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All

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right.

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Yeah.

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What's
going on?

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I'm glad you made it today.

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» Me, too.

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» He got you working out now.
>> He already said, my buddy Scott Willis

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says you already wear him out.

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like to call to order the August 20th,
2026 city council meeting, meeting of

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mayor and council. I'd like to call on
Pastor Hubert Miguel from New Life

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Ministries to lead us in prayer. Please
remain standing for the pledge.

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» Heavenly Father,
thank you for being gracious and

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merciful for us.

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Father,
Father, as we gather here today, we pray

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that you will bless everyone. Lord, I
pray that you'll bless this city, God.

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Let businesses come from all over. Lord,
let this city grow. Lord, I pray for the

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mayor. I pray for the council people. I
pray, Father, that you'd lead us that

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you give us wisdom, knowledge, and
understanding.

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Help us, Lord, to put you first in every
area.

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Grow this city, Lord. Let this city be a
place as never before. God, thank you,

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Lord, for everyone here. Thank you for
your mercy, grace. Thank you for your

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compassion. We give you all the glory,
honor, and praise because you deserve

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the glory and the honor and the praise
in Jesus name. Amen.

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» Amen.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

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United States of America to the republic
for it stands one nation

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indivisible with liberty and justice for
all.

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I I slowed it way down for you.
>> I sure did.

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» We're going to start out with the three
public hearing items tonight. Item A,

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consideration of an ordinance to reszone
a total of 19.82 acres from residential

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agriculture
um county to combination of heavy

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industrial and highway commercial city.
Matt Martin will present. Hi.

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» Yes, sir. Thank you, Mayor. Um these
first two items have to do with the same

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property. It's an annexation and
reasonzoning request. And as we do in

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these types of cases, we um consider it
as one presentation, one public hearing.

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But when it comes time to make motion
and vote, we need to do that separately.

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So we vote on the resoning first and
then the annexation. Um this was an item

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or a pair of items that was on your
agenda two weeks ago and this table till

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tonight. We went through in a lot of
detail at the work session two weeks

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ago. To give you a refresher, um
applicant is Sheldon Hill and Lane

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Cheney.
Property is located along um Howell Road

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um to the east of inner perimeter. Um
both packets are in your um agenda

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00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:12,320
packet for this evening, but I've merged
them into one presentation. So this is

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from the annexation packet. It shows you
the location relative to the city

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limits. So everything that is in gray
shading on this map is currently

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unincorporated Loun County. The white
area is in the city limits. And so you

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see this property is contiguous to the
city limits on its north boundary which

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is a railroad track. And so we can annex
across a ride ofway whether it be a

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street or a railroad in this case. So
this makes it eligible for annexation by

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touching the city limit area to the
north. Um other maps in your packet.

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Current zoning is RA residential
agricultural in the county. You see the

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EA zoning to the south and west that's
in the county is agricultural zoning.

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But more notably is the to the north you
see the dark gray that is heavy

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industrial M2 zoning in the city which
is straight north of the tracks. And

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then to the west of there on the west
side of inner perimeter that's heavy

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industrial zoning in Loun County. Um,
other maps include the character area

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which is currently rural residential,
but like we talked about two weeks ago.

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We are in the process of going about to
amend the comprehensive plan and do an

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update for that. We've already
transmitted that to the state. Included

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in that transmitt is a proposed new
character area map and the county has

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requested that this area and a little
bit to the east of it become industrial

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activity center. So in other words match
the same character area that currently

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exists to the north and to the west. So
that's a proposed change but at the

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moment the character area is rural
residential. As part of the city's

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review, whenever we annex property in by
code, we have the ability to amend the

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character area map upon annexation. And
the proposal um for this is to amend it

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to industrial activity center upon
annexation, which is what it's being

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proposed for anyway with the new map. Um
aerial imagery, it's currently a crop

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field, really the western half of one.
Um this is familyowned property that has

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been broken into large pieces. The
applicants purchased this several months

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ago. Um and and you heard the story from
two weeks ago where they were proposing

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residential and by virtue of the highway
and the railroad nearby, they're looking

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at commercial and industrial. Um but
what you don't see on the aerial on the

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screen, but is in your packet. To the
north of the railroad is the industrial

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uses with the trucking distribution
centers that are there. Then across

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inner perimeter that's Hunt
Construction, which has been there for

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00:16:48,079 --> 00:16:56,560
many years. um hence their argument for
heavy industrial zoning. Um also in your

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00:16:54,000 --> 00:17:00,720
packet you have annexation surveys and
resoning surveys. Remember from two

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weeks ago we talked about the difference
in acreage. Um so for the resoning part

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of it which is everything south of the
railroad it's 19.82 82 acres, but

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because we are annexing a segment of the
railroad as well, the annexation portion

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of it increases by a couple acres to I
think 21.97.

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That's why the two packets that you have
give different acreage totals. So,

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here's a survey of the annexation
boundary, which is the property itself

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plus the railroad. And then the resoning
portion is just the area south. What is

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important to note here is they're
requesting a split zoning of M2 and CH.

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The southern fourth of the property
along How Road would be CH and the rest

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of it M2. And remember, there is no
specific proposed use yet for this

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00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:55,200
property. Um, this is a speculative
request. They want to market it for

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industrial and commercial. They've
already been in conversation with the

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railroad about getting a railroad spur
from Norfick Southern. Um they're

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00:18:00,799 --> 00:18:07,600
working through those engineering
details as to where to place the spur

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and how long and so forth. Um but they
see that as an opportunity with the

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major rail line to the north, but they
understand it is not a good idea to have

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heavy industrial all the way to how
road, but maybe to reserve that as a

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commercial area you for the long-term
development pattern.

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Um some imagery the subject property
this is how you see it from how road

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looking north beyond those trees is the
crop fields that you can see in the

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aerial image. Then continuing with the
pictures this is looking eastward down

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how road most of the lands around here
are undeveloped with the only exception

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really being the church that is across
the street to the south. I'm on a large

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parcel of land. It is zoned agriculture.
has been there for a number of years and

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they are a customer to the city utility
system um they are part of our

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designated service area and if we annex
the property to the north and that comes

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into our service area as well. Um other
photos this is looking westward this is

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the intersection of how and perimeter um
a stop sign for how road through traffic

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of course for inner perimeter road and
then some other photos.

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This is the railroad line. This is from
the top of the bridge of interimal road

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looking east down the railroad. The
subject property is there on the

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immediate right and on the left through
the trees that is where the trucking

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terminals are located. Just a little bit
hard to see from inner perimeter road at

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the bridge. Then the same trucking
terminals when you go around the corner

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view them from the north. And then I
think lastly another zoomin view of the

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trucking terminal. And then this is Hunt
construction that's on the west side of

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inner perimeter and it's been there for
a large number of years.

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I think that's it for the imagery. So
again it's an annexation and reszoning

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request different an acreages but the
proposal is to go to M2 and CH about

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3/4s of the property M2 about 1/4 CH
along How Road. Um planning commission

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reviewed this at their last public
hearing. Um they found the resoning

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request
consistent with the comprehensive plan

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00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:19,520
that stands for exercise of zoning
power. They are recommending approval of

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the resoning as proposed which is the
split of M2 and CH. However, when it

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comes and that's on a 8:1 vote however
when it comes to the annexation they are

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making uh recommending denial of the
annexation also by an 8 to1 vote. We

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talked about this at length two weeks
ago at the work session and the only way

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I know to translate that an unusual
recommendation is they are not in favor

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of the annexation collectively but if
it's to be annexed they are in favor of

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the resoning as proposed which is M2 and
CH. Um the 8:1 vote is common to both of

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these requests but the dissenting vote
interestingly is not the same

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individual. So, as you can imagine,
there was a lot of discussion at the

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planning commission. There were some
folks from the public who spoke at the

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hearing. I suspect one or more of them
may be here tonight who will like to

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convey more details to you about what
their thinking is. Any questions on

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these?
>> I have one question. Um, how far is this

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from that school over there? I went over
there and I was looking at the area and

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I think I have the right area in mind,
but I just never hear mention about the

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school,
>> right? A a good distance and there's

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actually two schools. Um, you've got the
Molten Branch School straight to the

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south on inner perimeter
>> and that's a good ways. I would say

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probably a couple miles or more. You've
got the How Road intersection. You go on

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to the south and there's Molten Branch
off to the left on the east side of the

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road as you round the curve
>> approaching Statenville Highway

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» and it's across from the Molten Branch
neighborhood.

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» Then you've got then you've got the City
Elementary School that's on How Road

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» which is off to the west. Um and I don't
know the distance, maybe 3/4s of a mile.

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It's down a little ways, but you know it
sits back off the road as well. um

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they're not immediately close and
certainly not close enough to show up in

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the mapping um but they're in the
vicinity in terms of the broader sense.

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» Okay.
>> And maybe on the city limit map it

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zoomed out enough.
>> So that's what I was just wondering

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because I was looking at going down how
road they're going to make this in you

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said it's going to be an industrial
activity area.

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» Correct. an an expansion of the
industrial activity area that's north of

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the railroad and off to the west. So on
this map you can see where the subject

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property is.
>> Right?

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00:22:45,039 --> 00:22:48,720
» If you look immediately to the left
where you see the word

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00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:52,960
» Valdasta
>> and that's industrial development.

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00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:58,000
That's where the um I think it's the GIF
site is being built and opened there.

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It's part of an expansion of the
industrial park that runs east of Clay

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Road. If you look immediately to the
south, you see a finger of the city

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limits that crosses to the south side.
That's the elementary school there

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00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:15,679
» and it's in along the eastern side of
that. So, it's a little distance from

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the subject property. I mean, not real
close, but and in between is vacant

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00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:23,600
land, but you can what you see in the
area.

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» And then the Molton Branch School is
actually off the edge of the map to the

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south. keep going down the inner
perimeter,

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» you know, just a little bit beyond the
edge of the map, and then it'll be on

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the east side of the road.
>> We've got a city school and a county

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school kind of nearby, but not not
immediate neighbors by any stretch of

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the imagination.
>> Okay. Thank you.

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» Any other questions for Matt?
>> Right, Matt? Thank you.

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» Yes, sir. Again, this is a public
hearing item. We'll dedicate 15 minutes

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for and against for each side. With that
being said, is there anybody who would

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00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:06,840
like to step forward in favor of this
request?

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00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:15,520
Seeing none, their 15 minutes are are
over. We'll now dedicate 15 minutes for

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00:24:13,919 --> 00:24:19,720
anybody that would like to step forward
in opposition to this request.

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Matt
You had a thought.

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00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:37,600
» You You can stay up.
>> We did talk about this extensively two

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00:24:35,919 --> 00:24:41,919
weeks ago. Of course, with any
annexation request under state law, we

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have to give due notice to Loun County.
Um that starts a review process for

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00:24:43,919 --> 00:24:50,640
them. that we learned two weeks ago that
that review process was longer than it

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00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:55,440
had been for many years, which is why we
had tabled the request. That full amount

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00:24:53,200 --> 00:25:00,960
of 45 days has run its course as of
tomorrow. They are if the county wishes

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00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:06,400
to file an objection. They have to do it
at a public meeting. Their next public

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00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:10,640
meeting is not until next week, Tuesday,
>> which is beyond that time frame. And I

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00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:16,000
did confirm this afternoon there is no
called meeting in the works. So, we have

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00:25:13,679 --> 00:25:20,159
the green light to proceed on with the
annexation.

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00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:26,600
» Thank Thank you for that addition, Matt.
All right, a fresh 15 minutes for

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00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,600
anybody in opposition to this request.

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00:25:27,279 --> 00:25:33,840
» Good evening. Good evening,
mayor and council members. My name is

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00:25:32,159 --> 00:25:40,320
Nathan Brantley. I'm a lawyer here in
Valdasta at 701 North Patterson Street.

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00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:46,960
And I am here on behalf of Jenny Joe
Spivey. Miss Spivey is the adjoining

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00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:52,880
land owner to the east of the subject
property. So her property fronts on

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00:25:49,440 --> 00:26:01,039
Howell Road immediately adjacent to the
subject property. Um I'm here to on her

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00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:06,720
behalf object to the requested
annexation and reszoning for the

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00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:11,840
following reasons. We believe that this
request is premature,

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00:26:10,159 --> 00:26:18,240
speculative,
unnecess unnecessary,

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00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:24,240
overly intensive, inappropriate, and
burdensome. And I'll explain why for the

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00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:30,799
following reasons. Um the this this
request is this is and this is the crux

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00:26:27,679 --> 00:26:35,919
of our argument. It is currently
inconsistent with the comprehensive

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00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:41,600
plan. The comprehensive plan has been
submitted for acceptance, but it has not

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00:26:39,039 --> 00:26:47,440
yet been accepted by the state. The
character area

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of this subject parcel pursuant to the
comprehensive plan is currently rural

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00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:57,840
residential. Now, I know that there are
plans for it to be changed over to

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industrial activity center, but that has
not yet occurred. I also am aware that

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00:27:00,559 --> 00:27:07,520
there is an a city ordinance that allows
that if this property is annexed and

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00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:12,159
reszoned that the character area can be
changed from rural residential to

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00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:17,200
industrial activity center. But that's
not yet occurred. And what's being asked

208
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:25,039
here
is a speculative annexation and resoning

209
00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:29,760
with no site plan prepared. There's
nothing that indicates what this

210
00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:36,960
property will be used for. And it is
going from the least intensive zoning

211
00:27:33,679 --> 00:27:42,320
type that is currently allowed to
possibly and arguably the most intensive

212
00:27:40,159 --> 00:27:50,200
zoning type that is allowed within the
city, which is M2. So M2 zoning is

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00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:57,679
it's an area used in manufacturing,
wholesale trade, distribution

214
00:27:55,520 --> 00:28:03,120
activities, assembly and processing
activities. Uses may or may not generate

215
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:08,399
excessive noise, particulate matter,
vibration, smoke, dust, gas, fumes,

216
00:28:05,919 --> 00:28:14,159
odors, radiation, or other nuisance
characteristics.

217
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:18,640
This is a significantly different
description of the use of the property

218
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:23,520
than what is allowed under a rural
residential character area which is

219
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:29,919
rural undeveloped land likely to face
development pressures for lower density

220
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:35,039
residential development. Now currently
the property the character area of the

221
00:28:32,399 --> 00:28:41,360
subject property is rural residential
with a plan to transition in the next

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00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:46,399
comprehensive plan over to rural
residential but there currently is

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00:28:44,159 --> 00:28:50,720
obviously we know we've all been down um
perimeter road and we've all seen the

224
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:56,559
the comprehensive plan and the character
area maps there's a corridor running

225
00:28:52,480 --> 00:29:01,360
down perimeter road that is industrial
in nature industrial activity center,

226
00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:06,559
those types of uses. But what this does
is this crawl this and and and so so if

227
00:29:05,279 --> 00:29:10,399
you if you were to approve the
annexation and the reasoning request,

228
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:15,200
effectively, you would also be approving
a change in the character area. So I

229
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:20,240
mean, it's really a a threeprong request
that they're asking for here. And and

230
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:24,159
there's currently a a a boundary.
There's a boundary of the railroad the

231
00:29:22,399 --> 00:29:27,279
and and and if you've been o if you've
been out there, it's a a pretty clearly

232
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:32,960
defined boundary because you have to go
over a big overpass before you pass on

233
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:38,399
into what has always been and currently
is agricultural

234
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:44,640
agricultural use of property. So, rural
residential, rural AC, suburban area.

235
00:29:41,279 --> 00:29:51,840
This would be an encroachment across the
railroad track over the overpass and not

236
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:57,919
just down perimeter road, but also
turning the corner from Perimeter Road

237
00:29:54,720 --> 00:30:03,679
on to Howell Road. And so, so this this
is an encroachment even further into

238
00:30:01,279 --> 00:30:07,760
rural residential areas. And I also want
to point out, make sure that you're

239
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:14,320
aware that the subject property does not
even front on Perimeter Road. There is a

240
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:18,159
parcel that divides Perimeter Road from
this subject parcel. It's owned by a

241
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:23,760
different owner and it is not part of
this request. But this is not just an

242
00:30:20,559 --> 00:30:28,480
extension of Industrial Activity Center
down south, further south on Perimeter

243
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:34,021
Road, but it is actually turning a
quarter and heading east onto Howell

244
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:37,360
Road. Um
[clears throat]

245
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:44,000
for that reason we believe it is a
premature request. There's it it it is

246
00:30:40,799 --> 00:30:50,159
asking a lot for the city council to
approve this when the character area

247
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:53,840
very well may be changed uh through
through through the proper process and

248
00:30:51,919 --> 00:30:58,720
it may become appropriate down the road
for this kind of request to be made. We

249
00:30:55,520 --> 00:31:05,360
would still argue that M2 zoning is too
high of an intensity and it's not

250
00:31:02,159 --> 00:31:09,760
explained why M2 is even required
because there's it's purely speculative.

251
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:14,000
There's no site plan submitted. We have
no idea what's going to go in this

252
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:19,840
property and M2 is the most intensive
type zoning that is allowed within the

253
00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:25,440
city. Um it's unnecessary. There are
other industrial sites within the city

254
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:29,520
within industrial uh parks that within
the city that have rail access that are

255
00:31:27,279 --> 00:31:33,919
already reszoned are already zone
appropriately which is M2 zoning. So the

256
00:31:32,399 --> 00:31:37,919
character area I'm sorry the
comprehensive plan this is straight out

257
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:43,120
of the comprehensive plan. This is
industrial activity center character

258
00:31:39,919 --> 00:31:47,760
area. the de development strategy for
property that is within that character

259
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:53,840
area. Development or where par possible
retrofitting should occur as part of

260
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:58,240
planned industrial parks having adequate
water, sewer, storm water and

261
00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:03,200
transportation infrastructure for all
component uses at buildout. We don't

262
00:32:00,559 --> 00:32:08,320
have that here. This is not a part of a
planned industrial park. This is an

263
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:12,320
isolated parcel that is currently now,
yes, there is industrial across the

264
00:32:10,559 --> 00:32:16,880
railroad track, but it's across the
railroad track and over an overpass

265
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:22,559
before you get to where Hunt Industries
and these other industrial areas are.

266
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:28,960
This is an encroachment into what has
for as long as Loun County has been

267
00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:34,000
around has been um uh agricultural use
property and and rural residential. Um,

268
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:38,960
also
the implementation measures regarding

269
00:32:36,399 --> 00:32:44,640
the industrial activity center character
area require that there be access

270
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:48,720
control measures implemented whenever
this property a property is developed in

271
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:52,640
this area. So this is out of the this is
out of the comprehensive plan as well.

272
00:32:50,559 --> 00:32:56,240
So access control measures comb
providing reasonable access to de

273
00:32:54,480 --> 00:33:00,720
developments while preserving the safe
flow of traffic on an arterial and major

274
00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:04,559
collector techniques like managing where
and how approaches or signals are

275
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:07,840
allowed, use of medians, creation of
turn lanes, and support of local

276
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:12,240
ordinances improve the driving
atmosphere. In some cases, they also

277
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:16,080
make movement easier and safer for
pedestrians and bicyclists. Now, we have

278
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:19,279
a situation here where there's no site
plan submitted, so we have no idea how

279
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:25,120
they plan to deal with traffic in the
area. This is already a very dangerous

280
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:30,960
intersection and I have included or I
have provided to you a copy of some

281
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:35,039
documents that prove such. Um we made
some open records requests and there is

282
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:38,880
each of you should have I think um the
clerk has handed it out a a department

283
00:33:37,039 --> 00:33:45,760
of transportation traffic engineering
study from November 2020. It's got some

284
00:33:41,679 --> 00:33:48,760
information in there. This cuts off as
of

285
00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:59,919
It's January 2015 to November 2020.
This was an analysis done by the DOT.

286
00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:03,360
And so, you know, you probably asked the
question, well, 2020, that was six years

287
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:07,120
ago. So, what's been happening since
since then? Well, I also did an open

288
00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:10,320
records request for accidents that have
occurred at this intersection, the

289
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:14,560
Howell Road and Perimeter Road
intersection. And I've included a

290
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:22,879
spreadsheet that shows all the accidents
that have have occurred from January

291
00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:28,320
2021 through July 2026. So pursuant to
the traffic study that cuts off in

292
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:34,639
November 2020, Perimeter Road has an
average vehicle per day count of 9310

293
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:39,280
average vehicles. How road has a count
of 2,180

294
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:45,760
average vehicles. Within that period,
there were 12 crashes recorded and two

295
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:50,159
fatalities. The DO's recommendation for
this intersection was as follows. Their

296
00:34:47,599 --> 00:34:54,480
short-term recommendation was upgrade
stop signs, add reflective sign

297
00:34:52,399 --> 00:34:58,800
supports, install crossing traffic does
not stop signs. Their intermediate

298
00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:03,760
recommendation, install intersection
conflict warning system. Their long-term

299
00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:07,920
recommendation install roundabout
traffic light not recommended because of

300
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:11,520
limited approach over railroad overpass.
So if you've ever been out there you

301
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:15,680
know that you come down that hill you're
going fast. So it would be it's logical

302
00:35:14,079 --> 00:35:18,960
that it would it would be dangerous to
have a traffic light right there

303
00:35:17,119 --> 00:35:24,000
especially with those big trucks. So the
recommendation was install a roundabout.

304
00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:29,680
Well as of today this is what six we're
six years later from November 2020. Um,

305
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:33,839
the only thing that's been done is the
short-term recommendation. Upgrade stop

306
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:38,000
signs, add reflective sign supports, and
install uh crossing traffic does not

307
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:42,079
stop. There's been no installation of
any conflict warning system. There's

308
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:45,760
been no installation of any roundabout.
So, what's happened in the meantime

309
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:49,839
since this recommendation was made?
Well, here's what's happened. It's still

310
00:35:47,599 --> 00:35:53,560
a dangerous intersection because the
problem was not addressed

311
00:35:54,640 --> 00:36:03,359
since then.
From January 2021 to July 2026, there

312
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:08,160
have been 31 crashes and one fatality.
So that's a period roughly the same

313
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:13,599
length and duration as the DOT traffic
study. So you go from 12 crashes to 31

314
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:18,240
crashes. I've been out there personally.
I've driven out there um leaving leaving

315
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:22,485
the elementary school that's right there
at at night. It's a dark intersection.

316
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:27,200
Vehicles are flying down perimeter
[snorts] road. And additionally,

317
00:36:25,599 --> 00:36:31,599
you're
Th this development is moving is is the

318
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:38,880
the idea behind this development is it
would move in in industrial uses down

319
00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:45,200
Howell Road which is is not not set up
to deal with this additional traffic and

320
00:36:41,839 --> 00:36:48,685
also um there's no plan submitted by the
applicants here to address any of those

321
00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:50,705
concerns.
[clears throat]

322
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:01,320
I want to point out to you

323
00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:15,599
that the standards for exercising zoning
power when reviewing those we believe

324
00:37:13,359 --> 00:37:20,720
that the applicant has not met these
standards that would justify reszoning

325
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:25,520
this property. We have no objection to
the annexation of this property. I don't

326
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:29,920
I don't believe that it's it's material
whether with I mean to me I'm sure it is

327
00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:34,000
probably to to to the council but
whether it's in the city or county. The

328
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:39,599
issue is the zoning and the land use.
Um, so when

329
00:37:37,359 --> 00:37:45,359
when reviewing or when determining
whether to e exercise zoning power,

330
00:37:44,079 --> 00:37:50,480
one of the questions that has to be
asked is whether the proposed zoning

331
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:55,200
will result in a use that will or could
cause an excessive or burdensome use of

332
00:37:53,040 --> 00:38:00,960
existing streets, transportation
facilities, utilities, or schools. And I

333
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:06,240
would argue absolutely yes that these
studies show that more traffic down

334
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:11,599
Howell Road and at the perimeter
intersection would have an adverse

335
00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:15,200
effect on the citizens of Loun County.
Additionally,

336
00:38:13,359 --> 00:38:20,480
another question that must be answered
whether the proposed reszoning is in

337
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:25,839
conformity with the policy and intent of
the comprehensive plan. I would argue it

338
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:30,560
absolutely is not. um this property and
all the property in this general area

339
00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:36,560
south of the railroad track and east of
perimeter is residential or agricultural

340
00:38:33,839 --> 00:38:43,119
in nature. This is an encroachment
beyond a existing boundary that that is

341
00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:49,520
unnecessary.
Um and additionally uh there another

342
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:54,440
question that has to be answered is
how would it affect let me let me find

343
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:54,440
it.

344
00:38:55,119 --> 00:39:01,680
whether a proposed reszoning will
adversely affect the existing use or

345
00:38:59,839 --> 00:39:07,359
usability of adjacent or nearby
property. I would argue absolutely. My

346
00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:13,119
client's property is currently zoned
agricultural use. Um it's a it's a large

347
00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:18,960
track of land. It's submitted to a cuba
covenant. It's farmed. Um, we believe

348
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:25,119
that having an industrial or
manufacturing facility next door under

349
00:39:21,359 --> 00:39:30,720
an M2 zoning uh designation would would
absolutely adversely affect her property

350
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:35,040
and uh and is is unnecessary,
inappropriate, and purely speculative at

351
00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:40,160
this point. Um, thank you for your time
to do y'all have any questions for me?

352
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:43,760
» Council, any questions for Mr. Brantley?
There is one minute rem no questions.

353
00:39:42,079 --> 00:39:47,760
I'm sorry. There is one minute remaining
in the 15. If anybody else wants to step

354
00:39:46,079 --> 00:39:51,880
forward
>> and speak quickly in opposition.

355
00:39:52,480 --> 00:40:00,880
My name's James By. My family owns the
property to the east. That's my aunt

356
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:07,520
Jenny and he just spoke for so I won't
take up much of your time. But my family

357
00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:13,280
has owned that property since 1870.
And so it's not undeveloped. There's

358
00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:19,520
families living there and there's plans
for that property. And so our concerns

359
00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:24,960
aren't for development or moving
forward. Our concerns are the use of the

360
00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:29,839
land. And so the heavy industrial is
what we've what we've got a problem

361
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:33,920
with. And so that's the concern. So if
it was any other zoning, we probably

362
00:40:31,359 --> 00:40:37,440
wouldn't even be up here opposing. But
for the use of the land, the people

363
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:42,400
living around and ma'am, you asked a
smart question. I could throw a rock to

364
00:40:39,359 --> 00:40:48,880
that school. So that man tells the
truth. The other schools may be a mile

365
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:53,760
away. The other one, you can see it. So
just be considerate of the neighbors is

366
00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:58,480
all I'm asking. And we are the
neighbors. So

367
00:40:55,839 --> 00:41:03,760
» James, thank you.
>> That closes out the that portion of the

368
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:09,440
public hearing items. council. Um, one
at a time. Item 2A, consideration of an

369
00:41:07,119 --> 00:41:15,240
ordinance to reszone a total of 19.82
acres is before you. It's yours for

370
00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:15,240
action.

371
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:23,400
» You got a question for Matt?
>> Absolutely. Matt, please. Matt, um the

372
00:41:23,839 --> 00:41:32,960
speculative nature of this property, um
we don't Why did the developer or not

373
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:36,400
the developer, the owner decide to go
with M1? Do they know what's coming?

374
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:40,000
» M2
>> or M2, excuse me.

375
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:43,440
» Yeah, they don't have any proposed use
in mind and they were at the planning

376
00:41:42,079 --> 00:41:49,040
commission and answered similar
questions. It's speculation to u market

377
00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:53,520
the property for industrial and
commercial development.

378
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:57,839
No specific use, no specific site plan
at this point other than the desire to

379
00:41:56,000 --> 00:42:03,280
have a railroad spur coming from the
Norfick Southern Rail, which they've

380
00:42:00,319 --> 00:42:07,680
already been in conversation with.
>> Gotcha.

381
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:11,359
Council, any other questions for Matt?
Andy,

382
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:14,480
» is the um
are they in attendance tonight? Are they

383
00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:18,319
here tonight?
>> I did not see them. My understanding was

384
00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:21,920
the applicants themselves were not able
to be here, but they were going to send

385
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:24,880
a representative.
>> And I don't know if there's a

386
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:28,480
representative here. It's not anyone I
recognize.

387
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:32,640
» Yeah.
>> And that might be a good question for

388
00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:39,440
the representative, but
>> would they consider

389
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:43,599
um not going with them too?
>> That would be a good question for them.

390
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:49,520
I don't know what their thought reaction
would be, but I do know within your

391
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:54,240
purview, you can approve a more
restrictive zoning than what's being

392
00:42:50,880 --> 00:43:00,200
requested, such as M1 or C or something
between what it's zoned now and what

393
00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:00,200
they're requesting.

394
00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:12,640
» I just I'm just curious as to if M2 is
what's hanging it up, like if M2 is the

395
00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:18,880
» is the thing that they got to have or
or it's not what I mean is like is that

396
00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:24,319
what they want is M2 along with U CH or
would they be okay with just CH?

397
00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:29,440
» I don't know if we want to invite
someone up or

398
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:33,920
» if you want to open the public
>> each side.

399
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:38,480
» I'll give five minutes each side.
>> All right, Matt. Thank you,

400
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:44,800
» Mr. Matt. Um,
>> with JL Lomax being that close, did we

401
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:47,680
did we did we talk to the school
superintendent,

402
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:51,760
» the school board?
>> If not, they're not in the realm to be

403
00:43:49,359 --> 00:43:56,560
notified. They're a good distance away.
We notify surrounding property owners,

404
00:43:54,960 --> 00:44:01,599
um, which is a handful of properties
around there, large, but you saw the

405
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:05,839
mapping and how far away schools are.
>> Yeah, I looked it up, Councilwoman.

406
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:09,680
Molton Branch is about one mile away.
Um, the other one I did not see. So,

407
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:14,480
it's probably
>> walk from JL Max to that corner. My

408
00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:16,079
question with the bus.
>> I just want to say I don't know how far

409
00:44:15,599 --> 00:44:20,319
that is.
>> It's not It's within walking distance. I

410
00:44:18,319 --> 00:44:24,240
can tell you because I have done and
looked at it.

411
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:26,000
» If we can go back to the maps, we can
show the maps again.

412
00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:29,760
» Yeah.
>> And I did not measure it. I if I had to

413
00:44:28,319 --> 00:44:33,119
guess, I would say it was a little bit
less than a mile to the other one.

414
00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:36,720
There's of the land between
>> I mean, it's a few thousand feet.

415
00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:41,520
It's definitely closer.
>> Yeah, definitely closer, but not next

416
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:44,319
door. I can't throw a rock that far. I
know that.

417
00:44:43,359 --> 00:44:46,720
» All right, Matt.
>> Yes,

418
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:53,119
» I do have another question though. But
whatever business uh um that goes in

419
00:44:50,319 --> 00:44:58,480
that spot that is would be a part of
planning though that you guys would have

420
00:44:55,119 --> 00:45:03,359
to um put some regulations or different
things to make sure that they don't

421
00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:07,599
interfere or don't um
>> Correct. Yeah. Yeah. development from

422
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:12,079
scratch like this would be would be
subject to all of our new development

423
00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:16,560
standards. Um nothing grandfathered in.
Um M2 zoning next to non-industrial

424
00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:21,440
carries with it a pretty extensive
buffer yard requirement because of the

425
00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:26,400
differences in uses. So with the CH
because CH against agriculture is a

426
00:45:23,839 --> 00:45:31,440
pretty big disparity. So that again
buffer yards um depending on the nature

427
00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:36,240
of the use that goes there in terms of
traffic generation it may or may not

428
00:45:33,440 --> 00:45:40,800
trigger a traffic study but we don't
know what the use is now. Um there's a

429
00:45:39,359 --> 00:45:44,960
lot of discussion about this at the
planning commission meeting about

430
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:50,480
traffic study and speculation.
20 acres of industrial zoning by itself

431
00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:55,680
is not a whole lot that the acreage
alone would generate a need for that,

432
00:45:53,520 --> 00:46:00,400
but you could get an intensive use
there. Um, you could have a warehouse.

433
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:05,440
Um, we have one in town that's over a
million square feet, but has three

434
00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:08,560
people or you could have a FedEx ground
terminal,

435
00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:13,119
» you know, same kind of acreage. Big
difference in intensity. um the things

436
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:16,960
that generate a lot of traffic and
things that the city would be concerned

437
00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:21,280
about, we would address those during the
development review process. What's a

438
00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:27,200
little bit different with this property
is Howell Road itself is a county road.

439
00:46:25,119 --> 00:46:32,079
It is not part of the annexation, which
means it would continue to be a county

440
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:35,599
road and any access to and from that
road would be the pleasure of Loun

441
00:46:34,079 --> 00:46:40,800
County. They would be part of that
review process. any impacts to the

442
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:46,400
intersection inner perimeter would then
be under review and scrutiny of Georgia

443
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:51,359
DOT. So there's some different layers of
oversight involved here with what goes

444
00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:53,359
on with this property based on current
geography.

445
00:46:52,560 --> 00:46:58,480
» Okay.
>> Also sir, we have a a large church, the

446
00:46:56,319 --> 00:47:02,319
one you showed, New Life
>> across the street. Yes.

447
00:47:00,079 --> 00:47:08,560
» That's a large congregation and with
that industrial effect

448
00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:10,319
the church members that go to attend
that church.

449
00:47:09,119 --> 00:47:14,560
» All right, that would be a question for
them. They were notified of the

450
00:47:12,079 --> 00:47:19,760
hearings. I fully expected at least an
inquiry from them. Um, my office did not

451
00:47:17,760 --> 00:47:24,319
receive any inquiry. They did not come
to planning commission meeting. Um, but

452
00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:28,960
they are the only developed property
that's non-industrial

453
00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:32,800
that's to the south.
>> They're zoned agriculture.

454
00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:36,560
» One last quick question. How would they
have their access would be off how road?

455
00:47:35,119 --> 00:47:40,240
They couldn't get any access any other
way other than off how road.

456
00:47:38,240 --> 00:47:43,359
» Correct. This property only has frontage
on how road. That's what I thought.

457
00:47:41,680 --> 00:47:47,680
» They're sort of near in a perimeter as
we pointed out, but impossible to get

458
00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:52,960
access there.
>> Um, one state route and two pretty steep

459
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:57,920
slope. And that is a separate parcel
that is in between. It is not buildable

460
00:47:55,200 --> 00:48:04,319
on its own. It is a remnant parcel like
we talked about from two weeks ago. Um I

461
00:48:00,720 --> 00:48:10,079
know the applicant has um tried to get
custody of this that property as well.

462
00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:13,040
Um but the owner of that who owns the
property also on the other side of inner

463
00:48:12,079 --> 00:48:17,200
perimeter [clears throat]
was not interested in selling

464
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:21,280
» and that's why I was looking at the
traffic because traffic coming south off

465
00:48:19,359 --> 00:48:26,079
of perimeter inner perimeter would have
to make a right and then make a left to

466
00:48:23,920 --> 00:48:29,599
go to that if they had any business
right it

467
00:48:28,079 --> 00:48:32,960
» they right they would have to make a
turn eastward onto how road and then

468
00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:38,720
come into this property
>> and make I think because of the nature

469
00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:42,240
of the roads and The intersection, the
access in and out of this property is

470
00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:47,200
not going to be close to the how road
intersection per

471
00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:49,920
» Georgia DOT I know is not going to allow
that.

472
00:48:47,599 --> 00:48:52,720
» It will be kind of tight with a lot of
traffic

473
00:48:50,640 --> 00:48:56,079
» and that's all development review
consideration.

474
00:48:54,079 --> 00:49:02,800
» The county controls ultimately their
road and Georgia DOT controls if it's

475
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:05,920
too close to their intersection.
>> Thank you, Matt.

476
00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:10,000
and particularly if there's truck
traffic involved.

477
00:49:07,040 --> 00:49:15,359
» All right, any other questions for Matt?
Um, council still has questions and

478
00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:20,079
knowing that the applicants here, um,
council, without objection, I'm going to

479
00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:26,240
reopen the public comment portion and
give five minutes for each side for and

480
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:31,680
against. Um, it'll offer a semi-rebuttal
if they if they hear something in that

481
00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:35,839
other five. So, with that being said, um
if there's somebody wants to speak in

482
00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:40,079
favor or answer questions on this
property, the applicant now that we're

483
00:49:37,599 --> 00:49:43,640
aware that he's here, um if you don't
mind coming forward,

484
00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:48,720
» I believe Councilman Gibbs will lead and
then maybe some others have a question

485
00:49:48,079 --> 00:49:50,240
or two.
>> How's it going?

486
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,559
» Hey, how are you?
>> How are you? Oh, please identify

487
00:49:51,760 --> 00:49:53,920
yourself,
>> sir.

488
00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:58,800
» Identify yourself.
>> Sheldon Hill.

489
00:49:56,079 --> 00:50:04,240
» Thank you for coming. Um I just have a
question is um far as I think the

490
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:09,440
concern is not the the annexation part
of it. Um it's the M2 portion of it.

491
00:50:07,359 --> 00:50:17,200
Would you be I mean is there is this a
deal breaker? Would you be willing to I

492
00:50:11,760 --> 00:50:23,359
mean discuss or move the zoning down?
>> Um we would definitely consider it. Um I

493
00:50:21,119 --> 00:50:27,680
have other partners involved in the
ownership of that that I would need to

494
00:50:25,359 --> 00:50:31,680
further give a discussion
before I could answer that question. As

495
00:50:29,359 --> 00:50:38,160
far as yes, we chose one of the reasons
why we chose this too is just um as Matt

496
00:50:34,079 --> 00:50:44,880
pointed out um in that region that's it
was M2. That's what we were kind of um

497
00:50:42,480 --> 00:50:48,240
guided to do as far as what we felt like
was the path of least resistance to get

498
00:50:46,720 --> 00:50:51,520
the best use out of the property. Are
you talking about because of Hunt and

499
00:50:49,680 --> 00:50:53,599
everybody else being M2? Yeah. Hunt
Industries.

500
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:58,319
» Correct.
>> But yes, we would definitely consider

501
00:50:54,960 --> 00:51:00,720
that if that's going to be a hangup, by
all means. I mean, we're not here to

502
00:50:59,599 --> 00:51:03,200
upset anybody,
>> right,

503
00:51:01,119 --> 00:51:06,480
» at all. So, yeah, we would definitely
consider it.

504
00:51:04,319 --> 00:51:08,720
» Okay.
>> Thank you, Council. Any questions for

505
00:51:08,240 --> 00:51:11,359
the applicant?
>> Just just to comment on that, mayor.

506
00:51:10,675 --> 00:51:15,359
[clears throat]
You know, if we were to say go from M2

507
00:51:13,599 --> 00:51:20,960
to M1,
that doesn't stop them at some point in

508
00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:27,520
the future if they get a prospective
client that needs him to. They could

509
00:51:23,359 --> 00:51:34,400
come back and ask for the M2 then, but
um you know, M1 would still give them a

510
00:51:31,040 --> 00:51:40,960
lot of range as far as industrial uses.
>> Okay. Yeah.

511
00:51:37,440 --> 00:51:45,520
Council, any other questions? All right.
appreciate your time. Thank you.

512
00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:48,400
» Absolutely. Thank you all.
>> Don't imagine there's anybody else that

513
00:51:46,960 --> 00:51:53,200
wants to come forward and speak in favor
of this request, Kelly.

514
00:51:51,599 --> 00:51:56,720
So, we'll close out that portion. We'll
open up five minutes for anybody else in

515
00:51:55,200 --> 00:52:00,559
opposition,
especially on what they heard.

516
00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:05,280
Kelly Sax.
>> Hi, my name is Kelly Saxon. I do have

517
00:52:02,640 --> 00:52:10,160
concerns with this being that it is
residential, the um crashes in the area

518
00:52:08,400 --> 00:52:14,400
and I'm going to say the word, you know,
data centers, we have to be mindful of

519
00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:19,119
the zoning that comes before us is not
defined yet and we don't have anything

520
00:52:16,960 --> 00:52:23,200
in place for that and the changing and
the the highest level and all of that.

521
00:52:21,599 --> 00:52:27,599
We just need to be mindful of what
people are asking for before it's

522
00:52:25,520 --> 00:52:31,599
granted. So, we don't want to have to
come over here and fight over here, too.

523
00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:37,280
We love y'all, though. Thank you. Thank
you.

524
00:52:33,599 --> 00:52:41,440
Anybody else in opposition?
>> Want to ask about schools is a good

525
00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:44,800
question. Uh Lomax is right there.
School buses use that all the time

526
00:52:43,359 --> 00:52:49,119
there. They've already had bus wrecks
there too. I want you to consider that

527
00:52:47,119 --> 00:52:52,640
very much so because it's children
you're talking about. The curve down

528
00:52:51,200 --> 00:52:58,160
from it where you going to have to build
if they build anything there. There's a

529
00:52:54,640 --> 00:53:03,359
curb on highway from Boring Pond Road at
what you can't see around that you're

530
00:53:00,640 --> 00:53:07,599
talking about going into when you get to
the intersection. You're talking about

531
00:53:05,119 --> 00:53:11,920
the bridge that's right there coming
down it. You're coming from the opposite

532
00:53:09,040 --> 00:53:15,839
way from the school.
That long is how you how long you got to

533
00:53:13,680 --> 00:53:19,599
cross that road before somebody comes
down that bridge. I think it's

534
00:53:17,520 --> 00:53:23,920
ridiculous to put a manufacturing plant
there. That's just me. My name is

535
00:53:21,359 --> 00:53:25,920
Charles and I'm and I live on How Road.
I appreciate your time. I appreciate

536
00:53:25,200 --> 00:53:31,119
you. Let me speak.
>> Charles, thank you. Still time. Anybody

537
00:53:28,800 --> 00:53:35,520
else in opposition to this request?
>> Um, I'm a member of New Life Ministries.

538
00:53:33,119 --> 00:53:40,640
Uh, my name is George Ward. I attend
there. I cannot respond to the ra about

539
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:45,440
the contact information, but hearing
what I've heard on today uh raises a

540
00:53:43,520 --> 00:53:51,520
issue for me. and this concern for the
environmental uh impact it would have in

541
00:53:48,079 --> 00:53:56,960
that area and on on our ministry. Also
the traffic concerns for that for that

542
00:53:54,319 --> 00:54:02,800
area as well and not knowing exactly
what industry is coming and how that

543
00:54:00,240 --> 00:54:06,800
would impact that area as well.
>> George, thank you.

544
00:54:05,359 --> 00:54:11,640
» Is there any anybody else that would
like to come forward and speak in

545
00:54:07,839 --> 00:54:11,640
opposition to this request?

546
00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:18,880
Thank you for your time, Mayor. Council
members, I'm Richard Terry. Uh I live in

547
00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:23,760
Howell, Georgia. I traverse that road
almost daily. I hit that inter

548
00:54:21,119 --> 00:54:30,240
intersection constantly. Uh my wife was
t-boned at that intersection in 2016.

549
00:54:26,800 --> 00:54:36,559
So, I've got skin in the game. Uh this
is a bad idea. Uh it's not a bad idea.

550
00:54:33,839 --> 00:54:41,920
Annexation, no problem. But if an
industry were to relocate there until

551
00:54:38,960 --> 00:54:50,880
this traffic situation is remedied ahead
of time, this is this is a bad idea. And

552
00:54:46,240 --> 00:54:56,000
uh this overpass here, the overpass on
Hill Avenue, the roundabout, these are

553
00:54:54,000 --> 00:55:00,880
all band-aids, man. I don't know what's
wrong, but this nation does not have a

554
00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:05,680
forward vision. It cannot see past the
four-year election cycle. We put

555
00:55:03,040 --> 00:55:10,480
band-aids on stuff and uh that's all
I've got to say. It's a bad idea to

556
00:55:08,319 --> 00:55:14,480
reszone that to manufacturing. There's
already been deaths and you're just

557
00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:19,400
going to intensify that if it happens.
Thank you very much for your time,

558
00:55:15,839 --> 00:55:19,400
» Richard. Thank you.

559
00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:27,200
Going to be quick.
>> But since this involves the possibility

560
00:55:25,680 --> 00:55:29,680
of a data center, one of the things I
want to start doing is coming up and

561
00:55:28,319 --> 00:55:33,440
giving people some of the knowledge that
I have on stuff. But I'm gonna do

562
00:55:30,880 --> 00:55:36,640
lightning round for you just on general
knowledge with data centers. Right. In

563
00:55:35,280 --> 00:55:39,920
the past 18 months, the demand for
hypers scale data centers has grown in

564
00:55:38,240 --> 00:55:44,880
Georgia. This has led to a doubling of
the the capacity of energy that we need

565
00:55:41,839 --> 00:55:49,040
in this c in this um state. Um adding 14
gawatts to what Georgia power is asking

566
00:55:46,720 --> 00:55:52,480
for. Um anybody who's telling you
anything about what data centers might

567
00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:56,720
bring to this, they do not know anything
that they're talking about. It is all

568
00:55:54,079 --> 00:55:59,599
speculative. Right? This is a bubble. we
will come out of this and we'll be left

569
00:55:57,839 --> 00:56:04,000
with empty warehouses that will be
blight in our community. Um these data

570
00:56:02,559 --> 00:56:07,920
centers when we're talking about being
so close to these schools. Um there's

571
00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:12,559
particulate matter. There's noise
pollution that comes out of this. Um you

572
00:56:10,720 --> 00:56:16,720
can end up by the time they end up
coming in y'all, they're bringing in the

573
00:56:15,040 --> 00:56:20,160
big guns when it comes to their lawyers,
when it comes to their land development.

574
00:56:18,640 --> 00:56:24,079
You've seen data centers across the
country that have completely transformed

575
00:56:22,640 --> 00:56:28,400
the areas that they've been in because
they need more requirements. Point blank

576
00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:31,760
period, y'all. This is bad for
everything that we have environmental

577
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:34,559
here. It's going to mess up if there is
the possibility of a data center coming

578
00:56:33,040 --> 00:56:37,839
to that area. It's going to mess up the
water. It's going to mess up the air.

579
00:56:35,760 --> 00:56:41,440
It's going to be noise pollution. Um,
these people do not care about us. The

580
00:56:40,240 --> 00:56:46,400
thing that a lot of folks aren't saying
is it comes to these data centers. These

581
00:56:43,440 --> 00:56:51,920
are tourists who are looking to exploit
Georgia for its resources. They're

582
00:56:48,880 --> 00:56:55,760
looking at us as dumb country folk who
are trying to get out of whatever

583
00:56:54,240 --> 00:56:59,920
situations we think we have and we're
looking at this as like the solution on

584
00:56:57,119 --> 00:57:03,760
the hill. It is not. Do not make a deal
with the devil and then a couple of

585
00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:09,040
months or years later we're looking
wondering why we in hell. Y'all

586
00:57:06,799 --> 00:57:13,200
be very careful about if we don't know
why it's being resoned because data

587
00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:19,079
centers are on people's mind. They think
they can use it to make quick money to

588
00:57:15,359 --> 00:57:19,079
exploit Georgia.

589
00:57:19,200 --> 00:57:27,400
Thank you. Anybody else in the No, I'll
close it out. 17 seconds. There will not

590
00:57:24,319 --> 00:57:27,400
be time.

591
00:57:38,960 --> 00:57:46,160
Thank Thank you, Susan.
All right, that wraps up the public

592
00:57:43,839 --> 00:57:50,000
hearing portion for a second time.
Council, I'll turn it over to you for

593
00:57:48,480 --> 00:57:54,960
action.
Sorry, I'll turn over the consideration

594
00:57:51,599 --> 00:57:58,359
of an ordinance to reszone first 2A for
you for action.

595
00:57:59,599 --> 00:58:08,400
Mayor, the um a lot of good comments, a
lot of good input, a lot of concerns.

596
00:58:06,000 --> 00:58:14,319
Though I I do say I think this track's
not big enough to be considered for a

597
00:58:10,079 --> 00:58:20,079
data center. But um so many issues that
have been brought up are not addressed

598
00:58:17,280 --> 00:58:27,520
within the zoning itself. They're
addressed at time of permitting. and

599
00:58:22,799 --> 00:58:33,119
permitting will address traffic access,
how that access is done. Um, and

600
00:58:30,960 --> 00:58:40,480
ultimately whatever is allowed would
have to pass through all those courses

601
00:58:35,680 --> 00:58:44,595
of the permitting process. The um there
is a reasonable request before us for M2

602
00:58:43,119 --> 00:58:49,280
because just north of it is
[clears throat] M2. However, we've heard

603
00:58:46,880 --> 00:58:54,559
some good arguments about maybe not
going quite as intense as some of the

604
00:58:51,920 --> 00:59:00,000
neighboring properties, but there's
there is going to be a huge divide

605
00:58:56,480 --> 00:59:05,599
between rural agriculture and any
highway commercial, N1, whatever. That's

606
00:59:02,720 --> 00:59:12,720
a there's a big difference there and you
can't really stop that. Um, to consider

607
00:59:09,920 --> 00:59:17,040
reszoning this to CH,
we talk about traffic

608
00:59:15,040 --> 00:59:20,640
large fuel center going in there,
they're going to generate way more

609
00:59:18,480 --> 00:59:27,520
traffic than probably a number of things
would. Um, so to try to find some

610
00:59:24,240 --> 00:59:34,720
balance and and and give some leverage
to the neighboring properties, I would

611
00:59:30,319 --> 00:59:39,119
make a motion to reszone this to M1
um and follow based on staff's

612
00:59:37,040 --> 00:59:42,880
recommendations.
>> Have a motion before us.

613
00:59:41,920 --> 00:59:47,680
» I have a second.
>> I'll second.

614
00:59:45,520 --> 00:59:52,000
All right, I have a motion and a second.
Any comments? I'll direct that to staff.

615
00:59:50,400 --> 00:59:58,160
» Quick point of clarification. The
request for resoning is a split of M2

616
00:59:54,720 --> 01:00:02,640
and CH. And I know we can go more
restrictor with the M2 part, but I do

617
01:00:00,240 --> 01:00:08,480
not believe we could go from CH up to
M1. So, is the motion to reszone a split

618
01:00:06,160 --> 01:00:10,960
of M1 and CH with the boundary as
submitted?

619
01:00:09,040 --> 01:00:13,520
» Sorry, Matt, you're right me. Just for
clarification.

620
01:00:11,920 --> 01:00:16,839
» Yeah.
Open again.

621
01:00:17,359 --> 01:00:26,079
» Mayor, I would like to make a motion.
>> Oh, he got to do it.

622
01:00:22,559 --> 01:00:29,920
» Oh, that's true.
>> He did second it

623
01:00:27,839 --> 01:00:32,640
» for just M1 or for CH.
>> M1.

624
01:00:31,440 --> 01:00:37,920
» Yeah, M1 C.
>> All right. I have a motion and a second

625
01:00:34,319 --> 01:00:44,799
for M1 split CH.
All in favor, show of hands.

626
01:00:42,160 --> 01:00:48,720
All in opposition, same sign. Motion
carries. 42.

627
01:00:47,520 --> 01:00:53,760
» Mr. Mayor.
>> Hold on. Now we'll move on to item B.

628
01:00:51,680 --> 01:00:58,480
Consideration of an ordinance to annex
the same 21.97 acres.

629
01:00:56,640 --> 01:01:02,400
» Council, it's yours for action.
>> Mayor, make a motion to approve the

630
01:01:00,319 --> 01:01:05,119
request as presented.
>> Second.

631
01:01:03,680 --> 01:01:09,760
» Have a motion and a second. Any
comments, council? All in favor? Show of

632
01:01:07,839 --> 01:01:14,319
hands?
Opposition? Same sign.

633
01:01:12,319 --> 01:01:20,640
Motion carries.
Now move on to item C, 2026 mill rate

634
01:01:18,079 --> 01:01:24,480
public hearing, Darquita Williams. This
is second reading. We had the first at

635
01:01:22,319 --> 01:01:30,160
11 o'clock this morning. The actual vote
will be the following Thursday at 6 PM

636
01:01:27,599 --> 01:01:33,839
for any citizens that want to attend.
Dark is our finance director. Darquita,

637
01:01:32,400 --> 01:01:36,799
good evening.
>> Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor and

638
01:01:35,760 --> 01:01:39,799
Council.
>> Afternoon.

639
01:01:54,160 --> 01:02:00,720
Hey, this evening I'll be presenting to
you the 2026

640
01:01:57,920 --> 01:02:04,119
digest and also the 2026 proposed
millage rate.

641
01:02:05,920 --> 01:02:10,799
Right, just some background information.
Each year the governing authority must

642
01:02:09,119 --> 01:02:14,640
establish a millage rate for the tax
year through the required public

643
01:02:12,240 --> 01:02:18,960
process. We must also publish the
required digest history and conduct the

644
01:02:16,720 --> 01:02:21,960
required public meetings before final
adoption.

645
01:02:27,359 --> 01:02:35,839
The city's 2026 tax digest increased
across most property categories

646
01:02:32,240 --> 01:02:40,200
resulting in an overall 5.83 83 increase
in the net taxable digest.

647
01:02:43,680 --> 01:02:49,520
Some highlights that I would like to
point out. Our real property increased

648
01:02:47,280 --> 01:02:56,400
by 4.74%.
Personal property increased by 9%, motor

649
01:02:52,480 --> 01:03:04,440
vehicles decreased by 10.14%.
Mobile homes increased by 6.89%

650
01:02:59,599 --> 01:03:04,440
and our exemptions increased by 2.99%.

651
01:03:06,319 --> 01:03:15,119
What you have here is um form 32.1
and what this shows is a detailed

652
01:03:12,000 --> 01:03:20,640
comparison of our categories and the net
change between 2025 and 2026. This also

653
01:03:18,799 --> 01:03:24,880
shows the calculation of our roll back
millage rate and this is also available

654
01:03:22,640 --> 01:03:28,520
for viewing on our website if you'd like
to see those details.

655
01:03:33,680 --> 01:03:38,920
some opportunities for this millage rate
increase,

656
01:03:44,880 --> 01:03:50,559
information technology and service
modernization.

657
01:03:48,640 --> 01:03:54,720
These investments will support upgrades
to our aging systems, improve

658
01:03:52,799 --> 01:03:58,799
communication and information sharing
across departments, and also create

659
01:03:56,880 --> 01:04:03,160
opportunities to streamline processes
through technology with the city.

660
01:04:09,039 --> 01:04:15,520
Another initiative is our strategic
workforce investment. Um, investing in

661
01:04:13,599 --> 01:04:20,160
our workforce will strengthen the city's
ability to attract and retain a

662
01:04:17,760 --> 01:04:24,240
talented, high-erforming staff by
ensuring that all employees are offered

663
01:04:21,920 --> 01:04:27,240
a fair and competitive pay and also
benefits.

664
01:04:29,280 --> 01:04:37,039
And lastly, um, one of the main points
is strengthening our financial reserves.

665
01:04:34,880 --> 01:04:42,240
U maintaining a healthy reserve provides
a financial cushion during economic

666
01:04:38,880 --> 01:04:46,400
downturns, emergencies, or unexpected
expenses. And this also helps us

667
01:04:44,720 --> 01:04:51,240
maintain the city's essential services
and protect the community's financial

668
01:04:48,240 --> 01:04:51,240
stability.

669
01:04:53,359 --> 01:05:01,839
Overall, our we showing continued growth
in our taxable property. We had 141.9

670
01:04:59,760 --> 01:05:07,200
million increase in our net taxable
digest. The roll back rate that's

671
01:05:04,720 --> 01:05:15,400
calculated is 6.133
mills and our proposed millage rate is

672
01:05:09,359 --> 01:05:15,400
7, excuse me, 7.997 mills.

673
01:05:16,799 --> 01:05:24,760
» Thank you. And I'll open up the floor
for questions if you all have any.

674
01:05:20,799 --> 01:05:24,760
» Council, any questions for Darwa?

675
01:05:26,720 --> 01:05:33,440
» I have no question, but I do have a
comment.

676
01:05:30,160 --> 01:05:38,319
» Yes, ma'am. I want to say we've had a
lot of conversation, a lot of work has

677
01:05:35,280 --> 01:05:43,039
gone into this. I appreciate it and I
just want everybody to know what we have

678
01:05:41,440 --> 01:05:46,559
to do here with these things with the
taxes and all and everything. Look at

679
01:05:44,400 --> 01:05:51,760
the whole picture. our financial
department uh other staff have put a lot

680
01:05:50,079 --> 01:05:57,200
of time in it and looked at a lot of
scenarios on how to best

681
01:05:55,119 --> 01:06:02,400
work with our city and get our city
going and keeping it growing and

682
01:05:59,119 --> 01:06:07,039
maintaining and manageable. So I just
want you to know thank you for the way

683
01:06:04,480 --> 01:06:13,200
you have explained it. Uh all of the
different scenarios you've showed me

684
01:06:10,400 --> 01:06:17,200
made me understand what it's about and
all and everything. Um, and I really

685
01:06:15,280 --> 01:06:20,559
wish we could get some of the
information to like what they gave to me

686
01:06:19,119 --> 01:06:25,280
to a lot of the citizens because they
are asking the question, but I can

687
01:06:22,240 --> 01:06:30,240
assure you our staff have put a lot of
time in looking out what's best and how

688
01:06:27,680 --> 01:06:34,960
it is going to affect the citizens and
they have been looking out for your

689
01:06:31,440 --> 01:06:39,039
interest. So, thank you and I'm glad for
this hearing and I'm having all these

690
01:06:37,039 --> 01:06:42,160
questions that they asked. I just want
them to come. right now will be a good

691
01:06:41,119 --> 01:06:45,039
time when it comes to some of the
hearings and you can explain it to them

692
01:06:43,680 --> 01:06:50,640
better because you've done a wonderful
job. But you've done a well a good job

693
01:06:47,839 --> 01:06:54,559
and I say that because all the questions
that has been coming but you have given

694
01:06:52,240 --> 01:06:57,280
us some good information all of you even
our city manager have been giving us

695
01:06:55,920 --> 01:07:00,160
some good information to give back to
them and some of them seem to be okay

696
01:06:59,520 --> 01:07:03,520
with it.
>> Thank you and I'm more than happy to

697
01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:07,359
answer any questions um from the
audience after the meeting after

698
01:07:04,880 --> 01:07:09,119
comments or you know if they have any
questions they can contact me if they're

699
01:07:08,640 --> 01:07:10,559
not here.
>> That's right. Thank you for telling

700
01:07:10,319 --> 01:07:15,440
them,
>> Miss Julie. Well said. I'll add that we

701
01:07:13,200 --> 01:07:21,520
took a beating last year. The growth in
the digest was only 6 last year

702
01:07:18,880 --> 01:07:25,440
» is 5.83 and very healthy this year. And
we're we're going to mop up a little bit

703
01:07:23,520 --> 01:07:26,720
of the beaten we took last year.
>> Yes.

704
01:07:25,839 --> 01:07:30,240
» True.
>> All right. This is not a uh

705
01:07:28,079 --> 01:07:34,000
» I also want to say please
>> thank you for taking the time so I can

706
01:07:31,920 --> 01:07:38,720
explain it to my citizens today. You
took the time to sit with me. you and

707
01:07:36,400 --> 01:07:44,160
you even laminated for me to be able to
be able to talk to my citizens when they

708
01:07:41,119 --> 01:07:48,720
ask me questions on how to about our tax
military. And again, I cannot say you

709
01:07:47,119 --> 01:07:52,079
all you told me that there was no such
question as a dumb question and you took

710
01:07:50,880 --> 01:07:56,880
the time
>> and this is the first time that someone

711
01:07:54,880 --> 01:08:01,440
has really really really took the time
and just went step by step by step. But

712
01:07:59,039 --> 01:08:05,359
the council well I think myself to be
able to present this in the public to

713
01:08:03,119 --> 01:08:08,400
our citizens. Thank you so much. As Miss
Julie said, kudos to you. Thank you so

714
01:08:08,079 --> 01:08:13,359
much.
>> Thank you. Most welcome. Thank you.

715
01:08:10,799 --> 01:08:17,199
» You want to hang around,
soak up some more compliments?

716
01:08:15,680 --> 01:08:19,199
» Darwita, thank you very much.
>> Thank you.

717
01:08:17,600 --> 01:08:22,880
» There is no action to be taken on this.
It's our second reading. Again, the

718
01:08:21,520 --> 01:08:29,080
third reading and the actual vote will
be Thursday night at six o'clock in a

719
01:08:24,560 --> 01:08:29,080
special called meeting as well.

720
01:08:30,640 --> 01:08:36,799
» Yeah, we sure did. We had one at 11
o'clock today. This was the second. All

721
01:08:35,040 --> 01:08:41,040
right. Move on to item three, ordinances
and resolutions. Item A, consideration

722
01:08:38,560 --> 01:08:45,279
of a resolution to submit an application
for Georgia Transportation's

723
01:08:42,719 --> 01:08:49,719
Infrastructure Bank, Ben Odow, our city
engineer to present.

724
01:08:51,600 --> 01:08:56,427
» We should open up. Hey, Ben, sit down.
[laughter]

725
01:08:56,799 --> 01:09:04,239
» It did fall within the public hearing.
Um, it's not a for and against. It's any

726
01:09:00,880 --> 01:09:11,159
any citizens that wish to comment on our
second reading for our mill setting our

727
01:09:06,719 --> 01:09:11,159
millage rate may come forward.

728
01:09:12,400 --> 01:09:20,560
I'm sorry I almost excluded you.
>> I can't blame the I can't blame the old

729
01:09:18,159 --> 01:09:24,400
stoner. [laughter]
I came here from Coco about the same

730
01:09:22,319 --> 01:09:29,759
time you came from Cocoa Beach. though I
know uh Frank [clears throat] Kilgard at

731
01:09:27,520 --> 01:09:34,480
the same time our county tax
commissioner has blanketed raised

732
01:09:32,000 --> 01:09:39,440
everybody's property value approximately
20%.

733
01:09:36,480 --> 01:09:44,880
You are proposing 30% increase in
millillage on top of that

734
01:09:42,319 --> 01:09:49,120
are you out of your minds?
That's it.

735
01:09:47,199 --> 01:09:53,440
Is there anybody else that wishes to
come forward at this time?

736
01:09:51,920 --> 01:09:58,480
All right. I'll I'll close out the
public comment period and again move on.

737
01:09:57,199 --> 01:10:03,679
Ben, if you'd like to come forward.
We're on item 3A, consideration of a

738
01:10:01,520 --> 01:10:09,760
resolution to submit an application for
Georgia's transportation infrastructure

739
01:10:06,960 --> 01:10:12,000
bank.
Good evening, mayor and council.

740
01:10:11,520 --> 01:10:16,080
» Good evening.
>> Thank you.

741
01:10:13,520 --> 01:10:20,640
First item is, as stated, a resolution
in support of uh staff grant

742
01:10:18,000 --> 01:10:26,480
application. Uh the Georgia Georgia
Transportation Infrastructure Bank is a

743
01:10:23,840 --> 01:10:31,280
funding instrument that's available to
uh road owners around Georgia. Um

744
01:10:29,440 --> 01:10:35,520
there's a specific arm of that
particular funding instrument that

745
01:10:32,719 --> 01:10:38,960
allows us to apply for grants uh in
support of local uh transportation

746
01:10:37,600 --> 01:10:45,440
improvement projects and maintenance
projects. Uh the specific project that

747
01:10:41,679 --> 01:10:54,560
we're working on right now um is the
capital maintenance for Bri Road um from

748
01:10:49,199 --> 01:10:58,159
BSU to uh Gordon and we're proposing to
uh apply for additional grant funds

749
01:10:56,640 --> 01:11:01,120
through the GTIB program that would
facilitate the extension of that

750
01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:07,360
maintenance operation all the way
through to uh cornto. And so this is

751
01:11:05,760 --> 01:11:10,800
basically a grant application for
supplementary funds to supplement our

752
01:11:09,199 --> 01:11:15,199
local budget and help us stretch our
dollar dollars further. Any questions on

753
01:11:13,840 --> 01:11:19,600
this one?
>> Council, any questions for Ben?

754
01:11:17,760 --> 01:11:24,640
» Right, Ben? Hang tight. Council, this
one's yours for action.

755
01:11:22,000 --> 01:11:29,040
» Mayor, I'll make a motion we approve um
the application as presented.

756
01:11:27,600 --> 01:11:34,800
» Have a motion and a second. All in
favor? Show of hands. Council, thank

757
01:11:31,360 --> 01:11:38,320
you. Ben, item B, consideration of a
resolution supporting zero traffic

758
01:11:36,640 --> 01:11:41,360
related deaths. I don't know who's who's
going to oppose this one.

759
01:11:39,840 --> 01:11:45,920
» Yes, sir. This is a resolution
supporting zero traffic related deaths.

760
01:11:44,159 --> 01:11:49,840
As you're aware, we had the the
wonderful young ladies present at the

761
01:11:47,920 --> 01:11:54,719
last work session to kind of give you
all a roadmap for what our SS4A safety

762
01:11:52,560 --> 01:11:59,600
action plan development is going to look
like. And one of the uh pivotal moments

763
01:11:57,040 --> 01:12:04,800
here is an opportunity for y'all to
express support for this initiative. uh

764
01:12:01,679 --> 01:12:10,640
the target zero initiative. Um our local
regional commission has adopted uh a

765
01:12:08,719 --> 01:12:16,400
target zero policy as well as the
Georgia Department of Transportation has

766
01:12:13,040 --> 01:12:22,320
also uh adopted a target zero policy.
And so as far as as part of the SS4A

767
01:12:19,600 --> 01:12:26,000
grant program in order this is a a thing
that we have to go through, but we need

768
01:12:23,840 --> 01:12:29,920
a resolution from the local government,
the city council in support of the

769
01:12:27,840 --> 01:12:34,560
target zero policy. Council, any
questions for Ben? All

770
01:12:32,080 --> 01:12:37,760
right, Ben. Thank you, council. That
one's yours for action.

771
01:12:36,239 --> 01:12:39,840
» Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to
approve the request as presented.

772
01:12:39,520 --> 01:12:42,159
Second.
>> Second.

773
01:12:40,320 --> 01:12:47,679
» Motion a second. All in favor? Show of
hands. Council, thank you. Ben, thank

774
01:12:45,040 --> 01:12:52,320
you. Move on to item four, bids,
contracts, agreements, and expenditures.

775
01:12:49,600 --> 01:12:57,360
A is consideration of payment for
emergency sewer repairs at Jerry Jones

776
01:12:54,800 --> 01:13:02,560
Drive. Ben Odow still to present.
>> Yes, sir. So, as part of the Jerry Jones

777
01:13:00,080 --> 01:13:06,800
uh widening project, we have some ins
inscope utility relocations and repairs

778
01:13:04,800 --> 01:13:12,880
that are taking place. As I'm sure
you're fully aware, um we had some uh

779
01:13:11,199 --> 01:13:18,080
damaged utilities that we encountered
that were u in some cases completely

780
01:13:15,600 --> 01:13:22,480
collapsed and in some other cases uh
posed an imminent threat of collapse um

781
01:13:20,480 --> 01:13:29,120
adjacent to the project, but technically
outside of the contract area for Scrugs

782
01:13:25,600 --> 01:13:33,600
as part of that project. Um, RPI is the
utility subcontractor for that project

783
01:13:31,600 --> 01:13:37,760
and they were working with Scrugs. And
so we reached out to RPI and said, "Hey,

784
01:13:36,000 --> 01:13:43,600
we've got some issues here where we've
got backups, we've got collapses. Um,

785
01:13:41,040 --> 01:13:48,400
can y'all extend basically the service
work out into um, if you're familiar

786
01:13:46,239 --> 01:13:51,760
with where Relish is, the parking lot
there, the work that they did that

787
01:13:49,679 --> 01:13:57,120
basically connected Relish, cut the
corner from Relish to Bay Tree. And then

788
01:13:54,080 --> 01:14:00,239
there was some deep exploratory and uh,
encapsulating work that they had to do

789
01:13:58,640 --> 01:14:06,400
on a portion of the sewer system that
was previously abandoned uh, but not uh,

790
01:14:03,600 --> 01:14:11,440
sufficiently for the project and it was
uh, not reflected on our mapping. And so

791
01:14:08,640 --> 01:14:17,360
we found that we had to fix that um as
part of the Jerry Jones project as well.

792
01:14:13,840 --> 01:14:23,640
Um long story short, the request before
you is to approve payment of an invoice

793
01:14:19,920 --> 01:14:23,640
in the amount of $25,933.

794
01:14:23,920 --> 01:14:30,800
Uh the proposed funding instrument for
this is user fees. Um additionally, I

795
01:14:28,880 --> 01:14:36,000
did want to just point out I do have
photographs on here. Uh we had the uh

796
01:14:34,400 --> 01:14:41,520
the pipe in question. We had it
televised prior to um then city manager

797
01:14:39,760 --> 01:14:46,560
Alcra's approval of emergency
authorization repairs on this um and

798
01:14:44,560 --> 01:14:50,560
included as part of the agenda item are
photographs which depict the damage to

799
01:14:48,320 --> 01:15:00,960
the sewer system. There you can see
where uh that kind of brown colored

800
01:14:56,400 --> 01:15:09,520
opening there is um I'll say contaminant
and dirt. And then next image

801
01:15:07,040 --> 01:15:13,280
that's zoomed in
showing where portions of the pipe are

802
01:15:11,360 --> 01:15:17,440
missing. Pipe wall. It's old vitrified
clay pipe which uh once it's reached or

803
01:15:15,840 --> 01:15:23,280
exceeded its service life becomes
fryable and it it collapses into the

804
01:15:19,520 --> 01:15:30,400
into the pipe. Um and eventually um the
entire pipe collapses itself. Continue

805
01:15:26,320 --> 01:15:35,920
scrolling Shakir if you could.
One more.

806
01:15:33,120 --> 01:15:40,880
This is this was the one that was uh
considerably concerning. This is a a

807
01:15:39,120 --> 01:15:45,920
complete occlusion of the pipe. So what
you see here is dry pipe that's totally

808
01:15:43,760 --> 01:15:51,600
oluded from you've got complete
misalignment between the pipe segments.

809
01:15:47,840 --> 01:15:56,080
And this is um uh an emergency backup
and uh service failure waiting to

810
01:15:54,080 --> 01:15:58,800
happen. And so this was really what what
initiated the emergency repair. And we

811
01:15:57,760 --> 01:16:03,120
said, "Okay, we've got to take care of
this right now." Um,

812
01:16:02,000 --> 01:16:06,120
and I believe that's all the
photographs.

813
01:16:08,320 --> 01:16:15,937
» No ma'am. $25,933.
You scared me there. [laughter]

814
01:16:17,120 --> 01:16:23,760
» And Ben, is this last one the one that
they opened up the Grand Canyon in the

815
01:16:20,480 --> 01:16:28,400
middle of the road to explore? Yeah,
>> that that was quite the sizable

816
01:16:26,480 --> 01:16:32,159
» and for what it's worth, we did
>> as compared to the unit cost pricing

817
01:16:30,480 --> 01:16:36,880
within the competitively bid contract
for the Jerry Jones project. Uh the cost

818
01:16:35,040 --> 01:16:39,440
to perform this work was actually under
what it would have been if it was

819
01:16:38,159 --> 01:16:41,360
included as part of that project. So
that is

820
01:16:39,920 --> 01:16:44,080
» I think I was like Miss Cody, I was
ready for 2 million on that one, not

821
01:16:42,719 --> 01:16:46,400
205,000.
>> I think it's

822
01:16:45,280 --> 01:16:49,360
» Any other questions on this one?
>> No. Council, any questions?

823
01:16:47,679 --> 01:16:53,360
» I have one question. Yes, ma'am. I I
heard I was just trying to understand

824
01:16:50,800 --> 01:16:58,159
you said that uh Scrugs was on this and
we brought in RPI eently.

825
01:16:56,960 --> 01:17:03,679
» Yes, ma'am.
>> Erly RPI had to come in again. I mean it

826
01:17:02,000 --> 01:17:05,679
was an emergency situation.
>> Yes, ma'am.

827
01:17:04,320 --> 01:17:09,760
» Okay.
>> It was it it was because it was outside

828
01:17:08,159 --> 01:17:14,159
the scope of
>> G DOT's work, right? The way G dot does

829
01:17:11,760 --> 01:17:17,600
their contract, their contracting with
the general contractor, the prime on the

830
01:17:16,159 --> 01:17:21,360
project is they have a they have an area
that they call the limit of survey,

831
01:17:19,679 --> 01:17:25,679
right? And so they they it's a unit cost
contract. So they can do things in

832
01:17:23,360 --> 01:17:30,239
addition to what's specified or shown on
the plans if new needs are identified

833
01:17:27,840 --> 01:17:35,600
during construction, but they're not
allowed to exceed based on the funding

834
01:17:32,159 --> 01:17:39,600
that they use and the the calculations
that they use for the project budget.

835
01:17:37,840 --> 01:17:45,520
they're not allowed to exceed this
survey area. And so the survey area was

836
01:17:43,600 --> 01:17:49,120
right on the limits of the rideway for
Jerry Jones, right where Relish parking

837
01:17:47,360 --> 01:17:54,400
lot came through. And so when they went
to uh televise this line, they

838
01:17:52,239 --> 01:17:57,760
identified the failures and it was just
downstream of the work that

839
01:17:55,920 --> 01:18:02,239
» the area that they had torn up right
there, the entrance that you come off of

840
01:18:00,239 --> 01:18:05,199
Bay Tree pulling into the relish. That's
what we're talking about here.

841
01:18:03,520 --> 01:18:08,400
» Yeah. And the last one was all the way
down. They tore up the entire middle of

842
01:18:06,880 --> 01:18:11,199
the road for the last one that
>> one's in that one's in contract. We're

843
01:18:09,840 --> 01:18:14,080
not paying for that in contract.
>> Yeah, that's part of

844
01:18:11,920 --> 01:18:20,719
» So, this one not being within the scope
in the contract of the original what we

845
01:18:16,000 --> 01:18:23,600
agreed to, we're having to step in and
pay for RPI to do this because it wasn't

846
01:18:22,960 --> 01:18:26,719
within it.
>> Yep.

847
01:18:23,920 --> 01:18:32,960
» But was this an emergency situation?
>> Yes, ma'am. as you can see on the on the

848
01:18:28,800 --> 01:18:37,920
photographs. I mean, you've got uh
30% 40% occlusion on the on the gravity

849
01:18:35,760 --> 01:18:42,080
sewer there. And then you've got areas
where pipe segments are completely

850
01:18:39,920 --> 01:18:48,000
collapsed. You've got bell and spigot
joints that are uh completely fractured

851
01:18:44,560 --> 01:18:51,520
and separating. Um
which is a primary indicator of of

852
01:18:50,320 --> 01:18:56,239
something that would warrant an
emergency solicitation. If we did not

853
01:18:53,600 --> 01:19:00,480
warrant an emergency and you were to
just bid it out, were we talking it to

854
01:18:58,400 --> 01:19:05,840
be fixed a year from now?
>> It would say probably

855
01:19:02,960 --> 01:19:08,480
3 to four months of additional delay.
>> It would have gotten worse.

856
01:19:07,199 --> 01:19:12,320
» Yeah.
>> And delayed Jerry Jones.

857
01:19:11,040 --> 01:19:16,400
» Yes. Yeah.
>> Because it's all got to connect. All of

858
01:19:13,840 --> 01:19:20,880
this is downhill from all of this kind
of goes through cuts the corner through

859
01:19:18,320 --> 01:19:24,159
Relish and then goes uh through Bait
Tree eventually gets to

860
01:19:21,760 --> 01:19:27,600
» L's not clear then the rest of is
>> we're making repairs on sewer that's

861
01:19:26,480 --> 01:19:30,719
just going to back up and we've got
service failure for

862
01:19:29,280 --> 01:19:34,960
» 500 people. So
>> what did you say

863
01:19:31,760 --> 01:19:38,480
» and blocks my restaurant here
closing down?

864
01:19:36,880 --> 01:19:41,360
» Any other questions on this one?
>> Any other questions? Yeah, Thomas,

865
01:19:40,080 --> 01:19:44,480
» I got one. Yes, sir.
>> How'd you take those pictures? Would you

866
01:19:42,719 --> 01:19:47,760
put a little boat in there? Tell
>> me. I'm surprised how they got there so

867
01:19:46,880 --> 01:19:50,239
bad.
>> They've got uh

868
01:19:49,199 --> 01:19:54,560
» Yeah,
>> basically a small it's almost like a

869
01:19:52,640 --> 01:19:57,440
laparoscopic camera, but it's like a a
wire camera that they can travel down

870
01:19:56,320 --> 01:19:59,440
the down the pipe.
>> Oh, you can just

871
01:19:58,560 --> 01:20:03,040
» Yes, sir. Okay.
>> You can feed it down the line and take

872
01:20:00,880 --> 01:20:10,320
and take images and photography.
>> I got you.

873
01:20:06,159 --> 01:20:14,080
» You want to authorize a drone form?
>> All right.

874
01:20:12,159 --> 01:20:17,400
All right, Ben. Thank you. Council,
yours for action.

875
01:20:17,440 --> 01:20:24,640
» Me, mayor, I make a motion that we
approve um this

876
01:20:22,880 --> 01:20:28,159
emergency sewer payment.
>> Second.

877
01:20:26,560 --> 01:20:34,000
» Motion and a second. All in favor? Show
of hands. In opposition, same sign.

878
01:20:31,199 --> 01:20:37,440
Thank you, Miss Duly. Motion carries.
Move on to item 4B.

879
01:20:35,679 --> 01:20:41,520
Consideration of a request to purchase a
mobile column lift system for the public

880
01:20:39,760 --> 01:20:44,159
works motorpool division. I don't have
anybody written down, but I know that

881
01:20:42,880 --> 01:20:46,560
had to be John Burton.
>> How'd you know?

882
01:20:45,679 --> 01:20:51,199
» Hi, John.
>> Hi. The public works motorpool division

883
01:20:49,199 --> 01:20:54,320
needs to purchase a mobile column lift
system for the health and wellness of

884
01:20:52,719 --> 01:20:58,320
the service technicians and diesel
mechanics who maintain the city's fleet

885
01:20:56,239 --> 01:21:03,840
daily. Current conditions are to drive
up on two 7in tall ramps or lift the

886
01:21:01,760 --> 01:21:08,320
vehicle with air jacks or air over
hydraulic jacks. Each of these tasks is

887
01:21:06,320 --> 01:21:12,239
meticulous and timeconuming providing
minimal space under the vehicle to

888
01:21:09,920 --> 01:21:15,280
complete job duties. A notice of intent
to utilize a cooperative purchasing

889
01:21:13,840 --> 01:21:19,920
agreement was posted to the Georgia
procurement registry for 5 days per the

890
01:21:17,920 --> 01:21:25,360
department of administrative services
guidelines due to cost by utilizing a

891
01:21:22,719 --> 01:21:29,760
cooperative contract with source. This
is a courtesy post to allow other

892
01:21:27,199 --> 01:21:33,840
companies the opportunity to protest our
purchase four days from the posting

893
01:21:31,440 --> 01:21:38,000
date. We did not have anyone pro protest
this uh purchase

894
01:21:36,400 --> 01:21:44,840
and I recommend that council approve the
source contract price submitted by Ari

895
01:21:40,560 --> 01:21:44,840
Phoenix in the amount of $112,512.93.

896
01:21:45,440 --> 01:21:52,320
Council, any questions for John? He
needs a new lift.

897
01:21:50,960 --> 01:21:55,760
» Thomas.
>> Okay, John. Thank you.

898
01:21:53,760 --> 01:22:00,880
» Thank you. Council here's for action.
>> Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to

899
01:21:57,520 --> 01:22:04,400
approve the uh request as presented.
>> Second.

900
01:22:02,000 --> 01:22:07,360
» Motion and lots of seconds. All in
favor? Show of hands.

901
01:22:05,760 --> 01:22:11,679
» Okay, just got a second.
>> Council, thank you.

902
01:22:09,520 --> 01:22:14,880
We'll now move on to the citizens to be
heard portion of the evening. We ask

903
01:22:13,520 --> 01:22:18,400
that you come forward, state your name
and address so that we may have it for

904
01:22:16,320 --> 01:22:22,000
the record. Our policy requires that you
stay under three minutes so that all

905
01:22:19,760 --> 01:22:26,159
have time to be heard. Please direct all
comments to council as a whole and do

906
01:22:24,080 --> 01:22:29,840
not attempt to engage individual members
in debate. It is our policy to follow

907
01:22:28,560 --> 01:22:33,199
through with you on your concern.
Additionally, we ask that any groups

908
01:22:31,440 --> 01:22:37,840
that want to address council designate a
spokesperson for that same reason. With

909
01:22:36,000 --> 01:22:44,920
that being said, are there any citizens
wishing to be heard at this time?

910
01:22:41,360 --> 01:22:44,920
Please come forward.

911
01:22:50,159 --> 01:22:58,600
one hand.
>> All right, sir.

912
01:22:54,800 --> 01:22:58,600
» Dr. Null. Good evening.

913
01:22:59,199 --> 01:23:06,960
» Uh, good evening everyone. My name is
uh, Michael Null. I live at 2305 Lindel

914
01:23:03,760 --> 01:23:12,320
Drive. It is good to see you all. I was
not expecting to hear the word data

915
01:23:08,880 --> 01:23:16,400
centers before, but um, I was carefully
listening to it. And uh, that brings me

916
01:23:14,960 --> 01:23:24,960
directly to the reason why I'm actually
here this evening. I urge the uh city

917
01:23:20,320 --> 01:23:28,960
council to uh pass a moratorum on data
centers and develop a robust data center

918
01:23:27,199 --> 01:23:34,719
ordinance and for a very specific
reason. Uh last Saturday um ELCAT Islam

919
01:23:33,120 --> 01:23:41,600
citizens against data centers actually
received a tip and uh there was a

920
01:23:37,520 --> 01:23:47,120
Facebook u page basically called land
for sale in Georgia uh which uh provided

921
01:23:45,360 --> 01:23:50,719
a rendition of what could be a wonderful
site for a data center and this one is

922
01:23:48,880 --> 01:23:56,320
big enough because more than 800 acres
would be south of Aldusta High School

923
01:23:53,600 --> 01:24:00,960
and uh not blaring this out right away.
I'd like to do my research. I was um

924
01:23:58,960 --> 01:24:05,360
trying to get an idea what may be going
on and then realized that within two or

925
01:24:03,280 --> 01:24:10,639
three days actually the post disappeared
from my Facebook but driving by on

926
01:24:08,400 --> 01:24:13,520
perimeter road as well as highway 84 you
can see the signs that are actually

927
01:24:11,920 --> 01:24:17,520
connected with a particular real estate
agency called Macallen they're not from

928
01:24:15,440 --> 01:24:21,199
here they're from around somewhere else
and if you go to their website you find

929
01:24:19,120 --> 01:24:26,239
out that actually this piece of land has
already been listed for more than 140

930
01:24:23,280 --> 01:24:30,480
days and there's also a description in
there does not use uh the word data

931
01:24:28,480 --> 01:24:36,800
center, but it also talks for at least
374 acres for industrial users.

932
01:24:34,480 --> 01:24:41,120
You all know how sensitive of and how
important of an issue data centers are

933
01:24:38,800 --> 01:24:45,920
for various reasons. Uh some of you have
been at the town hall meetings we

934
01:24:42,800 --> 01:24:49,760
organized on February 17 and April 17. I
think we handed out very early on

935
01:24:47,920 --> 01:24:53,920
already in January the general concerns
we have about data centers. Since that

936
01:24:52,480 --> 01:24:57,920
time, we have mainly focused on trying
to educate the general public and also

937
01:24:55,840 --> 01:25:02,639
educate our county commissioners on on
the issues that are connected with it.

938
01:25:00,159 --> 01:25:07,360
But uh having uh been exposed to this
potential idea and this may be just as

939
01:25:05,360 --> 01:25:11,679
speculative as the as the project you
basically approved although you zoned it

940
01:25:09,679 --> 01:25:14,560
to M1.
It is really important that we all know

941
01:25:13,120 --> 01:25:18,639
about this if you take a look at this
and that we also are actually

942
01:25:15,920 --> 01:25:23,040
considering a more term as well as a
data center ordinance. And then you have

943
01:25:20,639 --> 01:25:28,239
three handouts today. One is just simply
the quick narrative I created today to

944
01:25:26,560 --> 01:25:31,679
give you an idea of why I'm here tonight
to talk about data centers. And then an

945
01:25:30,000 --> 01:25:37,360
image that you can no longer find on
Facebook of this wonderful rendition

946
01:25:34,000 --> 01:25:41,679
using AI apparently to um show us what a
data center may look like south of Walta

947
01:25:39,360 --> 01:25:45,360
High School. The other two handouts you
received from me tonight, one is a

948
01:25:43,280 --> 01:25:49,840
simple example of a more terminate a
just passed not too long ago. And then

949
01:25:48,159 --> 01:25:54,719
the third handout you received is
basically a very decent uh data center

950
01:25:53,040 --> 01:25:59,040
ordinance of it was developed by Henry
County. I would like to bring you to

951
01:25:56,000 --> 01:26:02,960
your attention. So long story short,
data centers are on everyone's mind. I

952
01:26:01,360 --> 01:26:07,440
wake up with them. I go to bed with
them. It seems like they're not leaving

953
01:26:04,320 --> 01:26:11,679
me alone at all. But we can as a
community, county or city, makes no

954
01:26:09,120 --> 01:26:17,280
difference. um be progressive in in this
regard and just simply pass a moratorum,

955
01:26:14,880 --> 01:26:21,840
develop a data center ordinance to have
that in place as guard rails to protect

956
01:26:19,120 --> 01:26:27,600
our community, our natural resources,
and just simply do our job. That's all,

957
01:26:24,880 --> 01:26:30,960
Michael. Thank you. Thank you. Are there
any other citizens wishing to be heard

958
01:26:29,040 --> 01:26:34,600
at this time?
Now you got time.

959
01:26:36,800 --> 01:26:44,480
» Um because the air and it's really
important that we breathe. But anyway,

960
01:26:41,760 --> 01:26:48,080
I'm Susan Whailing, 2410 Georgia Avenue.
I want to thank you for three things.

961
01:26:46,159 --> 01:26:51,920
First, before I fuss, but um the
inclement weather shelter was much

962
01:26:50,320 --> 01:26:56,639
needed. Thank you all and the former
city manager, too. Um perfect timing,

963
01:26:54,400 --> 01:27:00,320
right, with this heat wave. Um thank you
for the excellent recycling program,

964
01:26:58,719 --> 01:27:05,440
which I heard is doing well, especially
with cardboard. Thank you for the strict

965
01:27:02,800 --> 01:27:08,880
garbage uh regulations. Those are really
important and citizens seem to be

966
01:27:06,880 --> 01:27:13,520
following along. And I hope that they're
doing more recycling. I do I do remember

967
01:27:11,760 --> 01:27:16,480
at the meeting though someone suggested
storing that data for three years of the

968
01:27:15,360 --> 01:27:20,400
garbage collection. I hope we're not
doing that. I hope we're doing months at

969
01:27:17,679 --> 01:27:24,639
a time. Um because when we keep adding
to this cloud all this information, then

970
01:27:22,800 --> 01:27:31,840
we need data centers. So we need to
reduce the amount of stuff we're storing

971
01:27:27,440 --> 01:27:36,400
in the iCloud. Um which brings me to
flock cameras. I'm totally opposed to

972
01:27:33,760 --> 01:27:40,639
flock cameras. I am not alone. As more
citizens get educated, they're very

973
01:27:38,159 --> 01:27:44,880
upset about it. Um, I think we need to
reduce the number of flot cameras. I

974
01:27:42,800 --> 01:27:47,840
think the bad guys are questionable who
we think are bad guys and who are not,

975
01:27:46,320 --> 01:27:54,159
but we seem to always be picking on the
poor. Um, and I don't like my data going

976
01:27:51,280 --> 01:28:00,400
across county, city, and state
boundaries. Um, and flock cameras

977
01:27:57,840 --> 01:28:04,239
surveil all of us 24 hours a day. They
use a lot of data storage. Again, we

978
01:28:02,719 --> 01:28:10,400
don't want data centers, so we don't
need more storage. Um, and then I also,

979
01:28:08,719 --> 01:28:13,360
if we're going to pass this huge tax
thing, and believe me, my neighbors are

980
01:28:11,840 --> 01:28:16,480
going to fuss. They fussed. We all
fussed when the county did. So, you're

981
01:28:14,960 --> 01:28:21,520
going to get a lot of flack. Just know
that. So, if you're going to raise our

982
01:28:18,560 --> 01:28:26,320
taxes, spend it on things that matter.
Like, if you don't want crime, invest it

983
01:28:24,080 --> 01:28:28,960
in the youth here. We have so I know so
many children that come to my door

984
01:28:27,440 --> 01:28:32,320
because they don't have shoes because
they're not allowed to wear Crocs to the

985
01:28:30,400 --> 01:28:35,840
high school. They're teased and bullied
because of the clothes they wear. Um

986
01:28:34,000 --> 01:28:40,320
they have no chance for the future. Uh
they my students who are police officers

987
01:28:38,239 --> 01:28:44,159
and the city and Reton and the county
tell me these students are free in the

988
01:28:42,239 --> 01:28:49,280
summer. There's nothing for them to do.
Trouble is easy. Um I took students to

989
01:28:46,800 --> 01:28:54,080
the prison and to the jail and a lot of
people are in there because of poverty.

990
01:28:51,280 --> 01:28:57,760
I don't see us doing much to alleviate
uh the well-being of children and the

991
01:28:56,159 --> 01:29:03,199
temptation that they might have to join
gangs. So, let's let's work on on

992
01:29:00,320 --> 01:29:07,600
improving chances for the youth here. Um
I also uh I don't know if you have the

993
01:29:05,920 --> 01:29:11,600
Bray land if that's for sale, but the
city bought a lot of land. Let's convert

994
01:29:09,280 --> 01:29:16,000
that land into parks and sports centers
instead of half a million dollar swap

995
01:29:13,760 --> 01:29:19,520
mobiles. Uh I was really disappointed by
that purchase. If we're going to I heard

996
01:29:18,159 --> 01:29:23,920
it was for the hurricane. Well, let's
buy trucks that pick up logs. Let's

997
01:29:21,840 --> 01:29:28,320
invest that splass money in the people
and the environment. Thank you,

998
01:29:26,080 --> 01:29:32,239
» Susan. Thank you. Is there any other
citizens wishing to be heard at this

999
01:29:30,159 --> 01:29:35,280
time?
Seeing none, we'll close out this

1000
01:29:33,600 --> 01:29:39,679
portion of the evening and turn it over
to our city manager for the city manager

1001
01:29:37,199 --> 01:29:44,159
report.
>> Just a few quick updates. We have the

1002
01:29:42,000 --> 01:29:48,960
Valdasta Fire Department Citizens Fire
Academy that will start on Tuesday,

1003
01:29:46,080 --> 01:29:52,400
August 25th. This academy gives citizens
an opportunity to go behind the scenes

1004
01:29:50,800 --> 01:29:56,400
with the fire department and gain a
better understanding of the services

1005
01:29:54,000 --> 01:30:00,320
provided by the fire department. Since
2014, the program has helped educate

1006
01:29:58,719 --> 01:30:04,239
citizens and members of the business
community about fire department

1007
01:30:02,159 --> 01:30:07,760
operations, increase fire and life
safety awareness, and build strong

1008
01:30:06,159 --> 01:30:13,440
partnerships between the fire department
and the community. Alongside that, the

1009
01:30:10,480 --> 01:30:18,719
Valdasta Fire Department has the 911 5K
coming up. This will be the 25th

1010
01:30:15,679 --> 01:30:22,560
anniversary of September 11th, 2001,
honoring the lives lost, recognizing the

1011
01:30:20,880 --> 01:30:27,520
courage and sacrifice of our first
responders, and supporting an important

1012
01:30:24,719 --> 01:30:34,639
cause. The 911 5K will be held on
Saturday, September 20, September 5th,

1013
01:30:30,400 --> 01:30:39,679
2026 at 8 a.m. in downtown Valdasta.
And finally, we have the annual Expo

1014
01:30:36,800 --> 01:30:44,960
Latino held by the Valdasta Main Street.
This will be on Saturday, September 19th

1015
01:30:42,000 --> 01:30:48,560
from 11:00 a.m. to 7 pm at Unity Park.
The festival will feature live

1016
01:30:46,400 --> 01:30:53,440
entertainment, authentic food, local
vendors, community organizations, family

1017
01:30:51,199 --> 01:30:59,040
activities, and educational resources
celebrating the rich diversity of

1018
01:30:55,280 --> 01:31:02,719
Hispanic and Latino cultures.
>> Jennifer, thank you. We'll now move on

1019
01:31:00,960 --> 01:31:08,239
to council comments. I'll start down
with Thomas Sander.

1020
01:31:05,120 --> 01:31:12,719
» Yes, I got two comments. I had one.
First of all, Uh I've had a lot of

1021
01:31:10,400 --> 01:31:16,800
citizens asking about when we have
citizens to be heard and we tell them

1022
01:31:14,639 --> 01:31:21,760
that we will talk to them after the
council meeting and uh some citizens

1023
01:31:19,600 --> 01:31:25,280
have asked what do we say to him or what
is the results of it and they was

1024
01:31:23,440 --> 01:31:30,639
wondering if there's any kind of way we
could um rehatch it or come back and

1025
01:31:28,080 --> 01:31:34,400
review or tell what happened from that
conversation that we had with citizens

1026
01:31:32,239 --> 01:31:38,560
to be heard. I told them I would ask the
council and we would see. I even told

1027
01:31:36,239 --> 01:31:42,080
them to come up here and ask themselves,
but I don't see anybody here who asked

1028
01:31:40,400 --> 01:31:48,159
me that question. But they were
inquiring as to what was the uh results

1029
01:31:45,679 --> 01:31:53,120
from what we said to the people with
citizens to be heard. I did tell them a

1030
01:31:50,800 --> 01:31:58,480
lot of times uh we do have something and
I thought one time we were we did have a

1031
01:31:56,000 --> 01:32:01,440
paper some telling us what it is, but
some of the the public want to hear. So

1032
01:32:00,239 --> 01:32:08,960
I don't know if that's something we can
bring up and do. I did. I bought it. My

1033
01:32:05,679 --> 01:32:14,960
other thing I got to say is about this
approval for this industrial area over

1034
01:32:12,639 --> 01:32:20,880
off of How Road. Now, I've been over
there at How Road and and I know it is a

1035
01:32:18,639 --> 01:32:25,840
tight road is two lanes. If they're
going to have they're be able to only

1036
01:32:23,840 --> 01:32:30,320
have one entrance coming on how road
when you coming off of that

1037
01:32:28,320 --> 01:32:37,679
inner perimeter road coming down that
long that steep overbridgeidge. You got

1038
01:32:34,400 --> 01:32:44,880
a bus from the city coming down how road
going west. You got a bus going to the

1039
01:32:41,920 --> 01:32:49,280
Loun County bus bun going right. They
have to stop. I mean it's like almost

1040
01:32:47,520 --> 01:32:53,360
going to hit. They're going to hit. They
got to go slow to get by them. Granted,

1041
01:32:51,679 --> 01:32:58,639
one of it is the county. Probably the
reason they won't widen the road or do

1042
01:32:56,159 --> 01:33:04,320
something, but it is a traffic zone. I
was between

1043
01:33:00,719 --> 01:33:07,600
a truck and the big bus coming behind me
off that thing. I pulled out. I didn't

1044
01:33:06,080 --> 01:33:11,840
think the bus was going to stop in time
to keep from hitting me when we turned.

1045
01:33:09,520 --> 01:33:15,040
It is a bad intersection because you
can't help it. It's steep and you're

1046
01:33:13,520 --> 01:33:20,320
going to come down fast. you can put
your brakes on or whatever, but it comes

1047
01:33:18,480 --> 01:33:23,679
down fast. That's one thing. And they
only got one entrance. That's what I was

1048
01:33:21,760 --> 01:33:28,639
looking at. How they going to have a
entrance way of somebody coming? If you

1049
01:33:25,360 --> 01:33:32,239
got a big truck coming down that road,
I I just can't see how you're going to

1050
01:33:30,320 --> 01:33:37,360
have those two people passing by. There
have been some studies with other places

1051
01:33:34,639 --> 01:33:42,719
like DOT trying to look at how they're
going to make traffic come through them.

1052
01:33:39,679 --> 01:33:48,320
» It is a big safety hazard. I can tell
you that now. I was very nervous when I

1053
01:33:45,520 --> 01:33:52,159
saw, like I said, that big truck coming
behind me and it was coming down the

1054
01:33:49,920 --> 01:33:56,400
bridge. I'm waiting behind this big bus
and I basically had to pull out. I did.

1055
01:33:54,480 --> 01:34:00,560
I pulled out a little bit because it
just was coming too fast. Probably

1056
01:33:58,480 --> 01:34:05,600
wasn't going to hit me. But you heard
what the man said about how many traffic

1057
01:34:03,199 --> 01:34:10,400
accidents we've had in that area. They
haven't fixed it up. We got kids coming

1058
01:34:08,080 --> 01:34:15,199
and I do know because I'm telling you
going down there in the morning to greet

1059
01:34:12,560 --> 01:34:19,520
the kids, it's dark. You got cars
coming, they're going to it's just a

1060
01:34:17,199 --> 01:34:23,760
it's a it's a disaster. And coming down
that residential road, you see people

1061
01:34:21,679 --> 01:34:28,080
are mowing their yards on the side or
anything like that and you got a big

1062
01:34:25,360 --> 01:34:33,679
truck coming and those buses coming. All
I can say is it is a big problem. You're

1063
01:34:31,120 --> 01:34:38,320
looking for more accidents to happen.
But I also say this too for anybody who

1064
01:34:36,239 --> 01:34:42,719
see asks why they did it. Y'all was
looking you see who voted for it. Don't

1065
01:34:40,560 --> 01:34:47,280
come to me. Please don't ask me why they
would not think safety. You go to the

1066
01:34:45,280 --> 01:34:51,760
person who voted for it. They had their
reason for looking at that and looking

1067
01:34:49,280 --> 01:34:55,840
at why would you want that on that side
of the town anyway close to those kids.

1068
01:34:54,159 --> 01:35:01,840
I have walked down when we had a little
rundown coming from uh JLOX. I went out

1069
01:34:58,880 --> 01:35:06,080
there with the kids. We were planting
uh vegetables and stuff. We did a little

1070
01:35:03,840 --> 01:35:10,560
quick run for exercise. That's why I
know you can walk from there. Those kids

1071
01:35:08,719 --> 01:35:13,840
walk down that road on there. I don't
know if they will be doing that, but if

1072
01:35:12,159 --> 01:35:19,520
you have a lot of trucks coming, got
industry, you got those trucks coming.

1073
01:35:17,120 --> 01:35:25,040
I I just don't see it being safe. I got
a concern for it. And I was looking at

1074
01:35:22,000 --> 01:35:30,719
them talking about this safety.
What is that? The zero traffic related

1075
01:35:27,760 --> 01:35:34,320
death and serious injuries.
I'm going to be interested in find out

1076
01:35:32,239 --> 01:35:39,679
how many more we continue to have in
that area if they have that they allow

1077
01:35:36,719 --> 01:35:43,199
this indust in allow this organization
or this company to put an indust uh

1078
01:35:41,600 --> 01:35:47,840
business there. Look like they said
they're going to have commercial on the

1079
01:35:44,639 --> 01:35:52,080
front part in and the uh big industrial
on the back side. I don't know what

1080
01:35:50,320 --> 01:35:54,719
they're going to do, but I got a feeling
they're going to really mess up and

1081
01:35:53,280 --> 01:35:57,760
they're going to have this area close to
that school. Look at the school. Where

1082
01:35:56,239 --> 01:36:02,800
the school at? What kids go to that
school? Look at the people who voted for

1083
01:36:00,000 --> 01:36:07,120
that. What did they think about it? I
I'm I'm just I just can't I'm not happy

1084
01:36:05,280 --> 01:36:11,040
about it. And I want y'all to know it.
And I'm sure you know as our kids I go

1085
01:36:09,760 --> 01:36:15,280
out there with them. I see them. I'm
trying to learn about them and help with

1086
01:36:12,719 --> 01:36:19,679
them. You put them in jeopardy. I feel
like they were put in jeopardy to allow

1087
01:36:17,520 --> 01:36:23,639
this zoning to be put there in that
area. That's it.

1088
01:36:25,760 --> 01:36:32,320
» Nick Cody. All right. I'll entertain a
motion to adjourn.

1089
01:36:30,719 --> 01:36:35,320
» Second. We stand adjourned. Thank you
everybody.

1090
01:36:53,360 --> 01:36:59,199
» I'm leaving with a lot more than I came
with. Look at this.