[2:10] All
[2:20] right.
[8:06] Yeah.
[10:23] What's
going on?
[10:41] I'm glad you made it today.
[10:45] » Me, too.
[10:52] » He got you working out now.
>> He already said, my buddy Scott Willis
[10:56] says you already wear him out.
[11:19] like to call to order the August 20th,
2026 city council meeting, meeting of
[11:23] mayor and council. I'd like to call on
Pastor Hubert Miguel from New Life
[11:27] Ministries to lead us in prayer. Please
remain standing for the pledge.
[11:37] » Heavenly Father,
thank you for being gracious and
[11:42] merciful for us.
[11:46] Father,
Father, as we gather here today, we pray
[11:50] that you will bless everyone. Lord, I
pray that you'll bless this city, God.
[11:57] Let businesses come from all over. Lord,
let this city grow. Lord, I pray for the
[12:02] mayor. I pray for the council people. I
pray, Father, that you'd lead us that
[12:07] you give us wisdom, knowledge, and
understanding.
[12:11] Help us, Lord, to put you first in every
area.
[12:15] Grow this city, Lord. Let this city be a
place as never before. God, thank you,
[12:21] Lord, for everyone here. Thank you for
your mercy, grace. Thank you for your
[12:26] compassion. We give you all the glory,
honor, and praise because you deserve
[12:31] the glory and the honor and the praise
in Jesus name. Amen.
[12:36] » Amen.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[12:41] United States of America to the republic
for it stands one nation
[12:48] indivisible with liberty and justice for
all.
[12:53] I I slowed it way down for you.
>> I sure did.
[13:01] » We're going to start out with the three
public hearing items tonight. Item A,
[13:04] consideration of an ordinance to reszone
a total of 19.82 acres from residential
[13:09] agriculture
um county to combination of heavy
[13:13] industrial and highway commercial city.
Matt Martin will present. Hi.
[13:17] » Yes, sir. Thank you, Mayor. Um these
first two items have to do with the same
[13:21] property. It's an annexation and
reasonzoning request. And as we do in
[13:26] these types of cases, we um consider it
as one presentation, one public hearing.
[13:31] But when it comes time to make motion
and vote, we need to do that separately.
[13:36] So we vote on the resoning first and
then the annexation. Um this was an item
[13:42] or a pair of items that was on your
agenda two weeks ago and this table till
[13:46] tonight. We went through in a lot of
detail at the work session two weeks
[13:50] ago. To give you a refresher, um
applicant is Sheldon Hill and Lane
[13:55] Cheney.
Property is located along um Howell Road
[14:00] um to the east of inner perimeter. Um
both packets are in your um agenda
[14:05] packet for this evening, but I've merged
them into one presentation. So this is
[14:09] from the annexation packet. It shows you
the location relative to the city
[14:14] limits. So everything that is in gray
shading on this map is currently
[14:19] unincorporated Loun County. The white
area is in the city limits. And so you
[14:24] see this property is contiguous to the
city limits on its north boundary which
[14:28] is a railroad track. And so we can annex
across a ride ofway whether it be a
[14:34] street or a railroad in this case. So
this makes it eligible for annexation by
[14:39] touching the city limit area to the
north. Um other maps in your packet.
[14:44] Current zoning is RA residential
agricultural in the county. You see the
[14:50] EA zoning to the south and west that's
in the county is agricultural zoning.
[14:55] But more notably is the to the north you
see the dark gray that is heavy
[14:59] industrial M2 zoning in the city which
is straight north of the tracks. And
[15:04] then to the west of there on the west
side of inner perimeter that's heavy
[15:08] industrial zoning in Loun County. Um,
other maps include the character area
[15:16] which is currently rural residential,
but like we talked about two weeks ago.
[15:20] We are in the process of going about to
amend the comprehensive plan and do an
[15:26] update for that. We've already
transmitted that to the state. Included
[15:30] in that transmitt is a proposed new
character area map and the county has
[15:35] requested that this area and a little
bit to the east of it become industrial
[15:40] activity center. So in other words match
the same character area that currently
[15:45] exists to the north and to the west. So
that's a proposed change but at the
[15:49] moment the character area is rural
residential. As part of the city's
[15:53] review, whenever we annex property in by
code, we have the ability to amend the
[15:58] character area map upon annexation. And
the proposal um for this is to amend it
[16:04] to industrial activity center upon
annexation, which is what it's being
[16:08] proposed for anyway with the new map. Um
aerial imagery, it's currently a crop
[16:14] field, really the western half of one.
Um this is familyowned property that has
[16:19] been broken into large pieces. The
applicants purchased this several months
[16:23] ago. Um and and you heard the story from
two weeks ago where they were proposing
[16:28] residential and by virtue of the highway
and the railroad nearby, they're looking
[16:32] at commercial and industrial. Um but
what you don't see on the aerial on the
[16:36] screen, but is in your packet. To the
north of the railroad is the industrial
[16:40] uses with the trucking distribution
centers that are there. Then across
[16:44] inner perimeter that's Hunt
Construction, which has been there for
[16:48] many years. um hence their argument for
heavy industrial zoning. Um also in your
[16:54] packet you have annexation surveys and
resoning surveys. Remember from two
[16:59] weeks ago we talked about the difference
in acreage. Um so for the resoning part
[17:03] of it which is everything south of the
railroad it's 19.82 82 acres, but
[17:09] because we are annexing a segment of the
railroad as well, the annexation portion
[17:14] of it increases by a couple acres to I
think 21.97.
[17:19] That's why the two packets that you have
give different acreage totals. So,
[17:23] here's a survey of the annexation
boundary, which is the property itself
[17:28] plus the railroad. And then the resoning
portion is just the area south. What is
[17:33] important to note here is they're
requesting a split zoning of M2 and CH.
[17:38] The southern fourth of the property
along How Road would be CH and the rest
[17:43] of it M2. And remember, there is no
specific proposed use yet for this
[17:48] property. Um, this is a speculative
request. They want to market it for
[17:53] industrial and commercial. They've
already been in conversation with the
[17:56] railroad about getting a railroad spur
from Norfick Southern. Um they're
[18:00] working through those engineering
details as to where to place the spur
[18:04] and how long and so forth. Um but they
see that as an opportunity with the
[18:09] major rail line to the north, but they
understand it is not a good idea to have
[18:13] heavy industrial all the way to how
road, but maybe to reserve that as a
[18:17] commercial area you for the long-term
development pattern.
[18:21] Um some imagery the subject property
this is how you see it from how road
[18:25] looking north beyond those trees is the
crop fields that you can see in the
[18:30] aerial image. Then continuing with the
pictures this is looking eastward down
[18:34] how road most of the lands around here
are undeveloped with the only exception
[18:39] really being the church that is across
the street to the south. I'm on a large
[18:43] parcel of land. It is zoned agriculture.
has been there for a number of years and
[18:48] they are a customer to the city utility
system um they are part of our
[18:53] designated service area and if we annex
the property to the north and that comes
[18:57] into our service area as well. Um other
photos this is looking westward this is
[19:02] the intersection of how and perimeter um
a stop sign for how road through traffic
[19:08] of course for inner perimeter road and
then some other photos.
[19:12] This is the railroad line. This is from
the top of the bridge of interimal road
[19:17] looking east down the railroad. The
subject property is there on the
[19:21] immediate right and on the left through
the trees that is where the trucking
[19:25] terminals are located. Just a little bit
hard to see from inner perimeter road at
[19:29] the bridge. Then the same trucking
terminals when you go around the corner
[19:34] view them from the north. And then I
think lastly another zoomin view of the
[19:39] trucking terminal. And then this is Hunt
construction that's on the west side of
[19:44] inner perimeter and it's been there for
a large number of years.
[19:49] I think that's it for the imagery. So
again it's an annexation and reszoning
[19:53] request different an acreages but the
proposal is to go to M2 and CH about
[19:59] 3/4s of the property M2 about 1/4 CH
along How Road. Um planning commission
[20:05] reviewed this at their last public
hearing. Um they found the resoning
[20:10] request
consistent with the comprehensive plan
[20:13] that stands for exercise of zoning
power. They are recommending approval of
[20:17] the resoning as proposed which is the
split of M2 and CH. However, when it
[20:22] comes and that's on a 8:1 vote however
when it comes to the annexation they are
[20:28] making uh recommending denial of the
annexation also by an 8 to1 vote. We
[20:33] talked about this at length two weeks
ago at the work session and the only way
[20:37] I know to translate that an unusual
recommendation is they are not in favor
[20:42] of the annexation collectively but if
it's to be annexed they are in favor of
[20:48] the resoning as proposed which is M2 and
CH. Um the 8:1 vote is common to both of
[20:54] these requests but the dissenting vote
interestingly is not the same
[20:59] individual. So, as you can imagine,
there was a lot of discussion at the
[21:02] planning commission. There were some
folks from the public who spoke at the
[21:06] hearing. I suspect one or more of them
may be here tonight who will like to
[21:12] convey more details to you about what
their thinking is. Any questions on
[21:18] these?
>> I have one question. Um, how far is this
[21:23] from that school over there? I went over
there and I was looking at the area and
[21:27] I think I have the right area in mind,
but I just never hear mention about the
[21:31] school,
>> right? A a good distance and there's
[21:33] actually two schools. Um, you've got the
Molten Branch School straight to the
[21:37] south on inner perimeter
>> and that's a good ways. I would say
[21:40] probably a couple miles or more. You've
got the How Road intersection. You go on
[21:44] to the south and there's Molten Branch
off to the left on the east side of the
[21:48] road as you round the curve
>> approaching Statenville Highway
[21:52] » and it's across from the Molten Branch
neighborhood.
[21:55] » Then you've got then you've got the City
Elementary School that's on How Road
[22:00] » which is off to the west. Um and I don't
know the distance, maybe 3/4s of a mile.
[22:06] It's down a little ways, but you know it
sits back off the road as well. um
[22:11] they're not immediately close and
certainly not close enough to show up in
[22:14] the mapping um but they're in the
vicinity in terms of the broader sense.
[22:20] » Okay.
>> And maybe on the city limit map it
[22:24] zoomed out enough.
>> So that's what I was just wondering
[22:27] because I was looking at going down how
road they're going to make this in you
[22:31] said it's going to be an industrial
activity area.
[22:34] » Correct. an an expansion of the
industrial activity area that's north of
[22:39] the railroad and off to the west. So on
this map you can see where the subject
[22:43] property is.
>> Right?
[22:45] » If you look immediately to the left
where you see the word
[22:47] » Valdasta
>> and that's industrial development.
[22:50] That's where the um I think it's the GIF
site is being built and opened there.
[22:55] It's part of an expansion of the
industrial park that runs east of Clay
[22:59] Road. If you look immediately to the
south, you see a finger of the city
[23:03] limits that crosses to the south side.
That's the elementary school there
[23:09] » and it's in along the eastern side of
that. So, it's a little distance from
[23:13] the subject property. I mean, not real
close, but and in between is vacant
[23:18] land, but you can what you see in the
area.
[23:21] » And then the Molton Branch School is
actually off the edge of the map to the
[23:25] south. keep going down the inner
perimeter,
[23:28] » you know, just a little bit beyond the
edge of the map, and then it'll be on
[23:31] the east side of the road.
>> We've got a city school and a county
[23:36] school kind of nearby, but not not
immediate neighbors by any stretch of
[23:41] the imagination.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[23:47] » Any other questions for Matt?
>> Right, Matt? Thank you.
[23:51] » Yes, sir. Again, this is a public
hearing item. We'll dedicate 15 minutes
[23:56] for and against for each side. With that
being said, is there anybody who would
[24:01] like to step forward in favor of this
request?
[24:08] Seeing none, their 15 minutes are are
over. We'll now dedicate 15 minutes for
[24:13] anybody that would like to step forward
in opposition to this request.
[24:22] Matt
You had a thought.
[24:30] » You You can stay up.
>> We did talk about this extensively two
[24:35] weeks ago. Of course, with any
annexation request under state law, we
[24:39] have to give due notice to Loun County.
Um that starts a review process for
[24:43] them. that we learned two weeks ago that
that review process was longer than it
[24:48] had been for many years, which is why we
had tabled the request. That full amount
[24:53] of 45 days has run its course as of
tomorrow. They are if the county wishes
[24:58] to file an objection. They have to do it
at a public meeting. Their next public
[25:03] meeting is not until next week, Tuesday,
>> which is beyond that time frame. And I
[25:08] did confirm this afternoon there is no
called meeting in the works. So, we have
[25:13] the green light to proceed on with the
annexation.
[25:17] » Thank Thank you for that addition, Matt.
All right, a fresh 15 minutes for
[25:22] anybody in opposition to this request.
[25:27] » Good evening. Good evening,
mayor and council members. My name is
[25:32] Nathan Brantley. I'm a lawyer here in
Valdasta at 701 North Patterson Street.
[25:37] And I am here on behalf of Jenny Joe
Spivey. Miss Spivey is the adjoining
[25:43] land owner to the east of the subject
property. So her property fronts on
[25:49] Howell Road immediately adjacent to the
subject property. Um I'm here to on her
[25:57] behalf object to the requested
annexation and reszoning for the
[26:04] following reasons. We believe that this
request is premature,
[26:10] speculative,
unnecess unnecessary,
[26:14] overly intensive, inappropriate, and
burdensome. And I'll explain why for the
[26:20] following reasons. Um the this this
request is this is and this is the crux
[26:27] of our argument. It is currently
inconsistent with the comprehensive
[26:33] plan. The comprehensive plan has been
submitted for acceptance, but it has not
[26:39] yet been accepted by the state. The
character area
[26:43] of this subject parcel pursuant to the
comprehensive plan is currently rural
[26:50] residential. Now, I know that there are
plans for it to be changed over to
[26:54] industrial activity center, but that has
not yet occurred. I also am aware that
[27:00] there is an a city ordinance that allows
that if this property is annexed and
[27:04] reszoned that the character area can be
changed from rural residential to
[27:10] industrial activity center. But that's
not yet occurred. And what's being asked
[27:15] here
is a speculative annexation and resoning
[27:21] with no site plan prepared. There's
nothing that indicates what this
[27:26] property will be used for. And it is
going from the least intensive zoning
[27:33] type that is currently allowed to
possibly and arguably the most intensive
[27:40] zoning type that is allowed within the
city, which is M2. So M2 zoning is
[27:50] it's an area used in manufacturing,
wholesale trade, distribution
[27:55] activities, assembly and processing
activities. Uses may or may not generate
[28:00] excessive noise, particulate matter,
vibration, smoke, dust, gas, fumes,
[28:05] odors, radiation, or other nuisance
characteristics.
[28:10] This is a significantly different
description of the use of the property
[28:16] than what is allowed under a rural
residential character area which is
[28:20] rural undeveloped land likely to face
development pressures for lower density
[28:25] residential development. Now currently
the property the character area of the
[28:32] subject property is rural residential
with a plan to transition in the next
[28:38] comprehensive plan over to rural
residential but there currently is
[28:44] obviously we know we've all been down um
perimeter road and we've all seen the
[28:48] the comprehensive plan and the character
area maps there's a corridor running
[28:52] down perimeter road that is industrial
in nature industrial activity center,
[28:58] those types of uses. But what this does
is this crawl this and and and so so if
[29:05] you if you were to approve the
annexation and the reasoning request,
[29:08] effectively, you would also be approving
a change in the character area. So I
[29:12] mean, it's really a a threeprong request
that they're asking for here. And and
[29:17] there's currently a a a boundary.
There's a boundary of the railroad the
[29:22] and and and if you've been o if you've
been out there, it's a a pretty clearly
[29:26] defined boundary because you have to go
over a big overpass before you pass on
[29:29] into what has always been and currently
is agricultural
[29:35] agricultural use of property. So, rural
residential, rural AC, suburban area.
[29:41] This would be an encroachment across the
railroad track over the overpass and not
[29:48] just down perimeter road, but also
turning the corner from Perimeter Road
[29:54] on to Howell Road. And so, so this this
is an encroachment even further into
[30:01] rural residential areas. And I also want
to point out, make sure that you're
[30:04] aware that the subject property does not
even front on Perimeter Road. There is a
[30:10] parcel that divides Perimeter Road from
this subject parcel. It's owned by a
[30:16] different owner and it is not part of
this request. But this is not just an
[30:20] extension of Industrial Activity Center
down south, further south on Perimeter
[30:26] Road, but it is actually turning a
quarter and heading east onto Howell
[30:30] Road. Um
[clears throat]
[30:35] for that reason we believe it is a
premature request. There's it it it is
[30:40] asking a lot for the city council to
approve this when the character area
[30:47] very well may be changed uh through
through through the proper process and
[30:51] it may become appropriate down the road
for this kind of request to be made. We
[30:55] would still argue that M2 zoning is too
high of an intensity and it's not
[31:02] explained why M2 is even required
because there's it's purely speculative.
[31:07] There's no site plan submitted. We have
no idea what's going to go in this
[31:11] property and M2 is the most intensive
type zoning that is allowed within the
[31:16] city. Um it's unnecessary. There are
other industrial sites within the city
[31:22] within industrial uh parks that within
the city that have rail access that are
[31:27] already reszoned are already zone
appropriately which is M2 zoning. So the
[31:32] character area I'm sorry the
comprehensive plan this is straight out
[31:35] of the comprehensive plan. This is
industrial activity center character
[31:39] area. the de development strategy for
property that is within that character
[31:44] area. Development or where par possible
retrofitting should occur as part of
[31:50] planned industrial parks having adequate
water, sewer, storm water and
[31:56] transportation infrastructure for all
component uses at buildout. We don't
[32:00] have that here. This is not a part of a
planned industrial park. This is an
[32:05] isolated parcel that is currently now,
yes, there is industrial across the
[32:10] railroad track, but it's across the
railroad track and over an overpass
[32:14] before you get to where Hunt Industries
and these other industrial areas are.
[32:18] This is an encroachment into what has
for as long as Loun County has been
[32:25] around has been um uh agricultural use
property and and rural residential. Um,
[32:32] also
the implementation measures regarding
[32:36] the industrial activity center character
area require that there be access
[32:42] control measures implemented whenever
this property a property is developed in
[32:46] this area. So this is out of the this is
out of the comprehensive plan as well.
[32:50] So access control measures comb
providing reasonable access to de
[32:54] developments while preserving the safe
flow of traffic on an arterial and major
[32:58] collector techniques like managing where
and how approaches or signals are
[33:02] allowed, use of medians, creation of
turn lanes, and support of local
[33:06] ordinances improve the driving
atmosphere. In some cases, they also
[33:10] make movement easier and safer for
pedestrians and bicyclists. Now, we have
[33:14] a situation here where there's no site
plan submitted, so we have no idea how
[33:17] they plan to deal with traffic in the
area. This is already a very dangerous
[33:22] intersection and I have included or I
have provided to you a copy of some
[33:28] documents that prove such. Um we made
some open records requests and there is
[33:33] each of you should have I think um the
clerk has handed it out a a department
[33:37] of transportation traffic engineering
study from November 2020. It's got some
[33:41] information in there. This cuts off as
of
[33:51] It's January 2015 to November 2020.
This was an analysis done by the DOT.
[33:58] And so, you know, you probably asked the
question, well, 2020, that was six years
[34:01] ago. So, what's been happening since
since then? Well, I also did an open
[34:05] records request for accidents that have
occurred at this intersection, the
[34:08] Howell Road and Perimeter Road
intersection. And I've included a
[34:11] spreadsheet that shows all the accidents
that have have occurred from January
[34:16] 2021 through July 2026. So pursuant to
the traffic study that cuts off in
[34:25] November 2020, Perimeter Road has an
average vehicle per day count of 9310
[34:31] average vehicles. How road has a count
of 2,180
[34:36] average vehicles. Within that period,
there were 12 crashes recorded and two
[34:42] fatalities. The DO's recommendation for
this intersection was as follows. Their
[34:47] short-term recommendation was upgrade
stop signs, add reflective sign
[34:52] supports, install crossing traffic does
not stop signs. Their intermediate
[34:56] recommendation, install intersection
conflict warning system. Their long-term
[35:01] recommendation install roundabout
traffic light not recommended because of
[35:05] limited approach over railroad overpass.
So if you've ever been out there you
[35:09] know that you come down that hill you're
going fast. So it would be it's logical
[35:14] that it would it would be dangerous to
have a traffic light right there
[35:17] especially with those big trucks. So the
recommendation was install a roundabout.
[35:21] Well as of today this is what six we're
six years later from November 2020. Um,
[35:28] the only thing that's been done is the
short-term recommendation. Upgrade stop
[35:32] signs, add reflective sign supports, and
install uh crossing traffic does not
[35:35] stop. There's been no installation of
any conflict warning system. There's
[35:39] been no installation of any roundabout.
So, what's happened in the meantime
[35:43] since this recommendation was made?
Well, here's what's happened. It's still
[35:47] a dangerous intersection because the
problem was not addressed
[35:54] since then.
From January 2021 to July 2026, there
[36:00] have been 31 crashes and one fatality.
So that's a period roughly the same
[36:05] length and duration as the DOT traffic
study. So you go from 12 crashes to 31
[36:11] crashes. I've been out there personally.
I've driven out there um leaving leaving
[36:16] the elementary school that's right there
at at night. It's a dark intersection.
[36:20] Vehicles are flying down perimeter
[snorts] road. And additionally,
[36:25] you're
Th this development is moving is is the
[36:29] the idea behind this development is it
would move in in industrial uses down
[36:34] Howell Road which is is not not set up
to deal with this additional traffic and
[36:41] also um there's no plan submitted by the
applicants here to address any of those
[36:47] concerns.
[clears throat]
[36:57] I want to point out to you
[37:07] that the standards for exercising zoning
power when reviewing those we believe
[37:13] that the applicant has not met these
standards that would justify reszoning
[37:18] this property. We have no objection to
the annexation of this property. I don't
[37:23] I don't believe that it's it's material
whether with I mean to me I'm sure it is
[37:27] probably to to to the council but
whether it's in the city or county. The
[37:31] issue is the zoning and the land use.
Um, so when
[37:37] when reviewing or when determining
whether to e exercise zoning power,
[37:44] one of the questions that has to be
asked is whether the proposed zoning
[37:47] will result in a use that will or could
cause an excessive or burdensome use of
[37:53] existing streets, transportation
facilities, utilities, or schools. And I
[37:58] would argue absolutely yes that these
studies show that more traffic down
[38:04] Howell Road and at the perimeter
intersection would have an adverse
[38:07] effect on the citizens of Loun County.
Additionally,
[38:13] another question that must be answered
whether the proposed reszoning is in
[38:17] conformity with the policy and intent of
the comprehensive plan. I would argue it
[38:22] absolutely is not. um this property and
all the property in this general area
[38:28] south of the railroad track and east of
perimeter is residential or agricultural
[38:33] in nature. This is an encroachment
beyond a existing boundary that that is
[38:41] unnecessary.
Um and additionally uh there another
[38:46] question that has to be answered is
how would it affect let me let me find
[38:51] it.
[38:55] whether a proposed reszoning will
adversely affect the existing use or
[38:59] usability of adjacent or nearby
property. I would argue absolutely. My
[39:03] client's property is currently zoned
agricultural use. Um it's a it's a large
[39:10] track of land. It's submitted to a cuba
covenant. It's farmed. Um, we believe
[39:16] that having an industrial or
manufacturing facility next door under
[39:21] an M2 zoning uh designation would would
absolutely adversely affect her property
[39:28] and uh and is is unnecessary,
inappropriate, and purely speculative at
[39:32] this point. Um, thank you for your time
to do y'all have any questions for me?
[39:36] » Council, any questions for Mr. Brantley?
There is one minute rem no questions.
[39:42] I'm sorry. There is one minute remaining
in the 15. If anybody else wants to step
[39:46] forward
>> and speak quickly in opposition.
[39:52] My name's James By. My family owns the
property to the east. That's my aunt
[39:57] Jenny and he just spoke for so I won't
take up much of your time. But my family
[40:03] has owned that property since 1870.
And so it's not undeveloped. There's
[40:10] families living there and there's plans
for that property. And so our concerns
[40:17] aren't for development or moving
forward. Our concerns are the use of the
[40:22] land. And so the heavy industrial is
what we've what we've got a problem
[40:26] with. And so that's the concern. So if
it was any other zoning, we probably
[40:31] wouldn't even be up here opposing. But
for the use of the land, the people
[40:35] living around and ma'am, you asked a
smart question. I could throw a rock to
[40:39] that school. So that man tells the
truth. The other schools may be a mile
[40:44] away. The other one, you can see it. So
just be considerate of the neighbors is
[40:51] all I'm asking. And we are the
neighbors. So
[40:55] » James, thank you.
>> That closes out the that portion of the
[41:00] public hearing items. council. Um, one
at a time. Item 2A, consideration of an
[41:07] ordinance to reszone a total of 19.82
acres is before you. It's yours for
[41:12] action.
[41:15] » You got a question for Matt?
>> Absolutely. Matt, please. Matt, um the
[41:23] speculative nature of this property, um
we don't Why did the developer or not
[41:31] the developer, the owner decide to go
with M1? Do they know what's coming?
[41:36] » M2
>> or M2, excuse me.
[41:37] » Yeah, they don't have any proposed use
in mind and they were at the planning
[41:42] commission and answered similar
questions. It's speculation to u market
[41:47] the property for industrial and
commercial development.
[41:51] No specific use, no specific site plan
at this point other than the desire to
[41:56] have a railroad spur coming from the
Norfick Southern Rail, which they've
[42:00] already been in conversation with.
>> Gotcha.
[42:05] Council, any other questions for Matt?
Andy,
[42:08] » is the um
are they in attendance tonight? Are they
[42:13] here tonight?
>> I did not see them. My understanding was
[42:16] the applicants themselves were not able
to be here, but they were going to send
[42:20] a representative.
>> And I don't know if there's a
[42:22] representative here. It's not anyone I
recognize.
[42:26] » Yeah.
>> And that might be a good question for
[42:30] the representative, but
>> would they consider
[42:35] um not going with them too?
>> That would be a good question for them.
[42:41] I don't know what their thought reaction
would be, but I do know within your
[42:47] purview, you can approve a more
restrictive zoning than what's being
[42:50] requested, such as M1 or C or something
between what it's zoned now and what
[42:56] they're requesting.
[43:00] » I just I'm just curious as to if M2 is
what's hanging it up, like if M2 is the
[43:07] » is the thing that they got to have or
or it's not what I mean is like is that
[43:15] what they want is M2 along with U CH or
would they be okay with just CH?
[43:22] » I don't know if we want to invite
someone up or
[43:25] » if you want to open the public
>> each side.
[43:31] » I'll give five minutes each side.
>> All right, Matt. Thank you,
[43:36] » Mr. Matt. Um,
>> with JL Lomax being that close, did we
[43:41] did we did we talk to the school
superintendent,
[43:46] » the school board?
>> If not, they're not in the realm to be
[43:49] notified. They're a good distance away.
We notify surrounding property owners,
[43:54] um, which is a handful of properties
around there, large, but you saw the
[43:58] mapping and how far away schools are.
>> Yeah, I looked it up, Councilwoman.
[44:03] Molton Branch is about one mile away.
Um, the other one I did not see. So,
[44:08] it's probably
>> walk from JL Max to that corner. My
[44:12] question with the bus.
>> I just want to say I don't know how far
[44:15] that is.
>> It's not It's within walking distance. I
[44:18] can tell you because I have done and
looked at it.
[44:22] » If we can go back to the maps, we can
show the maps again.
[44:25] » Yeah.
>> And I did not measure it. I if I had to
[44:28] guess, I would say it was a little bit
less than a mile to the other one.
[44:31] There's of the land between
>> I mean, it's a few thousand feet.
[44:35] It's definitely closer.
>> Yeah, definitely closer, but not next
[44:38] door. I can't throw a rock that far. I
know that.
[44:43] » All right, Matt.
>> Yes,
[44:44] » I do have another question though. But
whatever business uh um that goes in
[44:50] that spot that is would be a part of
planning though that you guys would have
[44:55] to um put some regulations or different
things to make sure that they don't
[45:00] interfere or don't um
>> Correct. Yeah. Yeah. development from
[45:05] scratch like this would be would be
subject to all of our new development
[45:09] standards. Um nothing grandfathered in.
Um M2 zoning next to non-industrial
[45:14] carries with it a pretty extensive
buffer yard requirement because of the
[45:18] differences in uses. So with the CH
because CH against agriculture is a
[45:23] pretty big disparity. So that again
buffer yards um depending on the nature
[45:29] of the use that goes there in terms of
traffic generation it may or may not
[45:33] trigger a traffic study but we don't
know what the use is now. Um there's a
[45:39] lot of discussion about this at the
planning commission meeting about
[45:42] traffic study and speculation.
20 acres of industrial zoning by itself
[45:47] is not a whole lot that the acreage
alone would generate a need for that,
[45:53] but you could get an intensive use
there. Um, you could have a warehouse.
[45:58] Um, we have one in town that's over a
million square feet, but has three
[46:01] people or you could have a FedEx ground
terminal,
[46:06] » you know, same kind of acreage. Big
difference in intensity. um the things
[46:11] that generate a lot of traffic and
things that the city would be concerned
[46:14] about, we would address those during the
development review process. What's a
[46:19] little bit different with this property
is Howell Road itself is a county road.
[46:25] It is not part of the annexation, which
means it would continue to be a county
[46:29] road and any access to and from that
road would be the pleasure of Loun
[46:34] County. They would be part of that
review process. any impacts to the
[46:38] intersection inner perimeter would then
be under review and scrutiny of Georgia
[46:42] DOT. So there's some different layers of
oversight involved here with what goes
[46:48] on with this property based on current
geography.
[46:52] » Okay.
>> Also sir, we have a a large church, the
[46:56] one you showed, New Life
>> across the street. Yes.
[47:00] » That's a large congregation and with
that industrial effect
[47:06] the church members that go to attend
that church.
[47:09] » All right, that would be a question for
them. They were notified of the
[47:12] hearings. I fully expected at least an
inquiry from them. Um, my office did not
[47:17] receive any inquiry. They did not come
to planning commission meeting. Um, but
[47:22] they are the only developed property
that's non-industrial
[47:26] that's to the south.
>> They're zoned agriculture.
[47:30] » One last quick question. How would they
have their access would be off how road?
[47:35] They couldn't get any access any other
way other than off how road.
[47:38] » Correct. This property only has frontage
on how road. That's what I thought.
[47:41] » They're sort of near in a perimeter as
we pointed out, but impossible to get
[47:46] access there.
>> Um, one state route and two pretty steep
[47:50] slope. And that is a separate parcel
that is in between. It is not buildable
[47:55] on its own. It is a remnant parcel like
we talked about from two weeks ago. Um I
[48:00] know the applicant has um tried to get
custody of this that property as well.
[48:07] Um but the owner of that who owns the
property also on the other side of inner
[48:12] perimeter [clears throat]
was not interested in selling
[48:16] » and that's why I was looking at the
traffic because traffic coming south off
[48:19] of perimeter inner perimeter would have
to make a right and then make a left to
[48:23] go to that if they had any business
right it
[48:28] » they right they would have to make a
turn eastward onto how road and then
[48:31] come into this property
>> and make I think because of the nature
[48:35] of the roads and The intersection, the
access in and out of this property is
[48:40] not going to be close to the how road
intersection per
[48:45] » Georgia DOT I know is not going to allow
that.
[48:47] » It will be kind of tight with a lot of
traffic
[48:50] » and that's all development review
consideration.
[48:54] » The county controls ultimately their
road and Georgia DOT controls if it's
[48:58] too close to their intersection.
>> Thank you, Matt.
[49:04] and particularly if there's truck
traffic involved.
[49:07] » All right, any other questions for Matt?
Um, council still has questions and
[49:13] knowing that the applicants here, um,
council, without objection, I'm going to
[49:16] reopen the public comment portion and
give five minutes for each side for and
[49:22] against. Um, it'll offer a semi-rebuttal
if they if they hear something in that
[49:27] other five. So, with that being said, um
if there's somebody wants to speak in
[49:33] favor or answer questions on this
property, the applicant now that we're
[49:37] aware that he's here, um if you don't
mind coming forward,
[49:44] » I believe Councilman Gibbs will lead and
then maybe some others have a question
[49:48] or two.
>> How's it going?
[49:49] » Hey, how are you?
>> How are you? Oh, please identify
[49:51] yourself,
>> sir.
[49:53] » Identify yourself.
>> Sheldon Hill.
[49:56] » Thank you for coming. Um I just have a
question is um far as I think the
[50:02] concern is not the the annexation part
of it. Um it's the M2 portion of it.
[50:07] Would you be I mean is there is this a
deal breaker? Would you be willing to I
[50:11] mean discuss or move the zoning down?
>> Um we would definitely consider it. Um I
[50:21] have other partners involved in the
ownership of that that I would need to
[50:25] further give a discussion
before I could answer that question. As
[50:29] far as yes, we chose one of the reasons
why we chose this too is just um as Matt
[50:34] pointed out um in that region that's it
was M2. That's what we were kind of um
[50:42] guided to do as far as what we felt like
was the path of least resistance to get
[50:46] the best use out of the property. Are
you talking about because of Hunt and
[50:49] everybody else being M2? Yeah. Hunt
Industries.
[50:52] » Correct.
>> But yes, we would definitely consider
[50:54] that if that's going to be a hangup, by
all means. I mean, we're not here to
[50:59] upset anybody,
>> right,
[51:01] » at all. So, yeah, we would definitely
consider it.
[51:04] » Okay.
>> Thank you, Council. Any questions for
[51:08] the applicant?
>> Just just to comment on that, mayor.
[51:10] [clears throat]
You know, if we were to say go from M2
[51:13] to M1,
that doesn't stop them at some point in
[51:17] the future if they get a prospective
client that needs him to. They could
[51:23] come back and ask for the M2 then, but
um you know, M1 would still give them a
[51:31] lot of range as far as industrial uses.
>> Okay. Yeah.
[51:37] Council, any other questions? All right.
appreciate your time. Thank you.
[51:42] » Absolutely. Thank you all.
>> Don't imagine there's anybody else that
[51:46] wants to come forward and speak in favor
of this request, Kelly.
[51:51] So, we'll close out that portion. We'll
open up five minutes for anybody else in
[51:55] opposition,
especially on what they heard.
[51:59] Kelly Sax.
>> Hi, my name is Kelly Saxon. I do have
[52:02] concerns with this being that it is
residential, the um crashes in the area
[52:08] and I'm going to say the word, you know,
data centers, we have to be mindful of
[52:12] the zoning that comes before us is not
defined yet and we don't have anything
[52:16] in place for that and the changing and
the the highest level and all of that.
[52:21] We just need to be mindful of what
people are asking for before it's
[52:25] granted. So, we don't want to have to
come over here and fight over here, too.
[52:29] We love y'all, though. Thank you. Thank
you.
[52:33] Anybody else in opposition?
>> Want to ask about schools is a good
[52:38] question. Uh Lomax is right there.
School buses use that all the time
[52:43] there. They've already had bus wrecks
there too. I want you to consider that
[52:47] very much so because it's children
you're talking about. The curve down
[52:51] from it where you going to have to build
if they build anything there. There's a
[52:54] curb on highway from Boring Pond Road at
what you can't see around that you're
[53:00] talking about going into when you get to
the intersection. You're talking about
[53:05] the bridge that's right there coming
down it. You're coming from the opposite
[53:09] way from the school.
That long is how you how long you got to
[53:13] cross that road before somebody comes
down that bridge. I think it's
[53:17] ridiculous to put a manufacturing plant
there. That's just me. My name is
[53:21] Charles and I'm and I live on How Road.
I appreciate your time. I appreciate
[53:25] you. Let me speak.
>> Charles, thank you. Still time. Anybody
[53:28] else in opposition to this request?
>> Um, I'm a member of New Life Ministries.
[53:33] Uh, my name is George Ward. I attend
there. I cannot respond to the ra about
[53:38] the contact information, but hearing
what I've heard on today uh raises a
[53:43] issue for me. and this concern for the
environmental uh impact it would have in
[53:48] that area and on on our ministry. Also
the traffic concerns for that for that
[53:54] area as well and not knowing exactly
what industry is coming and how that
[54:00] would impact that area as well.
>> George, thank you.
[54:05] » Is there any anybody else that would
like to come forward and speak in
[54:07] opposition to this request?
[54:11] Thank you for your time, Mayor. Council
members, I'm Richard Terry. Uh I live in
[54:16] Howell, Georgia. I traverse that road
almost daily. I hit that inter
[54:21] intersection constantly. Uh my wife was
t-boned at that intersection in 2016.
[54:26] So, I've got skin in the game. Uh this
is a bad idea. Uh it's not a bad idea.
[54:33] Annexation, no problem. But if an
industry were to relocate there until
[54:38] this traffic situation is remedied ahead
of time, this is this is a bad idea. And
[54:46] uh this overpass here, the overpass on
Hill Avenue, the roundabout, these are
[54:54] all band-aids, man. I don't know what's
wrong, but this nation does not have a
[54:58] forward vision. It cannot see past the
four-year election cycle. We put
[55:03] band-aids on stuff and uh that's all
I've got to say. It's a bad idea to
[55:08] reszone that to manufacturing. There's
already been deaths and you're just
[55:12] going to intensify that if it happens.
Thank you very much for your time,
[55:15] » Richard. Thank you.
[55:20] Going to be quick.
>> But since this involves the possibility
[55:25] of a data center, one of the things I
want to start doing is coming up and
[55:28] giving people some of the knowledge that
I have on stuff. But I'm gonna do
[55:30] lightning round for you just on general
knowledge with data centers. Right. In
[55:35] the past 18 months, the demand for
hypers scale data centers has grown in
[55:38] Georgia. This has led to a doubling of
the the capacity of energy that we need
[55:41] in this c in this um state. Um adding 14
gawatts to what Georgia power is asking
[55:46] for. Um anybody who's telling you
anything about what data centers might
[55:50] bring to this, they do not know anything
that they're talking about. It is all
[55:54] speculative. Right? This is a bubble. we
will come out of this and we'll be left
[55:57] with empty warehouses that will be
blight in our community. Um these data
[56:02] centers when we're talking about being
so close to these schools. Um there's
[56:06] particulate matter. There's noise
pollution that comes out of this. Um you
[56:10] can end up by the time they end up
coming in y'all, they're bringing in the
[56:15] big guns when it comes to their lawyers,
when it comes to their land development.
[56:18] You've seen data centers across the
country that have completely transformed
[56:22] the areas that they've been in because
they need more requirements. Point blank
[56:26] period, y'all. This is bad for
everything that we have environmental
[56:30] here. It's going to mess up if there is
the possibility of a data center coming
[56:33] to that area. It's going to mess up the
water. It's going to mess up the air.
[56:35] It's going to be noise pollution. Um,
these people do not care about us. The
[56:40] thing that a lot of folks aren't saying
is it comes to these data centers. These
[56:43] are tourists who are looking to exploit
Georgia for its resources. They're
[56:48] looking at us as dumb country folk who
are trying to get out of whatever
[56:54] situations we think we have and we're
looking at this as like the solution on
[56:57] the hill. It is not. Do not make a deal
with the devil and then a couple of
[57:02] months or years later we're looking
wondering why we in hell. Y'all
[57:06] be very careful about if we don't know
why it's being resoned because data
[57:11] centers are on people's mind. They think
they can use it to make quick money to
[57:15] exploit Georgia.
[57:19] Thank you. Anybody else in the No, I'll
close it out. 17 seconds. There will not
[57:24] be time.
[57:38] Thank Thank you, Susan.
All right, that wraps up the public
[57:43] hearing portion for a second time.
Council, I'll turn it over to you for
[57:48] action.
Sorry, I'll turn over the consideration
[57:51] of an ordinance to reszone first 2A for
you for action.
[57:59] Mayor, the um a lot of good comments, a
lot of good input, a lot of concerns.
[58:06] Though I I do say I think this track's
not big enough to be considered for a
[58:10] data center. But um so many issues that
have been brought up are not addressed
[58:17] within the zoning itself. They're
addressed at time of permitting. and
[58:22] permitting will address traffic access,
how that access is done. Um, and
[58:30] ultimately whatever is allowed would
have to pass through all those courses
[58:35] of the permitting process. The um there
is a reasonable request before us for M2
[58:43] because just north of it is
[clears throat] M2. However, we've heard
[58:46] some good arguments about maybe not
going quite as intense as some of the
[58:51] neighboring properties, but there's
there is going to be a huge divide
[58:56] between rural agriculture and any
highway commercial, N1, whatever. That's
[59:02] a there's a big difference there and you
can't really stop that. Um, to consider
[59:09] reszoning this to CH,
we talk about traffic
[59:15] large fuel center going in there,
they're going to generate way more
[59:18] traffic than probably a number of things
would. Um, so to try to find some
[59:24] balance and and and give some leverage
to the neighboring properties, I would
[59:30] make a motion to reszone this to M1
um and follow based on staff's
[59:37] recommendations.
>> Have a motion before us.
[59:41] » I have a second.
>> I'll second.
[59:45] All right, I have a motion and a second.
Any comments? I'll direct that to staff.
[59:50] » Quick point of clarification. The
request for resoning is a split of M2
[59:54] and CH. And I know we can go more
restrictor with the M2 part, but I do
[1:00:00] not believe we could go from CH up to
M1. So, is the motion to reszone a split
[1:00:06] of M1 and CH with the boundary as
submitted?
[1:00:09] » Sorry, Matt, you're right me. Just for
clarification.
[1:00:11] » Yeah.
Open again.
[1:00:17] » Mayor, I would like to make a motion.
>> Oh, he got to do it.
[1:00:22] » Oh, that's true.
>> He did second it
[1:00:27] » for just M1 or for CH.
>> M1.
[1:00:31] » Yeah, M1 C.
>> All right. I have a motion and a second
[1:00:34] for M1 split CH.
All in favor, show of hands.
[1:00:42] All in opposition, same sign. Motion
carries. 42.
[1:00:47] » Mr. Mayor.
>> Hold on. Now we'll move on to item B.
[1:00:51] Consideration of an ordinance to annex
the same 21.97 acres.
[1:00:56] » Council, it's yours for action.
>> Mayor, make a motion to approve the
[1:01:00] request as presented.
>> Second.
[1:01:03] » Have a motion and a second. Any
comments, council? All in favor? Show of
[1:01:07] hands?
Opposition? Same sign.
[1:01:12] Motion carries.
Now move on to item C, 2026 mill rate
[1:01:18] public hearing, Darquita Williams. This
is second reading. We had the first at
[1:01:22] 11 o'clock this morning. The actual vote
will be the following Thursday at 6 PM
[1:01:27] for any citizens that want to attend.
Dark is our finance director. Darquita,
[1:01:32] good evening.
>> Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor and
[1:01:35] Council.
>> Afternoon.
[1:01:54] Hey, this evening I'll be presenting to
you the 2026
[1:01:57] digest and also the 2026 proposed
millage rate.
[1:02:05] Right, just some background information.
Each year the governing authority must
[1:02:09] establish a millage rate for the tax
year through the required public
[1:02:12] process. We must also publish the
required digest history and conduct the
[1:02:16] required public meetings before final
adoption.
[1:02:27] The city's 2026 tax digest increased
across most property categories
[1:02:32] resulting in an overall 5.83 83 increase
in the net taxable digest.
[1:02:43] Some highlights that I would like to
point out. Our real property increased
[1:02:47] by 4.74%.
Personal property increased by 9%, motor
[1:02:52] vehicles decreased by 10.14%.
Mobile homes increased by 6.89%
[1:02:59] and our exemptions increased by 2.99%.
[1:03:06] What you have here is um form 32.1
and what this shows is a detailed
[1:03:12] comparison of our categories and the net
change between 2025 and 2026. This also
[1:03:18] shows the calculation of our roll back
millage rate and this is also available
[1:03:22] for viewing on our website if you'd like
to see those details.
[1:03:33] some opportunities for this millage rate
increase,
[1:03:44] information technology and service
modernization.
[1:03:48] These investments will support upgrades
to our aging systems, improve
[1:03:52] communication and information sharing
across departments, and also create
[1:03:56] opportunities to streamline processes
through technology with the city.
[1:04:09] Another initiative is our strategic
workforce investment. Um, investing in
[1:04:13] our workforce will strengthen the city's
ability to attract and retain a
[1:04:17] talented, high-erforming staff by
ensuring that all employees are offered
[1:04:21] a fair and competitive pay and also
benefits.
[1:04:29] And lastly, um, one of the main points
is strengthening our financial reserves.
[1:04:34] U maintaining a healthy reserve provides
a financial cushion during economic
[1:04:38] downturns, emergencies, or unexpected
expenses. And this also helps us
[1:04:44] maintain the city's essential services
and protect the community's financial
[1:04:48] stability.
[1:04:53] Overall, our we showing continued growth
in our taxable property. We had 141.9
[1:04:59] million increase in our net taxable
digest. The roll back rate that's
[1:05:04] calculated is 6.133
mills and our proposed millage rate is
[1:05:09] 7, excuse me, 7.997 mills.
[1:05:16] » Thank you. And I'll open up the floor
for questions if you all have any.
[1:05:20] » Council, any questions for Darwa?
[1:05:26] » I have no question, but I do have a
comment.
[1:05:30] » Yes, ma'am. I want to say we've had a
lot of conversation, a lot of work has
[1:05:35] gone into this. I appreciate it and I
just want everybody to know what we have
[1:05:41] to do here with these things with the
taxes and all and everything. Look at
[1:05:44] the whole picture. our financial
department uh other staff have put a lot
[1:05:50] of time in it and looked at a lot of
scenarios on how to best
[1:05:55] work with our city and get our city
going and keeping it growing and
[1:05:59] maintaining and manageable. So I just
want you to know thank you for the way
[1:06:04] you have explained it. Uh all of the
different scenarios you've showed me
[1:06:10] made me understand what it's about and
all and everything. Um, and I really
[1:06:15] wish we could get some of the
information to like what they gave to me
[1:06:19] to a lot of the citizens because they
are asking the question, but I can
[1:06:22] assure you our staff have put a lot of
time in looking out what's best and how
[1:06:27] it is going to affect the citizens and
they have been looking out for your
[1:06:31] interest. So, thank you and I'm glad for
this hearing and I'm having all these
[1:06:37] questions that they asked. I just want
them to come. right now will be a good
[1:06:41] time when it comes to some of the
hearings and you can explain it to them
[1:06:43] better because you've done a wonderful
job. But you've done a well a good job
[1:06:47] and I say that because all the questions
that has been coming but you have given
[1:06:52] us some good information all of you even
our city manager have been giving us
[1:06:55] some good information to give back to
them and some of them seem to be okay
[1:06:59] with it.
>> Thank you and I'm more than happy to
[1:07:01] answer any questions um from the
audience after the meeting after
[1:07:04] comments or you know if they have any
questions they can contact me if they're
[1:07:08] not here.
>> That's right. Thank you for telling
[1:07:10] them,
>> Miss Julie. Well said. I'll add that we
[1:07:13] took a beating last year. The growth in
the digest was only 6 last year
[1:07:18] » is 5.83 and very healthy this year. And
we're we're going to mop up a little bit
[1:07:23] of the beaten we took last year.
>> Yes.
[1:07:25] » True.
>> All right. This is not a uh
[1:07:28] » I also want to say please
>> thank you for taking the time so I can
[1:07:31] explain it to my citizens today. You
took the time to sit with me. you and
[1:07:36] you even laminated for me to be able to
be able to talk to my citizens when they
[1:07:41] ask me questions on how to about our tax
military. And again, I cannot say you
[1:07:47] all you told me that there was no such
question as a dumb question and you took
[1:07:50] the time
>> and this is the first time that someone
[1:07:54] has really really really took the time
and just went step by step by step. But
[1:07:59] the council well I think myself to be
able to present this in the public to
[1:08:03] our citizens. Thank you so much. As Miss
Julie said, kudos to you. Thank you so
[1:08:08] much.
>> Thank you. Most welcome. Thank you.
[1:08:10] » You want to hang around,
soak up some more compliments?
[1:08:15] » Darwita, thank you very much.
>> Thank you.
[1:08:17] » There is no action to be taken on this.
It's our second reading. Again, the
[1:08:21] third reading and the actual vote will
be Thursday night at six o'clock in a
[1:08:24] special called meeting as well.
[1:08:30] » Yeah, we sure did. We had one at 11
o'clock today. This was the second. All
[1:08:35] right. Move on to item three, ordinances
and resolutions. Item A, consideration
[1:08:38] of a resolution to submit an application
for Georgia Transportation's
[1:08:42] Infrastructure Bank, Ben Odow, our city
engineer to present.
[1:08:51] » We should open up. Hey, Ben, sit down.
[laughter]
[1:08:56] » It did fall within the public hearing.
Um, it's not a for and against. It's any
[1:09:00] any citizens that wish to comment on our
second reading for our mill setting our
[1:09:06] millage rate may come forward.
[1:09:12] I'm sorry I almost excluded you.
>> I can't blame the I can't blame the old
[1:09:18] stoner. [laughter]
I came here from Coco about the same
[1:09:22] time you came from Cocoa Beach. though I
know uh Frank [clears throat] Kilgard at
[1:09:27] the same time our county tax
commissioner has blanketed raised
[1:09:32] everybody's property value approximately
20%.
[1:09:36] You are proposing 30% increase in
millillage on top of that
[1:09:42] are you out of your minds?
That's it.
[1:09:47] Is there anybody else that wishes to
come forward at this time?
[1:09:51] All right. I'll I'll close out the
public comment period and again move on.
[1:09:57] Ben, if you'd like to come forward.
We're on item 3A, consideration of a
[1:10:01] resolution to submit an application for
Georgia's transportation infrastructure
[1:10:06] bank.
Good evening, mayor and council.
[1:10:11] » Good evening.
>> Thank you.
[1:10:13] First item is, as stated, a resolution
in support of uh staff grant
[1:10:18] application. Uh the Georgia Georgia
Transportation Infrastructure Bank is a
[1:10:23] funding instrument that's available to
uh road owners around Georgia. Um
[1:10:29] there's a specific arm of that
particular funding instrument that
[1:10:32] allows us to apply for grants uh in
support of local uh transportation
[1:10:37] improvement projects and maintenance
projects. Uh the specific project that
[1:10:41] we're working on right now um is the
capital maintenance for Bri Road um from
[1:10:49] BSU to uh Gordon and we're proposing to
uh apply for additional grant funds
[1:10:56] through the GTIB program that would
facilitate the extension of that
[1:10:59] maintenance operation all the way
through to uh cornto. And so this is
[1:11:05] basically a grant application for
supplementary funds to supplement our
[1:11:09] local budget and help us stretch our
dollar dollars further. Any questions on
[1:11:13] this one?
>> Council, any questions for Ben?
[1:11:17] » Right, Ben? Hang tight. Council, this
one's yours for action.
[1:11:22] » Mayor, I'll make a motion we approve um
the application as presented.
[1:11:27] » Have a motion and a second. All in
favor? Show of hands. Council, thank
[1:11:31] you. Ben, item B, consideration of a
resolution supporting zero traffic
[1:11:36] related deaths. I don't know who's who's
going to oppose this one.
[1:11:39] » Yes, sir. This is a resolution
supporting zero traffic related deaths.
[1:11:44] As you're aware, we had the the
wonderful young ladies present at the
[1:11:47] last work session to kind of give you
all a roadmap for what our SS4A safety
[1:11:52] action plan development is going to look
like. And one of the uh pivotal moments
[1:11:57] here is an opportunity for y'all to
express support for this initiative. uh
[1:12:01] the target zero initiative. Um our local
regional commission has adopted uh a
[1:12:08] target zero policy as well as the
Georgia Department of Transportation has
[1:12:13] also uh adopted a target zero policy.
And so as far as as part of the SS4A
[1:12:19] grant program in order this is a a thing
that we have to go through, but we need
[1:12:23] a resolution from the local government,
the city council in support of the
[1:12:27] target zero policy. Council, any
questions for Ben? All
[1:12:32] right, Ben. Thank you, council. That
one's yours for action.
[1:12:36] » Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to
approve the request as presented.
[1:12:39] Second.
>> Second.
[1:12:40] » Motion a second. All in favor? Show of
hands. Council, thank you. Ben, thank
[1:12:45] you. Move on to item four, bids,
contracts, agreements, and expenditures.
[1:12:49] A is consideration of payment for
emergency sewer repairs at Jerry Jones
[1:12:54] Drive. Ben Odow still to present.
>> Yes, sir. So, as part of the Jerry Jones
[1:13:00] uh widening project, we have some ins
inscope utility relocations and repairs
[1:13:04] that are taking place. As I'm sure
you're fully aware, um we had some uh
[1:13:11] damaged utilities that we encountered
that were u in some cases completely
[1:13:15] collapsed and in some other cases uh
posed an imminent threat of collapse um
[1:13:20] adjacent to the project, but technically
outside of the contract area for Scrugs
[1:13:25] as part of that project. Um, RPI is the
utility subcontractor for that project
[1:13:31] and they were working with Scrugs. And
so we reached out to RPI and said, "Hey,
[1:13:36] we've got some issues here where we've
got backups, we've got collapses. Um,
[1:13:41] can y'all extend basically the service
work out into um, if you're familiar
[1:13:46] with where Relish is, the parking lot
there, the work that they did that
[1:13:49] basically connected Relish, cut the
corner from Relish to Bay Tree. And then
[1:13:54] there was some deep exploratory and uh,
encapsulating work that they had to do
[1:13:58] on a portion of the sewer system that
was previously abandoned uh, but not uh,
[1:14:03] sufficiently for the project and it was
uh, not reflected on our mapping. And so
[1:14:08] we found that we had to fix that um as
part of the Jerry Jones project as well.
[1:14:13] Um long story short, the request before
you is to approve payment of an invoice
[1:14:19] in the amount of $25,933.
[1:14:23] Uh the proposed funding instrument for
this is user fees. Um additionally, I
[1:14:28] did want to just point out I do have
photographs on here. Uh we had the uh
[1:14:34] the pipe in question. We had it
televised prior to um then city manager
[1:14:39] Alcra's approval of emergency
authorization repairs on this um and
[1:14:44] included as part of the agenda item are
photographs which depict the damage to
[1:14:48] the sewer system. There you can see
where uh that kind of brown colored
[1:14:56] opening there is um I'll say contaminant
and dirt. And then next image
[1:15:07] that's zoomed in
showing where portions of the pipe are
[1:15:11] missing. Pipe wall. It's old vitrified
clay pipe which uh once it's reached or
[1:15:15] exceeded its service life becomes
fryable and it it collapses into the
[1:15:19] into the pipe. Um and eventually um the
entire pipe collapses itself. Continue
[1:15:26] scrolling Shakir if you could.
One more.
[1:15:33] This is this was the one that was uh
considerably concerning. This is a a
[1:15:39] complete occlusion of the pipe. So what
you see here is dry pipe that's totally
[1:15:43] oluded from you've got complete
misalignment between the pipe segments.
[1:15:47] And this is um uh an emergency backup
and uh service failure waiting to
[1:15:54] happen. And so this was really what what
initiated the emergency repair. And we
[1:15:57] said, "Okay, we've got to take care of
this right now." Um,
[1:16:02] and I believe that's all the
photographs.
[1:16:08] » No ma'am. $25,933.
You scared me there. [laughter]
[1:16:17] » And Ben, is this last one the one that
they opened up the Grand Canyon in the
[1:16:20] middle of the road to explore? Yeah,
>> that that was quite the sizable
[1:16:26] » and for what it's worth, we did
>> as compared to the unit cost pricing
[1:16:30] within the competitively bid contract
for the Jerry Jones project. Uh the cost
[1:16:35] to perform this work was actually under
what it would have been if it was
[1:16:38] included as part of that project. So
that is
[1:16:39] » I think I was like Miss Cody, I was
ready for 2 million on that one, not
[1:16:42] 205,000.
>> I think it's
[1:16:45] » Any other questions on this one?
>> No. Council, any questions?
[1:16:47] » I have one question. Yes, ma'am. I I
heard I was just trying to understand
[1:16:50] you said that uh Scrugs was on this and
we brought in RPI eently.
[1:16:56] » Yes, ma'am.
>> Erly RPI had to come in again. I mean it
[1:17:02] was an emergency situation.
>> Yes, ma'am.
[1:17:04] » Okay.
>> It was it it was because it was outside
[1:17:08] the scope of
>> G DOT's work, right? The way G dot does
[1:17:11] their contract, their contracting with
the general contractor, the prime on the
[1:17:16] project is they have a they have an area
that they call the limit of survey,
[1:17:19] right? And so they they it's a unit cost
contract. So they can do things in
[1:17:23] addition to what's specified or shown on
the plans if new needs are identified
[1:17:27] during construction, but they're not
allowed to exceed based on the funding
[1:17:32] that they use and the the calculations
that they use for the project budget.
[1:17:37] they're not allowed to exceed this
survey area. And so the survey area was
[1:17:43] right on the limits of the rideway for
Jerry Jones, right where Relish parking
[1:17:47] lot came through. And so when they went
to uh televise this line, they
[1:17:52] identified the failures and it was just
downstream of the work that
[1:17:55] » the area that they had torn up right
there, the entrance that you come off of
[1:18:00] Bay Tree pulling into the relish. That's
what we're talking about here.
[1:18:03] » Yeah. And the last one was all the way
down. They tore up the entire middle of
[1:18:06] the road for the last one that
>> one's in that one's in contract. We're
[1:18:09] not paying for that in contract.
>> Yeah, that's part of
[1:18:11] » So, this one not being within the scope
in the contract of the original what we
[1:18:16] agreed to, we're having to step in and
pay for RPI to do this because it wasn't
[1:18:22] within it.
>> Yep.
[1:18:23] » But was this an emergency situation?
>> Yes, ma'am. as you can see on the on the
[1:18:28] photographs. I mean, you've got uh
30% 40% occlusion on the on the gravity
[1:18:35] sewer there. And then you've got areas
where pipe segments are completely
[1:18:39] collapsed. You've got bell and spigot
joints that are uh completely fractured
[1:18:44] and separating. Um
which is a primary indicator of of
[1:18:50] something that would warrant an
emergency solicitation. If we did not
[1:18:53] warrant an emergency and you were to
just bid it out, were we talking it to
[1:18:58] be fixed a year from now?
>> It would say probably
[1:19:02] 3 to four months of additional delay.
>> It would have gotten worse.
[1:19:07] » Yeah.
>> And delayed Jerry Jones.
[1:19:11] » Yes. Yeah.
>> Because it's all got to connect. All of
[1:19:13] this is downhill from all of this kind
of goes through cuts the corner through
[1:19:18] Relish and then goes uh through Bait
Tree eventually gets to
[1:19:21] » L's not clear then the rest of is
>> we're making repairs on sewer that's
[1:19:26] just going to back up and we've got
service failure for
[1:19:29] » 500 people. So
>> what did you say
[1:19:31] » and blocks my restaurant here
closing down?
[1:19:36] » Any other questions on this one?
>> Any other questions? Yeah, Thomas,
[1:19:40] » I got one. Yes, sir.
>> How'd you take those pictures? Would you
[1:19:42] put a little boat in there? Tell
>> me. I'm surprised how they got there so
[1:19:46] bad.
>> They've got uh
[1:19:49] » Yeah,
>> basically a small it's almost like a
[1:19:52] laparoscopic camera, but it's like a a
wire camera that they can travel down
[1:19:56] the down the pipe.
>> Oh, you can just
[1:19:58] » Yes, sir. Okay.
>> You can feed it down the line and take
[1:20:00] and take images and photography.
>> I got you.
[1:20:06] » You want to authorize a drone form?
>> All right.
[1:20:12] All right, Ben. Thank you. Council,
yours for action.
[1:20:17] » Me, mayor, I make a motion that we
approve um this
[1:20:22] emergency sewer payment.
>> Second.
[1:20:26] » Motion and a second. All in favor? Show
of hands. In opposition, same sign.
[1:20:31] Thank you, Miss Duly. Motion carries.
Move on to item 4B.
[1:20:35] Consideration of a request to purchase a
mobile column lift system for the public
[1:20:39] works motorpool division. I don't have
anybody written down, but I know that
[1:20:42] had to be John Burton.
>> How'd you know?
[1:20:45] » Hi, John.
>> Hi. The public works motorpool division
[1:20:49] needs to purchase a mobile column lift
system for the health and wellness of
[1:20:52] the service technicians and diesel
mechanics who maintain the city's fleet
[1:20:56] daily. Current conditions are to drive
up on two 7in tall ramps or lift the
[1:21:01] vehicle with air jacks or air over
hydraulic jacks. Each of these tasks is
[1:21:06] meticulous and timeconuming providing
minimal space under the vehicle to
[1:21:09] complete job duties. A notice of intent
to utilize a cooperative purchasing
[1:21:13] agreement was posted to the Georgia
procurement registry for 5 days per the
[1:21:17] department of administrative services
guidelines due to cost by utilizing a
[1:21:22] cooperative contract with source. This
is a courtesy post to allow other
[1:21:27] companies the opportunity to protest our
purchase four days from the posting
[1:21:31] date. We did not have anyone pro protest
this uh purchase
[1:21:36] and I recommend that council approve the
source contract price submitted by Ari
[1:21:40] Phoenix in the amount of $112,512.93.
[1:21:45] Council, any questions for John? He
needs a new lift.
[1:21:50] » Thomas.
>> Okay, John. Thank you.
[1:21:53] » Thank you. Council here's for action.
>> Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to
[1:21:57] approve the uh request as presented.
>> Second.
[1:22:02] » Motion and lots of seconds. All in
favor? Show of hands.
[1:22:05] » Okay, just got a second.
>> Council, thank you.
[1:22:09] We'll now move on to the citizens to be
heard portion of the evening. We ask
[1:22:13] that you come forward, state your name
and address so that we may have it for
[1:22:16] the record. Our policy requires that you
stay under three minutes so that all
[1:22:19] have time to be heard. Please direct all
comments to council as a whole and do
[1:22:24] not attempt to engage individual members
in debate. It is our policy to follow
[1:22:28] through with you on your concern.
Additionally, we ask that any groups
[1:22:31] that want to address council designate a
spokesperson for that same reason. With
[1:22:36] that being said, are there any citizens
wishing to be heard at this time?
[1:22:41] Please come forward.
[1:22:50] one hand.
>> All right, sir.
[1:22:54] » Dr. Null. Good evening.
[1:22:59] » Uh, good evening everyone. My name is
uh, Michael Null. I live at 2305 Lindel
[1:23:03] Drive. It is good to see you all. I was
not expecting to hear the word data
[1:23:08] centers before, but um, I was carefully
listening to it. And uh, that brings me
[1:23:14] directly to the reason why I'm actually
here this evening. I urge the uh city
[1:23:20] council to uh pass a moratorum on data
centers and develop a robust data center
[1:23:27] ordinance and for a very specific
reason. Uh last Saturday um ELCAT Islam
[1:23:33] citizens against data centers actually
received a tip and uh there was a
[1:23:37] Facebook u page basically called land
for sale in Georgia uh which uh provided
[1:23:45] a rendition of what could be a wonderful
site for a data center and this one is
[1:23:48] big enough because more than 800 acres
would be south of Aldusta High School
[1:23:53] and uh not blaring this out right away.
I'd like to do my research. I was um
[1:23:58] trying to get an idea what may be going
on and then realized that within two or
[1:24:03] three days actually the post disappeared
from my Facebook but driving by on
[1:24:08] perimeter road as well as highway 84 you
can see the signs that are actually
[1:24:11] connected with a particular real estate
agency called Macallen they're not from
[1:24:15] here they're from around somewhere else
and if you go to their website you find
[1:24:19] out that actually this piece of land has
already been listed for more than 140
[1:24:23] days and there's also a description in
there does not use uh the word data
[1:24:28] center, but it also talks for at least
374 acres for industrial users.
[1:24:34] You all know how sensitive of and how
important of an issue data centers are
[1:24:38] for various reasons. Uh some of you have
been at the town hall meetings we
[1:24:42] organized on February 17 and April 17. I
think we handed out very early on
[1:24:47] already in January the general concerns
we have about data centers. Since that
[1:24:52] time, we have mainly focused on trying
to educate the general public and also
[1:24:55] educate our county commissioners on on
the issues that are connected with it.
[1:25:00] But uh having uh been exposed to this
potential idea and this may be just as
[1:25:05] speculative as the as the project you
basically approved although you zoned it
[1:25:09] to M1.
It is really important that we all know
[1:25:13] about this if you take a look at this
and that we also are actually
[1:25:15] considering a more term as well as a
data center ordinance. And then you have
[1:25:20] three handouts today. One is just simply
the quick narrative I created today to
[1:25:26] give you an idea of why I'm here tonight
to talk about data centers. And then an
[1:25:30] image that you can no longer find on
Facebook of this wonderful rendition
[1:25:34] using AI apparently to um show us what a
data center may look like south of Walta
[1:25:39] High School. The other two handouts you
received from me tonight, one is a
[1:25:43] simple example of a more terminate a
just passed not too long ago. And then
[1:25:48] the third handout you received is
basically a very decent uh data center
[1:25:53] ordinance of it was developed by Henry
County. I would like to bring you to
[1:25:56] your attention. So long story short,
data centers are on everyone's mind. I
[1:26:01] wake up with them. I go to bed with
them. It seems like they're not leaving
[1:26:04] me alone at all. But we can as a
community, county or city, makes no
[1:26:09] difference. um be progressive in in this
regard and just simply pass a moratorum,
[1:26:14] develop a data center ordinance to have
that in place as guard rails to protect
[1:26:19] our community, our natural resources,
and just simply do our job. That's all,
[1:26:24] Michael. Thank you. Thank you. Are there
any other citizens wishing to be heard
[1:26:29] at this time?
Now you got time.
[1:26:36] » Um because the air and it's really
important that we breathe. But anyway,
[1:26:41] I'm Susan Whailing, 2410 Georgia Avenue.
I want to thank you for three things.
[1:26:46] First, before I fuss, but um the
inclement weather shelter was much
[1:26:50] needed. Thank you all and the former
city manager, too. Um perfect timing,
[1:26:54] right, with this heat wave. Um thank you
for the excellent recycling program,
[1:26:58] which I heard is doing well, especially
with cardboard. Thank you for the strict
[1:27:02] garbage uh regulations. Those are really
important and citizens seem to be
[1:27:06] following along. And I hope that they're
doing more recycling. I do I do remember
[1:27:11] at the meeting though someone suggested
storing that data for three years of the
[1:27:15] garbage collection. I hope we're not
doing that. I hope we're doing months at
[1:27:17] a time. Um because when we keep adding
to this cloud all this information, then
[1:27:22] we need data centers. So we need to
reduce the amount of stuff we're storing
[1:27:27] in the iCloud. Um which brings me to
flock cameras. I'm totally opposed to
[1:27:33] flock cameras. I am not alone. As more
citizens get educated, they're very
[1:27:38] upset about it. Um, I think we need to
reduce the number of flot cameras. I
[1:27:42] think the bad guys are questionable who
we think are bad guys and who are not,
[1:27:46] but we seem to always be picking on the
poor. Um, and I don't like my data going
[1:27:51] across county, city, and state
boundaries. Um, and flock cameras
[1:27:57] surveil all of us 24 hours a day. They
use a lot of data storage. Again, we
[1:28:02] don't want data centers, so we don't
need more storage. Um, and then I also,
[1:28:08] if we're going to pass this huge tax
thing, and believe me, my neighbors are
[1:28:11] going to fuss. They fussed. We all
fussed when the county did. So, you're
[1:28:14] going to get a lot of flack. Just know
that. So, if you're going to raise our
[1:28:18] taxes, spend it on things that matter.
Like, if you don't want crime, invest it
[1:28:24] in the youth here. We have so I know so
many children that come to my door
[1:28:27] because they don't have shoes because
they're not allowed to wear Crocs to the
[1:28:30] high school. They're teased and bullied
because of the clothes they wear. Um
[1:28:34] they have no chance for the future. Uh
they my students who are police officers
[1:28:38] and the city and Reton and the county
tell me these students are free in the
[1:28:42] summer. There's nothing for them to do.
Trouble is easy. Um I took students to
[1:28:46] the prison and to the jail and a lot of
people are in there because of poverty.
[1:28:51] I don't see us doing much to alleviate
uh the well-being of children and the
[1:28:56] temptation that they might have to join
gangs. So, let's let's work on on
[1:29:00] improving chances for the youth here. Um
I also uh I don't know if you have the
[1:29:05] Bray land if that's for sale, but the
city bought a lot of land. Let's convert
[1:29:09] that land into parks and sports centers
instead of half a million dollar swap
[1:29:13] mobiles. Uh I was really disappointed by
that purchase. If we're going to I heard
[1:29:18] it was for the hurricane. Well, let's
buy trucks that pick up logs. Let's
[1:29:21] invest that splass money in the people
and the environment. Thank you,
[1:29:26] » Susan. Thank you. Is there any other
citizens wishing to be heard at this
[1:29:30] time?
Seeing none, we'll close out this
[1:29:33] portion of the evening and turn it over
to our city manager for the city manager
[1:29:37] report.
>> Just a few quick updates. We have the
[1:29:42] Valdasta Fire Department Citizens Fire
Academy that will start on Tuesday,
[1:29:46] August 25th. This academy gives citizens
an opportunity to go behind the scenes
[1:29:50] with the fire department and gain a
better understanding of the services
[1:29:54] provided by the fire department. Since
2014, the program has helped educate
[1:29:58] citizens and members of the business
community about fire department
[1:30:02] operations, increase fire and life
safety awareness, and build strong
[1:30:06] partnerships between the fire department
and the community. Alongside that, the
[1:30:10] Valdasta Fire Department has the 911 5K
coming up. This will be the 25th
[1:30:15] anniversary of September 11th, 2001,
honoring the lives lost, recognizing the
[1:30:20] courage and sacrifice of our first
responders, and supporting an important
[1:30:24] cause. The 911 5K will be held on
Saturday, September 20, September 5th,
[1:30:30] 2026 at 8 a.m. in downtown Valdasta.
And finally, we have the annual Expo
[1:30:36] Latino held by the Valdasta Main Street.
This will be on Saturday, September 19th
[1:30:42] from 11:00 a.m. to 7 pm at Unity Park.
The festival will feature live
[1:30:46] entertainment, authentic food, local
vendors, community organizations, family
[1:30:51] activities, and educational resources
celebrating the rich diversity of
[1:30:55] Hispanic and Latino cultures.
>> Jennifer, thank you. We'll now move on
[1:31:00] to council comments. I'll start down
with Thomas Sander.
[1:31:05] » Yes, I got two comments. I had one.
First of all, Uh I've had a lot of
[1:31:10] citizens asking about when we have
citizens to be heard and we tell them
[1:31:14] that we will talk to them after the
council meeting and uh some citizens
[1:31:19] have asked what do we say to him or what
is the results of it and they was
[1:31:23] wondering if there's any kind of way we
could um rehatch it or come back and
[1:31:28] review or tell what happened from that
conversation that we had with citizens
[1:31:32] to be heard. I told them I would ask the
council and we would see. I even told
[1:31:36] them to come up here and ask themselves,
but I don't see anybody here who asked
[1:31:40] me that question. But they were
inquiring as to what was the uh results
[1:31:45] from what we said to the people with
citizens to be heard. I did tell them a
[1:31:50] lot of times uh we do have something and
I thought one time we were we did have a
[1:31:56] paper some telling us what it is, but
some of the the public want to hear. So
[1:32:00] I don't know if that's something we can
bring up and do. I did. I bought it. My
[1:32:05] other thing I got to say is about this
approval for this industrial area over
[1:32:12] off of How Road. Now, I've been over
there at How Road and and I know it is a
[1:32:18] tight road is two lanes. If they're
going to have they're be able to only
[1:32:23] have one entrance coming on how road
when you coming off of that
[1:32:28] inner perimeter road coming down that
long that steep overbridgeidge. You got
[1:32:34] a bus from the city coming down how road
going west. You got a bus going to the
[1:32:41] Loun County bus bun going right. They
have to stop. I mean it's like almost
[1:32:47] going to hit. They're going to hit. They
got to go slow to get by them. Granted,
[1:32:51] one of it is the county. Probably the
reason they won't widen the road or do
[1:32:56] something, but it is a traffic zone. I
was between
[1:33:00] a truck and the big bus coming behind me
off that thing. I pulled out. I didn't
[1:33:06] think the bus was going to stop in time
to keep from hitting me when we turned.
[1:33:09] It is a bad intersection because you
can't help it. It's steep and you're
[1:33:13] going to come down fast. you can put
your brakes on or whatever, but it comes
[1:33:18] down fast. That's one thing. And they
only got one entrance. That's what I was
[1:33:21] looking at. How they going to have a
entrance way of somebody coming? If you
[1:33:25] got a big truck coming down that road,
I I just can't see how you're going to
[1:33:30] have those two people passing by. There
have been some studies with other places
[1:33:34] like DOT trying to look at how they're
going to make traffic come through them.
[1:33:39] » It is a big safety hazard. I can tell
you that now. I was very nervous when I
[1:33:45] saw, like I said, that big truck coming
behind me and it was coming down the
[1:33:49] bridge. I'm waiting behind this big bus
and I basically had to pull out. I did.
[1:33:54] I pulled out a little bit because it
just was coming too fast. Probably
[1:33:58] wasn't going to hit me. But you heard
what the man said about how many traffic
[1:34:03] accidents we've had in that area. They
haven't fixed it up. We got kids coming
[1:34:08] and I do know because I'm telling you
going down there in the morning to greet
[1:34:12] the kids, it's dark. You got cars
coming, they're going to it's just a
[1:34:17] it's a it's a disaster. And coming down
that residential road, you see people
[1:34:21] are mowing their yards on the side or
anything like that and you got a big
[1:34:25] truck coming and those buses coming. All
I can say is it is a big problem. You're
[1:34:31] looking for more accidents to happen.
But I also say this too for anybody who
[1:34:36] see asks why they did it. Y'all was
looking you see who voted for it. Don't
[1:34:40] come to me. Please don't ask me why they
would not think safety. You go to the
[1:34:45] person who voted for it. They had their
reason for looking at that and looking
[1:34:49] at why would you want that on that side
of the town anyway close to those kids.
[1:34:54] I have walked down when we had a little
rundown coming from uh JLOX. I went out
[1:34:58] there with the kids. We were planting
uh vegetables and stuff. We did a little
[1:35:03] quick run for exercise. That's why I
know you can walk from there. Those kids
[1:35:08] walk down that road on there. I don't
know if they will be doing that, but if
[1:35:12] you have a lot of trucks coming, got
industry, you got those trucks coming.
[1:35:17] I I just don't see it being safe. I got
a concern for it. And I was looking at
[1:35:22] them talking about this safety.
What is that? The zero traffic related
[1:35:27] death and serious injuries.
I'm going to be interested in find out
[1:35:32] how many more we continue to have in
that area if they have that they allow
[1:35:36] this indust in allow this organization
or this company to put an indust uh
[1:35:41] business there. Look like they said
they're going to have commercial on the
[1:35:44] front part in and the uh big industrial
on the back side. I don't know what
[1:35:50] they're going to do, but I got a feeling
they're going to really mess up and
[1:35:53] they're going to have this area close to
that school. Look at the school. Where
[1:35:56] the school at? What kids go to that
school? Look at the people who voted for
[1:36:00] that. What did they think about it? I
I'm I'm just I just can't I'm not happy
[1:36:05] about it. And I want y'all to know it.
And I'm sure you know as our kids I go
[1:36:09] out there with them. I see them. I'm
trying to learn about them and help with
[1:36:12] them. You put them in jeopardy. I feel
like they were put in jeopardy to allow
[1:36:17] this zoning to be put there in that
area. That's it.
[1:36:25] » Nick Cody. All right. I'll entertain a
motion to adjourn.
[1:36:30] » Second. We stand adjourned. Thank you
everybody.
[1:36:53] » I'm leaving with a lot more than I came
with. Look at this.