Commissioner Discusses Road Plan

The ever-popular subject of roads took up much of Monday’s county commission meeting, since the group had scheduled a one-hour work session on roads from 9 to 10 a.m., then agreed to have another one-hour work session on dirt roads at its next meeting, March 19.

Originally, the recreation commission was scheduled to be the topic at that work session, but the commissioners agreed that the dirt road plan is more important.

At Monday’s meeting the commissioners discussed how to best allocate the $204,111 that will remain from the 2005 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Of the roads originally publicized to be on that list, Deerfield Farms and Post Roads remain untouched with SPLOST funds.

Commissioners had agreed some time ago that they would not attempt to triple-surface all of Deerfield Farms Road, just the area where there is a concentration of population.

Commissioners discussed how long the area on Deerfield Farms is, and no one knew. Commission Chairman Alan Cox asked if the county engineer had looked at the road.

Commissioners talked about doing reclamation on each side of the bridges on Post Road, the worst area on the road, which is estimated to cost about $125,000. County Manager Greg Wood said that the approaches to the bridges are where the worst patching is.

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Public Works Director Will Brown was not at the work session, although he frequently attends commission meetings. When Commissioner Mary Patrick asked where he was, the county manager said he had him working on a project on Rainbow Drive.

Commissioner Jack Bernard suggested that the county spend $75,000 on Deerfield Farms Road, leaving $130,000 for Post Road.

The county manager was asking for direction partly because the bid documents will soon be ready on the next leg of resurfacing Jackson Lake Road, and they want to put the Post Road work on as a possible addition to that bid. That way there is only one mobilization cost, said Mr. Wood.

Commissioner Patrick said she thought that the county was doing Deerfield Farms in house, and Mr. Wood agreed, saying triple-surface treatment is different from re-surfacing.

The commissioners jumped from talking about the 2005 SPLOST roads to talking about the roads that might be included in the regional Transportation SPLOST (T-SPLOST). Commissioners felt the Post Road project might be better served by using dollars from the T-SPLOST.

Mr. Brown got to the meeting before it ended, but indicated he did not have the particulars on Deerfield Farms Road either. But, as the commissioners talked about a dirt road plan and hopefully paving five miles of dirt road per year, he said he is not staffed now where “we could put a crew out there more than three miles.”

The commissioners asked Mr. Brown to look at Post Road and Deerfield Farms Road by the March 19 meeting so he could provide them with cost estimates and the most vital needs.

In talking about the T-SPLOST, Mr. Wood told the commissioners they needed roads that might be improved to be listed on promotional materials for the T-SPLOST vote. Commissioner Patrick said she thought they had agreed to use that money on connector roads such as Clay Road, Bethel Church Road, Liberty Church Road, and others that connect one major road to another major road.

Commissioner Bernard said philosophically he is scared to submit any roads because if a road is listed in a promotional brochure, the people will expect that road to be improved. He also said that if it is just for public relations, why not submit a laundry list of roads. He said that the tax would generate $1 million over six years for the county, and that there will be a lot of uses for that.

He also named several connector roads, including Aikenton, Bullard, and Bear Creek Marina.

Then they began talking about the bridge on Pitts Chapel Road. Commissioners agreed it should be part of a regional project, since it connects Jasper and Newton Counties.

Commissioner Mary Patrick said that Marben Farms Road needs to be on both lists. Commissioner Charles Hill asked about dirt roads that serve industry, such as Ross Road.

Commissioners agreed to list the roads they plan to improve with the new SPLOST passed last November on the list of roads for the T-SPLOST.

The county commissioners then began working on the dirt road list. Chairman Cox said that District 1 has 35 miles of unpaved road which amounts to 11 percent of the total unpaved roads in the county. Likewise, District 2 has 42 miles, or 13 percent, and District 4 has 45 miles or 15 percent of the unpaved roads in the county.

However, Mr. Cox’s District, 5, has 63 miles or 20 percent of the roads, and Commissioner Bernard’s district, which includes much of the National Forest has 134 miles of unpaved roads which makes up 41 percent of the unpaved roads in the county.

District 1 Commissioner Carl Pennamon said that District 3 has a lot of roads that don’t serve anybody. He said, “We have to look at where the needs are,” and that each commissioner should know his district and be aware of its needs.

Commissioner Cox said the county has three miles of dirt road improvement budgeted for this year, and that information was a good starting point. He had broken it down to show District 1 could resurface a half mile, and District 2, six-tenths of a mile. District 4 would get three-fourths of a mile; District 5 would get a mile, and District 3 would get two miles.

Commissioner Bernard said there are three different ways to approach this. SPLOST should bring in about $250,000 per year, he said, which means the county could conceivably triple surface five miles each year. He said they could choose the roads objectively, using a road plan with specific criteria such as density, houses per mile, etc. Or, he said, they could divide the money the way Commissioner Cox suggested, or they can give each district the same amount of funds which is inherently unfair.

Commissioner Patrick said she might agree if she was the District 3 commissioner. Then she named several dirt roads in her district that a lot of people live on. She also said that there was never a dirt road plan approved. She said every election year the county talks about improving lots of roads, and overspends, and that’s why this commission inherited a $1 million deficit.

Commissioner Hill said he should make the decision for his district. He said he can see why Commissioner Bernard likes the plan suggested by Commissioner Cox. “One district gets all, others get none.”

Commissioner Cox said we can base the plan on need, we can base it on the percentage of dirt roads, or we can throw the names in a hat and draw some out, but we need to come up with a road plan or next year we’ll be sitting here still in limbo.

Commissioner Pennamon said the key is you have to budget the funds to improve roads. Without money, nothing can be done. We had a plan in 2005, he said, and we haven’t done a thing. “We will never get anything done because we want to look at our own district, he said.

Commissioner Cox said we need estimates on what each road will cost to be able to budget.

“You’re exactly right, Mr. Chairman,” said Commissioner Bernard. The new SPLOST will generate some $250,000 a year. Do we use a totally objective method or a political method?

Regular Session

When the regular session kicked off, after the routine business, citizens, several of whom had been present for the entire work session, spoke to commissioners.

Karen Wright said she lives on Herring Gull Court. She said that animal control (AC) had been called and was in the neighborhood and trapped one of two dogs about which complaints had been lodged. A deputy was with the animal control officer, she said. The deputy had to leave for a call, so the animal control officer left too, she said. When Ms. Wright asked the AC officer why she was leaving, the AC officer said she didn’t work weekends, said Ms. Wright. She asked what happens if they have an emergency on the weekend.

Charles Forsythe said he hopes the people turn down the T-SPLOST as it will have very little impact in Jasper County.

Joan Bell told commissioners when making a decision, be careful about your wording. She said if you say one thing and want something else you won’t be supported. She said she knew what was promised in the previous SPLOST and what was written down.

Gay Morrison said roads are suddenly so important because it’s an election year. She said she lives on Palalto Road and it is treacherous at times.

Carolyn McCurdy told commissioners several arrests had been made in the Rollingwood Cove/Alcovy Shores area, but they continue to need help. She said a new family had moved in last week, and law enforcement was at that home three days later. She encouraged commissioners to continue to do what they could to help clean up the neighborhood, with code enforcement being what had been discussed previously.

This reporter suggested to the commissioners that the recent redistricting was done so they would each have close to the same number of constituents, and that perhaps in choosing roads, they should consider the number of people rather than the number of miles of dirt road.

Game Warden

Ranger First Class Billy Bryant gave a presentation on his position, explaining that he is a member of the oldest state law enforcement agency. The Department of Natural Resources law enforcement division celebrated its 100th birthday last year. He said the agency has 198 officers to serve the whole state.

Rfc. Bryant said that the agency offers informational and educational programs and works to preserve the state’s natural resources. He reviewed the different types of activities the officers participate in. He told about the K-9 units, all of which are German Shepherds.

Commissioner Patrick asked him how the DNR feels about proposed legislation allowing more high fence farms. He said the DNR is opposed to that, because of possible hazards to the environment.

Chain of Command

Commissioners added “change in chain of command” to the agenda. Commissioner Patrick said that the commission had discussed it twice, and to make it official she wanted a vote. She made the motion that henceforth the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) will report to Assistant County Manager Lorri Smith, and she will report to the commissioners any action that needs reporting.

Commissioner Pennamon asked about the Emergency Management Agency, and was told no, that does not fall under EMS. However, the fire department does, so those interactions will also be with Ms. Smith, not Mr. Wood.

Taxes

Chief Financial Officer Lorri Smith reported that 88 percent of the taxes budgeted had been collected, which amounts to 81 percent of that which was billed. However, she said, Tax Commissioner Merry Faulkner says her numbers show that 89 percent overall has been collected. She said that she and Mrs. Faulkner will sit down with the auditor this week to determine the discrepancy.

Commissioner Bernard wants to know why those who haven’t paid have not.

Other Action

In other action at Monday’s regular meeting, commissioners:

•Voted unanimously to extend the cleaning contract with Wildfire Industries for another year.

•Agreed to install speed breakers in Rollingwood Cove.

•Agreed to go out to bid for pest control service.

•Agreed that the county manager report issues to all commissioners.

There was much discussion, with the original motion being daily, then discussion saying only important issues, not necessarily every day. Mr. Wood said he’s been notifying the chair, now he will notify the whole board.

A meeting is scheduled today, March 8, at 5:30 p.m. in the commission room for the Animal Control Committee which is open to the public.