And congratulations and we'll congratulate
even more. >> Yep. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you,
Board, for taking time out for us to come represent or present to
you guys. I think a lot of these kids might have
to go to the chiropractor with the neck problems with all that weight they got
around their necks. Um
So, I'm going to call up the teams that I coach. My name is Hank
Shirley. I coach the 4-H um air rifle and 22 teams.
So, we're going to start with the the sporter air rifle team.
Morgan Abercrombie.
Willow Combs. Willow here?
Not here. Violet Combs.
Jackson Carter.
Preston Griner.
Finn Griner.
Braden Siems. Is Braden here tonight? I haven't seen him.
Kendall Mangum. Kendall didn't make it. Uh Will
Greathouse. And Bethany Shirley.
That's the sporter air rifle team. The sporter 22 rifle team
was Bethany Shirley, Preston Griner, Clayton Jennings,
and Daniel Jennings.
The 22 silhouette team was Preston Griner, Clayton Jennings, Daniel
Jennings, and Will Greathouse. And shooting precision air rifle and
three-position order uh three-position
uh smallbore rifle was Bethany Shirley. So, on the team accomplishments, uh the
sporter air rifle team got first place team CMP state championship for the
second consecutive year. Um they got first place team American
Legion State Championship. And they got the National Championship
team Orion sporter air rifle league in the
distinguished junior division. Uh, the individual recognitions for um,
sporter air rifle Morgan Abernathy got first place sporter air rifle
individual in the state CMP Championship.
And she also got first place sporter air rifle individual in the American Legion
State Championship. Kendall Mangham
got third place individual sporter air rifle in the CMP State Championship.
And Violet Combs got third place U17 sporter air rifle individual at the CMP
Southeast Regional Championship. Uh, sporter air rifle
the sporter 22 team placed fourth place in the state 4-H
State Championship. And the individual recognitions for
precision air and small bore Bethany Shirley earned second place individual
at the CMP precision 3P air rifle Southeast Regional Championship.
Third place precision air rifle team CMP uh, precision 3P air rifle Southeast
Regional Championship and third place junior small bore team
CMP National Championship. Uh,
these accomplishments are only represent a small highlight of what these kids
also uh, won a lot of uh, local matches and throughout the year so that's why
you see a lot more medals around their necks.
I'd also like to recognize our graduating seniors this year Clayton
Jennings Bethany Shirley.
I know that their time in 4-H has given them given both these athletes a strong
foundation for future success.
I want to also uh,
congratulate Bethany Shirley as a graduating senior on
her uh, she truly accomplished some outstanding things in um
over the course of her years competing with 4-H.
Her totals are eight state championship titles, five as an individual, three
team, six individual regional championships,
four individual
she's got four national championship titles, three individuals,
one team. She also holds three national records.
Team member national record 5-m BB high aggregate score,
individual national record CMP high score three-p position final score, and
individual national record highest aggregate score at the American Legion
national championship. She's also
she also received our distinguished marksmanship pin from the CMP, which is
very prestigious.
» [applause]
» Now, get closer together for a picture. >> [applause]
» There you go.
» Job well done. >> [applause]
[applause] >> So, I think the uh
the archery team's going to come up next, uh Gaylen.
» Good afternoon or evening.
If I could have the the members of the Archer team come up, Clinton Davis,
Gabriella Alfaro, and Hazel Alden.
All right. So, as Hank said, my name's Galen Davis. I'm the head Archer coach.
Um first, let me express the gratitude
to the county and and everything they do for the program.
Um it does not go unnoticed. Um
the new facilities that we have are
bar none the best in the state. And we are truly grateful.
This past year, we held a indoor fundraiser event.
We had 60 archers from around the state. Numerous counties
came up to us and commended us on that facility.
Okay? There's nothing like it in the state.
Right now, it is the largest indoor facility in the state.
Okay? So, that that's something to be proud
of. Um
we had a great season. You know, it was
um it was a season of of growth, a season
of of new archers coming into the program, which is always a good thing.
Um at state indoor, we had second place finisher, Hazel
Alden, in the compound novice class.
She finished second out of 111 shooters. Gabriella Alfaro finished third
in the senior compound female out of 94 archers.
At state outdoor, Gabriella Alfaro finished first in the
senior compound. That's male and female, so she finished first
out of the entire group. By finishing first, she was awarded
master status and was recognized at state 4-H Congress
a few weeks ago. Gabriella is one of a few
around the state that has been awarded the master status in individual
and as a team event. She was part of the team in 2024 that went to Nebraska.
So, that is a great accomplishment by itself.
Um again,
thank you for the continued support. We look forward to another successful
season. Thank you.
» [applause]
[applause]
» I don't think the I don't think the shotgun team could make it, so BB's up
next. Ms. Gordy, you
» I said that right, right? >> You did.
Fantastic. Hey, I'm Jamie Gordy. I am the head
coach of the Walton County 4-H BB team. Um and if I could have my BB shooters
come on up. There's a lot of them, so I won't call them out individually.
» When I was coaching, there were only eight.
» [laughter] >> We had We had 30 this year.
» I think you've grown a lot. >> [laughter]
» We do have the largest team in the state. So.
And they also won a few things this year.
» Please Please highlight them. >> [laughter]
» Um So, this is our team.
We first of all, are very thankful for the
facilities that y'all provide to us as get to
repeat what Galen said, they are the best BB facilities in the state. Um
and we are able to host multiple matches. Our biggest match this year was
almost 170 shooters. Um we have enough room to do that and people are just
amazed at it. So, we did have the largest team in the state this year with
about 30 shooters, which means we took multiple teams to each match. We
competed in almost a dozen matches. We had an undefeated regular season. We
were second in state because Cook County just had a really good day. And then
we um
had the top shooter in the state, Madison Everett.
So, and we had
on the test at state. BB is four positions. It's prone, standing,
sitting, and kneeling with a test and the test counts as part
of your score. So, we really focus on the test. So, having that many 100s at
state was amazing. We also had multiple 100s during the whole season. Um
So, that is our our
you know, our state this year. Now, this year we went to Nationals in Rogers,
Arkansas for the Daisy National BB Gun Championship.
Um and we won. We had a team of five girls
that shot almost the national record, two points
shy of the national record. They won first place by 57 points
over the second place team, which is a phenomenal
the highest margin of victory ever that anyone could remember at Daisy, and shot
the highest score ever shot at Daisy. Not only that, the team
um had a perfect 500 on the test, which earned them the polity for test
trophy. So, phenomenal. We had two alternates who
competed compete and earned did great. We had a team of champions
who uh four champions who shot on the team last year that were able to compete
this year who also did amazing. But, my five team members
that earned the golden trophy were um Olivia Barth,
Violet Combs, Freya Combs, Madison Everett,
and Aubrey Finley. So,
shake my hand. >> [applause]
[applause] >> Huddle them together. I want to get a
picture of the trophy.
Come forward a little bit and then get behind.
A group of you kneel and others get behind it. Bunch in.
Good.
Yeah. Rock.
Yeah.
» [applause]
» Jamie. >> [applause]
» Jamie. Jamie, y'all y'all just stay up here,
Jamie. Yeah, I'd like to I'd like to call the
uh air rifle team back up. And uh
all the coaches and parents everybody come back up.
Parents.
Everybody. Y'all were fixing to get up and leave
when this is over anyway, so you might as well get out of that chair.
» Get a group picture. >> Okay, so
we do this every year. Walton County's very successful and we come up here and
we brag about what we do every year and uh
last year uh Sheriff Brooks was here and he watched
uh he watched what was going on and he he heard a little bit about how far we
travel and uh he called me about
about the beginning of the year, sometime in January I think it was, and
said, "Hey, I want to do a fundraiser
for the for the SAFE teams." And we started talking and we worked it out and
uh he ended up doing a clay shoot for us
and it was phenomenally successful. Um and then uh
» Uh hello everyone. My name's Joe Brunson
and I'm the Walton County uh extension agent. And uh
so tonight we wanted to take a moment and recognize uh and thank Sheriff
Brooks for his incredible support of the Walton County
4-H SAFE shooting sports programs. The success of our youth shooting sports
programs depends on strong community partnerships and Sheriff Brooks has gone
above and beyond by investing his time and personal commitment to helping our
athletes succeed. Through his fundraising efforts with the
support of Beyond the Badge, more than $30,000 has been raised this year to
support these SAFE teams. These programs are not just about
shooting or competition, they're about building character and preparing our
youth to become responsible citizens and tomorrow's leaders. Sheriff Brooks, on
behalf of our athletes, families, coaches, and supporters, thank you for
believing in these young people and for recognizing the importance of giving
them opportunities to succeed. Thank you very much.
» [applause]
» We uh >> [applause]
» the the SAFE teams had a plaque made for the Sheriff. Uh
it's the first annual event, so we're expecting to do this again every year.
Thank [laughter] you, Sheriff Brooks.
» I just want to say great job you kids, young adults, but the coaches, I know
how much effort it takes to work with these,
and great job. Y'all making Walton proud.
» That's it.
» Very good. >> [applause]
» Now, Hank, we will give you all a couple minutes before we go to the next award
if if all these want to leave. >> Yes, sir.
» You're right. Hank did a wonderful job on that facility, didn't he?
» [laughter]
» Uh we've got a retirement recognition. Uh Walton County Fire Rescue
is it
Is the chief here? Is he going to
Herbert Huff Jr. >> Yeah, I'll I'll I'll go ahead and start
this. Um just so everybody knows, every every
month we honor our retirees that'll be moving on into retirement from service
to Walton County. And we do this every month just because we want to make sure
that we honor them and respect their service.
Our first retiree, Herb Huff, if you'll step forward.
Herb was hired as a firefighter driver engineer in 2002.
Promoted to captain in 2013. Promoted to fire captain in 2014.
In 2021, he continued serving as the fire captain while also taking on the
additional role of temporary deputy coroner.
He'll be retiring in 2026 after 24 years of dedicated service to Walton County as
a fire captain. Just like to appreciate everything you've done for us and honor
you with plaque tonight.
Thank you, sir. >> [applause]
[applause]
» I think I found one. >> [applause]
» Thank you.
Ms. Donna Boone, is she here tonight?
No. Ms. Donna
is going to be retiring from the tax as tax clerk. She was hired as tax clerk
in 2010, promoted to senior tax and tag clerk in 2013.
Promoted to property tax supervisor in 2019. She'll be retiring in 2026
as property tax supervisor after 16 years of dedicated service.
I'd like to honor her tonight, too.
» [applause]
» And finally, Sam Blue. Uh if he's here tonight, if you will step forward and
I'll also have Ronnie step forward. Uh Sam was hired as a paramedic in 2014 and
he'll be retiring in 2026 as a paramedic after 12 years of service. So, thank
you, sir, for all of your service.
» [applause]
» I can say a lot about Sam tonight and
all the things he's done and how much we appreciate him and we do
very much appreciate all that he's done. I'd like to thank him personally
for the service that he's rendered to Walton County EMS
and to the people of this county. He's made a lot He's made a difference
in a lot of people's lives through the years.
Sam's one of those employees that when you uh
see his name on the schedule, it means that I have to worry a lot less
that day. You know he's going to show up.
You know he's going to do a good job. You know he's going to do the right
thing. And you know he's going to treat people
right. And that's all the things that are
important to me also as a director of the service.
Sam's been a loyal employee. He's been an advisor not only to the
fellow employees, but to me also. I've always respected his opinion
and felt that I could trust him. I could trust him. He would tell me He'd tell me
the truth about things. He's also been a friend through the
years that we've we've grown close. Our friendship has
grown grown strong. And I I hate to see him go. He's one of
those employees that you just don't want to
lose. He's going to leave a void
in our service. When he leaves, a lot of knowledge and a
lot of experiences going are is going to leave with him.
But as I was thinking today, a lot of that's going to stay in the people that
he's helped train and mentor
through the years. These younger generation of
paramedics and EMTs that have come along,
Sam has helped them. And that part will stay on and it'll live on for a long
time after Sam is Sam is gone.
So we do we're going to miss him.
And but we wish him well in his in his endeavors and
all the rest of the days of of his life. And Sam, we love you.
And uh we we appreciate you and we know that God's going to bless you in
anything and everything that we do. So thank you.
» [applause]
[applause]
» Okay. Huh?
» I'd like to comment to these guys. >> Go ahead.
» Hey uh I'd like to personally thank the retirees for tonight, but also
especially Herb and Sam. I've had the privilege of [snorts and clears throat]
working alongside both of them at times, and they're some of the best
in the business and the wealth of knowledge and the patient care from both
of them. These guys were the first one on the scene and the last guys off.
They always dedicated their heart and soul to this county and the people in
it. So thank y'all for what y'all have done.
Thank you. >> [applause]
» Okay, we have the American Red Cross recognition of Walton Fire Rescue sound
the alarm event.
» Hello, my name is Patty Duckworth. I'm the executive director of the Northeast
Georgia chapter and I'm joined by my colleague Katie Eckhardt. She's
situational awareness and planning for the state of Georgia with the American
Red Cross. Um I'd like to invite the Walton County Fire Department to please
join me.
Oh yeah, all you guys come on down.
» [laughter]
» Guys, I want to tell you you have the best of the best in this county. You
genuinely do from your sheriff to your fire department. I work with 21 counties
and I'm going to tell you these guys make our lives so much easier and we
hope we provide the same to them. It is our honor to present the Good
Neighbor Award to Walton County Fire Department in recognition of their
outstanding partnership with the American Red Cross of Northeast Georgia
and their continued commitment to keeping families safe throughout Walton
County. This past March, we had the privilege of
partnering with Walton County Fire Department in our Sound the Alarm event.
Together, our teams went door-to-door in the community installing 55 free smoke
detectors and providing families with important home safety and preparedness
information. But their commitment didn't end when
that event was over. Throughout the year, the Walton County Fire Department
has continued their important work installing an additional 40 smoke
detectors in homes across the community, bringing our combined impact to the to
95 smoke alarms installed. Home fires are the most frequent
disaster the Red Cross responds to, and having working smoke alarms can provide
families with the critical time they need to safely escape from home fire.
Outreach like this is much more about is is about much more than installing an
alarm. It's about prevention, preparedness,
education, and neighbors looking out for neighbors.
The Walton County Fire Department truly embodies what that means to be a good
neighbor. Their willingness to work alongside our volunteers,
welcome us into their community, and continue this life-saving work
throughout the year demonstrates an incredible commitment to the people they
serve. We are tremendously grateful for their
partnership and for the trust and collaboration that exists between our
organizations. Together, we are helping making Walton Coun- Walton County safer,
stronger, and better prepared. On behalf of the American Red Cross of
Northeast Georgia, it is our privilege to present the Good Neighbor Award to
the Walton County Fire Department. Thank you for your service, your partnership,
and everything you do for our community.
» [applause]
[applause]
» Thank y'all. >> [applause]
» Thank y'all for being here.
All right. If everyone will stand, we'll do the pledge of allegiance and have the
invocation.
» pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
» Amen.
Okay, if anyone would like to leave before I call the meeting to order,
now's the time.
Enjoy Enjoy the evening.
All right. So, who reboots that?
» Yeah.
» If not, I entertain a motion to uh >> [snorts]
» adopt the agenda. >> So moved.
» Second. >> We have a motion, we have a second. All
those in favor say I. >> I.
» I. >> Opposed?
Passes unanimous. John, I'm going to turn this old
business over to you real quick. >> Sure. Um after some discussion, we've
got two different work sessions have been proposed. One that directly
involves the uh repurposing of the administration portion of the old jail
um for department expansions and instead of having multiple work session
meetings, one of the uh proposed ideas was to
consolidate these two. And um like to for your consideration to
set a meeting on August 25th. It's a Tuesday.
And if we start off like to start off with parks and
recreation as the first part of the meeting from
5:30 till 6:30 and the second part of the meeting from
6:30 till 7:30 of old jail renovation discussion among the
commission. That way we can set one meeting,
tackle both of those issues, and we will go ahead and advertise that
uh work session at a set time so that if um
somebody wants to come for one topic or the other, they can select which one or
everybody's welcome to come for both.
» Okay. Do we need to
make that a motion to set this up or just agree to
» I think that's a great idea. >> Yes. Thank you for your help and
coordination on making all that happen. >> All right.
Now we go straight to your report, John. You keep the mic.
» Okay, I'll I'll try to run this through from the different departments. Um Parks
and Recreation fall registration is complete. We have 2,000 973
kids participating in recreational sports across Walton County.
On September 19th at The Grove, we're going to have a craft fair.
On um
September 26th, we're going to have a charity concert and bouncy houses from
1:30 till 10:00 at night. There'll be three bands playing at the amphitheater.
And on August 15th, um there is a road race and kayak race
at Hard Labor Creek State Park or Hard Labor Creek Reservoir.
Um and that is going to be a 5K. And if anybody on the commission wants
to participate, we'll wave uh the entry fee.
» What was the date of that? >> August 15th.
» Yeah, can I bring an electric bike? >> Yeah.
Um in um Walton EMS uh
uh they've been
very busy. They're processing the hiring of six
uh additional staff um with one that's finishing paramedic
school this fall. And we have two more staff members that'll be starting class
in the fall as paramedics and EMS. And um
Keep Walton Beautiful. The staff have completed their annual
litter assessment for the county. All of the six districts had improved index
scores, but there's always uh room for improvement.
And we'd like to encourage any of the public that would like to assist with
the Adopt-a-Road program to reach out to Keep Walton Beautiful to help uh uh
participate in that. In finance, the auditors will be
arriving August 31st to perform the FY26 audit and will be reporting back to you.
They'll be on site for 3 weeks. Um so we're moving forward with that
process. Walton County Water,
we currently have 18,452 active customers.
Um we have the water rate study which is in
process. Morris and I are working together with them on that. The water
portion of the DOT project for the roundabout at 138 and 81 is now
complete. Um the water portion for Highway 20
uh improvements um they're continuing, but they're moving slowly.
Um and then we continue to wait for the work at the 78 bridge at Highway 138
which has been delayed. Um the water plant at Hard Labor Creek
Reservoir is on schedule. They're currently 50 uh percent complete now
and expect a completion date of January of 2028.
Uh and we have phase one and phase two water transmission lines that are under
construction as we speak. In public works,
um completed resurfacing portions of um Bay
Creek Church Road and Youth Monroe Road. And they've completed HA5 pavement
preservation projects in the columns at Providence Club and Wood Lake
subdivision.
Fire, um, currently just wanted to do a
shout-out from their acknowledgements and everything, but we also
have needs in the fire department. We have open firefighter one and
firefighter two positions currently with 12 positions across the department open.
So, if anybody's interested in fire, um, we encourage you to apply.
In In planning, we move We're moving forward. In June, we had 21
single-family permits for the month. And so far in July, we have, uh, issued 24
single-family permits following up.
Carl has been busy with the different storms and emergency management. And one
of the things that I just wanted to commend all the departments between the
sheriff's department, fire, and emergency management is for our, um,
ongoing preparation that they've been completing to make sure that our, um,
students are, uh, all taken care of and, um, as they return back to school.
And finally, we currently have a head count of 1,035 employees across HR
department. We just completed an update from the, um,
employee health clinic. All of our numbers continue to go up, which are
resulting in increased participation, results in increased savings across the
board of providing health insurance. And one final thing that I have, um, on my
report is that we have a conflict, like we did last year in the month of
November, with the clerk's training. So, Rhonda and Gretchen are expected to get
mandated training the first week of November. So, we've double-checked with
planning and the other departments that would have timing and scheduling issues
and we will um need to be recommending that we delay
the regular meeting on the 3rd until the 10th the next week so that we don't have
any conflicts with the planning commission or anything. So, if you would
um consider making that change and
approving that and to move forward so they can attend that training and not
have to drive through the middle of the night to try to get to that after a
commission meeting. Um I'd appreciate it for So, it'll be November 10th at 6:00.
» Let's uh go ahead and take care of that now if uh if y'all
» Make a motion to change that meeting to the 10th.
» I'll second. >> We have a motion and a second. Any
further discussion? All those in favor, say I.
» I. >> Opposed?
» Moving forward, we'll do our best. We don't always know what the clerk
training schedule's going to be, but um but if it does appear that they're going
to keep it the first week of November, we'll go ahead and as we set up our
calendar for next year, we'll try to avoid that one just so we don't have to
change it. But with that, that concludes my report tonight, sir.
» Thank you very much. Any questions of the county manager on any of the items
he covered? Thank you, John.
» You're welcome. >> All right, the next uh
item six are resolutions. First one is to adopt our 2026 millage rate.
And what we're proposing is leaving the mill rate exactly as the same as last
year at 12.278.
And in the same resolution covers the special fire district
millage rate and it's exactly the same at 2.365.
We've held the three public meetings and need to move forward on this. So,
» I make a motion to approve. >> We got a motion to adopt the millage
rates. >> Second.
» We got a second. Any further discussion?
All those in favor say I. >> I.
» Oppose? >> I.
» I.
» Who I know Lee voted no. >> Dixon.
» And Dixon.
Still carries four to two. All right. Next item on the adoption
of millage rates, we have to adopt the schools millage rate.
Uh because we're
This is where it's done. Uh their millage rate
is recommended at 15.367 mil
is uh and zero for debt service. So, they
have no debt service. And I understand that's a slight
reduction from last year. >> That is correct.
» All right. We'll need a motion to adopt the schools millage rate.
» So moved. >> We got a motion.
» Second. >> We got a second.
Any further discussion? All those in favor of that say I.
» I. >> I.
» Oppose?
All right. We got budget amendments with the sheriff's office youth
investigations. Item 63.
» The >> [clears throat]
» first one is the budget transfer to move funds from we've got law admin, uniform
patrol, court services, and 911 personnel accounts in the amount of
$481,627.83
to law admin, uniform patrol, and youth investigation personnel accounts in the
amount of $477,509.21.
This was approval of position changes, reclassification, and grade changes that
was approved during July 7th board meeting. This transfer would have an
increase in fund balance. And the second line item is for
youth investigation, a budget transfer to move funds from regular and personnel
accounts in the amount of $86,382.64
to temporary and personnel accounts in the amount of $86,382.64.
This request is relates to a deputy sheriff position being unfunded to fund
two temporary deputy sheriff position. This transfer would have no effect on
fund balance. >> Okay, are there any questions from the
board? >> Motion to approve.
» Second. >> We got a motion to approve and a second.
All those in favor, say I. >> I.
» Opposed?
As is. All right, we got item 64, budget amendment and project link budget,
Splash 5, Barrington Manor resurfacing project.
» Yes, sir. This is our project link budget for Barrington Manor.
Uh there is a typo on the on the project link budget. The the total cost
would be $69,533.
» Instead of $102,000? >> Yes, sir.
» Okay. 69 >> $533.50.
» That's a big typo. >> Well, it uh
our system builds in uh shoulder work and striping, which won't be needed for
this project. >> Okay.
This will be coming out splash five. >> Splash five, yes sir.
» All right. Entertain a motion. >> I'll take a motion to approve.
» We got a motion to approve. >> Second.
» We got a second. Any questions? Any discussion?
All those in favor say aye. >> Aye.
» Aye. >> Oppose.
Thank you, sir.
Item 6.5 was added to the agenda today. The attorney's been working on it
and finally got it done today.
Uh the water department
uh water and sewer department's going to
have to bond money to finish up the transition lines
and we're spending money right now and the bonds haven't been funded yet.
So, this is a uh intent resolution for reimbursement
for money we've spending now uh
once the bonds are funded to get paid back.
Any questions on this from the board?
» Motion to approve. >> We got a motion to approve.
» Second. >> We got a second.
Any further discussion? All those in favor say aye.
» Aye. >> Aye.
» Oppose. Passes.
All right. Planning and development, fun part of the meetings.
» All right. Uh item 7.1 is a zoning case
Z26-0158.
Propose to rezone 3.9 acres from R1 to A1 to have personal outside animals.
The applicant is Carlos Barahona. Uh
owner is Anita Panjwani, Arash Panjwani, and Cynthia D. Santos Diaz. The property
is located at 2487 Johnson Road, map and parcel C01-00016.
It's in District 2. Uh there was there was some opposition
at the Planning Commission meeting, and the Planning Commission recommended
denial.
» All right, thank you. I'm going to turn it over for the count to the county
attorney to hold the public hearings.
» Before we start, just remind everyone that we follow the same
for each public hearing. Uh the applicant will go first. You have
up to 10 minutes to speak. Um
followed by those that are in favor, and then those in opposition.
will have a total of 10 minutes as well. So, please state your name and address
before you speak. Um and then any time not used by the
applicant's side can be reserved for rebuttal. With that, will the applicant
in the first case like to come forward to address the board?
» You can go ahead and tell them to come forward if they'd like to.
» Good afternoon. My name is Carlos Barahona.
I have come before you uh again to see what has transpired for the situation on
my case.
I wanted to know if it has been approved or not.
» Can Can you ask him to explain what his request is tonight and if it's any
different than in the past?
» It has been the same request.
To have permission to have uh
chickens and two ponies.
And it they're not for sale, it's only for family purposes.
The neighbors on the left side of the property,
uh they're in agriculture.
And I have temporarily lodged my animals in that location.
That is all.
» Any questions for the applicant?
How many animals do you have currently? I guess it's chickens mostly, correct?
» Yes, chickens and six roosters. >> How many chickens?
» Uh there have been about 16 to 17 chickens and quantus.
And the smaller ones are
only 2 months old and there about 20 of them.
» And currently you don't have any chickens on your property.
» I do have a chicken coop in the area because I have not placed it in my
neighbor's uh location for now.
Yeah. And the neighbor on the other side on
the right side has taken pictures because I one time I left the door open
and the chickens came back in
to my property.
That is all. >> I have a question for the applicant.
Thank you, sir. >> Gracias, senor.
» Is there anyone else here who would like to speak in favor of this request?
Is there anyone here who would like to speak in opposition?
» Yes. >> Please come forward one at a time.
Will you be able to sit there? I don't know if the state time is really
that.
» My name is Lawrence Bowman. I live next door
to him at 2487 Johnson Road, Loganville. I've been there for 33 years. I've never
had a problem with a neighbor nowhere until this.
And so far as his leaving the gate open one time, these chickens have
This was brought up here last year. And it was denied.
And y'all gave him 30 days to get rid of the chickens.
The chickens have I don't know how many times code enforcement has been out
there because of the chickens being on his property.
And and the chickens have remained on his property. I have pictures here that
y'all are welcome to look at. And this was took
Some of these was took last month at the day of the meeting.
» Thank you. >> And uh
So far as being 18 chickens, there's way more 18 chickens.
» Sir, come back to the mic for us. >> the last meeting he said he had some in
incubation. And they're not for sale. The eggs are
not for sale. There's only three people that I know of that live there.
How many chickens can three people use? And
uh my my problem is if this is re-zoned uh
he can have hogs, anything over there.
And this this property is zoned for residential that's and I've been there
for 33 years. There's been no problem with it.
And I've got a picture on my phone that I
took yesterday of feathers in my yard where something
has killed some chickens. And let me tell you something, when you
run over a dead chicken that's been there for a couple of days
with a zero turn lawn mower, it makes a mess.
And it stinks. And then I have to clean my your lawn
mower and everything. And I've done this two
or three times. This is not the first time.
And and So far as it
Listen, these chickens are there but but the last meeting we had here last month,
that afternoon, I bet there was 40 chickens in that yard.
On my way home.
So, that's all I've got to say. It's just you know, y'all y'all already ruled
on this once. I don't understand how long this has got to go on and I don't
understand why after being ruled on, that he continued
to be able to keep the chickens.
That's all I got to say. >> Thank you.
» Just to let y'all know our code enforcement officer is here if y'all
have any questions for him.
» Good evening, everyone. My name's Ryan Nesbitt.
I live diagonally across the street from the gentleman with the chickens.
So, they don't impact me directly now because they don't come across the
street, but what Lawrence was saying, we've already
ruled on this once. All we're doing different this time is
[clears throat] changing the wording in the paperwork from
chickens to now basically every kind of animal he can dream up.
This is an ongoing thing. This is This We got to stop this somewhere.
We continue to go over this and we changing words and changing language and
we're allowing this to continue growing, not
not not just staying the same, but this is growing. He's he's breeding animals
over there. What do we think he's going to do with a
horse? Cuz the last time he was here, he said he wanted a male and female pony.
Well, that to me screams breeding cuz he's already doing it with the chickens.
Why do you need 15 roosters or six or however many he's got
if you just want pet chickens? You don't need a rooster over there.
Roosters are only good for a couple of things.
So, there's more to this than what he's
saying. So, if we allow this to go on to go further, it is it is going to
propagate into something that we're not being told. And I think a lot of us can
assume what that is. Um we didn't abide by the ruling the
first time, so he did what he wanted to. If we don't do it this time, he's going
to do it again, and it's just going to keep on going.
And where is it going to stop? I mean, it's in y'all's hands to stop this.
We're here pleading to y'all to do so. We've been there for 30 years as well.
Well, 32. Uh
residential, that's what we bought in. If you want a farm, go buy a farm where
it's already agriculture. Don't move into a residential area and
change it. Go buy yourself a farm, man. Okay,
there's plenty of them out there. I'm sorry.
Anyway, that's it, okay? All right, thank you.
» Thank you. >> Anyone else like to speak in opposition?
Sir, would you like to rebut? >> But the comments that have been made
» Okay. >> Yes.
» If you can see up in the corner, the last four lots are agriculture.
I came last year to do the planification.
And three people came in.
I don't get [clears throat] involved with anybody. Uh it's not the issue for
uh neighbors that I have.
The gentleman that just spoke, he is about 2 acres away
uh in difference. I don't know what the difference might be.
And the the name Mark, he is present.
I showed him pictures and the
I showed him videos and photos of the situation.
And my fence was messed up. I didn't mention
anything because I didn't want any issues about it.
I just wanted to ask if it's illegal to dump trash from one property to the
other one.
And I do not make a formal police complaint because I know that there are
older persons.
And [clears throat] I also the attitude that they had towards this
meeting and uh it's not their money. It is my money
that I have spent.
I bought the area believing that it was an area for agriculture and if I didn't
if I was aware that it was that I would have not bought it.
And since I first bought the property, the first gentleman that spoke has
always been giving me complaints. It's not just now.
It may be because I'm Hispanic or I don't know what the issue is.
And that's it. That is all. I do not want any more controversies.
Thank you. >> Thank you.
» [clears throat] >> That's it.
» We we need to have you at the podium. Is board in agreement or
» I'm not sure what Baron has on the on the rezone.
Does everything do the rezone? >> [clears throat]
» He had some dead trees that was growing along the fence line on his side of the
fence. One of them broke off and fell over the fence and broke the fence.
It was his tree. Broke his fence.
And it laid there for 2 weeks. And I cut it up and I didn't know that I couldn't
throw it back over the fence on his side.
It was his tree and I did. And the code enforcement guy come over to the house
and said, "You can't do that." I said, "Okay. I didn't know that." I
told him, I said, "Write me a ticket." He said, "Oh, no. I'm just letting you
know you can't do that. You can't if it if it's a tree unless you wrote a letter
saying that it's a dead tree. If it falls on your property, then you're
responsible to clean it up. But I did not damage his fence. That tree damaged
his fence and it's still damaged. He has not fixed it.
As far as the trash, I've never thrown no trash over his on his side. Now those
bags and stuff where he feeds those chickens blows all over my yard all the
time and I pick them up and I do not throw them back over on his side.
But that's what happened. And as far as the other complaint that he said in the
last meeting, he said I complained about his dogs. I did not complain about his
dogs. He had them tied to a dog house in the yard when the
temperature was down to 13° and they howled all night. Somebody
called animal control. They went out and gave him a warning two or three times
[laughter] about not tying those dogs. Every time he would leave, they tie them
up again. And animal control called me and wanted
to know if they could come up to my driveway where they could see over in
the backyard where those dogs were tied or not. And I told them they could and
they came and they got the dogs. They took the dogs. That's what happened
to those. So that's what happened.
» Okay, thank you. >> Thank you.
» Public hearing is closed. >> I'm sorry.
» Closing the public hearing. >> All right, we're closing public hearing
and entertaining what the board wants to do.
» Yes, sir. I appreciate everybody coming out tonight and
um this is a tough one but I'm going to go
with the planning commission recommendation for denial.
I'm going to recommend denial.
» And we have a second. >> Second.
» All right, any further discussion? All those in favor of Mr. Myers' motion,
say I. >> I.
» Oppose. >> I.
» We have a second. >> Second.
» We got Kirkland opposed, correct? >> Yes.
» All right, let's go on to seven. >> I got one question. So, if if he keeps
them chickens and they running loose, what are we going to do about it?
Yes, sir. Huh?
Well, he said they were still there. >> It's an citing.
Right now, they's in compliance. He's got three properties that
on the right of him that butt up to his property, all three are A1.
Uh he's moved his chicken coop over 50 ft into the neighbor's yard.
And that's where he's storing his chickens at this time.
» Okay. >> And they apparently have got out or he
lets walks them.
But he is storing them on the neighbor's property, which is A1.
» All right. >> Anything else?
» Any other questions?
Thank you. All right, let's move on to 7.2.
Um
» All right. Uh case Z 260139
is application to rezone 3.11 acres from R1 to A1
to have personal animals uh personal outside animals. The applicant is Dinko
Chepic. The owner is Dinko and Marissa Chepic.
The property is located at 3460 Stock Road. It's
map and parcel C0720061. It's in district five.
At the planning commission meeting, there was no opposition in the planning
commission recommended approval as submitted.
» All right.
» Good evening. My name is Dinko Sepic. I live in I own
at 3460 uh Stock Road. Uh nothing's changed from the previous um
plan. Uh plan is to build a small chicken coop
uh with proper setbacks in the backyard. Uh 6x5 chicken coop uh just to house a
couple hens.
» How many How many chicken will you have, sir?
» Uh no chickens now. The plan is to have four, hopefully.
» All right, I'll entertain uh a motion from the board.
» Motion to approve with Planning and Zoning recommendation.
» All right, we got a motion to approve. >> Second.
» We got a second.
Any further comments or observations?
All those in favor, say I. >> I.
» Oppose?
All right, 7-3. >> All right, the next case is Z-260156.
Application is uh to rezone 7.486
acres from A2 to B2 for a convenience store with fuel pumps,
an office warehouse {slash} contractor storage buildings.
The applicant owner is 81 Investment Company LLC.
Property is located at uh 5187 Highway 81
and Bay Creek Church Road. It's map and parcel C039-0008.
It's in District 1. Uh there was some opposition at the
Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission recommended approval
with the following conditions. One, a 10-ft landscape buffer shall be
planted with appropriate evergreen buffer trees per the Walton County tree
ordinance. Uh number two is the frontage of uh
convenience store shall be enhanced with deciduous trees and shrubs.
Number three is the architectural treatment shall be in keeping with the
applicant's submitted renderings. Four was transportation upgrades as
recommended by the traffic study shall be installed by
DOT and Walton County transportation coordination.
And the uh number five is outdoor storage shall be prohibited in the
storage area.
» Good evening. Uh I'm Andrea Gray, 300 East Church Street, Monroe, Georgia.
This evening I have the pleasure of representing 81 Investment Company LLC
and their request to rezone 7.486 acres from A2 to B2 for a convenience
store with fuel pumps, office warehouse, contractor storage.
The property, again as Ron mentioned, is located at the corner of Highway 81 and
Bay Creek Church Road. It is currently zoned A2, but is directly adjacent to
another convenience store that is zoned B2. So, we've got a commercial node
along a state highway. This is the future land use map. It is
in the neighborhood residential character area, which permits B2 uses
that support the surrounding community. Again, we are in a commercial node, and
we are in the Big Haynes Alcove River Watershed Overlay District, and our site
plan reflects the requirements within those districts.
There are other commercial properties in the vicinity on Highway 81. If you're
going 1 mile to the west, we've got actually six commercial properties
interspersed along the road there. We've got another gas station again across the
road from this development. We've got a dog grooming facility, HVAC company,
self-storage facility, a pet salon, and then number six there is just inside the
city limits of Loganville and was recently rezoned for a retail
development there.
The uses that we're proposing again is a convenience store, which is roughly
7,000 square feet. It'll have the store with some retail on either side of it,
fuel pumps. The storage area is three buildings. Those will total about 37,000
square feet. Per the watershed protection overlay,
75% of the surfaces on this property will be pervious, so only 25%
impervious. And as mentioned, and I'll show a little
bit further in the presentation, we have agreed to do a 10-ft landscaping strip
and fencing to help our adjoining properties with the visual impacts of
the project. Here's a representative rendering of the
convenience store and fuel pumps. You can see it's it's a very upgraded
material upgraded in coordination between the pumps and the building with
brick and stone veneer accents along with metal
overhangs to match between the building and the fuel pump overhang there.
Likewise, the storage areas, these are not self-storage facilities. These are
much larger intended to house inventory for
companies, but much larger roll-up doors and then individual entry doors as well.
But the metal siding here is meant to coordinate with the convenience store
colorings. It'll also have the brick or stone veneer knee wall.
History about this application, we did have someone speaking off this issue in
last month primarily about the history. But the history of this matter is that
it was filed about a year or so ago and then withdrawn. My client withdrew
it to address some of the concerns that the neighbors raised. So during that
period, he had a community meeting with those neighbors.
And based on their their representations about concerns of visual and traffic, he
met with GDOT and provided the plans to GDOT for their recommendations. He hired
a traffic study from an engineer. He changed the site plan to include
additional 10-ft buffer strips and to add fencing around the storage
buildings. He also established operational
strategies as far as no outdoor storage, no tractor-trailer parking,
added a single gated entrance with cameras to the storage facilities.
And um, and again, made an extra effort to reach back out to those neighbors,
uh, once he was ready to refile this application. Um, I sent you a letter to
include in the application regarding his efforts here.
So, the traffic analysis that he had completed, um, showed that on Bay Creek
Church Road, there would be 422 added daily trips with half turning right and
half turning left. And then on the entrance on Highway 81, it showed 466
daily trips, half going right and half turning left. Um, the recommendations
from the engineer, uh, which GDOT also concurs with, is that on Highway 81, my
client would add a both a center turn lane
and a right turn deceleration lane on Highway 81. And then at the Bay Creek
Church Road entrance, he would add a right turn deceleration lane. So,
significant improvements, um, all of which my client is willing to make to
make sure that there are no significant traffic impacts from this development.
Um, buffers and mitigation of impacts, you'll see in the green here, these are
the 10-ft landscape strips that my client added to the site plan.
Um, the first is along Highway 81 there to the north, screening those, um,
storage facilities. And then the second is to the south, um, and it's intended
to screen along with a opaque fence and then within the 50-ft buffer from those
adjoining property owners to the south.
Security, there'll be downward, inward-facing lighting, but security
will make sure that, um, that everything is properly lit. There'll be video
cameras, um, gated access to the storage facilities, and then perimeter fencing,
um, around the entire development, but then also specifically around the
storage facility area.
This development will bring significant community benefits to Walton County. Um,
it'll will a need, a demand for additional fuel stations in this area.
It is a high-end design. My client is a local uh developer here, and he wants to
make sure that this product reflects well on him and on this community. Um
so, it's not your typical um typical gas station and storage area.
This project will bring jobs to our community. It will generate sales tax,
and it will generate property taxes to support our community.
So, our request this evening is for you to adopt the planning commission's
recommendations, and to approve rezoning 7.486 acres from A2 to B2 with the five
conditions. I won't I won't read them again. Uh Ron did a great job doing
that, but we are happy to comply with all of those conditions. And with that,
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
» Any questions for the applicant at this time?
Thank you. Anyone else like to speak in favor of
this request? Anyone here that would like to speak in
opposition?
No one else would like to speak here? Okay, we'll close that public hearing
and entertain a motion from the board. >> I motion to approve with the conditions
outlined by the planning and zoning committee.
» We have a motion to approve with the uh conditions that were recommended.
» I second. >> And we got a second.
Any further discussion? All those in favor, say I.
» I. >> Opposed?
Thank you.
Okay, it's time to move on to the contracts.
We've got a contract uh with Sheriff's Department and Loganville
Christian Academy to to uh supply them with a school resource
officer. Is that correct? >> Yes, sir.
» Um >> Contract covers the not the loaded labor
rate, but the base salary cost. >> All right. Any questions from the board
on that?
If
That's uh any of these agreement amendments
will be subject to the county's attorney's review.
Uh all right, entertain a motion on 8.1. >> I make a motion to approve uh with
review of the county attorney. >> Second.
» All right, we got a motion and second. All those in favor say I.
» I. >> Opposed?
Thank you on that one. All right, we got Med Trust LLC on the
inmates wanting to raise the daily rate
that we pay per inmate by 16 cents. Is that correct?
» Yes, sir. It's to account for the increase in medical malpractice
insurance they have to provide. It's a standard.
» any increase at all has to be approved by this board and subject to the
county attorney's review. Entertain a motion to approve this amendment.
» Motion to approve. >> I'll second.
» We have a motion and a second. All those in favor say I.
» I. >> I.
» Opposed? That passes.
All right, the next one is with our uh food service agreement at the
uh public safety complex, our jail. And they got a program where for $55 per
inmate for four-week program, uh they will try to teach them skills
within the kitchens where they might can get a job when they get out of jail.
And they're wanting to offer that to us and the sheriff's wanting to do that.
» Uh I'd like to point out also, Chairman, that that
the those funds come from inmate funds, so the county's not incurring a cost.
» They come from inmate funds. >> Yes, sir.
» Just have to have county approval >> Yes, sir.
» on doing it. >> Motion to approve.
» We have a motion to approve. >> Second.
» We got a second. All those in favor say I.
» I. >> I.
» Oppose. Thank you, sir.
» Thank you. >> All right, we have a change order
on a Dry Pond Road Culvert Replacement. Uh
John's coming to tell us about it.
They bid this project on quantity of materials.
» Yes, sir. >> And ended up being more material needed.
Uh >> Yes, sir.
This was submitted by Wilson um Wilson Construction Management
on our Dry Pond Road Culvert Replacement project.
Um in front of you, what what kind of
uh stuck out to me was the 45 yd of of class AA concrete
overage and I talked to the engineer and that and the 1,800 lb to 1,500 lb of
steel were not picked up on the quantity sheet, so it wasn't bid on.
The rest of it is is just the normal overages and then and then we
have a decrease in some of the items and the total came up to 73,208
cents.
But all the
» All right, any questions of John on there? It's complete and finished,
right? >> It's complete and finished. The we're
going to put guardrails on both sides, but that wasn't in the contract.
» Okay. >> I'll make a motion to approve.
» We got a A from Kirkland to approve. >> Second.
» We got a second. All those in favor say I.
» I. >> I.
» Oppose. Okay.
» Thank you. >> your administrative consent agenda
before you. Uh
you have
generally the same uh
stuff uh >> Motion to approve.
» Second. >> Agreement renewal with Victory Baptist
School. All right, we got a motion and a second.
All those in favor say I. >> I.
» Oppose. Passes.
All right, and we need to make two appointments. We got two expired
appointees to the Walton Industrial Building Authority.
And they expired without us recognizing it. And we need
to reactivate that authority. >> The authority is activated. You All you
need is just to appoint them. >> Just appointments. Okay.
All right, and it's been recommended to appoint
uh Melinda Dally
and Morris Jordan to the Walton Industrial Building
Authority. If we could get a motion to make those appointments.
» I'll make a motion to approve.
» I'll second. >> All right, we got a motion and a second.
Any further discussion? All those in favor say I.
» I. >> I.
» Oppose. Passes.
No one's signed up for public comment. Uh
Anyone has any announcements to make? >> I just want to say happy back to school
week for Walton County. Um yay teachers. Yay
SROs. Yay all of the other people that work at the school. Yay bus drivers. Yay
kids. Yay school. >> All right, there's a need for executive
session. I believe it's land acquisition.
Uh our land and uh we need to
uh motion adjourn.
» Motion. >> Motion to adjourn.
» Motion to adjourn into executive session.
» [snorts] >> Second.
» Motion to adjourn into executive session.
» Second. >> We have a motion second. All in favor
say aye. >> Aye.
» Mhm.
» Need a motion to come back in to regular session.
» I so move. >> Second.
» We got a motion and a second. All in favor say I.
» I. >> There is no announcement to make from
executive session, so I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.
We got a motion to adjourn. >> Motion to adjourn.
» Second. >> I was thinking we weren't going to get
that second.