[0:00] To order.

[0:01] And

[0:03] leading us in our pledge allegiance this evening will be Commissioner Robinson and

[0:07] Reverend John Brown from the First United Methodist Church in Warner Robins will

[0:10] share our invocation with us. If you are willing and able, if you'll please stand.

[0:17] All right. Join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the

[0:20] flag of the United States of America, and to the

[0:24] Republic for which it stands, one nation, under

[0:28] God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for

[0:32] all.

[0:34] Pastor, if you want to come to the lectern right there.

[0:39] Sure.

[0:42] Can I

[0:43] say a few words and then do the invocation? Is that all right?

[0:45] Sure. We'll probably sit if that's the way it's going to go.

[0:47] Yes, please.

[0:48] All right. Have a seat.

[0:48] Please do.

[0:51] Leave it to a pastor to be

[0:54] late-

[0:56] ... and hold you up.

[0:58] I think my congregation is used to

[1:01] us not getting out exactly on

[1:05] time.

[1:06] But that's okay. My name is Reverend John Brown.

[1:09] I serve as the senior pastor at First United Methodist Church of Warner Robins

[1:14] on North Davis. First has been a part of this community

[1:18] for 85 years this year, and it's an honor to

[1:22] be here tonight. I want to share a short

[1:25] word

[1:27] from an unlikely place.

[1:30] In the 6th century before Jesus, the people of

[1:34] Israel had been carried to Babylon, and they were

[1:37] strangers in a foreign city. And they were waiting to go home, and

[1:41] God sent them a letter through the prophet of Jeremiah.

[1:45] And you'd expect it to say, "Hold out, keep your distance.

[1:50] Don't get too comfortable."

[1:52] Instead, it said something surprising.

[1:54] It said, "Seek the welfare of the city,"

[1:58] or seek the welfare of the county,

[2:01] "where I have sent you,

[2:03] and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare, you will

[2:07] find your welfare."

[2:11] That Hebrew word welfare is shalom.

[2:14] Maybe you've heard that word before.

[2:17] A lot of times we translate it peace.

[2:20] But it means more than the absence of conflict.

[2:24] Shalom is about wholeness.

[2:27] It's when things are the way that they're supposed to be, when people have what

[2:30] they need, when relationships are right,

[2:35] when communities flourish.

[2:37] And that's what God told the exiles to seek for their city.

[2:42] Not just to survive, not just to tolerate it.

[2:45] Instead, it means to actively work for its wellbeing.

[2:50] And God made it personal.

[2:53] In its welfare, you will find welfare.

[2:56] Our fates are tied together. And that's not just a spiritual idea, it's a

[3:00] practical one. When our neighbors thrive, we thrive.

[3:03] When parts of the city or community are left

[3:07] behind,

[3:08] all of us will eventually feel it.

[3:11] We don't get to opt out

[3:14] of each other. And so, that's the word for us tonight.

[3:16] The people sitting around in this

[3:20] room, the people that you represent,

[3:24] we share one thing in common, this community, and its

[3:28] roads, and its schools, and its neighborhoods, and its safety,

[3:32] and its opportunity, and its struggles.

[3:36] And that's what we've shown up to tend to tonight.

[3:40] And that kind of work might be unglamorous, it might be meeting heavy.

[3:44] It might be hard

[3:47] to get the work right of governing,

[3:49] but it's actually close to the heart of what God cares about.

[3:53] And at First, we take that seriously.

[3:55] It's part of why we run a soup kitchen on Monday and Friday.

[3:58] It's why we have a food pantry on Tuesday and Thursday.

[4:01] It's why we have two transitional houses and NA

[4:04] meetings on our campus because it serves our

[4:08] neighbors

[4:10] facing food insecurity and their basic needs.

[4:12] And we do this not to fill a quota, we do it because this is our

[4:16] city. This is our community.

[4:20] And what happens here

[4:22] matters to God, and it matters to us.

[4:25] So, I want to thank you for the work that you do, commissioners, and I want

[4:29] to, of course, invite you, if you don't have a church home, to come

[4:32] visit with us on Sunday at 11.

[4:36] But thank you for being partners in the welfare of this community.

[4:40] So, let's pray.

[4:44] God, we thank you

[4:46] for this

[4:48] city,

[4:49] this Houston County, for the people who live and who work here,

[4:54] for the people who raise their children here and lay their parents to

[4:58] rest here.

[5:00] Lord, we know Houston County isn't perfect, no place is, but it is

[5:04] ours. And so tonight, we ask for you to bless the work

[5:08] done in this room. That you would give our leaders wisdom

[5:13] that goes beyond just data and deadlines.

[5:17] Lord, give them courage to make hard calls and the humility to listen

[5:20] well.

[5:22] And Lord, when disagreement comes,

[5:25] let it sharpen rather than divide.

[5:28] Let the welfare of this community, the city's most vulnerable

[5:32] neighbors,

[5:34] may they never get lost in the middle of procedure.

[5:38] So, we pray for everyone they represent tonight, the people who made it to this

[5:42] meeting and those who couldn't.

[5:45] Let their needs be present with us in this room,

[5:48] even when they themselves are not.

[5:51] And remind us all, in whatever role that we hold,

[5:55] that we are stewards of something that belongs to everybody,

[5:59] and may we hold and tend it carefully.

[6:01] In Jesus name, we pray

[6:03] Amen.

[6:04] Amen. Pastor, if you'll hold your position there real

[6:08] quick, I'm going to ask the

[6:10] commissioners to say a word of appreciation for you being here this evening, and

[6:13] then we're going to come around and get a picture with you.

[6:15] Okay. Sounds great.

[6:16] All right. Commissioner Byrd?

[6:17] Yes, sir. Reverend Brown, thank you so much for being here with us.

[6:20] Thank you for your message, and thank you for your work and the work of

[6:24] your members in this community.

[6:27] I have to offer a little point of personal privilege here.

[6:29] So my grandparents came to Houston County in 1941-

[6:33] Okay

[6:33] ... and quickly aligned with First Methodist-

[6:35] Wow

[6:36] ... and were members of the church their entire life.

[6:37] I don't know if they were founding members or very early members, but it was very

[6:41] close to the time.

[6:42] If they were in '41, they would've been founders.

[6:43] They were close. Yeah.

[6:44] Yeah.

[6:45] So that's kind of interesting.

[6:46] That's great.

[6:46] But thanks for being here. Thanks for all you do.

[6:48] Thank you.

[6:48] Yep.

[6:49] Commissioner Talon?

[6:50] Yes, sir. Thank you for being here.

[6:51] Thank you for your kind words of encouragement,

[6:54] the recognition, and importance of unity. So, thank you for that.

[6:57] So when we all work together,

[6:59] when we win, it's a victory for all.

[7:01] So-

[7:01] That's right

[7:01] ... we work together. So thank you.

[7:03] Thank you. Commissioner Robinson?

[7:05] Yes. Thank you for being here, and it's a big recognition

[7:09] for 85 years. Thank you for all that your

[7:13] church does, and

[7:15] all of those who come and help with your soup kitchen and your

[7:19] food pantry and all that you do for the community.

[7:21] But it's a great blessing to have you here, and we thank you for being here this

[7:25] evening.

[7:25] Thank you.

[7:26] Yeah. Thank you very much for being here.

[7:28] The passage from Jeremiah you shared is a really good

[7:32] reminder of whether we are in exile or whether we're in our

[7:36] hometown, we need to be seeking the welfare where God has placed us.

[7:40] So, we're going to come around and grab a picture with you.

[7:42] Sure.

[7:52] Governor

[8:16] Barbre, appreciate you being here.

[8:38] God bless you. All right.

[8:41] Good to hear you.

[8:48] We have a couple of other

[8:51] acknowledgments which are not on the agenda, but we want to make at the

[8:57] start of the meeting this evening.

[9:00] First of all, is

[9:03] today at 4:00, we got to celebrate

[9:07] employees who have served Houston County for a number of years.

[9:12] And then for those who have served Houston County

[9:16] for the longest amount of time, 25, 30, 35, or even more

[9:20] years, we always invite them to the commission

[9:24] meeting in the evenings and

[9:29] recognize them for their long and dedicated service.

[9:33] This evening, we have Mr. George Felder, and George

[9:37] works in our Public Buildings

[9:41] department.

[9:42] He's held a lot of different roles over the years

[9:46] but currently, he supervises the crew that

[9:50] is

[9:51] keeping our buildings clean, and he does a

[9:55] tremendous job.

[9:58] I always ask their supervisors to write sort of a

[10:01] word about what they've meant to the county over the years,

[10:05] and

[10:07] George's supervisor, Michael, said, "He's always willing to step

[10:11] up and do whatever it takes to get the job done." And I

[10:15] cannot think of

[10:16] a better thing to say about an employee. Mr.

[10:20] George, we sure appreciate your years of service.

[10:23] We appreciate the amount of time that

[10:27] you've not just served your fellow employees by everything that you've done,

[10:31] but through that, you've served the citizens of Houston County.

[10:34] So if you'll come up and let us give you a round of applause, and we're going to

[10:37] come around and present you a small token of appreciation for your many

[10:41] years of service as well.

[10:57] This bag is light.

[10:59] That's a good sign because it means it's not a coffee mug.

[11:02] It's probably a decent bag. Come over here. Over here with George.

[11:07] Right there.

[11:08] That's for you.

[11:09] Thanks.

[11:24] Do you have some family here this evening?

[11:25] Yes. My wife, my son, and grandson.

[11:29] All right. Well, thank y'all for being here.

[11:32] Oh! That would've been a long ride home.

[11:35] A wife, son, and daughter, and grandson.

[11:37] Would y'all like to come up as well and get a picture?

[11:40] Come on.

[11:40] We'd love that.

[11:41] Yeah. Yeah.

[12:13] All

[12:19] right.

[12:22] Thank you.

[12:22] We appreciate the service.

[12:26] Thank

[12:27] you.

[12:43] All right.

[12:46] One final acknowledgment before we get into the business of

[12:50] tonight's meeting, and that is, if you can't tell, we

[12:54] are celebrating a birthday this evening.

[12:58] I want to wish Mr. Tom Hall, the county attorney, a happy birthday.

[13:03] We have all been assigned one of these.

[13:06] And,

[13:09] Ms. Marsha, where are you at? I know you're a

[13:13] Baptist and not a Methodist, but if you'll keep it as brief as the Methodist, I

[13:17] will allow you to come up and say a few words about your husband if you would like.

[13:22] Are you foregoing that opportunity or am I pressing you into service?

[13:26] You're pressing me into service.

[13:27] All right. Wonderful. Come on up.

[13:34] This was our youngest daughter's

[13:36] idea to acknowledge-

[13:38] Embarrass him?

[13:38] ... his birthday and embarrass him tonight. And of course, she's at the beach.

[13:43] So they've left it to me. But I just want to tell you happy birthday.

[13:47] I'm proud to be your wife.

[13:49] Our oldest daughter, Hannah, and grandson, Liam, are here also

[13:53] to let you know that we think you're mighty special.

[13:56] Love you.

[14:04] Commissioner Talton is asking if we should sing. We should.

[14:07] I-

[14:08] We should ... I was offered that opportunity and if someone, if you would like

[14:12] to lead the singing- No, you go ahead. Okay, there we go.

[14:14] I think we have our answer then. Solo. Mr.

[14:17] Hall, I will- Let's hear it in the room ...

[14:19] I'm sure the other commissioners will say a word of appreciation for you in their

[14:23] comments later this evening, but I will just say, we sure

[14:27] do appreciate you, appreciate the work you do for the citizens of Houston

[14:31] County. More than that, I appreciate your friendship and the

[14:35] character you have and the man you are.

[14:37] So we're very blessed by your service. All right.

[14:41] Moving on to the business of the evening this

[14:45] evening. The first item of business is approval of minutes from the

[14:49] July 7th, 2026 meeting.

[14:52] Those minutes have been distributed previously and you've all been given a chance

[14:56] to review them. Unless there are additions or corrections, I will

[15:00] take a motion for approval. So moved.

[15:03] We have a motion from Commissioner Talton to approve the minutes.

[15:06] Do I hear a second?

[15:07] I'll second.

[15:08] Second from Commissioner Byrd. Any discussion?

[15:12] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[15:15] Motion carries 3-0.

[15:19] Item number one is a public hearing on an

[15:23] alcohol license. I'm going to ask Director of

[15:26] Administration, Robbie Dunbar, to give the second public

[15:30] reading for the alcohol license. We will then open a public

[15:34] hearing and ask for any public comments related to the alcohol license,

[15:38] and then we will proceed on action on this item. Mr. Dunbar?

[15:42] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is the second reading for an occupational

[15:46] tax application to include the retail sale of beer

[15:50] and wine for off-use premises

[15:55] at 295 Old Highway 96, Suite B,

[15:59] Bonaire, Georgia.

[16:01] The name of the business is 96 Market Incorporated

[16:06] and is owned by Mr. Keir Patel.

[16:09] Plans are for three full-time employees.

[16:13] The first reading for this application was held at the July 7th

[16:17] meeting.

[16:18] The applicant has approval from the following:

[16:22] Houston County Sheriff's Office,

[16:24] Houston County Building Inspection,

[16:26] Houston County Fire Department,

[16:29] Houston County Commissioner's Office.

[16:32] Mr. Chairman, this constitutes the second and final reading of this

[16:36] occupational tax application.

[16:38] Thank you, Mr. Dunbar. At this time, we will open up a public hearing

[16:42] on the alcohol license

[16:46] for this location. I will simply point out for

[16:50] information purposes,

[16:52] this is not a liquor store, this is a convenience store

[16:56] selling just beer and wine, not liquor.

[17:00] The recent ordinance changes we made to our liquor store ordinance

[17:03] expanding

[17:05] their

[17:07] closeness to other such

[17:12] places to at least five miles does not apply in

[17:16] this instance because it is not a package store or a liquor

[17:19] store. Anyone would like to offer public comment on this item?

[17:25] All right. Seeing none, we will close the public hearing and I will

[17:29] turn to Commissioner Robinson.

[17:31] All right. As we have

[17:35] been given the second reading for this new alcohol license

[17:40] for the owner of 96 Market Inc.

[17:43] off of Old Highway 96, I will make a motion

[17:48] that we approve the alcohol license for the retail sale

[17:52] of beer and wine for use off premises at

[17:55] 295 Old Highway 96, Suite B, Bonaire, Georgia

[17:59] 31005.

[18:02] We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Robinson. Do I hear a second?

[18:05] I'll second.

[18:06] Second from Commissioner Byrd. Any discussion on the motion?

[18:10] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[18:13] Motion carries 3-0.

[18:17] Item number two is an annexation in the city of Perry.

[18:20] Commissioner Robinson, if you'll introduce this item, and then we'll call for

[18:24] public comment.

[18:26] Okay. This is a request from the city of Perry

[18:29] to annex eight parcels on Highway 127.

[18:34] All right. So,

[18:36] it is our custom to ask for public

[18:39] comments on annexations as we consider those

[18:43] as

[18:45] the commission.

[18:46] If anyone is here and would like to offer public comments

[18:50] regarding this annexation off of Highway

[18:54] 127, there are eight parcels under

[18:57] consideration.

[19:00] Is anyone here would like to offer public comment on those?

[19:05] All right. Seeing none, we will continue on.

[19:08] Commissioner Robinson, if you'll turn to disposition of this item.

[19:12] Okay.

[19:14] I'm going to make the motion that we concur with the city of Perry's

[19:18] request to annex 20.01 acres on

[19:21] Highway 127, known as tax parcels

[19:25] 000560,

[19:28] 030000,

[19:31] 000560, 060000,

[19:35] 000560,

[19:38] 056000,

[19:42] 000560, 055000,

[19:45] 000560,

[19:49] 04054000,

[19:53] 000560,

[19:56] 53000, and

[19:59] 000560,

[20:02] 031000,

[20:04] and 000560,

[20:07] 32A000, with

[20:11] a zoning change from county RAG and

[20:15] county C2 to Perry C2.

[20:18] We have a motion to concur from Commissioner Robinson. Do I hear a second?

[20:23] Second.

[20:24] Second from Commissioner Towten.

[20:26] Want to congratulate Commissioner Robinson on successfully reading all those

[20:30] parcel numbers.

[20:32] I should have just gone with the 000560 and

[20:36] then-

[20:36] At all. Yeah

[20:37] ... yeah, the rest-

[20:38] Et cetera

[20:39] Okay.

[20:39] Yes.

[20:39] Yeah.

[20:40] All right. We have a motion from Commissioner Robinson and a

[20:44] second from Commissioner Towten to concur with the annexation in the city of

[20:48] Perry of eight parcels. Any more discussion on the motion?

[20:53] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[20:56] Motion carries 3-0.

[21:00] Item number three is an annexation in the city of Warner Robins,

[21:04] located on South Amanda Place.

[21:10] I don't really think there's any more description that is needed, so we will open

[21:13] up the floor for public comments

[21:16] for this annexation

[21:18] into the city of Warner Robins located at South Amanda Place.

[21:21] If you'll please come to the lectern if you would like to make comments.

[21:27] Good evening.

[21:34] Do I have to state my name or anything?

[21:36] Sure, state your name would be great.

[21:38] Okay. Kimberly Pritchett.

[21:40] First of all, I want to say y'all did a great job getting the light there, because

[21:43] that solves

[21:44] most of our problems.

[21:46] But we do have a concern, just a small one, on the small

[21:50] parcel. There's two parcels, I think they're wanting to annex,

[21:53] 100 and 104. 104 is like half an

[21:57] acre. And just to give y'all an idea, it's in the very, very

[22:01] back of the property. It butts up against 106, which is a house that

[22:05] also has special needs adults in it.

[22:08] Anyway, that area floods all the time.

[22:12] And

[22:15] as Mr. Hall will agree,

[22:18] nothing is worth anything unless it's in writing.

[22:20] The people who are trying to develop it has told us that he doesn't plan

[22:24] on utilizing that triangle, but he wants to have it rezoned.

[22:28] I'm like, "Well, if you're not going to utilize it, why rezone it?" He said, "Well,

[22:31] we're going to try to make it a buffer."

[22:33] I said, "We'd like it to stay R-1 as a buffer."

[22:38] With what we've been told he wants to do, he wants to put a restaurant there,

[22:43] shopping center, stuff like that there.

[22:45] So, it's going to be a lot more noise than what we already have with the

[22:49] hotel.

[22:50] So, we were kind of wanting a bigger buffer because of that.

[22:53] It's not the same vibe as a hotel that's a lot more quiet.

[22:59] Right now, I think they have like a 15-foot buffer.

[23:04] I don't know what would be the equivalent of it, but that property of the

[23:08] triangle butts up right next to 106.

[23:11] They could put dumpsters back there, trash things,

[23:15] which could also draw,

[23:17] unfortunately, the homeless back there.

[23:20] So, that's the other reason they were needing a larger buffer.

[23:22] The second thing we wanted to ask for is a buffer along South Amanda,

[23:26] because we don't want to have to see the back of all that as we go up our road.

[23:30] It is still a county road. I think they did stipulate that you

[23:33] couldn't access Amanda from there.

[23:36] They want the inner parcel access to go straight to the light, which is what we all

[23:39] wanted, and that's why we put that light there.

[23:43] But a buffer would be great there as well.

[23:48] That was primarily it. We just would really like for that one little bitty piece of

[23:51] parcel to remain R-1 instead of changing it to C2.

[23:55] The reason why is keep him accountable.

[23:57] If he decides that he's going to change his mind

[24:00] and utilize it, he would have to come back, ask for the rezoning,

[24:04] then we'd be made aware, and we could see what's going on.

[24:08] Just holding him accountable.

[24:11] All right. Thank you, Ms. Pritchett.

[24:12] Mm-hmm.

[24:13] Anyone else like to offer public comment on this annexation?

[24:22] This is my favorite thing to do. I'm Rhonda Moore.

[24:26] One of the concerns when this subdivision was originally

[24:30] developed 50 years ago, we've lived there 50 years.

[24:33] I'm sure Warren Carter and

[24:36] Charles and all of them never anticipated old

[24:40] PV Road would be Houston Lake Road and be a four-lane highway.

[24:44] Unfortunately, we all have our homes back there, and we're just trying to be

[24:48] protected.

[24:50] Like Kimberly said, the county

[24:54] already has an ordinance that they cannot use a

[24:58] subdivision street for access, which is great,

[25:02] but putting a restaurant and maybe

[25:06] strip stores or whatever is going to create a back

[25:10] where people go out and take their trash and all that.

[25:13] And to eliminate us who have traveled down

[25:17] that road 50 years from having to look at that, if the

[25:20] county could recommend increasing the size of the

[25:24] buffer for a permanent evergreen or

[25:28] whatever they would recommend. Because I don't know what the

[25:31] city's recommendation is for that.

[25:34] I don't know what their height is or whatever.

[25:39] What they have put up behind the hotel is a small white

[25:42] fence that I could jump over it probably, maybe,

[25:47] to go around the retention pond.

[25:52] I've already fenced off my property, so that doesn't affect me.

[25:55] What will affect me is people in the hotel looking out of the rooms

[25:59] into my backyard, which I don't love that, but I knew I couldn't stop progress.

[26:03] Anyway, we're asking

[26:05] to be protected for the people that are in that subdivision and have been

[26:09] for years. I don't think they gain anything by taking

[26:13] 104 South Amanda.

[26:16] And in fact, somebody's already used it. They're cutting through it.

[26:19] We know it's not the Carter sisters.

[26:22] They're all too old to be doing that. But I don't know if it's Mr.

[26:25] Patel who's buying it, but they've already cleared a lot of it, and I don't know

[26:29] where they got permission. But that's what we're asking for, to be protected for

[26:33] our subdivision.

[26:35] Can I ask you a question?

[26:36] Sure.

[26:38] Looking at the parcel map, it looks to me like a lot of the

[26:43] lots, certainly on Chantilly,

[26:46] went ahead and purchased

[26:49] a-

[26:50] A buffer. We did

[26:51] ... a buffer.

[26:51] We did.

[26:51] And in some cases, they're half an acre or-

[26:55] Right

[26:55] ... more of buffer from

[26:58] the

[26:59] property that protects their home.

[27:01] And that's all old trees, but when they all lose their leaves, I can

[27:06] see the hotel. You're never going to hide that.

[27:08] It's ginormous and looks into my backyard.

[27:13] But I put up my own privacy fence. Nobody's going to come in.

[27:16] I'm just saying,

[27:19] if he takes that commercial,

[27:22] the 104, it's only a half acre, and most of that

[27:26] frontage is on South Amanda. I don't understand what he could really even do

[27:30] with it.

[27:30] Yeah, and-

[27:31] It doesn't line up with the big tract.

[27:34] He doesn't need it to make it a square or

[27:37] rectangle.

[27:38] I understand. My concern about leaving it R1 zone is

[27:42] it's not a suitable residential lot.

[27:45] I know. Nobody

[27:46] wants it. The county doesn't want it, the city doesn't want it.

[27:47] And so-

[27:48] I get all that

[27:48] ... and so if we don't allow him to rezone it,

[27:52] he can't combine it with the plat that he has.

[27:56] But what is he... So-

[27:57] I don't know because I have not seen a development plan-

[28:01] Me either

[28:01] ... because that's not part-

[28:03] And I don't want to

[28:03] ... that's not part of the annexation process.

[28:05] Right.

[28:05] But I imagine if it's a wet spot already, he may plan on using

[28:09] it for storm drainage, which it'll have a fence around it-

[28:12] Mm-hmm

[28:12] ... and all sorts of things like that.

[28:14] But just-

[28:14] So I'll

[28:16] let you come up as well. I'm just-

[28:19] But what I guess-

[28:19] I'm just saying if you take a 0.6 acre

[28:23] parcel and you don't allow him to annex it in and we

[28:27] know it's never going to have a house on it-

[28:29] Right

[28:30] ... we're essentially condemning that property and

[28:33] saying,

[28:35] we could be accused of seriously damaging the value of that property at that point.

[28:39] But the value is $7,500. In the scheme of things, paying

[28:43] over a million, that seems a little not relevant to

[28:46] me, but...

[28:49] Thank you, ma'am. Would you like to come up?

[28:55] Yeah. Do this on my seat.

[28:58] My name is Lynn Johnson, and I do live in Chantilly, and I live

[29:02] right down the street from Rhonda.

[29:03] And directly behind my house is a

[29:06] gargantuan retention pond that is

[29:10] multiple feet deep, and I'm talking deeper than my swimming

[29:14] pool deep. And if he uses that land

[29:18] to have a retention pond there, so now we have two

[29:21] retention ponds in our neighborhood.

[29:24] And I've lived there a really long time, and I don't really

[29:28] want him encroaching on our neighborhood.

[29:30] It's an old neighborhood, and

[29:33] we just need for him not to be so far in, to move it

[29:36] over. There's really no reason. That lot's really small, and they're

[29:40] already using it to go up and down into that other area.

[29:44] That's what it's got to be because it's not been like that till just recently.

[29:48] So we're just asking to help us maintain our

[29:51] neighborhood in the manner that we think that's good for Houston County.

[29:55] Because we would like for other people who, when

[29:58] old people, me, die, and you want new people

[30:02] to move into that neighborhood and keep it vital.

[30:05] And by allowing him to do all that, you're

[30:08] taking that neighborhood and causing it to die.

[30:12] That's just what I think.

[30:14] Thank you very much.

[30:15] Is there legal questions?

[30:17] Sure, if you want to come right back up here.

[30:21] If they encroach on South

[30:25] Amanda, who enforces that?

[30:27] The county does because it remains a county road.

[30:30] So if we saw that, we would call the county?

[30:32] If you saw access to a commercial property coming off of South Amanda, you

[30:36] would call the county.

[30:37] Okay.

[30:37] Yes, ma'am.

[30:38] Okay.

[30:40] Is that right, Mr. Hall?

[30:41] That is correct.

[30:41] Since I was asked the legal question. Anyone else like to offer public comment?

[30:49] I think the three ladies covered most everything.

[30:54] The only additional-

[30:55] Would you tell us your name please?

[30:56] I'm sorry. Chris Pritchett,

[30:58] and I live in

[31:00] Carter Woods.

[31:02] The 104 is my biggest issue with the

[31:06] annexation rezoning because it butts right up to a

[31:09] residence.

[31:11] If I'm the owner of 106

[31:14] and everything around me has been zoned commercial, the first thing I'm

[31:18] going to do is offer this

[31:21] buyer my piece of property,

[31:23] because I can get a lot more money with it

[31:26] if I get it zoned commercial.

[31:28] And with that, it's going to be more encroachment, potentially, into the

[31:32] neighborhood.

[31:34] So your concern is that 106 would then be zoned

[31:38] commercial as well?

[31:40] If I was the owner, and

[31:44] for what they're paying for commercial property right now versus residential, I

[31:47] know the owner, he bought that house several years ago,

[31:51] and they've got a special needs child.

[31:54] They moved here from Atlanta

[31:57] and it's been a few years since I've talked to him.

[32:00] I know that

[32:02] he could get four times what he paid for that property.

[32:06] All right.

[32:06] So to me,

[32:08] it would be a no-brainer for me to try and then

[32:11] get that zoned commercial.

[32:13] All right. Thank you, Mr. Pritchett. All right. Any other public comments?

[32:17] Thank you all. We will close public comments. Yes, Commissioner Byrd.

[32:21] I've got a question in reading the documents from the Warner Robins

[32:25] Planning Commission meeting, it looks like on July 14th.

[32:29] It specifically states, "Existing natural buffers should be enhanced wherever

[32:33] necessary so as to provide year-round opaque screening." Was there any

[32:37] discussion around that, that might elaborate on what that

[32:41] might be?

[32:42] That would be my question.

[32:46] And you're going to have to pull up the-

[32:47] I was there.

[32:48] What was it, Ms. Pritchett?

[32:50] They said they wanted the buffer to align with what's there, which is why I had

[32:54] said that it's not an equal buffer.

[32:56] Because I could tell by, compared to Fresh Mart Buy across the avenue, it

[33:00] would not need the same kind of buffer. It would need a bigger buffer.

[33:03] That's why I said that, because they had said line it up with what's

[33:06] there.

[33:07] I believe he meant to line it up with the existing privacy fence that they put

[33:11] up that's about six to eight foot tall.

[33:13] Yeah.

[33:15] Well, I think Mr. Byrd, as you've called out this language, it says, "The

[33:19] existing natural buffer-

[33:21] Mm-hmm. That's clear

[33:22] ... should be enhanced wherever necessary so as to

[33:25] provide year-round opaque

[33:28] screening from the residential district adjacent to the

[33:32] site." I think that is pretty strong language

[33:36] there,

[33:38] that a buffer should be

[33:41] enhanced and should provide screening from the neighboring

[33:45] residential.

[33:47] Also, there are stipulations that they put in here,

[33:53] address seeing

[33:57] lighting plans

[33:59] so that lighting does not create an adverse condition on adjoining residential

[34:03] properties.

[34:06] Any other comments from commissioners?

[34:10] I guess the only question I have, maybe for Mr.

[34:12] Hall,

[34:14] 106, and I don't know if you have the answer to this, but 106 would be more in the

[34:17] interior of the actual neighborhood.

[34:19] I can't imagine that being sold as commercial property, especially

[34:23] with the access being on the

[34:27] neighborhood road, right?

[34:30] That's correct.

[34:30] You're going to have to have access

[34:33] from Houston Lake, and that can't happen.

[34:34] Right.

[34:36] Unless it's attached to the other property, but that's

[34:41] remote.

[34:43] Between 106 and 108, the next house over, there's already a buffer

[34:47] there,

[34:49] so they could easily...

[34:52] My personal opinion is they could easily encroach upon that property, have it zoned

[34:56] commercial,

[34:58] and that would still leave probably the best natural

[35:01] buffer we have that's going through the neighborhood is in 106 and 108.

[35:05] I see.

[35:07] And who owns that? Al McArthur Estate.

[35:11] The state still owns that?

[35:14] 106?

[35:15] No, the- 108. That's the buffer. So her estate

[35:19] still owns that. Are there covenants for the neighborhood?

[35:23] Might be more than expired. Okay.

[35:27] All right. Commissioner Robinson.

[35:30] Okay.

[35:36] Well, it is just a tiny piece of property.

[35:39] Okay,

[35:41] for this request from the City of Warner Robins to annex this property,

[35:45] I'm going to make a motion to concur with the

[35:49] City of Warner Robins request for annexation

[35:52] for both of these parcels, because I don't think that

[35:57] leaving that one out is,

[36:00] in a sense, condemning it. It's not an

[36:03] actual R1 lot, so it would go from County

[36:07] R1 to City R2.

[36:09] It's going to have the following stipulation, which is, "No access to South

[36:13] Amanda Place. Access only at the traffic light on Houston Lake Road."

[36:17] But in addition to that, and I think it makes sense and gets back to the point

[36:21] of, if he says that, does he mean it?

[36:26] To, again, make the stipulation of the existing natural buffer

[36:31] Should be enhanced, which means the existing natural buffer should not be

[36:35] destroyed.

[36:36] So if there's natural buffer existing there along the property

[36:40] lines,

[36:42] it should not be destroyed. And if it's not, it should be

[36:45] enhanced. Where, to me, when they say opaque

[36:49] screening year-round, it means there's going to be evergreen

[36:53] trees there, not just hard oaks where the leaves

[36:56] fall off. It actually calls in here, which will be

[37:00] part of the stipulation in my motion, that it will provide

[37:04] year-round screening from the residential district adjacent

[37:08] to the site. And with that little piece of parcel there that he

[37:12] has,

[37:14] hopefully,

[37:16] with these conditions, the stipulations on the buffer, that it will

[37:20] make him do what he said he was going to do, which is

[37:23] basically leave it as a buffer from the residential area.

[37:28] But could you extend

[37:31] it? Ma'am. I'm sorry. Thank you.

[37:34] All right. So we have a motion from Commissioner Robinson to

[37:38] concur.

[37:41] Okay. Let's see.

[37:46] Yeah. This is basically, it would be the

[37:51] existing natural buffer to not be destroyed and would be

[37:54] enhanced to provide year-round

[37:58] screening. Which means it would be opaque screening, not just

[38:02] hardwoods, but actually evergreen trees to shield the residential

[38:06] district from the site. And that's it,

[38:10] that whole back of that... That lot,

[38:14] basically, that we're talking about is 104

[38:18] Amanda Place.

[38:20] All right. So we have a motion to concur with

[38:22] stipulations from Commissioner Robinson.

[38:25] The stipulations are no access to South Amanda Place, and the

[38:29] natural buffer be enhanced

[38:32] to accommodate opaque screening year-round from the

[38:36] adjoining

[38:38] residential properties.

[38:41] That matches the recommendation from the Warner Robins Planning

[38:45] Commission meeting at 7 on July 14th.

[38:49] Do I have a second to that motion?

[38:51] I'll second the motion.

[38:52] Second from Commissioner Byrd. Any discussion on the motion?

[38:58] I

[38:59] know exactly what they're talking about, and I think that this is

[39:05] the only way that we can actually do it with this motion being for

[39:09] 100 and 104. But with that,

[39:11] like they said, small lot there, hopefully

[39:16] this will help reach their goals of

[39:19] making sure that they have a decent buffer in between

[39:23] 106

[39:25] and 104. And then, like they said, there's

[39:28] hopefully continuing for that estate, that

[39:32] 108 is a significant buffer for the rest of the neighborhood

[39:36] from the commercial development.

[39:38] Okay.

[39:39] Mr. Chairman, I clearly understand we're talking about the east property line on

[39:43] the smaller lot, but do we need to specify that

[39:47] in any further manner, or you think we're good?

[39:49] Commissioner Byrd, I would say,

[39:55] the

[39:56] recommendation from the planning council does not seem to call out that

[40:00] particular property line.

[40:05] It says from the residential district

[40:08] adjacent to the site.

[40:12] I

[40:13] think

[40:14] my interpretation of Commissioner Robinson's motion is that it

[40:18] matches that recommendation.

[40:20] Perfect.

[40:22] Is that an okay answer?

[40:23] Yes.

[40:23] Okay.

[40:24] All right.

[40:27] Good discussion. Thank you all for your feedback.

[40:29] We have a motion from Commissioner Robinson and a second from Commissioner Byrd.

[40:32] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[40:35] Motion carries 3-0.

[40:39] Item number four is a grant approval, Accountability Court.

[40:43] Commissioner Talton?

[40:44] Yes, sir. This request is for approval of a grant for the Accountability Court to

[40:48] assist in addressing offenders arrested for drug charges or mental health

[40:52] issues. My motion to approve grant number

[40:54] AWACFP

[40:56] 27071 for

[40:59] $311,095, with

[41:03] required matching funds of

[41:06] $54,899, to

[41:10] be provided from the Drug Abuse and Treatment Education fund, totaling

[41:14] $365,994.

[41:17] The grant period is from July 1st, 2026 to June

[41:21] 30th, 2027.

[41:23] We have a motion from Commissioner Talton to approve. Do I hear a second?

[41:26] I'll second it.

[41:27] Second from Commissioner Robinson.

[41:30] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[41:33] Motion carries 3-0.

[41:36] Item number five is a bid approval on Elberta Road

[41:40] widening phase three. Commissioner Talton?

[41:43] This request is for approval of a bid for the Elberta Road widening phase three

[41:47] project. Bids were received, and after evaluation, the engineering department

[41:50] recommended the lowest bidder. My motion to approve the bid from C.W.

[41:54] Matthews Contracting Company of Marietta, Georgia, in the amount of

[41:57] $2,801,454.70

[42:02] for the Elberta Road widening

[42:04] phase three project. The City of Centerville is responsible for the water main and

[42:08] sewer relocations or adjustments totaling

[42:11] $345,777.50, bringing the

[42:14] county's portion to

[42:16] $2,455,677.00

[42:22] And 20 cent. This is a 2018 SPLOST project and will be

[42:26] completed in 17 months.

[42:28] We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Tout. Do I hear a second?

[42:31] I'll second.

[42:32] Second from Commissioner Byrd. Any discussion on the motion?

[42:35] Mr. Chairman, just commend the bidding process.

[42:38] Six reputable bidders, a

[42:40] $439,000 difference between the first and

[42:44] second bid. That's 16% on the job, 31% between

[42:48] the first and the last bid,

[42:50] to the benefit of the citizens of Houston County.

[42:53] Thank you, Commissioner Byrd. I can always count on you for that bidding math, and

[42:57] I appreciate it.

[42:58] I'm a mathlete.

[42:59] We have a motion from Commissioner Tout and a second from Commissioner Byrd.

[43:03] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[43:06] Motion carries three zero.

[43:10] Item number six is a personnel request in the Roads and Bridges Department.

[43:14] Commissioner Tout?

[43:15] This request is to fill a vacant heavy equipment operator position in the Road and

[43:19] Bridges Department. It is my motion to approve the hiring of Timothy Rogers

[43:23] to fill the vacant heavy equipment operator position in the Roads and Bridges

[43:26] Department at a Grade 13, Step E, effective July 22nd,

[43:30] 2026. Personnel has reviewed his qualifications and

[43:33] confirmed he meets the criteria for the Step E

[43:36] placement.

[43:37] We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Tout. Do I hear a second?

[43:41] I'll second.

[43:42] Second from Commissioner Robinson. Any discussion on the motion?

[43:48] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[43:51] Motion carries unanimously. Three zero, rather. I'm sorry.

[43:55] Motion carries three zero.

[43:58] Item number seven is a bid approval for the Dunbar Law Enforcement

[44:02] Training Center. Commissioner Tout.

[44:04] Yes, sir. This request is for approval of a bid on a vehicle for the use by the

[44:07] sheriff's office. It's my motion to approve the bid from Jess Miss Ford of

[44:11] Byron, Georgia, in the amount of $48,363.12

[44:15] for a Ford F-154 drive truck. This truck

[44:19] will replace a 2019 Dodge Ram with high mileage and needed maintenance at the

[44:23] Ed Dunbar Law Enforcement Training Center.

[44:25] This purchase will be reimbursed by the drug fund.

[44:29] We have a motion to approve. Do I hear a second?

[44:31] I'll second.

[44:32] Second from Commissioner Byrd.

[44:35] Any discussion on the motion?

[44:38] I want to thank the sheriff for the use of the drug fund money

[44:42] to purchase this vehicle.

[44:45] Appreciate his cooperation there.

[44:49] We have a motion from Commissioner Tout and a second from Commissioner Byrd.

[44:52] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[44:54] Motion carries three zero.

[44:58] Item number eight is bad debt write-off in the

[45:01] utility system. Commissioner Byrd.

[45:03] Yes, sir. This request is for the write-off of bad debt in the water

[45:07] fund and solid waste fund for fiscal year

[45:10] 2026. I'd like to offer a motion to approve

[45:14] the write-off of

[45:14] $27,615.64

[45:18] of bad debt in the water fund and

[45:21] $16,242.52 of bad

[45:24] debt in the solid waste fund,

[45:26] $15,173.33 for

[45:30] collections, and $1,069.19

[45:34] for disposal. These amounts are well less than

[45:38] 1% of all revenues collected in these departments, and efforts will be made to

[45:42] continue to collect this bad debt.

[45:44] We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Byrd the bad debt write-off.

[45:48] Do I hear a second?

[45:49] I'll second it.

[45:50] Second from Commissioner Robinson. Any discussion on the motion?

[45:56] This is a necessary step in closing out the fiscal year.

[46:01] As is stated in the motion, we do continued efforts to

[46:06] collect this debt.

[46:09] Last year, we collected about 5% of the debt that we wrote off

[46:14] after the fiscal year was closed.

[46:17] This is less bad debt than we had last year as well.

[46:21] So we're trending in the right direction.

[46:25] We have a motion from Commissioner Byrd and a second from Commissioner Robinson.

[46:29] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[46:31] Motion carries three zero.

[46:36] Item number nine is a work detail agreement for the Georgia Department of

[46:40] Corrections. Commissioner Byrd.

[46:41] Yes, sir. This request is to approve the fiscal year '27 work

[46:45] detail agreement with the Georgia Department of Corrections.

[46:49] I'd like to offer a motion to approve signing a work detail agreement

[46:53] with the Georgia Department of Corrections for five work details at a

[46:57] cost not to exceed

[46:59] $284,811.45.

[47:04] This agreement will be funded as follows: two crews from solid waste

[47:07] collections, two crews from the water department, and one crew from

[47:11] solid waste disposal.

[47:14] We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Byrd. Do I have a second?

[47:17] Second.

[47:18] Second from Commissioner Tout. Any discussion on the motion?

[47:24] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[47:27] Motion carries three zero.

[47:30] Item number 10 is approval of the bids. Commissioner Byrd.

[47:34] Yes, sir. I would like to offer a motion to approve the payment of the bills

[47:38] totaling

[47:39] $3,079,496.

[47:44] We have a motion from Commissioner Byrd to approve the payment of the bills.

[47:48] Do I hear a second?

[47:49] I'll second it.

[47:50] Second from Commissioner Robinson. Any discussion on the motion?

[47:56] All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[47:59] Motion carries three zero.

[48:04] This time, we will open up the lectern for general public

[48:07] comments. I appreciate all those who offered comments on specific

[48:11] items.

[48:13] This time, we'll open up the lectern for general public comments.

[48:17] If you'll do me a favor, if you'll keep your comments limited to about

[48:21] five minutes. Keep them directed towards members of this board, not members of the

[48:25] audience or staff.

[48:27] Keep them generally respectful and

[48:31] polite,

[48:32] and free of foul language.

[48:35] And

[48:38] at this time, the lectern is open for public comments

[48:43] Yes, sir, Mr. Andrews

[48:54] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, commissioners.

[48:57] I just want to say a few words to expand upon the

[49:00] presentation that was given to Mr. Felder this evening.

[49:05] I've known George his whole career, because I worked here

[49:09] longer than he has.

[49:11] But I want to just say this. George is too

[49:14] humble to say anything,

[49:17] and I don't want to

[49:21] humiliate him by saying this, but

[49:25] George's service goes way beyond his years of service.

[49:28] You can see the effects of his service

[49:32] throughout the county. For those who are not familiar with the

[49:36] work that he's done, you can see the fruits of his labor.

[49:40] The corridor from Houston Lake Road to 127,

[49:44] there's a median there, and in that median, there are crape

[49:48] myrtles, and George gets out there yearly and

[49:52] prunes those crape myrtles. I wouldn't do it

[49:55] because he's only got this much room to work upon and there's

[49:59] speeding motorists coming through there all the time.

[50:02] But he diligently gets out there and do that.

[50:05] If you ride around at some of the other public buildings and you take

[50:09] notice of the nice landscaping, sodded yards,

[50:13] shrubs, trees, that's the work of Mr. Felder right there.

[50:17] That's his work. His work shows because he's a

[50:21] dedicated employee, and I want his family to know that,

[50:25] because some evenings, I work evenings

[50:29] a couple times during the month, he'll be up in this

[50:32] building beyond the call of 5:00,

[50:36] buffing and having his crews clean and polish these floors.

[50:40] So polished you can almost see your reflection in them.

[50:45] That's going beyond. And lastly, I just want to also compliment him

[50:48] on, he's a retired military veteran.

[50:52] So he's served his country, his home county of Houston

[50:55] County, and his family. So I just want to just expand upon

[50:59] that in the presence of his family and say how proud

[51:03] I feel to know him as a friend and for the work

[51:07] that he's done for the citizens of Houston County.

[51:09] Thank you, Mr. Andrews.

[51:10] Thank you.

[51:10] I appreciate that very much and concur with all those

[51:13] comments.

[51:19] Any other public comments this evening? Yes, sir.

[51:22] Anybody behind?

[51:23] I don't know.

[51:26] Oh. There's a lady waiting. She can go first. Okay.

[51:29] Hang on.

[51:34] Mr. Schwandler, Kathleen. Three topics, three minutes.

[51:39] I'm against the current build-out quite evident all across the city of Warner

[51:43] Robins in our county.

[51:46] Forests are being cleared for more strip malls, vape stores, storage

[51:50] centers, and gas stations.

[51:52] While we appear to be a fast-growing county, and I understand the economic

[51:56] benefits of such growth, we need to manage it better, my opinion.

[52:01] On the surface, it looks like every permit sought is being granted

[52:06] more and more and more. There's a

[52:09] forest missing at

[52:12] Russell and South Houston because a grocery store is going in there,

[52:15] and

[52:17] it just goes on and on, the strip malls and the gas stations.

[52:21] We're losing our trees, we're losing our shade,

[52:25] and we're increasing local temperatures by laying down

[52:29] more and more concrete, more pavement.

[52:32] To make things worse, we really don't have control over our roads.

[52:36] The state does, and we know what kind of delays and traffic

[52:40] safety issues that has caused and is causing.

[52:44] Second topic, don't get me started on Flock cameras.

[52:47] Third topic, I will come out right now against data center

[52:51] development anywhere in this county.

[52:54] Closest one is in Roberta. There's one being planned over east of

[52:58] Cochran someplace.

[53:00] And I will also reserve further comments on this issue until it appears on

[53:04] your agenda,

[53:05] but expect an argument. Plight, but expect an argument.

[53:10] For data centers, any public meetings have to occur in the early

[53:13] evening hours,

[53:15] which automatically makes it better.

[53:18] I believe the law says 6:00.

[53:22] It automatically makes it better than our local school board who insist on 1:00 PM

[53:26] meetings

[53:27] while legal guardian's at work,

[53:30] thus lowering resistance to whatever it is they want to do.

[53:34] And having said all that, I still like living here.

[53:36] It's still a nice county and I appreciate your time. Thank you.

[53:39] Thank you, Mr. Schwandler. Always good to hear from you.

[53:43] Any other public comment this evening?

[53:46] All right. That being the case, we will turn to commissioner comments, and

[53:51] I will turn first to Commissioner Towten.

[53:55] All right. Thank you everyone for coming. I'm going to start off with Mr.

[53:59] Hall. I

[54:02] look to you as a man of faith, number one, which is most important.

[54:06] And you've always provided me sound advice, information I

[54:10] always know I could take to the bank.

[54:12] And

[54:13] we've had some pretty contentious situations over my tenure, and I've

[54:17] always never doubted what you said for being the truth and what

[54:21] is true and what is just. So thank you for being that guy that I can

[54:25] lean on.

[54:26] Again, Mr. Felder, thank you for what you do, whether it's seen or

[54:30] unseen.

[54:32] It's a true honor to serve alongside of employees like you.

[54:35] This county's definitely a better place because of employees like you, and I hope

[54:39] you just influence the younger generation the importance of hard work and

[54:43] loyalty. So hope you've made an impact there, and just thank you everyone for

[54:46] coming, all those that came up to the lectern to express their concerns about

[54:49] various topics. Thank you all for coming.

[54:52] We definitely take those into consideration.

[54:55] And that's all I have.

[54:57] Thank you, Commissioner Towten. Commissioner Byrd?

[54:59] Yes, sir.

[55:02] I like the way we started this meeting, leaning heavy

[55:06] into,

[55:07] I think, the pillars of a healthy community,

[55:10] faith, family, and service to others.

[55:13] And appreciate Reverend Brown's message to

[55:16] community.

[55:18] I appreciate the family on display with Mr. Hall and Mr.

[55:22] Felder, and to both of you gentlemen, sincere and dedicated service to the

[55:26] citizens of this county. The service that we

[55:30] recognized just prior to this meeting,

[55:33] 18 employees with a combined 340

[55:36] years of service in this county government, is truly

[55:40] remarkable.

[55:41] It's why

[55:43] we provide service to the citizens of this county at a high level.

[55:47] Those individuals have

[55:51] invested their professional lives into this county government,

[55:55] and it will continue after them because of the culture that they

[55:59] have built, and I'm truly, truly thankful for that.

[56:03] Got one other personal recognition here. Would like to congratulate Ms.

[56:06] Kelly Moore on being named Superior Court Judge

[56:10] of Houston County, succeeding Judge Luke Meyer, and appreciate

[56:15] Judge Moore's willingness to serve, and wish her all the best in that regard.

[56:19] Thank you, sir.

[56:20] Thank you, Commissioner Byrd. Commissioner Robinson.

[56:23] Yes. He said it very well. I can't...

[56:29] What he said, because basically I'm repeating it again.

[56:33] But Mr. Hall, how long have you been working as a

[56:37] county attorney? How long have you been the actual county

[56:41] attorney and how long have you been working for the county attorney as the county

[56:44] attorney when we came?

[56:46] Full-time, it's been since 2014,

[56:51] but I started as Assistant County Attorney in 1993.

[56:55] Okay.

[56:55] So, about 33 years.

[56:57] That's what I was thinking, because I know, yes, you've been here the whole time

[57:00] I've been here, and I know that you've been doing a great

[57:04] job for the county, and I also appreciate your advice and

[57:08] know that we can count on you to do the good work. And Mr.

[57:12] Felder and your family, y'all, thank you for staying.

[57:15] We appreciate you being here, but thank you for coming to receive your 30 years of

[57:19] service. We appreciate dedicated employees like you, and

[57:22] it's just our hope that

[57:26] we will continue to be good to you and you can

[57:29] continue to do your great job for us, and we thank

[57:33] you for being a dedicated employee for all these years.

[57:37] But again, thank everybody for coming to make their comments.

[57:41] It was a good meeting and understanding, and I

[57:45] just am glad to be here this evening, so thank you.

[57:49] Thank you, Commissioner Robinson.

[57:50] I think you were trying to hint there that you were 16 years old

[57:54] when Mr. Hall started as the county attorney? All right.

[57:59] Thank you all for being here this evening.

[58:02] Thank you for the good work that the commission accomplished this evening.

[58:05] Thank you for the public participation and the comments that help

[58:09] inform our decisions. Want to update folks on

[58:13] just a couple of things. Number one, we are in active

[58:16] development of the well on Highway

[58:20] 127, both a well and a new water treatment facility there.

[58:24] We're at about 90% plans on the water treatment facility.

[58:28] We had our 24-hour pump test

[58:34] two weeks ago, and

[58:36] we have not gotten back all of the test results on water quality, but

[58:40] I can tell you,

[58:42] as Mr. Jones said, or Mr. Dunbar, I cannot remember which, the

[58:46] well is generous, which means that it's producing a lot of water.

[58:51] It will be up to what we plan in terms of

[58:55] water. We anticipate somewhere in the neighborhood of two and

[58:59] a half million gallons a day out of that individual well.

[59:03] Also want to thank the neighbors for understanding, as

[59:07] there's a lot of water that

[59:10] must enter the

[59:12] stormwater system

[59:14] in and around that surrounding area during that time, and

[59:18] sometimes that can result in some water in ditches.

[59:21] And so I appreciate the understanding and patience.

[59:24] We did a good job, Mr. Deitch and his crew, as well as our

[59:28] contractor, communicating with neighbors and giving them a heads-up that that was

[59:31] going to happen, and they were understanding and patient with us.

[59:35] So I appreciate that understanding and patience.

[59:38] We got the tax digest back. Mr. Dunbar, was that late last

[59:42] week or early this week? Late last week.

[59:45] And initial numbers indicate that we will be

[59:49] targeting a full millage rate rollback for the citizens of Houston

[59:53] County.

[59:55] That, combined with the floating homestead tax exemption,

[1:00:00] will

[1:00:02] continue to try and keep property taxes

[1:00:06] under control as much as we can. Our millage

[1:00:10] rate will continue to decrease here in Houston County, and

[1:00:14] we're excited about that. And we look forward to next

[1:00:17] year when the floating local option sales tax

[1:00:21] recently passed

[1:00:23] by voters will have a far larger rollback

[1:00:27] for most people's tax bills in Houston County as well.

[1:00:31] Thank you for the good work this evening. Board, Mr.

[1:00:34] Hall, again, happy birthday. We will not sing to

[1:00:38] you,

[1:00:39] although if Commissioner Touton would like to after we adjourn, he is welcome

[1:00:43] to. All right. With that, I will take a motion for adjournment.

[1:00:47] So moved.

[1:00:48] Second.

[1:00:48] We have a motion from Commissioner Touton, and we have a second from Commissioner

[1:00:52] Byrd. All those in favor, if you'll raise your right hand.

[1:00:56] We're adjourned. Thank you.

Commissioner's Meeting - July 21st, 2026

Transcript