[8:47] Well,
>> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
[8:49] Welcome to the Make Bib County Board of
Commission's pre-commission meeting.
[8:52] Today is Tuesday, September the 1st, and
the time is now approximately 4:30. Like
[8:56] to welcome everyone here today, and
we'll start this meeting off with a call
[9:00] to order followed by the approval of the
minutes. Item 2, 2A is approval of the
[9:04] minutes from August the 4th, 2026
pre-commission meeting. Can I get a
[9:08] motion to approve?
Motion by Commissioner Stewart, second
[9:11] by Mayor Pro Tim W. We have a motion and
second. All those in favor of the
[9:14] motion, please say I.
>> Oppose. Nay. That motion carries and be
[9:19] sent consent agenda tonight.
Item 3A is a resolution to make Bib
[9:24] County Commission to reappoint Lewis
Frank Topkins to the McBib County
[9:28] Transit Authority. Mr. Tomkins has
served that authority well and they do
[9:32] recommend that he continue to uh serve
them in that capacity. So, at this time,
[9:35] we entertain a motion to approve.
Motion by Commissioner Howell, second by
[9:41] Commissioner W. Mayor Pro. We have a
motion and second. I hear you all, Mr.
[9:45] Bronson on there as well. So, got a
motion and second. All those in favor of
[9:48] the motion, please say I.
>> Opposed? Nay. That motion carries
[9:52] unanimous to be sent consent agenda.
We're going to move on to items four,
[9:56] which we have several alcohol licenses A
through E. Uh, each one of those has a
[10:01] recommendation. So, we'll begin with
item 4 A. This is GH Express located at
[10:06] 2900 Riverside Drive, Mon Georgia. Legal
does recommend approval of this
[10:11] particular uh Texico station there. They
meet all the legal and statutory
[10:15] requirements to get one. And um at this
time, we enter intend a motion to
[10:20] approve.
[10:24] » Sure. Go ahead.
[10:28] » I'm no longer involved with it.
>> Okay.
[10:30] » I'll make a motion to approve.
>> All right. I would make a motion to
[10:33] approve by Commissioner How. Do we have
a second?
[10:36] Second. Uh, was that I hear some over
here? Okay. Mayor Per got a motion and
[10:41] second. Any questions?
You know questions? All those in favor
[10:45] of the motion, please say I.
>> Opposed? Nay.
[10:48] » That motion carries and be sent consent
agenda. Item B is a Shell Martell Food
[10:52] Mart located at 4338 Hartley Bridge
Road. Uh, you can see a photograph of
[10:57] that on your screen. Uh same
recommendation legal legal recommends
[11:01] approval. They met our legal and
statutory requirements to get a license
[11:05] and they have submitted a good faith uh
standing good standing letter meaning
[11:10] they paid all their taxes. So at this
time we entertain a motion to approve.
[11:13] Motion by commissioner how do we have a
second?
[11:16] » Second by mayor pro Tim win. Have a
motion and second. All those in favor of
[11:19] the motion please say I oppose. Nay.
That motion carries to be sent to
[11:24] consent agenda. Item 4 C is a Marathon
Prime located at 513 Harrison Road. You
[11:31] see a copy of that there. Um that is uh
legal does recommend approval of that
[11:36] particular place. It's a renewal of an
alcohol license or um been there for
[11:41] quite a while that gas station right
across from McDonald's there. So at this
[11:44] time uh legal recommends approval. They
met all legal statutory requirements to
[11:47] do so including a certificate of good
standing. I got a motion to approve.
[11:52] » Motion by Commissioner Bailey. Have a
second.
[11:56] » Second by Commissioner How. We have a
motion and second. All those in favor of
[11:59] the motion, please say I. Opposed? Nay.
>> That motion carries will be sent consent
[12:04] agenda. Item D is USA Grocery located at
2590 Rocky Creek Road. It's 2590 Rocky
[12:11] Creek Road. Legal has recommended
approval of this. They've researched all
[12:15] the paperwork including the certificate
good standing and they meet all the
[12:19] legal and statutory requirements to have
an alcohol license. So, at this time,
[12:22] we'd entertain a motion to approve.
Motion by Commissioner Bay, will you
[12:25] have a second? Second by Commissioner
Howell. Commissioner Ko, you have a
[12:30] question.
>> Um, did they change ownerships because
[12:34] they
>> in the past they had a
[12:37] » That's correct.
>> Call. So, same
[12:40] » anytime it goes before us, they they
change ownerships uh or there's a new
[12:43] tenant there in order for it to come
before this this body.
[12:46] » So, same company, different ownership.
Um I don't know about you mean by same
[12:51] company. It's different. Um you have a
different tenant there. Sometimes you
[12:55] have the same owner. Yeah. Same
building.
[12:57] » Same location.
>> That's correct.
[12:59] » Different ownership.
>> That's correct.
[13:02] » Okay. Any other questions?
>> Got it. We have a motion and second. All
[13:07] those in favor of motion, please say I.
Oppose? Nay. That motion carries will be
[13:11] sent to consent agenda. Our final item
is the gold bar located at 518 Cherry
[13:17] Street. Uh this is a restaurant bar
location there. They do meet all the
[13:21] legal statutory requirements. This is
new uh ownership there and they've um
[13:25] the sheriff has approved them and uh
legal does recommend approval. So this
[13:29] time we entertain a motion to approve.
A motion by Commissioner Howell, second
[13:35] by Commissioner Bronson.
Any other questions? Hear no questions.
[13:39] All those in favor of the motion, please
say I. Opposed? Nay. That motion carries
[13:44] and we sent the consent agenda. We have
several agreements, contracts, and
[13:48] purchase orders. Uh 5 A through E. Item
A is a resolution of making county
[13:54] commission authorizing mayor to ex
execute a professional services
[13:57] agreement with local Q in amount of
$55,000 for the provision of digital
[14:02] marketing services for air service at
the middle Georgia regional airport
[14:07] payable from the airport fund airport
middle Georgia regional professional
[14:11] services and other line items. This is
for marketing at the airport. It comes
[14:14] directly out of their funds. It's not
out of our general fund for us and we'll
[14:18] be approving that uh with your motion.
So at this time we entertain a motion to
[14:21] approve. Got a motion and a second. Any
further discussion? Hear no discussion.
[14:27] All those in favor of the motion please
say I. Oppose. Nay. That motion carries
[14:32] and be sent to consent agenda. Going to
move on to a resolution making Bip
[14:35] County Commission authorizing the mayor
to execute an agreement with inspiring
[14:39] healthy lives LLC for the provision of
counseling service inabout inabout
[14:45] amount of up to $37,688
to be paid from the family treatment
[14:50] court grant funds. We have someone here
going to speak on that. If you don't
[14:52] mind come up to the microphone, I'll
turn that on if you don't mind
[14:55] identifying yourself and just give us a
little bit more information about this
[14:58] um 37,688.
And I understand this uh company has
[15:02] been doing business with making Bib
County for the last three years. If you
[15:04] can let us know how they've been doing,
we'd appreciate it.
[15:07] » Well, good afternoon. My name is Tamara
EPS. I am the coordinator of the making
[15:10] judicial circuit family treatment court.
Um yes, Inspiring Healthy Lives has been
[15:15] actually doing business with our court
for the last three years. Prior to that,
[15:19] they also have been doing uh business
with defects for the past 10 years. They
[15:23] handle a lot of the assessments for us.
They handle the therapy. So every person
[15:28] who comes into family treatment quarters
are required to have therapy once a
[15:32] week. She is who will be handling that
in addition to some other services
[15:36] including anger management, uh nurturing
parenting and moral recognition therapy.
[15:41] » Thank you for that information. At this
time we entertain a motion to approve.
[15:45] » Motion by Commissioner Cook, second by
Commissioner Bronson. Any further
[15:49] questions? Hear no questions. All those
in favor of the motion, please say I.
[15:53] » Opposed? Nay. That motion carries
unanimously. be sent to consent agenda.
[15:57] Item C is an ordinance of the Mon Bib
County Commission to authorize a mayor
[16:00] to enter into a memorandum understanding
with Miami Dade Innovation Authority,
[16:04] Inc. to participate in a catalyst
challenge with a required local match of
[16:08] $50,000 for the pilot demonstration
appropriating 50,000 from general fund
[16:13] fund balance to be required local match.
U you can see the information containing
[16:18] your packet but just a little bit uh
information additional to that. We have
[16:22] a lot of um rightway in making Bip
County and certainly like many of you I
[16:27] get calls all the time about uh did we
cut the grass? Did we remove the trees?
[16:31] Do we have these types of problems or
issues on there? Is that a state
[16:34] highway, a local highway, public
highway? Uh so we we teamed up with our
[16:38] our partners as part of the night
foundation. Uh similar to what we did, I
[16:43] I would assume with the um the paving
the way program where we had all the
[16:47] streets looked at and had the sidewalks
recently looked at. uh this we're trying
[16:51] to come up with a better way of of um uh
fulfilling the services on rightaways.
[16:57] Uh
everybody knows that they may cut their
[17:01] yard once a week. We can't afford to do
that as a county with the you know
[17:03] current taxes that are being paid by our
citizens once a week. But we do need to
[17:07] have a systemically systemic way of um
figuring out uh where we've been, where
[17:13] we need to go, some type of schedule,
whether there's a program to cut or
[17:16] whether we we have a um need to uh do
some other types of alternative
[17:21] treatments to those those lands usually.
So, this is a way that we can have to
[17:26] kind of look over all the areas in
making Bib County uh and come up our
[17:29] public works and and our other programs,
they do a good job with what they have
[17:33] to work with. But as you can imagine,
uh, back in 2014 when the city and
[17:38] county consolidated, you had a city and
you had a county, each responsible for
[17:42] cutting certain parts, rightways and
parts of the town. But we really need a
[17:46] a better way to map out, uh, how often a
particular area gets cut, um, and who's
[17:52] supposed to be doing the cutting, how
often it's going to be cut, uh, and who
[17:55] we go to in case there's an issue. That
way, if we have a situation where it's
[17:59] not getting cut enough and we need to
increase that amount of coverage and we
[18:02] don't have sufficient staff to do that,
it may be a place where we can use some
[18:06] contractual services for that. So, this
is the reason that I asked for this to
[18:09] be done. and we've been working together
with a foundation to try to target some
[18:12] issues that we're having in our
community and this is one of those ways
[18:15] we're looking at charging that uh so
they can come back with a particular
[18:19] program for us uh that place the entire
map out the entire city uh and county
[18:25] and try to be more efficient on being
able to handle the rideways. So, a lot
[18:29] of information to say that. Uh
Commissioner Kat, you have a question.
[18:32] » Can you explain what the catalyst
challenge is? I know we just went
[18:37] through
>> the catalyst challenges. They're putting
[18:40] up $50,000 for challenges that local
cities like oursel have uh and
[18:45] identifying some issues that we have and
this is one of the issues that I
[18:48] identified on behalf of making Bib
County that I thought we need to help
[18:51] with. So that's that's pretty much the
challenge. They're doing this in several
[18:54] of their um night communities and uh
across the United States. They're giving
[18:59] their funds and hoping that we're going
to match that uh to come up with more
[19:02] efficient ways to help local
governments. So that's the challenge.
[19:06] So at this time I'd entertain a motion
to approve. Motion by Commissioner Cook.
[19:11] We have a second. Second by Commissioner
Bailey. We have a motion and second. All
[19:15] those in favor of the motion, please say
I. Oppose. Nay. That motion carries. And
[19:19] we sent the consent agenda. Item D is a
resolution making Bib County
[19:22] Commissioner authorizing the mayor to
enter into a lease agreement with Sander
[19:26] Curry for the lease of office space at
203 West White Road in Byron, Georgia
[19:31] for up to three years with an initial
rental rate of $8,18,600
[19:36] per year to be paid from the public
defenders budget. Uh this is in their
[19:40] budget. Uh as you looked at the contract
or the paperwork attached to it, you'll
[19:43] see there's a $100 increase per month
per year. Uh and there's a three-year
[19:48] contract. Uh this is a place that they
operate since we're a
[19:52] multi-jurisdictional circuit with minib
county peace county and Crawford County.
[19:57] Uh public defender has an office there.
So this is in their budget and they're
[20:00] asking for continued use of that space.
So at this time we entertain a motion to
[20:04] approve.
And do we have a second? Got a motion
[20:08] and second. All those in favor of the
motion please say I oppose. Nay. That
[20:13] motion carries unanimously be sent to
consent agenda. Going to move on to item
[20:17] E. This is a resolution of making county
commission authorizing the mayor to
[20:21] enter into an independent contract
agreement with Play South LLC doing
[20:25] business as Play South playground
creators in amount of 98,29520
[20:32] for the purchase and installation of a
composite play structure at Lindmore
[20:36] Estates to be paid from the community
block development grant CDBG funds. Um,
[20:42] everybody familiar with that area? I'm
not sure if there's a picture that came
[20:45] up while we were talking, but
everybody's familiar with Limmore
[20:47] States. And this is uh basically CDBG
plan of grant funds that'll be used to
[20:51] purchase this playground. So, this time
we entertain a motion to approve.
[20:57] » Got a motion. Got a second. Commissioner
Bronson has a question. Yes, sir.
[21:00] Commissioner Bronson.
[21:06] questions
[21:12] or any ideas
[21:16] for this
[21:21] ramp and whatnot for those
[21:26] play.
>> Yeah, I don't think this is a legally
[21:28] inclusive program in in this sense that
we've did. There are other programs uh
[21:32] playgrounds that we've done in the
community, but this is also CDBG funds
[21:36] making the determination they're limited
in budget to that. As you recall that
[21:39] when we did the inclusive programs, they
were more like 400 $600,000. This is
[21:43] about a 92,000 composite playground
structure.
[21:47] » Yes, sir.
[21:56] » Certainly, we'll be happy to talk with
them, but they they control that. We're
[21:59] just passing through the funds.
>> Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
[22:02] » Thank you. We do have a motion and
second. All those in favor of the
[22:04] motion, please say I. Oppose. Nay. That
motion carries. We'll be sent to consent
[22:09] agenda. Going to move on to a few grants
that we have. I believe we have three of
[22:13] those tonight. The first is a resolution
of the making county commission
[22:16] authorizing the acceptance of a BJA
fiscical year 25 Edward Burn Memorial
[22:22] Justice Assistance Grant from the
Department of Justice Office of Justice
[22:26] Programs in the amount of $170,541
[22:32] and that is to be used uh for the
sheriff's department with no match to
[22:36] make big county. Um and it will be also
coming from the technology equipment and
[22:40] for training purposes. When I reached
out to sheriff to discuss this issue
[22:43] with him, he says for in criminal
investigation and forensics, some
[22:47] equipment and training for firearms
examination in particular in equipments
[22:50] for analyzing surfaces for explosive or
drug residue. So, uh just in case
[22:55] someone thought you we're using it for
flot cameras or something like that,
[22:58] that would be entirely incorrect. So, I
want to make sure uh that we were
[23:01] dealing with this equipment for training
for firearms and for drugs and the
[23:04] sheriff certainly needs this $170,000
and ask for us to accept the grants. So,
[23:09] at this time, I'd uh entertain any
questions. If there not any questions,
[23:13] I'll ask for a motion to approve.
>> Got a motion to approve by everybody.
[23:17] You got a second. Second by everybody
else. Uh so, we got a motion and second.
[23:21] All those in favor of the motion, please
say I.
[23:24] » Opposed? Nay. That motion carries and be
sent to consent agenda. Item B is an
[23:29] ordinance of the making Bib County
Commission authorizing mayor to accept
[23:31] Federal Highway Administration 2024 safe
streets and roads for all implementation
[23:37] grant funds an amount of 5,630,440
to fund the development of a multi-use
[23:43] trail and sidewalk loop around Grey
Highway
[23:47] appropriation up to 1,400 thou $47,610
from the 2018 splice fund roads other
[23:54] line item to be used as required local
match funds. Uh Mr. This time I asked
[23:58] Mr. Weston Straoud to come forward. Uh
you can identify yourself even though I
[24:01] already did. Let the people at home know
what your title is here and what you're
[24:05] doing and a little bit more about this
grant uh application that we've had and
[24:09] been awarded. Just need to appropriate
the funds.
[24:11] » Okay. My name is Weston Straoud. I'm the
traffic safety manager for making bib
[24:15] county. Uh this grant is for the East
Min Loop. So essentially it adds three
[24:20] and a half or three miles of multi-use
trail. Um it will go down Clinton Road.
[24:27] um down Boulevard. Um so it'll tie into
North Highland Park as well as the
[24:33] Chameleia Gardens and then eventually
terminate at the Okamoki Heritage Trail.
[24:37] It will also add lighting every 90 ft um
as well as sidewalks um along Grey
[24:44] Highway from Sherling Drive all the way
to uh the intersection of Clinton Wood
[24:50] Valley and O Clinton Road. Um, min has
one of the highest um pedestrian
[24:58] fatality rates uh in
in the state um and roughly five times
[25:04] the national average. And on Grey
Highway alone, there's been 15
[25:07] pedestrian fatalities since uh 2006. And
so this has been a part of our high
[25:12] injury network um in a roadway that we
know that we've needed to address. And
[25:18] through the work that we've done, the
support of uh complete streets, um under
[25:23] this administration, we're able to
actually be eligible to receive these
[25:27] funds. Um we received a planning grant
as well, and so um we're able to
[25:32] actually receive this implementation
grant. Um we've done some public
[25:37] outreach in 2024. We had a public survey
where we had 84 um responses. All of
[25:44] them um and most of them uh asking for
these types of interventions. Um 64 60%
[25:51] wanted crosswalks, 50% 56% wanted more
lighting. Um and 43% wanted a center
[25:57] meeting uh which we currently have uh
due to the uh the work that GOT has
[26:02] already done on a portion of Grey
Highway. Um so the responses have been
[26:07] positive for this. Um, and I think it'll
be something that'll be truly impactful
[26:12] for our county.
>> Thank you, Mr. Strad. We do have at
[26:15] least three questions right now. Uh, so
the first one will be Mayor Pro Tim Win.
[26:19] » Hello, Mr. Strad. Thank you very much
for being here. I appreciate that. I
[26:23] just had a small question. This sidewalk
loop along Gray Highway, tell me where
[26:28] that is again.
>> So, if you if you're going down Grey
[26:32] Highway, especially if you turn off of
Sherling Drive onto Grey Highway, you'll
[26:36] see where there are desired trails. And
so those are essentially paths way
[26:41] pathways where people and pedestrians
have been walking along and you can see
[26:44] that the grass is beat down. Um and
currently there are no sidewalks in that
[26:48] area. And so for most people in East Mon
that need to get to grow get groceries
[26:54] um there's no way that they can walk
there. You have to have a car. Uh and so
[26:58] this would go along those pathways. And
you know when we submit the grant we uh
[27:04] we submit with the idea in mind. Now,
this won't be able to fund two
[27:07] sidewalks. It'll be either on the right
hand side going outbound or the uh
[27:12] left-hand side going outbound. Um, but
you know, once we hire a consultant,
[27:17] they'll be able to give us a better
understanding, do a survey to determine
[27:21] what's most feasible.
>> But these are on Grey Highway either
[27:25] side of Grey Highway from where you come
off on Shirling, you said to go down
[27:30] there. So you see paths of people
walking in the grass and stuff down
[27:34] there already quite often.
>> Yeah. This this is a this is a roadway
[27:37] that needs sidewalks if we don't already
have it. But um
[27:41] » does it go the other way? Does it go
towards Walmart?
[27:45] » No. Uh yes, ma'am. It will go towards
Walmart because that's
[27:48] » But are there sidewalks already there?
>> There's there's not going towards
[27:52] Walmart. Now, when you go in town, there
are sidewalks along there, like where
[27:56] McAfee Tower, um along that side of Grey
Highway, there are sidewalks, but they
[28:01] terminate um once you get to Sherling
Drive.
[28:04] » Okay.
>> Yes, ma'am.
[28:06] » Thank you.
>> Yes,
[28:07] » Mr. Bailey.
>> Yes. Um thank you, Mayor. I just want to
[28:10] recognize our engineers. Our engineers
have been with us, some of them well
[28:15] over 25 years, and say what a tremendous
job that you do for the city of Mon
[28:21] County. And um for the benefit of those
that are in our listening area um that
[28:28] have cried out for these sidewalks for
quite some time, this will also link
[28:33] some of the sidewalks as well. And these
are some of those that we reviewed a
[28:37] couple of weeks ago where it had partial
sidewalks, but it needed to be linked so
[28:42] that this could be a continuous biking
and walking event.
[28:47] » Exactly. Exactly.
>> Great. And I did have the opportunity to
[28:50] go on that ride as we went through many
of the neighborhoods and determine, you
[28:56] know, what it would actually take to
link those particular areas. So those of
[29:01] you that have been crying out for us to
go out and take a look at those areas,
[29:06] it has been done and thank you so much
Western Stride and also thank you to all
[29:10] of the other engineers that also helped
to make this possible. Yes,
[29:14] » ma'am. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Commissioner Bailey,
[29:16] Commissioner Stewart.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I appreciate Mr. I
[29:18] just want to say thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you to you and uh thank
[29:22] you to the administration as well
because uh that's an area that uh that
[29:26] really needs some help. Um, you know, if
you if you think about our good friend
[29:30] LJ Malone, he lost his father in that
very spot uh up near near Walmart. Um,
[29:36] that's a gentleman now who is an old
man. He has one of these high boy
[29:39] walkers and you see him. He uses the
crosswalk. He's coming from McAfee
[29:42] Towers, but he uses it every day to go
to the convenience store, go to CVS. And
[29:47] uh, so if we can get those sidewalks
going up to Walmart, uh, that'll be a
[29:51] great win for everybody. And I'll even
say myself for the 11 years I took care
[29:55] of my mother, when a car would go down,
I would walk from my home out in Bowen
[29:59] Golf Course all the way down to Walmart
because it was quicker than to catch the
[30:03] two buses, the East Mon bus and the
North Highland bus to get there. Uh so I
[30:07] I can't thank you enough for that.
Appreciate
[30:10] » Thank you, Mr. Stewart. Mr. W, you have
a followup.
[30:12] » Can I have a followup real quick? You
said the sidewalk will not go to
[30:15] Walmart, right? Oh, it it will it'll in
fact go to Walmart and then go past it
[30:20] » where it uh hooks up
>> on that side where Walmart is.
[30:23] » Yes, ma'am. Okay, that's the intent. Um
there is a steep drop off. So,
[30:29] » we'll have to uh we'll have to do a a a
survey to determine the feasibility of
[30:33] that. Um there's some guard rail there
as well. So, um you know, once we get
[30:38] that contracted out, that'll be a part
of um the review process. And they some
[30:43] come to the intersection where
Sherlington Sherling is and they cross
[30:46] they can cross over to McAfee Towers and
walk down there.
[30:50] » Exactly.
>> Okay. All right.
[30:54] » Thank you for
[30:59] » Bronson on the phone of course as
beneficial to district two and district
[31:02] three. Right.
>> So we appreciate that. Yes sir.
[31:05] » Commissioner Bronson.
>> Hey thank you Director for all that you
[31:10] do man. you have been really really
really leading the pack on this and I
[31:13] just want to say thank you to you and
your team especially uh our crews that's
[31:18] working out there. Quick question for
you in regards to I know you mentioned
[31:22] Hollings uh Nottingham that runs along
the leftand side of Kroger. Has that
[31:29] been identified as a connecting route
because of the river crossing that we
[31:33] have on the back end for Shirley Hills?
So the uh
[31:38] » the intended route will cross over
Nodtingham. Uh it'll go down Curry and
[31:44] uh and cross Nodingham. And so we'll
improve that intersection, but at the
[31:49] current time it is it's not intended to
follow the entirety of Nottingham, just
[31:55] the cross of of uh Curry and Noddingham.
>> Okay, sounds good. that that that was
[32:01] one of the the primary areas that that
was been brought up from the Shirley
[32:04] Hills area including uh citizens from
East Mon during our first first go
[32:09] around with this. So uh I do want to say
thank you for for identifying this piece
[32:12] of it man and whatever we can do to
support your need uh let us know. But
[32:16] thank you again.
>> Yes sir. Thank you.
[32:19] » Thank you. Uh if there's no more
questions we'll call um we'll take a
[32:22] motion to approve.
>> Got a motion. Can you get a second?
[32:27] » Got a motion second. All those in favor
of the motion, please say I.
[32:30] » Oppose. Nay. That motion carries. Thank
you.
[32:41] » Okay, we got a item C which is a
resolution making Bib County Commission
[32:44] authorizing the acceptance of a Georgia
relief grant relief grant from the
[32:50] Georgia Tree Council in amount of $13,50
with no local match required to plant
[32:55] trees, oak trees and specifically at
Freedom Park. Uh we had some uh bad
[33:00] weather not too long ago and knocked
some trees down over there and so
[33:03] luckily we're going to be able to
replace those trees uh with with new oak
[33:06] trees there at no additional cost to
make Bib County. So we need to accept
[33:09] those. Can I get a motion to approve?
>> Motion to approve. Got a second.
[33:14] » Got a motion second. All those in favor
of the motion please say I
[33:17] » oppose. Nay. That motion carries
unanimously to be sent to consent
[33:21] agenda. Uh commissioners I remind you
this morning we will not be setting the
[33:24] miller rate tonight. We have got another
hearing set and a vote that we set for
[33:29] uh next Wednesday, September the 9th at
9:00 and we'll take care of those. Item
[33:34] eight are dedications. The first
dedication is going to be uh some Cotton
[33:37] Avenue and uh we have another one um
item 8B. Commissioner Brunson, you want
[33:42] to do that while you're on the phone or
you want to wait till you get back, sir?
[33:47] » Thank you, sir.
>> You want to do item B when you get back
[33:49] or you want to do it tonight?
[33:53] » That's the way. Greater Little Rock
Baptist Church.
[33:58] » Yeah, if we can if we can do that one
tonight, that that'd be awesome.
[34:01] » Okay, we'll go ahead and do a
>> They are waiting on they are waiting on
[34:03] on word from from us to get it approved.
Um, but I think they should be there
[34:08] tonight.
>> Okay. I'm not familiar with anybody here
[34:12] tonight on that particular, but we'll
get to it in just a moment. Uh so the
[34:15] first item is a ordinance the making bib
county commission to dedicate that
[34:19] portion of Cotton Avenue running between
first street and Malberry Street lane
[34:23] and that portion of Mberry Street lane
running between Cotton Avenue and Second
[34:27] Street in honor of Otis Reading in
recognition of his achievements in music
[34:31] and significant contributions to the
Minimum Bib County community.
[34:34] Appropriation of not amount not to
receive $500 from the general fund
[34:37] balance in the facilities management
department for the purchase of materials
[34:41] and signage and for all other lawful
purposes. Uh you can see the dedication
[34:45] there on your screen and I'm not sure if
anybody uh Commissioner Stewart you have
[34:49] a question or you want to make comments
sir.
[34:51] » Okay. We add a sponsor. So at this time
we entertain a motion to approve
[34:55] » and we'll take a second on that. Got a
motion and second. All those in favor of
[34:59] the motion please say I
>> oppose. Nay. That motion carries
[35:03] unanimously be sent to consent agenda.
We're going to move on to item B that
[35:07] we're just talking to Commissioner
Bronson about. This is an ordinance that
[35:09] he requested on making Bib County
Commission to dedicate uh Emery Avenue
[35:13] in honor of Pastor H. Larry Een in
recognition of his leadership and
[35:18] service to the greater Little Rock
Baptist Church appropriation of amount
[35:22] not to exceed $500 from the general fund
fund balance to facility management
[35:26] department of the purchase of materials
and signage. I'll let Commissioner
[35:29] Bronson make that motion. Do we have a
second? We have a motion and second. Uh
[35:34] anything further, Commissioner Bronson?
>> No, sir. No, sir. Okay, we have a motion
[35:38] and a second. All those in favor of the
motion, please say I. Opposed? Nay. That
[35:43] motion carries unanimously be sent to
consent agenda. Uh ladies and gentlemen,
[35:47] that does conclude uh all the
information that we have on this
[35:50] particular agenda. We did get here a
little early tonight because we had
[35:54] initially in anticipated some discussion
on the millage rate. Uh we do have a
[35:58] brief need to go into executive session
tonight. So at this time we entertain a
[36:01] motion to go in executive session for
purposes of consultation with county
[36:05] attorneys or other legal services to
discuss pending or potential litigation,
[36:08] settlement claims, administrative
proceedings, and all other judicial
[36:11] actions allowed by law. At this time we
take a motion to go in executive
[36:14] session. And can I get a second? We got
a motion and second. All those in favor
[36:18] of the motion, please say I. Opposed?
Nay. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be back
[36:22] after executive session. And uh we also
have a uh we'll readjourn for sure by 6
[36:27] o'clock. And at 601 we have a uh a
public hearing on Londors. Right. Thank
[36:31] you.
[1:07:54] We got a motion come out of his ex
session. We have a motion. Give me a
[1:07:58] second. Got a motion, a second. All
those in favor of the motion, please say
[1:08:00] I. Opposed? Nay. We're going to go back
uh into our regular pre-commission
[1:08:05] meeting. Just one thing I want to add.
We took up an item earlier concerning
[1:08:08] Lindmore estates and a playground. Uh,
Commissioner Bronson had asked a
[1:08:12] question there. So, during the break, we
were able to find out an answer as well.
[1:08:15] Uh, the playground there will have a
slide that allows for uh, a person in a
[1:08:21] wheelchair to slide as well as a u a
separate feature there that was
[1:08:25] contained in materials that allows for a
swing while you're in a wheelchair. So,
[1:08:28] it it is an inclusive playground. It's
not a totally inclusive like we had at a
[1:08:32] couple of the other places, but it is an
inclusive uh, in that respect. So,
[1:08:36] there's no other items on the agenda
tonight. We'll be back at 6:00 uh to
[1:08:39] reconvene and at 601 we'll have our uh
next public hearing concerning the
[1:08:43] military
[1:23:02] If any if anyone's here to address the
commission on the millage rate for the
[1:23:07] public hearing, we have a signup book up
here in front where this gentleman is.
[1:23:10] Um if you can come and sign up and uh
we'll give you time to address the
[1:23:14] commission. The public hearing is going
to start at 601. Thanks.
[1:29:33] If anyone's here to address the
commission on the millage rate, we have
[1:29:36] a signup book up front. The millage rate
uh public hearing is the book with the
[1:29:41] green um cover sheet. If you're here to
address the commission about anything
[1:29:45] else uh for the regular agenda, we have
the book with the orange cover sheet.
[1:29:49] Um, so if you want to talk to the
commission, come on and sign up and uh
[1:29:53] we'll start our public hearing in a few
minutes. Thanks.
[1:39:14] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and
welcome. Welcome to Make Bib County uh
[1:39:17] City Hall. Uh today is Tuesday,
September the 1st, uh 2026, and the time
[1:39:22] is now 6:01. Uh we're having a public
hearing tonight at 601. So, I want to
[1:39:26] make sure we're clear on the record. Uh
this is our third public hearing
[1:39:29] regarding the millage rate and we'll
have one more hearing uh our fourth will
[1:39:33] be on September the 9th uh prior to
voting for uh on the military. So this
[1:39:39] time I'd like to welcome everyone here
tonight. We do have one person that has
[1:39:42] signed up to speak and I will call on
them in just a moment. I'll say a few
[1:39:46] words and make a brief presentation uh
and then we'll have uh the gentleman
[1:39:50] come forth that like to speak on the
public hearing. Uh as you recall from
[1:39:54] perhaps watching some of our other um
public hearings we have uh making bib
[1:39:59] county is required by law to have public
hearings if we're going to set the
[1:40:03] millage rate at the level that it was
last year. Uh therefore making bib
[1:40:07] county has uh passed a budget a couple
months ago uh which would call into
[1:40:12] effect the millage rate of 9.575 mills
which is what we indicated then that is
[1:40:16] the same exact millage rate uh that
we'll be proposing for a vote on
[1:40:21] September the 9th. Um, as a reminder,
uh, the state of Georgia sets the rules
[1:40:26] and guidelines on how property taxes
are, um, issued and how houses or homes
[1:40:32] are evaluated. Uh, and each department,
each taxing authority has their own
[1:40:36] responsibilities. Making Bib County is a
taxing authority and also the Bip County
[1:40:42] Public School System is a taxing
authority. So, both of us each represent
[1:40:45] a one half taxing authority um, in
making Bib County and we carry our own
[1:40:50] millage rate. Uh I understand that the
school system earlier had voted or at
[1:40:54] least preliminary uh voted on their
millage rate not to increase their taxes
[1:40:58] or their millage rate. Making Bib County
is also not going to increase the
[1:41:02] millage rate and leave the millage rate
the same. Uh the tax assessor is in
[1:41:07] charge with evaluating your home to see
what the value of that home is and they
[1:41:12] are um they have to rely on what the
state of Georgia issues them for
[1:41:15] regulations to determine how to value
the property that you have. Like many of
[1:41:20] you, I own property in Mon Bip County
and certainly uh I'm not totally pleased
[1:41:25] with the the process that the state of
Georgia uses to evaluate um properties
[1:41:30] and how they determine what taxes are to
be paid by individuals. Uh but I do know
[1:41:36] that we have to fund necessary services
for our government. Uh and this is the
[1:41:41] process we have. So we must follow that
legal process. The tax commissioner is
[1:41:45] in charge of mailing the bills out and
collecting that tax. uh and you'll
[1:41:49] receive those after the mill rates are
improved. Uh you will get those by mail
[1:41:53] to your homes uh for for payment. As
mentioned earlier, I I'll mention it
[1:41:58] again today, is that Monip County has
collected less property taxes in 2025,
[1:42:08] which is the last year before this year,
uh, than we we previously collected in
[1:42:12] the previous years, uh, going back to 20
roughly
[1:42:17] um, 2020 21 when we passed the OLAS,
which is the one penny additional sales
[1:42:22] tax, uh, we were somewhere over $90
million of total collections for
[1:42:26] property taxes in Bib County. Uh this
millage rate assumes uh the total taxes
[1:42:31] collected for totally for making Bib
County um only is $67 million. Of that
[1:42:38] $67 million, only $16 million comes from
property owners that have a homestead
[1:42:43] exemption. Uh that represents only 7%
uh 007% of our entire budget, which I
[1:42:52] think is important to uh to note. Uh
recently someone asked uh what we plan
[1:42:57] to do with additional money that we
collect and um there are no new spending
[1:43:01] priorities outside of public safety.
Public safety last year received budgets
[1:43:06] uh for certain amounts and each of those
budgets for the police and fire went
[1:43:10] substantially over their budgeted
amount. Therefore, this money will be to
[1:43:13] maintain our public safety which our
citizens have told us is one of their
[1:43:18] top priorities. It also represents 57%
of our budget. So at this time we're
[1:43:23] going to start our presentation and I'll
start with some historical background.
[1:43:27] On your screen you should be able to
determine that in fiscal year 2021
[1:43:32] uh which I believe outside of uh
commissioner mayor pro win was
[1:43:36] everyone's at least first year here or
subsequent after that in 2021 the miller
[1:43:41] rate in making bib county which is the
tax rate. The only thing this this board
[1:43:45] of commissioners and mayor do is set
your tax rate based on the value of the
[1:43:49] property was 20.331.
In 2022, that amount was reduced to
[1:43:55] 19.901.
In 2023, that rate was reduced to 17.9.
[1:44:01] 2024 10.723.
2025 9.9. And in 2026, 9.575.
[1:44:10] As you can see in that last uh column
there in 2027, the proposal is to keep
[1:44:14] that miller rate exactly the same. That
would not result in a 9% tax increase
[1:44:19] across the homeowners in making Bib
County because one half of our digest uh
[1:44:22] is commercial. In fact, if your home
value last year was the same, then you
[1:44:27] you receive the same exact bill that you
did this year. Uh if your home has
[1:44:30] decreased in value, your bill will go
down. And if your your home has
[1:44:34] increased in value, then your bill may
go up depending on your exemptions. Uh
[1:44:37] next slide, please.
This tells you where the most of our
[1:44:41] money is being spent and we want to give
that to you. But also note a couple of
[1:44:44] things. Uh 2021 you can see the total
amount for our our public safety. These
[1:44:49] are the the departments we consider
public safety in making Bib County. You
[1:44:53] can look at department by department if
you like to. The total amount in 2021
[1:44:57] was $94 million approximately. In 2027,
you see the total amount is $125
[1:45:03] million. uh plus
that is a six-year change of $31
[1:45:09] million. So when you talk about
increased uh payments and where the
[1:45:14] money goes, you can see an increase of
$31 million being spent for public
[1:45:19] safety in these departments here uh
without a tax increase and while keeping
[1:45:24] the millage rate roll back each and
every year up until this year keeping it
[1:45:28] the same. Next slide.
These are some other departments that we
[1:45:32] talked to you about during our budget
time that we felt like was important uh
[1:45:35] that needed to highlight. One of those
is information technology. Information
[1:45:38] technology or it uh has climbed from 5.2
uh 5.2 million per year uh up till last
[1:45:46] year fiscally 27 this year of 9.1.
Quite honestly in today's environment we
[1:45:51] all realize uh how many people are out
there can get your accounts and the
[1:45:56] security nature that we have to worry
about including many government that
[1:45:59] have gotten cyber attacks including
making Bip County have had other issues
[1:46:03] as well. Recreation is something that's
always important to give something for
[1:46:07] our people to do uh especially our
children our seniors and we've increased
[1:46:12] our our recreation spending from 2021 to
4.6 6 million to a high in 2027 this
[1:46:18] budget $8 million. Our beautifification
efforts also because this is what people
[1:46:23] are telling us in Bacon and Biff County
is $2.4 million back in 2021
[1:46:28] increased in 2026 to 4.6 million and we
scaled back a little bit this year of
[1:46:33] about $391,000 but a net six-year change
of $1.88 million.
[1:46:40] Next slide.
This is our timeline for the proposed
[1:46:44] Milliey's timeline. Uh we had our first
uh hearing on August 28th. On September
[1:46:49] the 1st, 2026 was this morning at 9:00.
We had our second hearing. Uh today
[1:46:53] we're having a third hearing, September
the 1st at 60:01. And then September the
[1:46:57] 9th, 2026, which is next Wednesday at
9:00. We'll have our final hearing and
[1:47:03] then we set for a vote for September
9th, 2026 at 9:05. Uh if you signed up
[1:47:09] to speak tonight regarding an item that
has millage rate on the agenda, there is
[1:47:13] no millage rate on the agenda tonight.
So that is not an agenda item. Uh that's
[1:47:17] all the presentation that we have right
now. We have one person uh that signed
[1:47:21] up to speak regarding the millage rate
and I'll ask him count if you don't mind
[1:47:26] coming forward now.
[1:47:32] you're speaking to that microphone and
and please state your name and identify
[1:47:36] yourself.
>> Cavage,
[1:47:40] this is a bag
of Clancy's wavy potato chips that I
[1:47:46] bought at Aldi's in Mon for
approximately half the cost of a
[1:47:51] nationally advertised wavy potato chip.
I had it for lunch when I was going
[1:47:58] through my business feeds and finance
and tax feeds after I was at your
[1:48:04] hearing this morning and I noticed it's
manufactured in Canada.
[1:48:09] I said this morning, I support your
program because it's fiscally
[1:48:13] responsible and you're not increasing
the burden on the citizens through the
[1:48:19] cost of government, which you're very
careful to manage in a very conservative
[1:48:23] way, not wasting money like they do in
Fort Lauderdale.
[1:48:29] The increase, no matter at what rate the
federal government decides,
[1:48:35] will increase the cost of this potato
chip from four to 20 times the increase
[1:48:43] of any possible effect of anybody on any
of the increased collections of tax
[1:48:50] monies. I want people to understand that
this government, the county government
[1:48:56] of making bib is not part of the problem
of impoverishing and making things more
[1:49:03] expensive. You're trying to keep costs
low. When you see what's gone on in the
[1:49:09] last six years, you can see a fiscally
responsible government. People should
[1:49:14] understand that the mayor and the mayor
prom and the commissioners are doing an
[1:49:18] excellent four-star job. And if anybody
complains about the cost of living
[1:49:24] because of such things as doubling the
cost of my potato chips, it's because of
[1:49:29] the federal government and not because
of our county government and the elected
[1:49:34] officials here today.
[1:49:40] » Thank you, sir. We appreciate your
comments. Uh that concludes our public
[1:49:44] hearing and we're going to begin with
our board of commissioners meeting. I'll
[1:49:47] give our comm communications department
time to set up for that.
[1:50:03] » Well, good evening again ladies and
gentlemen. Again, this is uh our making
[1:50:06] BIP County Board of Commission's regular
meeting. This is our schedule meeting
[1:50:09] for the month. Uh today is Tuesday,
September the 1st, and the time is
[1:50:12] approximately uh 6:12. Like to welcome
everyone here uh to the uh meeting
[1:50:17] tonight. We'll begin our meeting like we
always do with a prayer. Our prayer
[1:50:21] tonight is by Miss Kathy Branzel, the
National Day of Prayer Task Force. Thank
[1:50:25] you for being here tonight. Those of you
that can and will, please stand up and
[1:50:28] bow your head while she leads us in the
prayer and then we'll be followed by the
[1:50:31] pledge of allegiance.
Thank you.
[1:50:35] » Thank you.
Heavenly everlasting father, we come
[1:50:39] before you tonight with hearts filled
with gratitude. We thank you for these
[1:50:44] extraordinary people before us who have
poured their life out in service to you
[1:50:49] and service to make babe County to love
their neighbor
[1:50:54] and to listen. Lord, I pray tonight that
they would hear your voice whispered in
[1:51:00] their ear of your wisdom. I pray that
their heads, their thoughts would be
[1:51:04] filled with your understanding. I pray
their hearts would be filled with the
[1:51:08] knowledge of you and your word so that
we could move together. We could move
[1:51:13] forward together
in loving our neighbor where you've
[1:51:18] established us and called us to live.
I thank you that uh they come as
[1:51:24] servants. I thank you that uh we are
here to cheer them on in prayer and not
[1:51:29] to be their critics. And so I ask that
your peace that surpasses all
[1:51:36] understanding would rest in this place
and your power would compel us to go out
[1:51:41] loving one another and moving forward
together. In the mighty name of Jesus we
[1:51:46] pray. Amen.
>> Amen.
[1:51:50] I allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America to the republic for it
[1:51:56] stands one nation under God indivisible
liberty and justice for all
[1:52:04] may be seated.
[1:52:10] At this time, I'll ask our mayor promis
Valerie Wyn to step down to the podium
[1:52:13] for a presentation to Barbara Higgby, a
cancer survivor, a proclamation
[1:52:17] recognizing September as ovarian cancer
awareness month. And after she does that
[1:52:22] and presents that uh to Miss Higgby,
we'll hear a few remarks from her as
[1:52:26] well.
>> Hate to have my back to the audience,
[1:52:30] but we'll do that. Miss Higgby,
>> I'll ask our comms director to come down
[1:52:35] there and turn that around for you
at least sideways.
[1:52:51] You're good.
I'm fine.
[1:53:01] » May begin.
>> That was a wonderful prayer. Um I have a
[1:53:06] proclamation tonight from the office of
mayor Monib County Georgia. Whereas on
[1:53:12] behalf of the citizens of Monib County,
I am pleased to join atrium health
[1:53:17] navigent in celebrating the month of
September 2026 as ovarian cancer
[1:53:23] awareness month in Mon Bib County. And
whereas the aim of ovarian cancer
[1:53:29] awareness month is to inform Americans
about the risk factors and symptoms of
[1:53:35] ovarian cancer. And whereas ovarian
cancer is the fifth leading cause of
[1:53:41] cancer deaths of women in the United
States and causes more deaths than any
[1:53:46] other gyneic cancer. And whereas in the
United States, a woman's lifetime risk
[1:53:52] of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer
is about 1 in 78.
[1:53:58] Whereas the American Cancer Society
estimates 21,10
[1:54:02] cases of ovarian cancer will be newly
diagnosed in 2022 and 12,450
[1:54:10] individuals will die from the disease
nationwide, including an estimated 650
[1:54:16] new cases and 300 deaths in Georgia. And
whereas the five-year survival rate for
[1:54:23] ovarian cancer is 50%
and survival rates vary greatly
[1:54:28] depending on the stage of the diagnosis.
And whereas there is currently no
[1:54:35] reliable screening test for the early
detection of ovarian cancer. And I have
[1:54:39] to stop and say I did not know that.
It's amazing. Making awareness of the
[1:54:45] signs and symptoms especially important.
And whereas symptoms of ovarian cancer
[1:54:51] may include persistent bloating, pelvic
or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or
[1:54:58] feeling full quickly and urinary
symptoms. And whereas September is
[1:55:03] nationally recognized as ovarian cancer
awareness month, providing an
[1:55:08] opportunity to increase education and
awareness, honor survivors, remember
[1:55:13] those who have lost their lives to the
disease, and support those currently
[1:55:18] facing an ovarian cancer diagnosis. And
therefore, in the I'm doing this for
[1:55:24] Lester Miller. Lester and Miller do
hereby proclaim September 2026
[1:55:29] as ovarian cancer awareness month in Mon
Bib County. I urge all central Georgians
[1:55:36] to familiarize themselves with the
warning signs, symptoms, and risk
[1:55:40] factors associated with ovarian cancer
so that we might begin to reduce the
[1:55:46] devastating effects cancer imposes on
our state. and witness thereof, I have
[1:55:51] here to set my hand and cause the seal
of the consolidated government to be
[1:55:56] affixed this first day of September
2026. Lester M mayor Miller mayor and I
[1:56:02] wanted to present this to you and I know
would you like to say a few words?
[1:56:06] » Yes.
[1:56:10] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
>> You're welcome.
[1:56:12] » Members of the committee, I appreciate
you. Um, I just want to add I've got
[1:56:18] cards, symptom cards.
I was diagnosed in March of 2017.
[1:56:24] Um, and I was 59 years old. I was
blindsided. Knew nothing
[1:56:32] about cancer. I just, you know, people
go and get treated and then they're
[1:56:36] okay. Well,
unfortunately, I've got the reoccurring
[1:56:41] kind and I in 2018 when it came back, I
was given two years.
[1:56:50] I cried all the way home. I'm like, he
doesn't know me. And then overall for
[1:56:57] stage 3C diagnosis, your average is five
years. So, I'm here to tell you that it
[1:57:03] can be done. You can stand up here and
fight. I've got two daughters and one
[1:57:09] granddaughter.
I I really fight for them foremost.
[1:57:16] I know a 16-year-old
that is a fiveyear survivor.
[1:57:24] » It's not just older women. It's all
ages. And cancer, unfortunately, is just
[1:57:31] thriving. You know, we all have to do
something about it.
[1:57:36] So,
you know, I I meet people, I tell them,
[1:57:40] if a doctor looks at you like crazy in
the head, don't be afraid to go
[1:57:45] somewhere else because we all got to
know our bodies. Everybody's got a mom,
[1:57:52] a sister, a wife, a girlfriend, a
daughter, and it can affect any age.
[1:58:01] Not just the patient, but the
caregivers, you know, the ones that call
[1:58:07] and ask you, "Well, mom, how was this
CAT scan?"
[1:58:14] my uh a dear friend, a little sister who
lost her wings,
[1:58:21] you know her, she said cancer ain't for
punks.
[1:58:27] » So, I just want to be here and let y'all
know that I try to spread awareness and
[1:58:35] please take these cards and Yeah. No, a
pepstor does not detect
[1:58:43] ovarian cancer or the other, you know,
cervical endometrial, vaginal, vulvver.
[1:58:51] There's so much. I also have another
group. It's called below the waist, you
[1:58:58] know. Um, there's a lot of things that
you can do. September, we wear teal. We
[1:59:04] wear teal because
like ovarian cancer, it's a hard
[1:59:09] diagnosis. Teal is a hard color. You
look in a pack of crayons, there's not a
[1:59:14] teal color. You have to either make it
or keep looking. It's a hard color to
[1:59:19] find sometimes. So that's why we wear
teal.
[1:59:23] And
you know, the butterfly is
[1:59:29] kind of our symbol, you know, how the
ovaries are.
[1:59:33] And I just absolutely love butterfly
releases.
[1:59:39] » Um I've already picked a grave site
where once a year at the cemetery they
[1:59:43] do a butterfly release.
So anyway, I'm
[1:59:50] just a girl from a a small town
originally in Michigan.
[1:59:55] I lived in Georgia back in the late 80s
for five years. I'm back here now. I
[2:00:02] knew I still had love in my life
and I love anybody who can spread the
[2:00:08] news. Thank you for your time.
[2:00:13] [applause]
[2:00:19] » Yes. Thank you.
>> She's gonna be here for any of these.
[2:00:46] Thank you for being here tonight,
Barbara, and thank you for sharing your
[2:00:48] testimony. I know it's very heartfelt
and I think everybody in this room uh
[2:00:53] can agree that we know someone uh that
cancer has touched their lives. So, we
[2:00:58] appreciate what you do. Continue to
advocate for that and thank you for
[2:01:01] being here tonight. Mayor Prom, thank
you for presenting that uh to her as
[2:01:05] well. Uh we do have a few items um on
the agenda that people want to talk
[2:01:10] about and a couple of those are now. So,
Miss Kaylee Puit, Miss Puit, good to see
[2:01:14] you again. Where did she go? I see you
there. She's been here waiting
[2:01:17] patiently. If you don't mind, you can go
over there to the podium over there or
[2:01:21] be fine. And she wanted to speak in
regarding the funding for the SS4A
[2:01:26] approval that we voted on at
pre-commission uh tonight. Right. Oh,
[2:01:32] good evening, Mayor Miller and
commissioners. Um, thank you for the
[2:01:35] opportunity to speak today. I'm Kaylee
Puit. Uh many of you know me through my
[2:01:40] work with bikewalk min but I also serve
on the pedestrian safety review board
[2:01:44] min bib county transit authority and the
citizens advisory and complete street
[2:01:49] committees. Uh bikewalk makin's work has
also expanded into advocating for the
[2:01:53] continued growth of the mmogi heritage
trail. Um tonight I simply wanted to
[2:01:57] thank you for approving the local match
for the safe streets and roads for all
[2:02:01] implementation grant and for recognizing
the incredible opportunity this
[2:02:05] represents for East Mon. This grant
brings more than 5.6 million in federal
[2:02:10] funding to make bib county. Combined
with the local match, this represents a
[2:02:14] more than 7 million investment in safer
infrastructure and connectivity for our
[2:02:19] community and it helps us fulfill our
complete streets and vision zero
[2:02:24] obligations. While the local match will
be spread over 5 years, the impact of
[2:02:28] these improvements will last for
generations. This funding allows us to
[2:02:32] address one of our most dangerous
roadways, Grey Highway. According to GOT
[2:02:37] crash data from the last 10 years, there
were 27 pedestrian related crashes along
[2:02:42] this corridor, resulting in nine
fatalities. And unfortunately, this is
[2:02:47] simply not a problem from the past.
Pedestrian pedestrian crashes continue
[2:02:52] to occur along Grey Highway, including a
pedestrian fatality earlier this summer.
[2:02:57] Thousands of East Min residents live
within walking distance of Grey Highway.
[2:03:01] Yet much of the corridor lacks safe
infrastructure for people biking and
[2:03:05] walking. For many residents, these
options are not a recreation choice.
[2:03:10] It's how they access groceries, work,
services, and everyday needs. But too
[2:03:14] often, they are forced to navigate a
high conflict roadway with
[2:03:18] infrastructure without the
infrastructure needed to keep them safe.
[2:03:21] This investment helps change that. This
project will create approximately three
[2:03:26] miles of safer pedestrian and multimmoal
infrastructure, including new sidewalks
[2:03:30] along Grey Highway from Sherling Drive
to Woodlon Drive and improvements along
[2:03:34] Boulevard's ride ofway that will create
a connection to the Altmogi Heritage
[2:03:38] Trail Riverwalk. Together, these
improvements will strengthen safety and
[2:03:42] access throughout the area. Most
importantly, they will create separation
[2:03:45] between people walking, biking, and a
roadway carrying approximately 40,000
[2:03:50] vehicles per day. Safe crossings and
connected infrastructure will give
[2:03:55] residents an alternative to walking
along the shoulder of one of our busiest
[2:03:58] roadways. These improvements will save
lives. And this the support for this
[2:04:03] work is clear. Approximately a hundred
neighbors expressed support for safer
[2:04:06] infrastructure along Grey Highway and in
the North Highlands neighborhood. The
[2:04:10] project also received support from
senators OAF and Waro, demonstrating
[2:04:14] broad recognition for the importance of
investing in this corridor. What makes
[2:04:18] this especially exciting is it goes
beyond Grey Highway. The improvements
[2:04:22] along Boulevard will connect Grey
Highway and the North Highlands
[2:04:25] neighborhood to the northern end of the
Riverwalk. That connection is about more
[2:04:30] than addressing a dangerous roadway.
It's an opportunity for us to build a
[2:04:33] more connected, multimodal
transportation network, and give Monites
[2:04:37] another way to move between
neighborhoods, access destinations, and
[2:04:41] connect to one of our community's
greatest recreational assets without
[2:04:44] having to interact with high-speed
traffic. for $7 million. This represents
[2:04:49] an incredible investment for our city.
It's an investment in safety. It's an
[2:04:53] investment in access. And it's an
investment in expanding and connecting
[2:04:57] our trail system. I know the local match
represents a very significant commitment
[2:05:01] on our city's behalf. But spread over 5
years, I truly believe it's worth the
[2:05:06] investment for safe improvements,
infrastructure, and opportunities that
[2:05:09] it will bring to East Mon and our trail
system. Thank you for recognizing the
[2:05:13] value and for making this investment
possible. and thank you for your
[2:05:16] leadership and for continuing to move
these projects like this forward.
[2:05:22] » Thank you,
>> Miss Brewer. We appreciate you being
[2:05:25] here tonight. Mr. Cam Otter,
[2:05:29] » Mr. Otter want to speak on similar
items, items KM and uh N as well.
[2:05:36] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the
commission. I I will proceed directly
[2:05:40] into those agenda items without
repeating uh Miss Kaylee Puit's fine
[2:05:45] remarks which I admire and applaud in
their entirety. Um I would just like
[2:05:50] just a personal moment just quite
briefly to be back in this room again
[2:05:53] and given a chance to speak in memory of
Mayor George Israel. I know that Mayor
[2:05:57] Israel from this city hall had an impact
throughout the city and throughout the
[2:06:01] state of Georgia. I had the occasion to
meet Mayor Israel when he was quite
[2:06:06] early in his term and I was graduating
over at Georgia College. He was being
[2:06:11] honored and was on the platform with the
school officers. It was hot. People were
[2:06:17] moving slow and I had an opportunity
carrying my shiny new diploma to just
[2:06:22] lean in and ask if the city of Mon was
hiring. His smiling, chuckling response
[2:06:29] to that was a very nice commendation of
his good humor about government uh
[2:06:34] saluting the memory of Mayor George
Israel. Thank you. Thank you for that
[2:06:38] moment. I'm here with a little context
on uh following up on bikewalk mak's
[2:06:44] representative again, Miss Puit. The UG
College of Public Health and Imra
[2:06:50] University are united in identifying the
health value of green space uh running
[2:06:58] water and the opportunity taken as much
as possible to move throughout the day.
[2:07:04] Uh making providing safe sidewalks, safe
access to community services including
[2:07:10] health care, libraries, pickle ball, all
the fine things about life. It involves
[2:07:17] do people have a safe way to get there?
As well, I'm saluting the vision and the
[2:07:22] expansion of the Oak Mogi Heritage
Trail. Saw the mayor and other city
[2:07:27] representatives, city county
representatives down there last Thursday
[2:07:31] for a very dramatic expansion of the
trail northward along the river. And the
[2:07:36] promise is more to come. Well done.
Nicely done in that regard.
[2:07:42] I'll move in and that was item uh
praising item M on the agenda. Moving to
[2:07:49] item N on the agenda. I was in contact
with Mel Sparrow from the tree program
[2:07:55] today and this Georgia relief grant
accepted by Mon Bib County from the
[2:08:01] Georgia Tree Council puts us a good step
closer to having a tree canopy of 50% in
[2:08:08] Mon. What I hope will happen with this
spark plug in place is to perhaps use
[2:08:14] the street scan software, we use it to
survey the sidewalks, investigate the
[2:08:19] opportunities that Georgia Tech has
available for counting the tree canopy.
[2:08:25] It's not an exact science, but we're
getting a lot closer. The 50% goal comes
[2:08:30] from the city of Atlanta, and
unfortunately, they've had some slippage
[2:08:34] in that regard. This is our opportunity
for Mon to restore a major city to the
[2:08:39] 50% tree canopy level. I'm I'm eager to
serve with a shovel when the opportunity
[2:08:45] comes up. And finally, the acceptance of
the community block development grant
[2:08:51] from 2020 for the play structure at
Lynmore Estates Park. Item K on your
[2:08:57] agenda. Very much appreciate support for
that. Do you see the span of all ages
[2:09:03] there? From the youngest to the oldest,
we can all benefit from a physically
[2:09:07] active, wide openen green space
community. So, commendation for item K,
[2:09:14] praise for item N, and salute for item
M. What gives me confidence going
[2:09:21] forward? As one of our previous speakers
spoke, and I'll close on this point, I
[2:09:25] took a close look at the sidewalk
project that's coming on Jeffersonville
[2:09:29] Road, a very other very necessary
project. And within the public record, I
[2:09:36] found a process of competitive bidding
that contacted was it 130 companies,
[2:09:43] potential contractors, saying come to
make them. I believe it was seven of
[2:09:47] them who offered responsive and
responsible bids to a very detailed set
[2:09:53] of specifications about that project.
Then to pave the way there was a Q&A
[2:09:59] with the Mon Bib County Procurement
Department further refining those
[2:10:05] specifications to make sure the
contractor knew what they were getting
[2:10:08] into. What's my point? Good stewardship
of the money. a well necessary project
[2:10:16] with careful management of the fiscal
side of the house. So I stand in praise,
[2:10:22] compliment and salute. Thank you for
your attention to these uh ordinance and
[2:10:26] resolution items today.
>> Thank you, Mr. Otter. Thank you for
[2:10:30] being here tonight. Uh we have a
approval of the minutes for August the
[2:10:34] 4th, 2026. Approval of the minutes. I
got a motion to approve. Got a motion by
[2:10:39] Commissioner Cook. We have a second.
Second by Commissioner Bailey. Have a
[2:10:43] motion and second. All those in favor of
the motion, please say I.
[2:10:46] » Oppose. Nay. That motion carries. We do
have a consent agenda. The consent
[2:10:50] agenda tonight uh it carries from A
through Q with the exception of O. O was
[2:10:55] the item uh that was removed uh from the
agenda tonight uh in way of next
[2:11:01] Wednesday's 9926 vote. So, we'll do the
consent agenda only on those items. And
[2:11:07] then I'll have after that I'll allow
Commissioner Brunson who is uh on the
[2:11:10] telephone tonight uh to speak about the
last item item Q uh on the agenda as an
[2:11:16] item that he sponsored for dedication.
So at this time I entertain a motion to
[2:11:19] approve the consent agenda items A
through Q with the exception of O. Got a
[2:11:25] motion. Can I get a second? Got a motion
and second. All those in favor of the
[2:11:28] motion, please say I. Opposed? Nay. That
motion carries. I'll go ahead and let
[2:11:33] Mr. Bronson uh say a few words now
regarding the dedication. This is the
[2:11:37] dedication uh that we voted on earlier
for the greater Little Rock Baptist
[2:11:41] Church and spec specifically uh Emery
Avenue in honor of Pastor H. Larry Een.
[2:11:47] Uh Commissioner Bronson.
>> Hey T. We're doing a dedication uh for
[2:11:53] for Reverend E and and all the work that
he has done for the community and and
[2:11:57] that church and so forth. Um I don't
have really a lot to to say on that end
[2:12:02] being that I I don't believe any of the
representatives are there from the
[2:12:04] family. Uh but they do send their
appreciation to all the commissioners
[2:12:08] and the mayor uh for supporting this
initiative uh to bring light to a a
[2:12:13] person that's done amazing things not
just for the community but for all
[2:12:17] people of different races and so forth.
Uh, and I think this is a great
[2:12:21] opportunity for us to continue that uh,
their legacy. And uh, I just encourage
[2:12:25] everyone to take an opportunity to read
throughout their bio uh, and just see
[2:12:30] some of the things that have done and
and encourage other commissioners to
[2:12:33] continue to move forth with uh,
acknowledging our leaders throughout the
[2:12:36] community.
>> Thank you, Commissioner Bronson, for
[2:12:39] those remarks and thanks commissioners
for uh, supporting that. Uh, we have two
[2:12:44] items on the public comments on
non-aggenda item. one of those we
[2:12:46] mentioned earlier that got moved to the
non-aggenda item because