Water Authority Approaches County on Aquifer

Ken McMichael and Mary Alice Carter with the Jasper County Water and Sewer Authority approached the Jasper County Commissioners at their regular meeting Monday about a concern that had come to the attention of the JCWSA.

They first gave some background about the Feldspar rock formation, calling it the most valuable resource ever discovered in Jasper County. They talked about the amount of water there, its quality, and its accessibility. Therefore, the JCWSA is opposed to a large industrial park being located in the area.

The opinion of the JCWSA is the water is a vital resource for the county, and should be developed in a partnership between the city of Monticello and JCWSA. The resource should be shared with all Jasper County citizens, said JCWSA. The JCWSA says Jasper County’s long term need is greater than that of the city of Monticello.

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In the short term, the JCWSA is asking the county to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in opposition to the city’s project, thereby endangering the opportunity the city would get the USDA funding it seeks. It also wants the county to send a letter to the Environment Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources stating that the county intends to use the Feldspar Aquifer as our future water supply and any withdrawal permits should be issued jointly to the JCWSA and the city of Monticello.

The JCWSA also recommends that the Comprehensive Land Use plan protect the resource. In the long term, the JCWSA suggests a study of all of Jasper County to identify all sources of the Feldspar Aquifer and to quantify the available water there.

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The county took no action on the JCWSA recommendation on Monday, but agreed a meeting about water should be held including the JCWSA members, Jasper County Commission members, and Monticello City Council members.

The commissioners received an update on the 911 communications system, and learned that the phase one of repairs would cost $35,229, which the sheriff said initially could come out of his budget if necessary, as the repairs are needed immediately. Phase one is anticipated to solve 80 percent of the issues. Work has begun on phase one, but the company had to stop to do emergency repairs for 911 centers who lost service during Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irma.

Commissioners spent considerable time discussing the purchase of new vehicles for the senior center and the 4-H office, and tabled any action until next month when the county manager will bring firm numbers about how much was left in last year’s contingency, and therefore rolled into fund balance. The commissioners gave every indication they would purchase the vehicles, which require about 120 days for delivery, but they wanted to wait until next month when they can determine financing at the same time.

Commissioners agreed to a service contract with Triple Point Engineering for the landfill compliance and engineering consulting services. In addition, commissioners were told two new groundwater monitoring wells were needed at the landfill, as two of the existing wells were considered dry.

In other action at Monday’s meeting, commissioners:

•Told Tracy Norton to work with the county attorney to draw up a contract for cleaning services at the senior center, and they will approve it next month and determine where the funds will come from. The cost is $3,900 for the year.

•Agreed to use 2012 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds to purchase a storage building for the senior center.

•Signed a new contract for tax assessor field work with a name change.

•Discussed roads briefly as County Manager Mike Benton said he would like to get the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) request in next month. The deadline is not until January, he said, but the sooner it is submitted, the sooner it is approved, the sooner the county getst the money and the sooner the work can be done.

•Rejected the bid for bridge abutment work on Barr Bridge Road, and agreed to look at it differently, and possibly get the remedy in house.

During commissioner’s items, they learned the new website is supposed to go live next week. They also learned a can count will be done in conjunction with Advanced Disposal in the next few weeks. The cost to the county will be about $1,000 for the count, and then what is paid monthly could change. County Manager Mike Benton said they are also going to notate the lack of addresses, and try to encourage people to post their addresses, so they can be found if they have an emergency.

Commissioner Doug Luke said the previous Hwy. 142 Bar and Grill is now looking like the Hwy. 142 junkyard, and there is a sign out front that says K Motors. He also asked if the county could move Post Road up on the priority list to be mowed, saying it is badly needed. He said he understands the Public Works Department (PWD) has been busy with storm damage, but hopes that the mowing can be done soon.

After the nearly two hour meeting, the commissioners went into closed session to discuss personnel and land acquisition. No action was taken.