County Names Assessors

The Jasper County Commissioners, at their regular monthly meeting Monday, named two people to the Board of Assessors (BOA) and spent considerable time discussing the logistics of resurfacing Jackson Lake Road.

Five people had expressed an interest in serving on the BOA, and Michelle Jackam and Larry Smith received votes from the majority of the board to fill the unexpired terms of James Harrell and Gerald Bramblett. Those terms will each end early next year, at which time the new board of commissioners may reappoint them or name someone else.

Commissioner Jack Bernard raised the question about the status of Jackson Lake Road. The road is in serious need of resurfacing, he said, and could even pose a danger to travelers on the road. The estimate to resurface the road from Hwy. 16 to Hwy. 212 is about $1.5 million. Currently the state is not committing to any new projects, so the county would have to fund the full amount if it moves forward at this time.

Engineer

Larry Kaiser, an engineer the county has retained to administer its roads program funded by Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, was at the meeting as he is each month. Commissioners called on his expertise. Commissioners questioned if the road could be triple-surfaced rather than putting new asphalt down. (Triple surface treatment has been used on many roads. It is not as smooth as asphalt, but may be preferable to constantly patching potholes.)
Mr. Kaiser said yes, and estimated the cost at $50,000.

After some discussion, it became clear that Mr. Kaiser and the commissioners were not discussing the same thing. Mr. Kaiser was referring to fixing the bad places temporarily with triple surface treatment. The commissioners were talking about doing the whole road.

Mr. Kaiser said he could tell the commissioners where the temporary triple-surface is needed, and what parts of the road could wait for resurfacing. Finally the commissioners agreed to have Mr. Kaiser bring back cost estimates next month on the cost of a complete resurfacing; triple-surface treatment of the stretch of road discussed, and spot triple-surface treatment.

Mr. Kaiser is clearly of the opinion that the state will consider funding some projects by late summer, and definitely by next year. He was not in favor of the county bearing the burden of such a large project on its own. In his opinion, the county should wait until there are state funds available to help with the project. If repairs are needed in the meantime, so be it, but he indicated it would be a waste of money for the county to take on the project on its own.
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SPLOST

The county is in the midst of resurfacing 10 roads that were outlined in promotional materials for the SPLOST that voters approved in 2006. Jackson Lake Road was not included in that overall project. In determining what roads to include in the promotional materials, each commissioner had the opportunity to select two roads, presumably from his district. Jackson Lake Road, from Hwy. 16 to 212, would be in the districts of both Mr. Bernard and Commissioner Greg Johnson. They chose roads in Turtle Cove to be included rather than Jackson Lake Road.

Jackson Lake Road is longer than any of the others, so two or more other roads could be resurfaced for the cost of Jackson Lake Road.

Personnel
County Manager Greg Williams recommended the commission make changes/additions to the employee classification system that was established in 2006. He wanted to change the title of a current administrative assistant to administrative secretary/customer service representative.

Also, the title of accounting technician will replace accounting clerk and administrative services manager replaces human resources manager. The title changes are to reflect the jobs the individuals are handling. There has been a reduction of one employee in the county commission office, and job duties were shifted to cover all the responsibilities of the office.

Mr. Williams also said he wanted to replace the zoning clerk with a zoning administrator position. He also wants to add the position of foreman at the Public Works Department, and eliminate one heavy equipment operator.

After some discussion, commissioners agreed to postpone any action on the classification system until they saw what employees were affected and how they were affected. Mr. Williams told them that the new classifications could warrant pay increases, and the total cost to the county would be slightly more than $4,000.

Zoning

Commissioners also approved a “special exception” to allow an equestrian campground to e located at 2560 Smith Mill Road. Planning & Zoning had recommended approval, and there was no dissension at Monday’s meeting, so it was routinely approved.

Charles Forsythe raised the question of the qualifying fee for the magistrate. When the commission approved qualifying fees at a meeting earlier this year, the magistrate’s qualifying fee was set at one-half of what it normally would be, because at that time the chief magistrate was a part-time position. After a court challenge, the county attorney agreed to a consent order with the chief magistrate that returned his status to full-time.

Mr. Forsythe asked since the fee was set at one-half, did that mean the next magistrate would be part-time. The commissioners did not answer him, nor did they take any action to change the qualifying fee. Qualifying for this year’s election will be held April 28-May 2 for those qualifying with the Democratic or Republican party. Those running on an Independent or non-partisan will qualify June 23-27.

In other action at Monday’s meeting, commissioners:
•Approved a resolution to continue the fire protection tax district for another year. At the next two meetings commissioners will review an ordinance that requires the tax to be considered annually rather than every four years as initially approved.

•Learned that permitting of the C&D landfill should come soon. All requirements have been fulfilled, said Commissioner Johnson, and he is hoping that the county will receive the permit this month.

•Signed a consent order with the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) for debris at the landfill that needs to be moved. It has been a continuing issue since these commissioners took office.

•Approved the annual support agreement for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) consultants, necessary to stay up to date with billing procedures. They also approved another year’s agreement with James W. Sewall Company for mapping in the Board of Assessors office.

•Approved an agreement with Clifton, Lipford, Hardison and Parker, LLC for the county’s 2007 audit.

•Agreed to re-bid the sheriff’s vehicle and senior center van. The county only received one bid for the sheriff’s vehicle, and none for the van. Commissioners instructed Mr. Williams to send out the request for bids every automobile dealer in the state.

•Delayed action on budget amendments until the auditors have a chance to make recommendations.

•Approved participation in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) pilot program that would net the county more money if there is a disaster.

•Agreed to have a “work session” on Saturday, March 15, at 9 a.m. at the Courthouse to discuss several issues. They indicated that the session should be on Saturday so the public would have access.

At the beginning of Monday’s meeting, commissioners approved the agenda after deleting two items. County Attorney Kevin Brown was not ready on the ordinance to establish a curfew in Jasper County, so the commissioners deleted that from the agenda. The request for a curfew came from the county commission. Mr. Bernard brought up a perceived problem with young people being out late and causing problems. There is a statewide curfew of midnight to 5 a.m. for an “unruly child” that applies to anyone under 17 who is loitering or prowling, but Mr. Bernard wants something more locally. Mr. Brown said he had met with the sheriff but the ordinance was not ready.

In addition, commissioners deleted the request for an additional position in the clerk of court’s office. Both Mr. Forsythe and Mary Patrick spoke during agenda comments against funding the position. Mrs. Patrick said that an individual from the clerk’s office had to cover the magistrate court when Judge Ken Jackson is out of the office, such as that morning. Mr. Forsythe said that sales tax revenues are down, and he thought it was not fiscally responsible to add a position at this time.

Dan Jordan, Clerk of Court, explained that several years ago the Magistrate Court had three magistrate positions. In a reorganization move, one magistrate position was eliminated and a clerk’s position was added to split time between the Clerk’s office and the Magistrate’s office.