he thought he got out of it.
[28:58] >> He can blame Ashley for pointing out
[29:00] that I had bypass him. So, if he gets
[29:02] upset,
[29:06] do you have any any questions? Mr.
[29:10] >> I don't think so right now. I'm taking
[29:12] them. I will probably have some as I
[29:14] think [laughter] on this
[29:15] >> as you go. Uh I know with that deadline
[29:18] being on the 31st that will require us
[29:21] making an amendment to the agenda that
[29:22] if we were going to get into the voting
[29:24] portion of the meeting that we would
[29:25] need to amend the agenda to authorize
[29:28] the submittal of that grant application
[29:31] for a planning grant through GE I
[29:33] believe it was.
[29:34] >> Yes sir.
[29:35] >> Okay. Um so that that could be met by
[29:37] the deadline. that would be the only
[29:39] thing that I I can see that we would
[29:41] need to to take action to be able to do
[29:43] would be an amendment to the agenda. Um,
[29:46] as we move forward, um,
[29:49] and I know Mr. Quigley kind of
[29:51] introduced and and stated and even had
[29:54] this is draft in the format. We've we've
[29:56] been in discussions back and forth.
[29:57] They've been they've had a couple of
[29:59] different meetings with the city to try
[30:00] to pull some information over. It is
[30:03] preliminary, but at the same time, we
[30:04] wanted everybody to understand and
[30:06] especially for you too as the the two
[30:08] post commissioners to understand each
[30:10] step that's been working through so that
[30:12] as we kind of get closer to the next
[30:14] meetings and the next steps as as this
[30:17] progresses or as the news continues to
[30:18] go, then it it shows these steps are
[30:22] being taken. Um, I do think that that
[30:24] getting that funding grant would give
[30:25] the ability to to truly have a game plan
[30:29] together cuz if anybody we go to to
[30:32] request funding uh from a grant is going
[30:34] to going to want to see a solid plan in
[30:37] place and not just any help
[30:40] statement. So,
[30:43] >> anything further?
[30:45] >> Thank you. We really appreciate you
[30:47] coming and making that presentation. Um,
[30:50] as I mentioned just a moment ago, I did
[30:53] uh skip over our director of external
[30:56] operations report and uh just
[30:58] inadvertently as I was doing the final.
[31:00] So, I'm going to have Bill give the the
[31:02] report from the director of external
[31:04] operations before we we move to the
[31:06] public hearing. That's better.
[31:11] » Um, [clears throat] all right. So, last
[31:12] month because we were in paving season,
[31:14] we focused on public works.
[31:17] All those are complete. the Haven's
[31:19] complete, the strike is complete. So
[31:22] what we thought we would do today is
[31:24] talk a little bit about sort of quasi
[31:27] growth oriented things and then also
[31:29] compliance enforcement. So first from
[31:34] quasi growth looking at some things that
[31:36] are going on in planning and development
[31:39] uh for so far in August uh we have 25
[31:43] building permits that have been issued,
[31:45] one commercial. Uh that's behind the
[31:49] July pace which ended the month with 61
[31:53] building permits and 40 commercial
[31:56] business licenses in August. So far
[31:58] there have been 11 that have been
[32:00] issued. That's on on pace with July
[32:03] where 22 were issued for the entire
[32:06] month in the Pickkins County water
[32:10] service areas that are serviced by the
[32:14] county water department. And so far in
[32:17] August, there have been five meters that
[32:19] have that that have been installed. July
[32:22] there were [clears throat] seven. So
[32:22] it's ahead of pace on that. So that's
[32:25] sort of what's going on from the
[32:27] standpoint of what's happening with
[32:29] regard to new things that that that are
[32:32] going up uh and being done from a
[32:35] compliance and enforcement standpoint.
[32:38] So far uh as of about 1:00 today, uh
[32:42] we've had 25 formal written complaints
[32:45] this month. that have been formally
[32:47] filed. U some of those have been
[32:51] cleared, some of those have been um are
[32:54] still in process and some are simple,
[32:58] some are fairly complex. Uh but but
[33:02] everyone is working together on this uh
[33:04] led led by uh by Brandy, our um
[33:08] enforcement uh chief enforcement
[33:10] officers, really really really doing a
[33:12] good job on this. Um they're they're of
[33:16] different types. Some involve animals,
[33:19] not dogs and cats, but other kinds of
[33:21] animals. Um a lot involve involve
[33:26] soil erosion uh and sedimentation. And
[33:31] we've gotten a couple that have tried to
[33:33] get the county to enforce neighborhood
[33:36] covenants inside subdivisions. We can't
[33:39] do that. As a matter of fact, we've got
[33:41] an ordinance that prevents us from doing
[33:43] it. But uh but nonetheless they they do
[33:45] come up. Sometimes you may get calls
[33:47] from people that say why can't why can't
[33:49] the staff do this? So basically we we uh
[33:54] we can't. And then lastly on the
[33:55] enforcement standpoint we do have a lot
[33:58] of soil erosion and sedimentation items
[34:01] that comes up frequently probably in
[34:04] addition to
[34:06] illegal camping and accumulation. This
[34:09] is what we get the most of and some of
[34:12] it some of it's min or some of it's
[34:14] serious but uh Emily Grant Brandley just
[34:19] received their red cards from Georgia
[34:22] soil and water erosion. Um and that
[34:26] brings our red card total inside to
[34:29] eight. That's a lot for a government
[34:32] this size. And what a red card does is allow people to go and formally
[34:38] inspect situations like this and take
[34:41] whatever action is is provided for to to
[34:44] correct the situation.
[34:49] » Sorry, but I I passed you earlier.
[34:53] >> The reason it made it humorous, his
[34:55] internet went out in his office earlier
[34:57] today. He kept telling me that meant he
[34:58] couldn't provide a report, but then we
[35:00] got the internet back up. same work. I'm
[35:02] preparing the report and I still
[35:03] skipped. So, uh that that was why I was
[35:07] trying to get back to it.
[35:08] >> The assistant director of external
[35:11] services will be providing the report.
[35:14] [laughter]
[35:17] » Do I have any questions for external?
[35:20] >> I've got
[35:23] a great job as always.
[35:26] >> Thank you. Uh, next item on our agenda
[35:30] is to open up a public hearing. One of
[35:32] the things within our ordinance, anytime
[35:34] there's a down zone that's going to a
[35:36] lower density, it gives a faster process
[35:39] to be able to come before the board
[35:40] finishes straight for that public
[35:43] hearing and not having to go and wait
[35:45] the extra month for a planning
[35:46] commission. So, I'm going to turn the
[35:48] floor over to Charles and let Charles
[35:51] take on the down zone.
[35:54] see if he wants me to be as quick or if
[35:56] he wants a quick
[36:00] » I'll turn the floor over to you to
[36:02] introduce and then we open up for any
[36:04] comments that anyone may have.
[36:07] [clears throat]
[36:10] » Good afternoon or good evening
[36:12] commissioners. Uh the case before you is
[36:16] referenced as BDZ-191196
[36:21] Tom Lake Trestle Farm and Ranch LLC. Uh
[36:24] the location of the property is 7864
[36:28] mile Church Road. Uh the applicant is
[36:30] requesting a down zone uh from rural
[36:33] residential to uh agricultural. Uh the
[36:36] approximate acreage is 6.12 acres. Uh
[36:40] the parcel is identified as uh 068071
[36:46] and the applicant uh is requesting to
[36:50] combine uh that particular track into
[36:53] two neighboring tracks.
[36:56] You find the location map
[37:01] and that is the aerial u of the uh
[37:04] subject property. Uh this property is
[37:08] located within uh the crossroad
[37:10] community uh Marble Hill character area.
[37:18] If I may read uh our staff analysis.
[37:23] Uh the purpose of the resoning is uh to
[37:26] allow the parcel to be combined with
[37:28] adjoining agricultural parcels creating
[37:30] one larger farming tract uh for
[37:33] continued residential or I'm sorry
[37:36] continued agricultural use. Uh the the
[37:40] request qualifies as a lower density
[37:44] amendment under section 67-691
[37:47] of the Pickkins County Code of
[37:49] Ordinances uh which encourages reszoning
[37:52] to lower density land use
[37:53] classifications. Uh the proposed
[37:56] downzoning reduces future residential
[37:58] development potential while preserving
[38:01] farmland and open space thereby
[38:03] promoting the public health, safety and
[38:06] general welfare. uh staff finds that the
[38:10] proposed resoning is compatible with the
[38:13] surrounding area which is primar
[38:15] primarily agricultural rural residential
[38:17] and open space. Uh the request also
[38:20] supports the crossroads community Marble
[38:23] Hill character area by preserving
[38:24] farmland, maintaining rural uh character
[38:28] and encouraging lower density land use.
[38:31] In addition, the zoning request is
[38:33] encouraged uh as I said earlier under
[38:36] section 67-691
[38:39] of the Pickkins co uh county code of
[38:40] ordinances uh because uh the request
[38:43] reduces potential residential
[38:46] development intensity. Uh no additional
[38:49] impacts to roads, utilities, schools, uh
[38:52] emergency services, or other uh public
[38:55] facilities are anticipated. Uh therefore
[38:59] staff's recommendation is approval of
[39:01] the resoning request uh from rural
[39:04] residential to agricultural.
[39:08] >> Thank you Mr. Reese.
[39:09] >> Any questions for ME before we open up
[39:11] the sounds.
[39:18] » So with that I'll uh I'll ask if Mr.
[39:22] swimming. I don't know if you've got
[39:24] something you'd like to add or say. Do
[39:25] you need the opportunity to speak first?
[39:28] >> Uh, no sir. I'm his oldest son, so I'm
[39:31] just here on behalf of him.
[39:33] >> Okay. All right. Uh, any other uh
[39:36] individuals that would like to speak for
[39:38] or against? We'll open up the public
[39:40] hearing portion for any any public
[39:41] comments for anyone for or against.
[39:46] Since none of you said that you had any,
[39:48] I don't have to explain the rules of the
[39:49] public comments. So we uh we can move
[39:52] forward. Yes sir.
[39:54] >> Yeah. If pending approval or or assuming
[39:57] this is approved that is that contingent
[39:59] upon that parcel being adjoined with the
[40:02] u the neighboring a tract.
[40:05] >> No it is not. It would just move it to a
[40:08] so that it makes it possible for the two
[40:10] to to be joined together.
[40:13] >> Okay. But that would be a nonconforming
[40:14] act if it's not joined after we approve
[40:17] it. Correct.
[40:18] >> Correct.
[40:18] So I guess my question is is is
[40:21] that part of the recommendation from the
[40:22] planning office or is that the
[40:24] stipulation we need to include if we
[40:25] make that motion?
[40:27] >> You can include that as a stipulation.
[40:29] Uh but the intent was to combine that
[40:32] track to the uh two neighborhood tracks.
[40:36] >> Okay. Thank you.
[40:40] » Does that change your thoughts as to any
[40:43] comments?
[40:44] >> Okay. I just want to double check. Uh
[40:47] with that then I'll entertain a motion
[40:49] to close the public hearing.
[40:50] >> I'll make so move the motion.
[40:54] >> Move in a second. All in favor?
[40:58] >> None oppose. We'll close the public
[41:00] hearing at this time. U as is indicated
[41:03] on the agenda. What we're going to do is
[41:05] go into a recess until 5:30 so that we
[41:08] can move into the voting meeting portion
[41:10] that'll get the development authority
[41:12] time for their meeting to be finalized
[41:13] and we can then move into our 5:30
[41:16] meeting and go through the agenda. So if
[41:19] you're hungry, go grab a bite if you got
[41:21] time and we'll meet you back here at
[41:23] 5:30. Thank you.
[41:25] >> All right, ladies and gentlemen, it is
[41:26] 5:30. So we'll go get the meeting called
[41:28] back to order. Coming out of recess. So,
[41:31] thank you everybody for being here with
[41:32] us. Again, if you weren't here for the
[41:34] work session portion of me, thank you
[41:36] for coming. Um, we're going to go
[41:39] straight into our agenda. Before we do
[41:41] so, I know that one of the discussion
[41:43] topics is we had a presentation during
[41:45] the work session was the consideration
[41:48] of adding an item to our agenda. Um, so
[41:53] I would like to make a motion that we
[41:55] amend our agenda. Under new business,
[41:59] add item E. And item E would be to
[42:04] authorize the chairman to work with our
[42:09] engineers to submit a grant application
[42:12] for a planning grant through GEA on
[42:14] water acquisition
[42:16] uh to working with PCCM to authorizing
[42:19] that approval to be able to move forward
[42:21] with sending the application. There's a
[42:23] deadline at the end of August for that.
[42:25] Um, so if if you got so I'd like to add
[42:28] that item as item B [snorts]
[42:31] on the agenda as we move forward.
[42:36] » I'll make a motion that we do that. Do I
[42:38] have
[42:38] >> I'll second motion. Any discussion or
[42:41] questions related to that?
[42:44] All in favor?
[42:47] >> None. [clears throat] That motion
[42:49] carries.
[42:50] We will have item E on the agenda. It
[42:52] will not be on the screen. So, I will
[42:54] apologize in advance as we go through.
[42:57] That will be one I will call out and
[42:59] Lisa will probably have to correct me
[43:01] where I miss it and she will make sure
[43:03] that I stop and come back. Uh, one of
[43:05] the favorite parts of our meetings is to
[43:07] get to get through and do our employee
[43:09] recognitions. Um, we do have a couple of
[43:12] very valuable employee recognitions
[43:15] today.
[43:16] The first is is uh one that we want to
[43:18] make sure she understands that she's an
[43:20] incredible employee of our water
[43:22] department because unfortunately she's
[43:24] an incredible baker as well and makes
[43:26] cakes and pies and cupcakes and we want
[43:28] her to understand the need for staying a
[43:31] government employee [clears throat] and
[43:32] not trying to venture out on her own uh
[43:35] to be successful at that. But Miss
[43:38] Crystal Schutz has got 10 years of
[43:40] service with the county. So, I'd like to
[43:42] ask Crystal and Philip if y'all come up.
[43:49] [laughter]
[43:53] [applause]
[44:00] If anybody's never had any of the sweets
[44:03] that she makes, that is diabetes.
[44:06] [laughter]
[44:08] Sorry. No, you're good. You're good.
[44:11] [laughter]
[44:16] » Where do I go to get water?
[44:23] » Yeah. [laughter]
[44:29] » Okay. Now, here
[44:33] » I don't EITHER.
[44:37] >> [applause]
[44:40] » SO, THE next we actually have employee
[44:42] recognition that we make is is one that
[44:45] we we don't get to make very often. Um,
[44:48] and fortunately, sometimes people get
[44:50] hired on when they're very very young
[44:52] and they stay with the county for a long
[44:54] time and and unfortunately for him, even
[44:56] though he gets to celebrate his 30
[44:57] years, he's still too young to retire.
[44:59] So, we do have Captain Shane Patrick
[45:02] with the sheriff's office here. Pete has
[45:04] now been with the county for 30 years
[45:07] serving uh and serving in a law
[45:09] enforcement capacity. Has done an
[45:10] incredible job. We have the opportunity
[45:12] now to to have Shane over here with us a
[45:14] lot helping with some of the code
[45:16] enforcement issues and and things on
[45:18] behalf of the sheriff's office. Uh I've
[45:21] worked with him for many many years.
[45:22] Probably the most dangerous thing you
[45:24] will ever see me do in a board meeting
[45:26] is about to occur, but I'm going to ask
[45:28] Chief Deputy Jeff Hall
[45:31] to speak and say a couple words. uh
[45:33] about it and have you come up.
[45:38] [cheering]
[45:39] [applause]
[45:41] » We're here to talk about water.
[45:45] [laughter]
[45:48] » Let me tell everyone here and anybody
[45:50] that's going to watch here, every
[45:53] employer should strive to have number
[45:55] one, someone as great as Shane Padet to
[45:57] work for him. Number two, stay. Because
[46:00] when you have employees who stay, they
[46:03] become vested in the community, vested
[46:05] in the agency, vested in whatever it is.
[46:07] And when you have that, you have a
[46:09] well-rounded employee like we did with
[46:11] Shane. I was there when he was hired in
[46:12] 1996.
[46:14] He has stayed here consecutively. I did
[46:16] not. I left and came back. He's probably
[46:19] the longest running employee ever for
[46:21] the sheriff's office. 30 years that
[46:23] wasn't an elected official.
[46:25] >> And for that is a lot. And for us, we
[46:27] are proud, very proud to have him. And
[46:31] he's been a pleasure and a friend. And I
[46:34] thank you. [applause]
[46:44] » [cheering]
[46:46] » All right.
[46:49] >> Got to get a little closer. [laughter]
[46:53] » Don't get that side. It doesn't look
[46:54] good. [laughter]
[46:59] » Way to go, Sham.
[47:05] » Awesome.
[47:05] >> So, thank y'all so much. Thank you. So,
[47:07] we have one more that's not necessarily
[47:09] an employee recognition. It's actually a
[47:11] recognition of the county. We referenced
[47:13] it two weeks ago uh right after the
[47:16] award was presented. Now Stacy had
[47:18] attended a [snorts] a meeting with
[47:21] Georgia Department of Transportation
[47:22] where two different u individuals with
[47:26] DOT had actually submitted Pickkins
[47:28] County as an outstanding sponsors for
[47:30] the airport. Uh Stacy was recognized
[47:32] there. She was not with us when we had
[47:34] our meeting two weeks ago. So we didn't
[47:36] have the plaque to be able to present
[47:37] her show. So, because she didn't show up
[47:40] two weeks ago, I'm going to make her
[47:41] stand up front in a second.
[47:44] [laughter]
[47:45] And she's so excited to do this that
[47:47] she's uh she's never going to talk to me
[47:49] again. [laughter]
[47:51] Please come up. You get to get this
[47:53] presented to you one more time.
[47:58] [applause]
[48:07] around
[48:09] [laughter]
[48:17] [applause]
[48:19] [laughter]
[48:23] gives me a hard time, but in all
[48:25] reality, she's one of my favorite
[48:27] people. So, you have to correct me out
[48:29] here. one of your favorite pictures.
[48:32] >> That's true. But she would worry if I
[48:34] >> That's exactly right.
[48:37] >> But no, it's it's an honor to get a
[48:39] chance to to recognize employees for
[48:41] their outstanding work for all that they
[48:42] do. We're extremely excited to get a
[48:45] chance to do that at each of our
[48:47] meetings. I know I have one more
[48:49] elected. I'm just making sure he didn't
[48:50] have an employee who's here to recognize
[48:52] before, but he's not paying attention.
[48:54] So, I'm ass.
[48:56] >> Daniel, do you have anybody for this
[48:58] month? Okay. All right. So, I didn't
[48:59] want to move past that if there was
[49:01] anybody else. Uh, next item is our
[49:03] consent agenda. We did have one
[49:05] proclamation since we met last, and that
[49:07] was a proclamation for National Health
[49:09] Center Week. Uh, the week of October 2nd
[49:12] through the 8th. Uh, was was proclaimed
[49:15] as National Health Center Week here in
[49:16] Dickens County. And that was signed on
[49:18] July the 23rd, 2026. I want to make sure
[49:21] to get that on the record in the
[49:22] minutes. So, we'll move on to our new
[49:26] business with no old business. Um, new
[49:28] business. The first item on the agenda
[49:30] is the consideration or to consider the
[49:33] adoption of a resolution authorizing the
[49:35] execution of various documents related
[49:37] to the issuance of the Pickkins County
[49:39] Development Authorities taxable revenue
[49:41] refunding bonds for airport project
[49:43] series 2026,
[49:45] including a bond purchase agreement and
[49:47] intergovernmental contract with the
[49:50] authority with the development
[49:51] authority. Uh, we do have uh bond
[49:54] council that's here with us tonight, Mr.
[49:55] Tommy Ratchford. So I'm going to have
[49:57] Tommy go through just a brief
[49:58] explanation of the documents fully u
[50:09] wherever you flex
[50:12] my papers so that uh thank you for the
[50:15] introduction
[50:17] with Murray Barnes Minister
[50:19] Council on this transaction. Um and the
[50:22] caption is read Mr. gentlemen is is a
[50:24] fair summary of the resolution that's
[50:26] before you, but I thought it'd be
[50:27] helpful maybe to give a little bit of
[50:28] context and background on how we got
[50:31] here and what it means. Um so while this resolution authorizes execution of
[50:36] the documents related to the development
[50:38] authorities uh bond issue uh for the
[50:41] airport project series 2026
[50:44] um and so what those bonds are being
[50:46] issued for um is to refund bonds that
[50:48] were issued in 2018 and 2021 by the
[50:51] development authority and the reason
[50:53] that refunding is being pursued um is
[50:57] steel um the county's investment banker
[50:59] has been monitoring uh rates and
[51:02] potential savings savings um related to
[51:04] those bonds given they were issued at
[51:06] relatively high rates and while interest
[51:08] rates have been rising there still
[51:10] significant savings um refunding those
[51:13] previously issued bonds um to put some
[51:16] sort of numbers behind those statements
[51:18] um the bonds we're refunding are the
[51:21] series 2018 bond and the series 2021
[51:24] bond um they bore interest or they bear
[51:26] interest at six and 7 and a half%
[51:29] respectively
[51:30] um and the development authority um and
[51:34] the county's investment banker sold
[51:35] bonds this morning in the market they
[51:37] carried a blended yield of 5.36%.
[51:40] So um there were savings in each and
[51:42] every year and what that means net to
[51:45] the county is the debt service payments
[51:48] in aggregate of $575,000
[51:51] lower than they would have been um if
[51:54] you were to leave those bonds
[51:55] outstanding. Um so a little bit earlier
[51:58] this evening, the development authority
[52:00] um adopted a resolution um supplementing
[52:03] the resolution from July 6th that
[52:06] provided for the terms that the the
[52:08] bonds would carry name interest rates,
[52:10] the yields and the principal amounts.
[52:12] And the resolution before you tonight um
[52:15] acknowledges receipt of that resolution
[52:17] and the terms of said resolution and
[52:19] authorizes execution of the collateral
[52:21] documents necessary to complete the bond
[52:23] or the bond transaction. Um and most
[52:26] importantly those are the
[52:26] intergovernmental contract pursuant to
[52:28] which the county agrees to make the
[52:30] payments on those bonds and the bond
[52:32] purchase agreement which authorizes the
[52:34] sale of the bonds to people who then in
[52:36] turn sells them to the public. Um so
[52:39] with that I'm happy to answer any
[52:40] questions um at this time.
[52:44] >> So just to clarify the one in 18 the
[52:47] rate was 6%.
[52:48] >> Yes sir.
[52:49] >> And the one in 21 the rate was 7.5.
[52:52] >> That is correct. And then you're
[52:53] thinking the rate will get will be
[52:55] around 5.36.
[52:57] Is that what you said?
[52:58] >> So
[53:00] you're not a math guy, but um the way
[53:02] the numbers work is essentially there's
[53:04] a fixed um coupon and yield for each
[53:06] maturity. So that there are maturities
[53:09] from 2027 through 2041. The coupons
[53:12] range from 4.25% to 5.75%.
[53:17] So when you blend those all together,
[53:18] it's 5.36% is the blended yield on those
[53:22] bonds. So in any event, each one is
[53:24] lower than the corresponding coupon.
[53:26] >> And given on that one, the 6%, it would
[53:28] still save us money to do it versus just
[53:30] paying it off. Correct. That still the
[53:32] better choice with that.
[53:33] >> Yes, sir. You are saving money in each
[53:35] of those years.
[53:36] >> I had thought that that document was in
[53:38] ours, but that was actually in the
[53:39] development authorities approval.
[53:41] >> Would you like my copy? I'd say so if
[53:46] so you can see
[53:49] it [clears throat] shows the interest
[53:50] rates per year on there.
[53:51] >> Remind me of what the bonds were used
[53:52] for originally.
[53:54] >> So the construction of the hangers that
[53:57] were there and then also for the the
[54:00] terminal and for other improvements
[54:01] throughout the airport property. So the construction of the county own
[54:04] hangers is the primary purpose and then
[54:06] the terminal construction is the
[54:08] remaining.
[54:10] >> That's exactly right.
[54:15] Mr. Tippets, any questions for Mr.
[54:19] >> I have none. Thank you.
[54:21] >> Thank you very much for your assistance.
[54:23] >> There aren't any further questions. I
[54:25] ask that I'll entertain a motion to
[54:27] adopt the resolution presented.
[54:28] >> All right. So we'll open that up for the
[54:30] floor for a motion for the approval of
[54:33] the resolution to authorize the
[54:36] governmental agreement with the develop
[54:38] authority and the signature of all
[54:39] documents necessary to do so.
[54:42] >> I make a motion to approve second
[54:44] motion.
[54:45] >> Motion and a second. Any discussion or
[54:47] questions
[54:50] with none? All in favor?
[54:51] >> I
[54:53] none opposed. That motion carries.
[54:58] We'll pass this to the clerk as a
[55:01] clerk's signature portion on there as
[55:03] well. Uh, next item on the agenda is the
[55:07] consideration and approval of a sub
[55:09] lease for hanger B1 at Pickles County
[55:12] Airport. We do have an application. Uh,
[55:15] Mr. Spencer Langford is the tenant of B1
[55:19] and he has provided the application and
[55:22] all necessary information for a sub
[55:24] lease to Mr. Gregory Phelps. all uh of
[55:28] the the research the work that was
[55:29] necessary from staff has been completed
[55:31] and they've recommended the approval of
[55:33] the subleas. So at this time I'll make a
[55:36] motion to approve the sub lease of
[55:39] hanger B1 Mors. Do I have a second?
[55:43] >> Second
[55:45] motion and a second. Any discussion or
[55:47] questions?
[55:49] >> All in favor?
[55:52] >> None. The motion carries.
[55:56] Next item on the agenda is consideration
[55:58] and approval of HO2 land lease at the
[56:02] Pickkins County Airport. We do have um
[56:05] Joel and Sherry Little submitting their
[56:08] application for the lease of HO2. This
[56:12] was a previously owned
[56:14] private hanger uh that is now being sold
[56:18] to the littles.
[56:23] This would have been good if I would
[56:24] have like highlighted each one of those
[56:26] pages. Um the uh Lessor is Living to Fly
[56:30] LLC is the um name of the LLC and it's
[56:35] going to be one of the hangers at 22
[56:37] cents per square foot which would
[56:39] generate $236.72
[56:42] annually for the land use of that
[56:45] hanger.
[56:46] With that, I'll entertain a motion for
[56:48] approval based on the staff's
[56:50] recommendation to approve.
[56:51] >> Motion to approve.
[56:53] >> Second the motion.
[56:54] >> Motion and a second. Any discussion or
[56:56] questions
[56:59] with none? All in favor?
[57:01] >> I [clears throat] none
[57:02] >> opposed.
[57:06] Next item on the agenda is consideration
[57:08] and approval of an application for
[57:10] approval of site for use changes at 8:16
[57:14] at the Pikman County Airport. We have uh
[57:16] the Titan group has reached out
[57:18] regarding putting the fence along the
[57:20] front of their leased space uh where
[57:24] their hanger is. So that with that
[57:25] improvement, they've submitted an
[57:27] application. It will be a
[57:31] >> [snorts]
[57:31] >> um a four black
[57:36] slack
[57:38] a [laughter] a traditional fence like
[57:40] you would see it. It's got four four
[57:42] rows that go through there. of looking
[57:44] at the language there uh that would
[57:46] connect to the gate where you access and
[57:48] enter into the hanger space is there. Uh
[57:51] with that I'll entertain a motion for
[57:53] the approval for the allowance of the
[57:55] site improvements at uh H16.
[57:58] >> Motion to approve second motion.
[58:01] >> Motion and a second. Any discussion or
[58:03] questions
[58:04] with none? All in favor?
[58:08] >> None opposed. That motion carries.
[58:12] All right. Then our amended item that
[58:14] we've put on the agenda E which somehow
[58:17] I actually talked before I advanced the
[58:19] slide to go forward and that is uh as we
[58:22] discussed during the the work session
[58:24] earlier the authorization of the
[58:27] chairman to work with DCCM and sign all
[58:29] necessary documents to submit a grant
[58:32] application with JIFA for a planning
[58:35] grant to work on water acquisition.
[58:39] With that, do I have a motion for
[58:40] approval? Motion to approve.
[58:43] >> A second. Motion.
[58:44] >> Motion and a second. Any discussion or
[58:46] questions?
[58:48] >> All in favor?
[58:50] >> None opposed. That motion carries.
[58:55] Next item on the agenda is the approval
[58:56] of our minutes. We do have a handful of
[58:59] minutes u because we did have a regular meeting on July the 20th that
[59:05] had an executive session, work session,
[59:07] and regular meeting. Then we had a call
[59:10] meeting on August the 4th. I know that
[59:12] our clerk has submitted these minutes to
[59:15] each of you guys for review prior to
[59:17] coming in today so you have a chance to
[59:19] read through those. I will do them by
[59:21] date for the July 20th. So all three of
[59:24] the different um items on the July 20th
[59:27] meeting date. I'll entertain a motion
[59:29] for approval for those three sets of
[59:31] minutes.
[59:32] >> Motion to approve. Second motion.
[59:36] >> Motion. Second. Discussion or questions?
[59:39] All in favor? I.
[59:41] >> None opposed. The motion carries. And
[59:43] then the next would be our call meeting
[59:44] on August the 4th, 2026. I'll entertain
[59:48] a motion for approval of those minutes
[59:49] as well.
[59:50] >> Motion to [clears throat] approve.
[59:51] Second motion. A motion and a second.
[59:55] Any discussion or questions?
[59:57] >> All in favor?
[1:00:08] Next item on our agenda is to go through
[1:00:10] our reszones. We do have a handful of
[1:00:12] reszones that we will go through.
[1:00:14] [clears throat]
[1:00:14] Uh we'll start with RZ191163
[1:00:19] being a J heater. It's a 86 highway 136
[1:00:23] connector. A request to move a 13.32
[1:00:26] acre track from a to highway business.
[1:00:30] The application was received for the
[1:00:32] intended purpose of the resome request.
[1:00:35] It was to allow it for commercial use.
[1:00:37] Public hearing was conducted on July the
[1:00:39] 13th before the planning commission.
[1:00:42] After receiving the application and the
[1:00:44] staff recommendation for approval, the
[1:00:47] planning commission voted three yes, one
[1:00:49] no uh to recommend approval to the board
[1:00:52] of commissioners. With that, I'll
[1:00:54] entertain a motion uh from either of you
[1:00:58] on which way you proceed.
[1:00:59] >> I make a motion to approve with the
[1:01:01] following condition. Um if the property
[1:01:03] is used for a gas station or other
[1:01:05] retail store, it must be a minimum of
[1:01:07] six 3-in trees planted around the
[1:01:09] parking lot. If property is used for a
[1:01:11] storage facility, it must be surrounded
[1:01:13] all sides by plenty of large evergreen
[1:01:15] shrubs, 6' tall planting on 10t centers,
[1:01:18] and all lighting must be downward
[1:01:19] facing.
[1:01:21] I'm hoping you have that in writing so
[1:01:24] make sure you have that motion correctly
[1:01:25] identified. Uh there is a motion on the
[1:01:28] floor. Do I have a second as presented?
[1:01:31] >> I'll second the motion.
[1:01:33] >> Motion and a second. Any discussion or
[1:01:36] questions?
[1:01:38] None. All in favor?
[1:01:42] I guess I'll ask Commissioner.
[1:01:44] You spoke with the property owner and
[1:01:46] they were agreeable to those.
[1:01:48] >> Yes, I did.
[1:01:50] Thank you. This afternoon,
[1:01:53] >> any other discussion, questions?
[1:01:56] None. All in favor?
[1:01:59] >> None oppose. That motion carries.
[1:02:01] Approval [snorts] with conditions as
[1:02:03] presented. Next item on the agenda is a
[1:02:07] reason request 91179
[1:02:10] from Landmark Property Services LLC on
[1:02:13] Highway 53 East. to request to move an
[1:02:16] 8.1 acre track from a to rural
[1:02:19] residential. The intended purpose in the
[1:02:21] application received for the reszone if
[1:02:23] approved was to create buildable lots.
[1:02:26] Public hearing was held on July the 13th
[1:02:28] where staff recommended approval and the
[1:02:30] planning commission voted for yes a zero
[1:02:32] no uh to recommend approval before the
[1:02:35] board as well. I would like to make a
[1:02:38] motion that would follow the staff and
[1:02:40] the pling commission's recommendation
[1:02:41] for approval.
[1:02:43] Do I have a second?
[1:02:44] >> Motion.
[1:02:45] >> Have a motion. Second and we'll bring it
[1:02:47] to the floor for discussion, questions.
[1:02:51] All in favor?
[1:02:54] >> All oppose?
[1:02:55] >> No.
[1:02:56] >> In the event of the tie, it brings me to
[1:02:58] the top rate. So, I will vote in favor
[1:03:00] as well. So, that will be a two to one
[1:03:02] in favor for approval following that
[1:03:05] recommendation.
[1:03:09] Next item on the agenda is RZ191180.
[1:03:15] Uh it's an application from Ricky and
[1:03:17] Tammy Jared. That's uh at 1057 Highway
[1:03:21] 108. Uh request to move a 10acre track
[1:03:24] from a to rural residential. The
[1:03:27] intended purpose of the reszone request
[1:03:29] was to create a buildable lot. The
[1:03:31] public hearing was conducted on July the
[1:03:33] 13th [clears throat] uh where staff
[1:03:36] recommended approval. Planning
[1:03:38] commission voted four yes zero no to
[1:03:40] recommend approval as well. With that,
[1:03:43] do I have a motion from the floor?
[1:03:45] >> Motion to approve.
[1:03:46] >> Second the motion.
[1:03:48] >> Motion and a second. Any discussion or
[1:03:50] questions?
[1:03:52] >> All in favor?
[1:03:55] >> None. The motion carries.
[1:03:59] Next is the one that we had during our
[1:04:02] um
[1:04:05] during the earlier part of our meeting
[1:04:07] when we had the public hearing is the
[1:04:08] word I'm trying to think of. Uh for the
[1:04:10] down request from Tunnel Trussell Farm
[1:04:13] and Ranch. Uh there was an application
[1:04:16] received at 786 for Mile Church Road to
[1:04:18] move a 6.12 [clears throat] acre track
[1:04:20] from rural residential to agriculture.
[1:04:23] Um the [clears throat] intended purpose
[1:04:25] is to combine it with the other
[1:04:28] agricultural track that was present on
[1:04:30] the property as well. Um with that I
[1:04:34] will entertain a motion from the floor.
[1:04:36] >> A motion to approve.
[1:04:38] >> Second motion.
[1:04:40] >> A motion and a second. Any discussion or
[1:04:42] questions?
[1:04:43] >> Do we need to make a condition of the
[1:04:44] motion that they do combine it or do we
[1:04:48] not need to do that?
[1:04:50] >> It's their plan too, but making it as
[1:04:53] part of the motion.
[1:04:56] >> I think we should. So, it's so I need to
[1:04:58] motion.
[1:04:59] >> All right. So, Commissioner Tatum has
[1:05:01] now amended his motion to a motion to
[1:05:03] approve with the condition that it does
[1:05:06] get combined with the neighboring
[1:05:07] agricultural property to form that lot.
[1:05:11] I have a second on the motion as it's
[1:05:14] been amended.
[1:05:15] >> I'll second the motion.
[1:05:18] >> All right. So, I have a motion and a
[1:05:19] second. Discussion or questions?
[1:05:23] With all in favor I
[1:05:27] >> we'll make a note to make sure that that
[1:05:29] gets updated on there with the correct
[1:05:31] language that likes.
[1:05:35] Okay.
[1:05:40] Next item on the agenda is a resolution
[1:05:42] to reappoint Mr. Kim Fowler and Pat
[1:05:44] Holmes to serve on the planning
[1:05:46] commission. Uh they continue to serve.
[1:05:49] This would put their expiration for
[1:05:51] their terms to December the 31st, 2029.
[1:05:56] Um, do I have a motion for reappointing
[1:05:58] of Mr. Fowler and Miss Holmes?
[1:06:00] >> Motion to approve.
[1:06:02] >> Second motion.
[1:06:03] >> Motion and a second. Any discussion or
[1:06:05] questions?
[1:06:07] With none, all in favor?
[1:06:12] » Let's put it close. Next item on the
[1:06:15] agenda is uh for the appointment of Miss
[1:06:19] Denise Owen to serve on the board of
[1:06:21] elections. We had one member from the
[1:06:23] Republican party who had stepped down
[1:06:25] from his service on the um board of
[1:06:29] elections. That was Mr. Ed Greyhouse. I
[1:06:31] think Ed did a a fantastic job and has
[1:06:33] been an asset to to serve in that that
[1:06:36] difficult role. Um but he has decided
[1:06:38] that he was going to step down. As part
[1:06:41] of um the the procedure, we received uh
[1:06:44] recommendations from the Republican
[1:06:46] party with names to choose from and Miss
[1:06:49] Denise Owen has been selected to be that
[1:06:52] uh candidate to put forward before the
[1:06:54] board. That would be for a term that
[1:06:56] would be appointed this date through
[1:06:58] January the 1st, 2028.
[1:07:01] With that, do I have a motion to appoint
[1:07:04] Miss Owens to the board of elections?
[1:07:06] Second.
[1:07:07] motion motion and a second. Any
[1:07:10] discussion or questions?
[1:07:13] If none, all in favor
[1:07:16] [clears throat]
[1:07:20] that taken care of. All right. So, that
[1:07:22] brings us to the portion of our meeting
[1:07:24] for public comments. Uh, I know I
[1:07:26] sometimes sound like a broken record,
[1:07:28] but I'll go through and make the same
[1:07:29] explanations again. Uh, each citizen
[1:07:32] that would like to speak has two minutes
[1:07:34] to speak. today had an opportunity to
[1:07:36] introduce themselves prior to the time
[1:07:38] started. So after you made your
[1:07:39] introduction as to who you are and where
[1:07:40] you are so that it can be recorded, then
[1:07:43] we will start the timer. Uh all comments
[1:07:46] are to be directed to the board of
[1:07:47] commissioners. So we'll keep those aimed
[1:07:49] in our direction and be respectful in
[1:07:52] the way in which they're presented. Um
[1:07:54] and we'll do our best to try to get
[1:07:57] through any and all that you like to
[1:07:58] speak. So if you raise your hand and
[1:08:00] that way once you get called on then
[1:08:02] we'll give you an opportunity. Yes, sir.
[1:08:03] in the back.
[1:08:07] » First of all, I was short. The chairs
[1:08:09] were too short. [laughter]
[1:08:11] >> You're just super tall.
[1:08:14] I'm an average tall guy. [laughter]
[1:08:18] But, uh, my name is Bill Scurry. Um, I
[1:08:22] own a business in Jasper and I live in
[1:08:24] Jasper. Uh, one day business were doing
[1:08:28] good and traffic was coming in the door.
[1:08:30] People were spending money. Then all of
[1:08:32] a sudden it stopped.
[1:08:33] And usually when it stops is there's an
[1:08:36] accident out there at Mark Whitfield and
[1:08:39] in Church Street because people trying
[1:08:41] to turn left in a right hand turn home.
[1:08:44] So I walked out there and that wasn't
[1:08:46] the case. There were a couple of guys
[1:08:48] drilling holes in the street to set up
[1:08:51] posts to block off my street at any time
[1:08:54] they want to. I asked them, I said,
[1:08:56] "Well, who approved this?" They said,
[1:08:58] "Well, you need to call and give me the
[1:09:00] phone number of individual." I won't say
[1:09:03] his name and um you need to call him and
[1:09:06] I called him. He says you need to go to
[1:09:08] DDA. I went to the DDA. DDA said it was
[1:09:12] the county's responsibility.
[1:09:15] Um
[1:09:17] finally I went back to the DDA, did some
[1:09:21] homework, found on their um charter
[1:09:26] online. It said every business
[1:09:30] uh well the city will give every
[1:09:32] business
[1:09:34] uh a 30-day notice
[1:09:37] and um
[1:09:41] uh a a set time to when they're open to
[1:09:44] close the street and when they're open.
[1:09:47] Now you could tell from the DDA board
[1:09:49] they didn't had never knew that. Um, so
[1:09:53] a couple week
[1:09:55] while long, I went to another meeting
[1:09:57] and the mayor was in there. I said,
[1:09:59] "Mayor," I said, "I hope y'all follow
[1:10:00] along with these rules that you had in
[1:10:02] your charter." He says, "Oh, we've
[1:10:05] changed those, but don't worry, Bill.
[1:10:08] We'll give you plenty of time
[1:10:11] notice." That's like saying my check
[1:10:13] checks in there. But um you know it's
[1:10:17] just unfortunate from all the back and
[1:10:20] forth in going around and other things
[1:10:22] I've run into. I kind of feel like
[1:10:25] pickings Cherokee not Cherokee Pickkins
[1:10:29] Jasper. I mean there needs to be a
[1:10:31] change up of whoever's in charge cuz
[1:10:34] it's not doing well. For example, the
[1:10:37] army is being shut down on their own.
[1:10:39] >> 20 seconds to wrap up after the two
[1:10:41] minutes is complete. I'll let you kind
[1:10:42] of wrap your thought up if you left to
[1:10:44] finish.
[1:10:45] >> No, I just was throwing in the army's
[1:10:48] being shut down on opening day.
[1:10:52] >> But
[1:10:52] >> I understand. Thank you. Thank you FOR
[1:10:58] [applause]
[1:11:00] next comment.
[1:11:07] I see a hand in the back. I don't see a
[1:11:09] head. [laughter]
[1:11:10] I don't think you suffer from the same
[1:11:12] thing he suffered.
[1:11:12] >> No, I do not.
[1:11:14] >> I do not. If
[1:11:15] >> you'll introduce yourself, I'll start at
[1:11:16] the time after you.
[1:11:18] >> My name is Denise Owen and I am a
[1:11:21] resident here at Pigis County. Y'all
[1:11:22] just heard my name a few minutes ago.
[1:11:25] First, I want to thank you guys for the
[1:11:26] opportunity to work with the election
[1:11:28] board and that's quite an honor. But
[1:11:30] that's not why I'm here tonight. So, I
[1:11:32] came bearing a different hat this time.
[1:11:35] This is the chair of the uh Republican
[1:11:37] party here in Dickens County. So once a
[1:11:40] year we do a fundraiser. It's normally
[1:11:41] the tomato sandwich picnic. This year
[1:11:44] we're doing something a little
[1:11:45] different. We up our game just a little
[1:11:47] bit. So we're doing a barbecue supper
[1:11:50] where you can buy plates. You can um go
[1:11:53] through the drive-thru if you want. If
[1:11:54] you can't stay or you can eat there with
[1:11:56] us, you can order plates ahead of time
[1:11:57] through our website. We're also going to
[1:12:00] have bingo and uh have prizes with that.
[1:12:03] But the one thing I'm looking the most
[1:12:05] forward to is our pie for purpose. So,
[1:12:08] some of y'all may have seen a little bit
[1:12:09] about that on the Facebook today. So,
[1:12:12] we've issued a challenge out there for
[1:12:15] all of our elected officials, anybody
[1:12:16] that's um serves in a civic capacity
[1:12:20] that would like to get on our
[1:12:21] leaderboard to raise money for the kids
[1:12:25] uh that are seniors at Piggins High
[1:12:27] School. So, the way this pie for purpose
[1:12:29] works is if you decide you want to get
[1:12:32] out there and raise some money, whoever
[1:12:34] raises the most money, we'll get a pie
[1:12:37] in the face.
[1:12:39] So, we have plenty of room on our
[1:12:42] leaderboard for anybody else, fellas.
[1:12:44] So, uh, Mr. Josh Tibons has already
[1:12:47] taken us up on this offer.
[1:12:48] >> Thank you, Josh.
[1:12:49] >> So, we appreciate that. glad we help him
[1:12:52] break. [laughter]
[1:13:00] >> So, here's the beauty of this. Here's
[1:13:02] the beauty of this thing. So, there's
[1:13:05] lots of people that want on this board.
[1:13:07] So, there's QR codes on Facebook where
[1:13:10] you can go. Everybody's got an
[1:13:11] individual QR code you can donate to
[1:13:14] their cause. So, whoever gets it and
[1:13:17] whoever raises the most is up for
[1:13:22] pie king or pie queen cuz we do have a
[1:13:25] chick on the board, too. So, already
[1:13:27] [laughter]
[1:13:28] got a second.
[1:13:29] >> So, who whoever the winner is, it
[1:13:32] doesn't mean that you get a pie in the
[1:13:34] face because we're going to give you an
[1:13:36] out.
[1:13:37] >> Well, if you decide to take it, if you
[1:13:39] decide to take the pie in the face,
[1:13:41] we're going to let whoever you choose do
[1:13:43] the pine. So, it could be your wife, it
[1:13:45] could be your kids, it could be your
[1:13:47] grandkids. Um, or if you really don't
[1:13:51] want Cool Whip to get in your hair,
[1:13:54] >> we're going to give you an out.
[1:13:56] So, however much money was raised to get
[1:13:58] you in the hot seat, you can pay your
[1:14:01] way out.
[1:14:02] [laughter]
[1:14:04] The fun part of that is, all right, you match that, but you got to pay a
[1:14:08] little more. So, you got to go over what
[1:14:10] was collected for you then.
[1:14:14] You get to choose the next one.
[1:14:18] >> So, you can choose somebody else to be
[1:14:21] in the hot seat. So, because we're
[1:14:23] reasonable people.
[1:14:25] >> All right. Your top got cut off.
[1:14:27] [laughter]
[1:14:30] Call the timer.
[1:14:32] >> All right. Yes,
[1:14:35] >> when you made the hair comment
[1:14:36] [laughter]
[1:14:37] be a victim right off the bat.
[1:14:40] >> And that's August the 29th, by the way,
[1:14:43] at Hensley Plaza.
[1:14:44] >> August 29th,
[1:14:45] >> 11th a.m. to 300 p.m. We'll have the
[1:14:48] band out there playing. 260 students
[1:14:51] from the high school will be out there
[1:14:52] playing and we'll have a lot of stuff
[1:14:54] going on. So, y'all should come out.
[1:14:56] >> Perfect.
[1:14:56] >> Any other comments?
[1:15:01] » Do I have a motion to adjurnn? motion to
[1:15:05] motion.
[1:15:08] >> No,
[1:15:10] you actually can. Sorry.
[1:15:12] >> Totally unrelated, but I do want to
[1:15:13] thank Jim, Pat
[1:15:16] will serve. Those are both very
[1:15:18] difficult boards to serve on with a lot
[1:15:20] of attention and appreciate their
[1:15:22] willingness to get involved.
[1:15:23] >> Absolutely.
[1:15:25] >> I'll take the money and then I'll get
[1:15:27] the [laughter]
[1:15:30] » knew where that was going. So, A motion
[1:15:33] and a second to adjurnn. All in favor?
[1:15:37] >> I'll say I on that.
[1:15:40] >> Meetings. Thank you all very much.