BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS T. PAGE THARP GOVERNMENTAL BUILDING 102 STARKSVILLE AVENUE NORTH, LEESBURG, GEORGLA 31763 LEE COUI\ ITY TUESDAY, 6: 00 P.M. T. PAGE THARP BUILDING KINCHAFOONEE CONFERENCE ROOM MEETING MINUTES COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COUNTY STAFF Rick Muggridge, Chairman District 4 Ron H. Rabun, County Manager Dennis Roland, Vice- Chairman District 1 Christi Dockery, County Clerk Luke Singletary, Commissioner District 2 Jimmy Skipper, County Attorney Greg Billy Frich, Commissioner District 5 Mathis, Commissioner District 3 The Lee County Board of Commissioners met in a work session on Tuesday, February 10 2015. The meeting was held in the Kinchafoonee Conference room of the Lee County T. Page Tharp Governmental Building in Leesburg, Georgia. Those present were Commissioners Rick Muggridge, Dennis Roland, Billy Mathis, Luke Singletary and Greg Frich. Staff in attendance was County Manager Ron Rabun, County Clerk Christi Dockery and County Attorney Jimmy Skipper. Chairman Rick Muggridge gave the invocation and called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. INVOCATION PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CALL TO ORDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES Consideration to approve the Board of Commissioners special called meeting minutes for January 26, 2015 Commissioner Singletary made a MOTION to approve the Board of Commissioner' s special called meeting minutes for January 26, 2015. Commissioner Roland seconded the MOTION. The MOTION passed unanimously with Commissioner Mathis, Frich and Muggridge voting yea. B) Consideration to approve the Board of Commissioners meeting minutes for January 27, 2015. Commissioner Roland made a MOTION to approve the Board of Commissioner' s meeting minutes for January 27, 2015. Commissioner Singletary seconded the MOTION. The MOTION passed unanimously with Commissioner Mathis, Frich and Muggridge voting yea. CONSENT AGENDA NEW BUSINESS Greg Crowder, Vice- President with Sumter EMC to present on behalf of the Sumter EMC Foundation Board, $ 4, 900 check to the Lee County Board of Commissioners to purchase batteries for 14 AED' s in County buildings. Greg Crowder, Sumter EMC Vice- President, presented a check in the amount of$ 4, 900.00 to the Lee County Board of Commissioners to be used to purchase 14 batteries for AED' s which will be placed in county facilities. The Sumter EMC Foundation was founded in 2003 and is funded by cooperative members participating in Sumter EMC' s Operation Round Up. Every month Sumter EMC rounds up the electric bill of participating members to the next whole dollar amount and deposits the difference into an interest bearing account. The proceeds of the account are administered by the Sumter EMC Foundation' s board of trustees through grants to the community. To date the Foundation has awarded over$ 770,360 to community organizations in Sumter EMC' s service territory. 1
Chairman Muggridge commented that Sumter EMC is a great corporation and the Board appreciates Mr. Greg Crowder for his public service on the Development Authority and the Library Board of Trustees. Sumter EMC is a great resource to Lee County and always responds when asked for assistance. PUBLIC HEARING The Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing regarding application for a Community Development Block Grant-CDBG Chairman Muggridge opened the public hearing for comments to allow the public the opportunity to provide the Board with ideas concerning the Pre-Application for a Community Development Block Grant projects. County Manager Rabun provided an overview of the proposed CDBG application for the Kinchafoonee Creek Mobile Home Park. This proposed project is eligible for funding for Public Facilities Grants such as water, sewer, drainage, streets, and buildings. Lee County is considering applying to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant of up to $ 500,000 with a minimum cash match of 10, 000. These grant funds must be used to benefit low and moderate-income persons. County Manager Rabun explained that grant consultant Bob Robinson reviewed several potential Lee County projects and recommended Kinchafoonee Creek Mobile Home Park as a marginal neighborhood that is the most eligible for paving, sewer upgrades, and replacement of septic tanks. April 1, 2015 is the deadline to submit the 2015 CDBG application to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Mary Egler, 907 North Highway 19, Leesburg, GA, addressed the Board to question this proposed CDBG project commenting that this project would improve private property and benefit the property owner and not the renters. Ms. Egler also suggested that this sewer line be extended to connect to the residents further down the road. County Manager Rabun responded that this grant would benefit the community, renters, landowner and protect the creek. Lee County has a verbal commitment from the landowner to provide the $ 50, 000 local match. This contribution will eliminate the use of any public funds for this grant. This commitment will be secured in writing. Commissioner Singletary commented that any low-income neighborhood will have renters. This park has had reports of problems of flushing toilets and septic leaks into the creek. If the salary threshold of these homeowners or renters exceeds the grant requirements it will eliminate Lee County' s ability to be competitive. Commissioner Roland explained that after review of other projects the Kinchafoonee Creek project is the only one that might quality for this grant. With no further comments the public hearing was closed. DEPARTMENTAL MATTERS Planning Department Monthly status update on Capital Construction Projects. County Manager Rabun reviewed the Capital Projects Tracker including county road projects, future road projects, Utilities Authority projects, Stormwater projects and other projects. Most road projects are awaiting warmer weather to begin road construction. Starksville Avenue landscaping project has been completed and staff has received several positive comments from the Board of Education, city council and the public regarding this project. County Manager Rabun stressed that these projects will be completed with cash and without any financial cost. Forrester Parkway Extension has been broken into five phases over five years. Phase five, which includes the section with the bridge construction, will be the most expensive. The Board will work with the state for funding consideration for this selection. Utilities Authority projects including Lovers Lane 12" water main is almost complete and Raintree/ Creekside Sewer Rehab has just begun. County Manager Rabun commented that Chris Boswell, Utilities Authority General Manager, provides briefings on these projects. CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS & GOVERNMENTAL BOARDS/ AUTHORITIES Consideration to appoint 4 members to the Lee County Parks & Recreation Authority for a 1 year term. The Board of Commissioners can appoint up to five BOC members to the Parks & Recreation Authority. Five 5) letters of interest received from Jamie Knight, Jacob Baker, Vic McKinley, Greg Duke and Dennis Roland. Commissioner Singletary has already been appointed as a member of the Authority. Rick Muggridge explained that the Board had received five letters of interest to fill the four one- year term positions on the Parks and Recreation Authority. The Local Legislation allows for a total membership of five on the Parks and 2
Recreation Authority and these members oversee Authority the Grand Island Golf Course. received for consideration are from Jamie Knight, Jacob Baker, Vic McKinley, Greg Duke, and Dennis Roland. These appointments will be made at the next Board of Commissioners meeting. Letters of interest B) Consideration to appoint 3 members from District 1, 2, & 4 to the Lee County, Leesburg, Smithville Planning Commission for a 4 year term. These terms are set to expire 1/ 31/ 15. Letters of interest have been received from Rozanne P. Braswell ( D- 1), Jason Sheffield ( D-2), Chris Guarnieri ( D-4) and Jonathan ( Clay) Griffith (D- 1). Chairman Muggridge explained that the vote that the Board took at their January 27, 2015 meeting regarding the Planning Commission appointments for District 1 and 4 were void. The Commissioner representing his District must nominate one person residing in that County Commissioner' s district and the remainder of the County Commission must vote on whether or not to ratify that nominee. Commissioner Roland nominated Clay Griffith as District 1 Planning Commissioner for a four year term to expire January 2019. Commissioners Singletary, Mathis, Frich, and Muggridge unanimously ratified the nomination of Clay Griffith to serve as District 1 Planning Commissioner. C) Commissioner Muggridge nominated Chris Guarnieri as District 4 Planning Commissioner for a four year term to expire January 2019. Commissioner Mathis, Singletary, Frich and Roland unanimously ratified the nomination of Chris Guarnieri to serve as District 4 Planning Commissioner. COUNTY MANAGER' S MATTERS Consideration to adopt a resolution between Lee County and Southwest Georgia Regional Commission authorizing the filing of an application with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation, for a grant for public transportation assistance under Section 5311 of the United States Code. There is no local match requirement from Lee County. Ron Rabun, County Manager, reviewed the resolution to be adopted by Lee County Board of Commissioners which authorizes the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission to apply for this annual grant for public transportation assistance under Section 5311. This bus system provides transit services to all residents including handicap residents. B) Interim Report, on pre- disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan. Presentation by Mike Talley, consultant, H& H Resources. Mike consultant with Talley, H & H Resources, provided a status update on the development progress of the multijurisdictional pre- disaster hazard mitigation plan. Currently Lee County has had three meetings with planning groups to provide an overview of the Hazard Mitigation planning process. A public hearing will be scheduled to solicit input from community, businesses such as Chem- Nut, Board of Education, Emergency Management Director, Public Works staff, cities of Smithville and Leesburg. This input is not a mere formality but a real request for community involvement. Historical Lee County has experienced floods, tornados, tropical storms, drought, wildfires, and Hazmat hazards. Each of these hazards has different mitigation action items, such as strengthening Building Codes for high wind events, and will continued to be updated with the new plan. A report will be drafted and submitted to GEMA/ FEMA for review and approval. After approval from GEMA/ FEMA, the report will again be presented to the public for comment. After this comment period, the cities and the county will need to approve the plan. The final plan will need to be updated throughout the 5 year plan cycle. Commissioner Frich stressed getting the message out to the public to be prepared for 72 hours without power in the event of a hazardous event. Commissioner Frich suggested coordinating with each District Commissioner to hold public meetings with Public Safety Departments regarding the Emergency Hazard Plan. Within two years the goal is to improve the county' s emergency action plan and have established drills at the command center with the EMA Director, CERT staff and Public Safety staff. C) Consideration to approve CDBG grant project submission for the 2015 funding cycle; adopt resolution; commence the competitive selection process for a qualified CDBG consultant; and commence the competitive selection process must be submitted with the grant application. Commissioner Roland made a Home Park for the 2015 funding cycle. for a qualified engineering firm to propose a no- cost preliminary design that MOTION to approve CDBG grant project submission for Kinchafoonee Mobile unanimously with Commissioners Mathis, Singletary, and Muggridge voting yea. Commissioner Frich seconded the MOTION. The MOTION passed 3
Commissioner Mathis made a MOTION to approve commencing the competitive process for a qualified CDBG consultant and the competitive selection process for a qualified engineering firm to propose a no-cost preliminary design that must be submitted with the grant application. Commissioner Roland seconded the MOTION. The MOTION passed unanimously with Commissioners Frich, Singletary, and Muggridge voting yea. D) Discussion of scaled back SPLOST VI project list. County Manager Rabun explained that the SPLOST VI revenue was estimated at $ 21, 473, 760 and has recently been projected to come in approximately $ 5 million short of its original 2011 estimate. Because of this shortfall the Board has directed staff to be proactive in reducing the SPLOST project expenditure list. Staff has prepared an analysis and recommendation of priority projects that will allow expenditures to match expected revenue of$ 16,497, 492. Forrester Parkway Extension road construction project has been divided into five ( 5) phases over five years, removed the in- house labor component and raised the construction cost to more realistic figures than were shown in earlier Forrester estimates. County Manager Rabun explained that the earlier estimated price for construction of Phase 1 of the Forrester Parkway Extension ranged from $300,000 to $ 700,000. County Manager Rabun apologized and explained that the reason this Phase 1 road construction project cost doubled from an earlier figure of $326, 000 was because of the flawed 2011 assumptions that included Public Works Department staff clearing the roadway, performing the grading, grubbing, and base work. Public Works staff is not equipped to do this type of heavy road construction work. Staff is value engineering this Phase 1 project to reduce cost. Staff will be rebidding the first phase of Forrester Parkway extension but the cost will still come in much higher than the original$ 326,000 estimate. County Manager Rabun explained the reduction for SPLOST VI projects: roads would be cut $ 1, 958, 760; public safety would be cut $550,000; courthouse security records and renovations would be cut $200,000; cut the Smithville library expansion by$ 200,000; storm water cut of$ 185, 000; public work's equipment and renovations cut of$ 75, 000; public facilities renovation cut of $100, 000; $ 1 million cut from recreation projects for land acquisition; water and sewer projects would be cut by $ 707,508 which would push back the Lehigh Acres Sewer Rehab Project& complete the Glendale project first. Commissioner Mathis expressed his hope that these projects would not be cut. COMMISSIONER' S MATTERS OLD BUSINESS COUNTY ATTORNEY' S MATTERS EXECUTIVE SESSION PUBLIC FORUM Up to six individuals will be allowed to address the Board ofcommissionersfor up to two minutes each. Individuals should sign up prior to the start of the meeting. Sam Clayton, resident of Old Leslie Highway, requested this dirt road be paved and the ditches be maintained. Paul Johnson, resident of Old Leslie Highway, requested this dirt road be paved. Bill Williams questioned the SPLOST VI cut back stragegy commenting that the Board is spending 37% of the SPLOST VI budget on Forrester Parkway and 70% of the total Road budget for this one road construction project. Mr. Williams said that he would not use Forrester Parkway Extension because it would not be convenient although 4
the Board is building this road for someone like him that travels from the east side to the west side of Lee County. Mr. Williams said that he was concerned about the Boards plans to cut SPLOST funds for Public Safety, the Smithville Library expansion, and stormwater. Commissioner Mathis suggested the Board meet to put these SPLOST projects in logical order. Commissioner Mathis also suggested that the Board request funding for Forrester Parkway Extension from the state to fund the last phase which includes the bridge construction. Chairman Muggridge said that SPLOST document is a fluid document and the Board has directed the County Manager to provide a proposed list for reduction of projects to match revenues. declining Commissioner Roland commented that the Board of Commissioners is also has problems with SPLOST V shortfall. Rosie Batten, 218 Carter Place Road, requested that this dirt road be paved. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next regularly scheduled County Commission Meeting is Tuesday, February 24, 2014 @ 6: 00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Singletary made a MOTION to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Roland seconded the MOTION. The MOTION was unanimous with Commissioners Frich, Mathis and Muggridge voting yea. The meeting was adjourned at 7: 35 p.m. Lee County is a thriving vibrant community celebratedfor its value oftradition encompassing a safefamily oriented community, schools ofexcellence, and life long opportunities forprosperity and happiness without sacrificing the rural agricultural tapestry. Persons with special needs relating to handicapped accessibility or foreign language interpretation should contact Katrina Chambers, AD. A Coordinator, at( 229) 759-6000 or through the Georgia Relay Service( 800) 255-0056( TDD) or( 800) 355-0135( voice). This person can be contacted at the' 1'. Page Tharp Building in Leesburg, Georgia between the hours of 9: 00 a. m. and 4:00 p. m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. 5