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Good afternoon and welcome to the Gwynette County Board of Commissioners to PM Business Session for Tuesday, September 15th, 2026. I'd like to call our meeting to order at this time.

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For those of you who are here in the audience, I'd ask you to double check your phone or other electronic communications devices. Make sure this set on silent are turned off completely.

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And before we begin, please join us for a moment of silence for each of us to privately pray and reflect on our lives, families, colleagues and community,

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Follow by the pledge of allegiance, led by District 3, Commissioner Jasper Watkins, and if you are able, please stand.

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And now for the pledge of allegiance.

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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands.

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One nation, under God, and divisible with liberty and justice for all.

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Thank you.

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I would like to remind everyone that our commission meetings are air-live on TV Gwynette, your government access cable channel.

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Facebook Live and online at Gwynette County.com.

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Today's tape meeting will air on TV Gwynette beginning this Thursday at 7pm and again on Sunday at noon.

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The meeting will also be available on demand through the Gwynette County website.

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At this point in our meeting, it's our practice to share announcements on highlight community events around the county.

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I will go ahead and kick us off.

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My first announcement is, so while there are 96 real-world crossings in Gwynette County,

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Fortunately, there are no reports of accidents or fatalities on the record.

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We proactively take measures to improve the safety of our road and keep the community informed

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about them.

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As such, Gwynette Transportation is hosting a series of open houses to present the results

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of safety studies for our Cato Road, Oak Road, Gloucester Road, and Joseo Road County,

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Railroad Crossings.

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Residents, visitors, businesses, and property owners are welcome to learn about the results

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review proposed changes and share feedback. Public meetings will be held for each crossing,

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focused on the proposed alternatives for each location, and meetings will be held from 5 pm to 7 pm

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on September 21st at the Jurton Middle School cafeteria for the Hosea Road Crossing.

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September 24th at St. Margaret, the Uville Catholic Church for the Oak Road Gloucester Road

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and September 29th at the Little Burn City Hall work session room for the Arcato Road Crossing.

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So for more information for the schedule and what these meetings are all about, you can

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visit e-mail joshua.washington.acquinetcounty.com and he'll be happy to share some information

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upon request.

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Next, I also want to remind all Gwynette County High School students to submit their

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original artwork for the drops of color calender art contest. The deadline to submit

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applications is quickly approaching Wednesday, September 30th at 4 p.m. We really

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want as many students as possible to show off their creative skills. And I'd encourage

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all parents and teachers out there to please get your students to participate in

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apply. Our work submissions must highlight the importance of safe, clean, and reliable

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water and environmental stewardship in Guanette County.

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The focus is on tap or natural water in our local lakes, rivers and streams, and we will

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feature selected artwork in the 2027 Guanette Water Resources Calendar.

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For eligibility requirements and to apply, you can visit Guanette County.com slash drops

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of color.

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And then lastly, I just want to remind everyone that we are partnering up with the Korean

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American Festival. The Korean American Foundation is hosting the

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2026 Korean Festival this week in September 19th and 20th at Gwynette Plays Mall

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from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday there will be food

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performances there will be vendor booths and just an excellent opportunity to

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enjoy the rich culture of our Korean friends and neighbors and I am

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I'm honored to serve as this year's honorary co-chair, and very much looking forward to the festivity.

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So I hope to see you all there, again, that September 19th and 20th, at one at Plays Small.

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And with that that concludes my announcements, and I'll turn it over to Commissioner Cardin to share announcements and district one.

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All right. I want to thank everybody who attended and supported the district one town hall we had last week.

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In this room, especially appreciate the planning and development department and the when it

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kind of police department for spending their time with us in the evening, ensuring relevant

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information about when it can in Georgia.

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I always appreciate hearing directly from residents anytime I have opportunity to do so.

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Also, second, I want to reiterate what the chairwoman said this weekend is a Korean festival.

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I want to have a place small.

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Thankfully, I want to kind of Georgia, we are fortunate to have one of the largest Korean

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populations, not just in the Southeast United States, but in the nation, and we're going

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to have a great opportunity to celebrate its culture, the culture of that community to learn

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more about this awesome event.

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You can visit KoreanFestibleFoundation.com to learn more about the vendors and the different

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performances we're going to plan on having over the two nights.

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And that can be a good one.

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All right, Commissioner Co., what announcements do we have in district 2?

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Well, first I'd like to take a point of personal privilege and send, offer my personal

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thanks to all of our department directors and all of our clinic employees who really work tirelessly

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to help ensure that we have a safe, vibrant and award-winning community. They do a lot of work

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behind the scenes every day, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to extend my

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thanks and then thank them all.

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So I'm also excited to announce that September that the system, their episode of conversations

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with Coos now available online, I invited one of our directors, Rebecca Shelton, Director

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of Water Resources, to share the latest updates on water and equipment.

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We discussed the county's award-winning water system, the quality of our tap water, the difference

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between storm, tap, and wastewater, and so much more.

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I invite you to listen to this latest podcasts

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along with the past episodes by visiting my page

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on GoetheConny.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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Finally, I am currently accepting applications

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to the recreation authority.

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This authority helps guide the development,

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management, and funding of the county's parks

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and recreation facilities by collaborating

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with the parks and recreation department

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and community partners.

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Two seats are available for district two,

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and applications are due by Wednesday, October 28th,

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to apply, please visit quenetcanny.com slash apply to serve.

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And that's a new industry too.

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Very well.

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Thank you very much, Commissioner Watkins.

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What announcements do we have in district three?

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Just Madam Chair.

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And I think they give me these alert community.

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Your property tax bills have been mailed

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and are due in November.

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My hat is last week.

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If anyone has an escrow account,

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the county will provide property tax information

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to your mortgage company. Every homeowner is responsible for ensuring property taxes are paid.

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For more information or to pay online visit,

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Gwynette County, excuse me, Gwynette, taxcommissioner.com slash pay.

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And that's all I have.

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All right. Commissioner Hohkamp, what announcements do you have in District 4?

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Thank you, Madam Chair.

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Well, I'm excited to announce that 4-H farm friends will be back at the Gwynette County Fair this year.

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This hands-on farm experience for it is for kids and kids at heart.

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Attendees can explore farm-life activities, meat, barnyard animals, including two new sheep, named Alfredo and Pesto,

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and which Ellie May, the donkey, a happy 16th birthday.

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The fair will be held on September 17th through September 27th.

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The entry fee is $2 plus the fair's admission fee.

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Note that families with toddlers can visit exclusively on September 25th.

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Also, there are weekday group tours for educators from 9.30am to 11.30am daily.

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Groups must register for these tours by Thursdays at 10.17 at UGA Extension at Gwynette County.com.

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Thank you.

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Thank you very much.

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All right, if there are no further announcements, I'd like to move right along.

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At this time, I'd like to ask for an approval of the agenda for today's meeting.

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Do I have a motion?

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Motion to approve. Second.

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Right.

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I have a motion in a second to approve the agenda.

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Are there any additions or corrections?

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Hearing none, all in favor, please say aye.

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Any opposed?

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And the agenda is approved.

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I'd now like to ask for an approval of the

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Minutes from the board September 1st meetings.

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Motion to approve.

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Second.

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Right.

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I have a motion in a second to approve the minutes.

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Are there any additions or corrections?

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Hearing none, all in favor, please say aye.

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any opposed, right? The minutes are approved. In this afternoon, we have one presentation

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on our agenda, Ms. Megan Perry, of our Communications Department, we'll read us some instructions.

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Today's population will be presented by Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson. As she makes her way

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down to the front of the room, I'd like to invite Georgia Business Council CEO and President Stacey

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Key, other Georgia Business Council leaders and staff and any Gwynette Business Owners to join her.

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This proclamation recognizes small business opportunity week.

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Whereas, Georgia has been recognized as the number one state for business for 12 consecutive years,

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based on input from leading site consultants nationwide, reflecting the state's un-matched commitment to economic development and the thriving community of entrepreneurs.

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And whereas, small businesses are the backbone of Georgia's economy,

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representing more than 1.2 million businesses and employing more than 1.7 million

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Georgians across diverse industries and communities.

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And whereas in Gwyneth, small businesses drive innovation, create jobs, and strengthen

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the fabric of our local community, contributing to the long-term economic growth and resilience

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that makes Gwyneth the preferred community where everyone thrives.

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And whereas organizations like the Georgia Business Council work to develop, convene, and advocate for small businesses by helping companies build capacity, strengthen supply chain readiness, expand connections, and access opportunities throughout Georgia.

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And we're as the collaboration between small businesses, corporate partners, government agencies and community organizations,

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strengthens Georgia's business ecosystem supports workforce development and creates pathways for success.

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And we're as small business opportunity week serves as a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements, resilience and economic contributions of small businesses while encouraging

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continue to invest in entrepreneurship, innovation, and business growth.

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Now, therefore, I, Nicole of Hendrickson, on behalf of the Gwynette County Board of Commissioners,

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do here by proclaim September 21st through 25th, 2026, as small business opportunity

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week in Gwynette County, and encourage all residents to support and celebrate the small

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businesses that make our community...

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Let's give it up for small businesses across the county and metro and state.

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Small businesses employ thousands

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of residents, create opportunities and contribute to the character and vitality of our communities.

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And that is why our support must extend beyond any one program. Through federal grants, when

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at county distributed more than $7.1 million dollars to over 1,000 small businesses, helping

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keep their doors open during the pandemic.

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We also invested in the Guanette Entrepreneur Center, where business owners can access coaching,

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training, networking and resources to help turn promising ideas into sustainable enterprises.

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But supporting small businesses also requires us to examine how the county does business,

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and whether local companies are positioned to compete for opportunities in their own community.

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That work led to our procurement readiness and opportunity plan, or our

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pro plan, the most comprehensive small business initiative that we've

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undertaken. And through the pro plan, we are making smaller procurement

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opportunities easier to identify, developing a supplier portal, and creating

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more opportunities for local businesses to connect directly with county

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departments. We are also listening through focus groups feedback sessions

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in our expanded supplier networking and resource fair, so we can better understand what works,

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what does not, and where barriers remain. And to me, opportunity means more than telling

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small businesses that contracts exist. It really is about helping them find those opportunities

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understanding how to compete and allowing them to have their fair share and chance to succeed.

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And that commitment closely aligns with the work of the Georgia Business Council, which has spent more than 50 years advancing inclusive economic growth and expanding opportunities for small businesses across Georgia.

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And in fact, I was so proud to join St. St. Casey and present a proclamation last year for the 50th anniversary and I was so impressed.

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Yeah, that deserves a round of applause.

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Just so impressed by the depth and breadth of services and impact you all had across the state of Georgia for 50 years.

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So it's why I'm so pleased to recognize small business opportunity week beginning Monday.

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And encouraging everyone to support entrepreneurs, suppliers, retailers, restaurants, and family

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own businesses that invest in Gwynette in our metro area in our state every single day.

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And now I would like to invite Georgia Business Council President and Chief Executive Officer

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Ms. Stacey Key to share a few words with us.

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I'm going to be quick.

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On behalf of the Council, first, I'd like to thank Gwynette County for your continued

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support of the Small Business Community and for support of Small Business Week, which is September

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to the 21st through the 25th.

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We also recognize Governor Brian Kemp for proclaiming small business

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week throughout the state of Georgia.

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Now, underscoring the importance role

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the small businesses play in the economic engine

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that really drives the state.

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And so with that, I'm going to ask Sergeant Franklin,

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who's the small business services director for the council,

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and a resident of Gwynette County to bring remarks.

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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

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I'm Sanji Franklin, director of small business services for the Georgia Business Council.

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I would like to thank Winette County for your continued support of small business opportunity

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week.

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This year marks our sixth year, recognizing this important initiative, and Winette County has

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stood with us since this inception.

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We sincerely appreciate your continued partnership and commitment to recognizing the

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businesses that help drive our local state economy.

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As one of George's largest and most dynamic counties, Gwynette understands the important role

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small businesses play in creating jobs, strengthening communities, and contributing to

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an economic growth, your continued recognition of small business opportunity week reinforces

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the importance of ensuring businesses have access to opportunities to succeed.

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I would also

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about celebrating you, your contributions, and the impact you make every day.

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Thank you to Gwynette County for six years of supporting this effort and for your continued

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partnership with the Georgia Business Council and Georgia Small Business community.

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We are grateful to be here with you today.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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We do not, but we go to the ones that I couldn't collect the study of the net.

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So we're in a foreign county.

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I just wanted to hear you.

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I just want to take a few years of age.

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That's right.

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All right.

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We're going to take a photo.

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We're going to take a photo.

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Our consent agenda begins on page 1.

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Do I have a motion for the consent agenda?

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Motion to approve?

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A second.

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I have a motion in a second to approve the consent agenda.

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All in favor.

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Please say aye.

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Any opposed?

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All right.

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The consent agenda is approved.

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This brings us to the public comment section of our agenda at this point in our meeting.

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It's our pleasure to invite anyone who wishes to address the Board on any topic to come

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to the podium, the State your name and address for the record.

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We'll be happy to listen to your comments.

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Please know that you will have three minutes to speak and our park will be keeping time.

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And if every of you are here to speak on the same topic, please do your best to not repeat

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points that have already been made.

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And with that, the floor is now open and please, again, remember to state your name and

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just for the record.

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00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:16,760
Hi. My name is Harling the Poetano. My address is nine o'clock to the

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little slint. I sent the right address. Madam Chair and members of the board. I am addressing

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you today because while only one commissioner attended this September 9th committee town hall,

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this entire board you voted unanimously to approve every flawed contract.

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Act an expansion before you. Including spending $225,000 in federal RPA relief funds and socializing 40% of

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private commercial camera costs across local community improvement districts. At that town hall, police

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representatives issued a 38% crime drop to flood cameras. That claiming Norse-based data. Violent

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crime drop nationally across that same window, regardless of surveillance, and GCPD simultaneously

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brought out multiple other capital intents of policing initiatives, including the Guanette

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situational awareness and crime I apologize.

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At that, more critically, for more than five years, GCPD operated these cameras

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of virtually no-proactive safeguards and internal audit, which only examined records

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back to January of this year led directly to the criminal charging and firing of three officers

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for unlawfully weaponizing the system.

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The capacity for official abuses inherent to the technology itself.

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I also strongly object to the using of sexual assault survivors

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or justification for master valence.

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Factually, 70 to 80% of sexual assault committed by acquaintances

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and other individuals known to the victim beforehand,

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while where Flock offers zero utility.

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More importantly, this county is a documented history

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of systemic failures in these special victims cases.

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From the backlog of over 100 untested rate kits,

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exposed under the Clemens law,

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to the 11-alive investigation, showing TCPD and repeatedly misclassified unresolved cases is cleared in violation of federal guidelines.

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If this board much justice for survivors, fun to victim advocacy, evidence processing, and investigate accountability, not roadways surveillance.

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For every arrest credited to flock, hundreds of thousands of innocent motorists in Guadette County have their daily travels logged and stored in a private vendor's cloud servers.

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As detailed in the contract record, I am going to provide to the clerk, this board authorizes

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AI surveillance apparatus.

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I urge you to introduce an ordinance ending County ALPR contracts, halting taxpayer

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subsidies for private deployments, and requiring mandatory public notice for commercial

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AI surveillance.

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If you believe Gwynette residents genuinely support warrantless mass surveillance using

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AI technologies, put it on the ballot as a referendum and let the voters decide.

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Thank you.

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Thank you, anyone else wishing to address the board?

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00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:01,940
Yes, hello, commissioners.

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My name is Michael Lawdon, and I represent the community called Waterford Recreation.

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They're just held together through Covenants, three neighborhoods,

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browsing over a thousand constituents.

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I will address the comments previously made in opposition

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because our residents have made it very clear in the past and going forward that we would

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gladly sacrifice a small portion of civil liberties and our adjustments to the way that we

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carry about our daily lives in exchange for the safety and security that we enjoy in our

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We've also looked into Flock in the past, which was cost-perhibitive, but we're currently investigating

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your new Flock initiative with the police department, and we'll be registering our cameras

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with the relevant database so that we can further protect our residents.

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So that's my comments in opposition.

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I also want to give you my comments regarding our previous discussion, which we're

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guarded, which is regarding traffic safety improvements in the Waterford area, comprised of

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old no-cross and Harrington, the closest business largest intersection, but we have been

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extremely pleased with the efforts of the Department of Transportation, which recently came

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through and it's in brush clearing after we in partnership with the Department, got home

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permission to actually step across the easements that have been established in order to

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trim and increase the visible sight distance around the blind corner that we face every

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day when we exit our neighborhood. So that work has already been completed and the

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improvement has had an impact. We can see further and within more advanced warning of

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coming traffic and we continue to work with the Department of Transportation on the engineering

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design for future enhancements of the intersection that will prevent another July 22nd

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that claimed lives of one of our homeowners from ever happening again with look forward to that.

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It's moving forward and I thank everybody in the Department of Transportation including

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of Berthos, Sylvia, and all of those guys who have been just absolutely diligent and since

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day one they have not faltered, they have not missed a step and we are very grateful for that.

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We have also seen an increase in the police presence and monitoring of our neighborhoods,

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as well as our recreation area, which is shared by three, including more patrols, more officers.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Anyone else wishing to address the board?

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No, I'm asking for anyone else wishing to address the board.

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Good afternoon.

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My name is Audrey Graham Jackson, and I'm resigning

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Gwynette County and unacoperated in all cross.

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And I'll head to address the board in regards to...

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I'm currently a poll worker for Gwynette County.

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And I want to address the federal labor standards act

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and according to how we're getting paid. According to the Georgia Department of Labor, the Federal Labor Standards Act, which I'll show you all aware of,

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it is required that employees are to be paid at least twice per month, or semi-monthly, or at least on a more frequent schedule weekly, or by weekly as I stated.

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But under the guidelines, the counties, the border commissioners are the ones that determine

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our pay, the rate, and the time that we get paid.

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What we're looking for is to be paid in a timely manner and not four weeks to maybe

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five weeks.

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We're working long hours, 12 to 15 hours doing advance in person voting, and we're also working

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long hours on election day.

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And we should be paid accordingly, you know, at least two weeks or the 15th or the 30th of the month.

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But at least, timely, so we don't have to wait a month or a month and a half to get paid.

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So, I know you all fit.

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New year's ending, September 30th, which you have in a new fiscal year beginning for 27th.

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And if you all would put this on your agenda to at least correct and pay us accordingly to the employees

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of going to the county and perhaps you all, I don't know, if you all get paid by weekly or whatever your pay is.

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But we would like to be taken into consideration how often we get paid and not have delays in our pay.

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Because right now, AFE is beginning to start, we don't know when our next pay will be, we don't have a pay calendar.

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We just know the days that we're working, but don't know the days that we're getting paid.

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So, I'm just asking that you all take that into consideration our pay, our pay scale,

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and also holidays, if we're working Mother's Day or Father's Day or whatever holiday falls on the days that we work.

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you take those hours into consideration also because most holidays people with their loved ones.

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And if they come to vote, it's after church, late in the evening, early morning is no

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I was really coming in. So I would like for you all to take into consideration the poll workers

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as far as they pay and they pay schedule. And thank you for your time. Thank you.

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Anybody else wishing to address the board?

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All right, as I see nobody making their way down. If there are no further comments,

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This concludes our 2PM Business session for September 15th, 2026.

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I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

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Okay.

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If anyone else is wishing to make a comment,

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if you all can sit towards the front of the room,

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so I can see you when you're ready to go.

354
00:32:04,420 --> 00:32:05,860
My name is Alvin Norman,

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and I also work for when a county on election day.

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I'm a poll worker.

357
00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:16,160
I am a poll manager on election day,

358
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and I'm an issuing clerk for AIP.

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00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:26,800
Most of the workers that are dedicated to come out and work are elderly, and we come and

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we work.

361
00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:32,120
We get up with that 530, with that 6 o'clock, with their all day.

362
00:32:32,220 --> 00:32:35,060
I just want to do what Audrey said.

363
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Also the rate of pay per hour.

364
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issuing clerics get paid $17 an hour.

365
00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:52,360
Other counties, they not only get paid every two weeks and don't have to wait four to six weeks

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like we do. To get paid, they also get paid a higher rate.

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00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:07,200
One election day, poll workers, poll managers get paid $340 flat rate.

368
00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:16,480
The cab county, 550 plus, that's a big difference, and we work harder.

369
00:33:17,580 --> 00:33:25,060
Also, I want to just the fact that the cab county has equipment that is more modern than what we're working with.

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We work with equipment that is outdated, broken, and when we put in request for repair, they come right back.

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00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:51,420
It takes a long time to set up this equipment and we're talking people that are most of the time 60 plus that are doing these jobs.

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The younger people don't want to do it. They're not coming out. They're not going to work these hours.

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So we just wish you would consider the fact that we are dedicated, we come out, we work, we serve our community on a regular basis year after year, and we would like to be considered just like the other counties, get paid, a little higher rate than what we're getting paid.

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The last time we got a raise was I think two or three years ago, we went from $15 an hour to

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think $17 an hour for issuing clicks.

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So that's my concern as well.

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Thank you for your time.

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00:34:30,540 --> 00:34:31,460
Thank you.

379
00:34:42,250 --> 00:34:42,850
Hello, everyone.

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Good afternoon.

381
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My name is Homsik.

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Good afternoon.

383
00:34:45,450 --> 00:34:47,770
I am a Paul Werker.

384
00:34:48,110 --> 00:34:49,690
I want to do re-echo my call.

385
00:34:49,750 --> 00:34:51,270
I'm your address for the record, please.

386
00:34:51,590 --> 00:34:52,010
I'm sorry.

387
00:34:52,330 --> 00:34:53,250
Do you state your address?

388
00:34:53,390 --> 00:34:53,930
I'm right here.

389
00:34:54,050 --> 00:34:54,750
State your address.

390
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Name and address.

391
00:34:55,810 --> 00:34:57,190
the record.

392
00:34:57,530 --> 00:35:01,130
I'm 273, Sugar Stone Drive, Lawrence and Georgia.

393
00:35:03,050 --> 00:35:08,070
So I'd like to call my two colleagues that they just shared with you.

394
00:35:08,350 --> 00:35:09,930
And I'll make it very brief.

395
00:35:11,350 --> 00:35:13,010
Question to all of you.

396
00:35:13,330 --> 00:35:16,450
How would you feel if you were to get to pay once a month?

397
00:35:21,450 --> 00:35:24,050
So really, it's not fair.

398
00:35:24,050 --> 00:35:39,450
For what we do, of course I do it as a civic duty, I do it for the money, but some people do it for the money and that's something I'd like you to look into look at other counties and assess.

399
00:35:41,350 --> 00:35:47,410
And because what we do, it's really, it's not just one thing.

400
00:35:47,410 --> 00:36:02,070
We get up early early early morning in the morning in the morning, we deal with, you know, people, all sectors of life for lack of better turns, and long hours.

401
00:36:02,690 --> 00:36:10,810
So, really, that's something I'd like you to look into and again, to be fair.

402
00:36:11,530 --> 00:36:18,890
But most importantly, we need to be for folks that really money matters to them, that

403
00:36:18,890 --> 00:36:23,910
need to be paid as often as you guys do get paid.

404
00:36:24,730 --> 00:36:25,770
Thank you very much.

405
00:36:28,980 --> 00:36:29,440
Thank you.

406
00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,180
Anyone else wishing to adjust the board?

407
00:36:41,930 --> 00:36:49,530
All right, if there are no further comments, this concludes our 2PM business session for September 15th, 2026, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

408
00:36:49,550 --> 00:36:50,470
Motion to adjourn?

409
00:36:50,470 --> 00:36:55,010
I have a motion in a second to adjourn. All in favor please say aye. Aye.

410
00:36:55,130 --> 00:36:55,770
Any opposed?

411
00:36:56,310 --> 00:36:57,770
All right, we are officially adjourned.

412
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I thank you all for joining us today, both in person and virtually.