REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

 

The Board of Commissioners of Spalding County, Georgia, held their regular monthly meeting on Monday, August 7, 2000 in their office in the Courthouse Annex in the City of Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia, beginning at 6:00 o’clock p.m. with Commissioners Earle Childres, Martha McDaniel, Merrill Massengale, Johnie McDaniel and Michael Kendall present.  Also present were County Manager Mike Ruffin, Deputy County Manager William Wilson, County Attorney Jim Fortune and Executive Secretary Phyllis Doane.

 

Agenda Topics

 

I.             OPENING (CALL TO ORDER) – Chairman Kendall

 

II.          INVOCATION – Rev. Randy Valimont – Led by County Manager Ruffin in the absence of Rev. Valimont

 

III.       PLEDGE TO FLAG – Led by Chairman Kendall

 

IV.        PRESENTATIONS/PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITION

 

1.  Consider approval of a Joint City/County Proclamation “Nunc Pro Tunc” proclaiming Sunday, July 23, 2000 as “Mable Edith Cook Day” in Griffin and Spalding County, Georgia.  Upon motion by Commissioner Kendall, seconded by Commissioner Massengale the following Proclamation was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

PROCLAMATION

 

Whereas, Mable Edith Cook, a life-long resident of Griffin and Spalding County Georgia, is the eldest of six children of the late Rev. and Mrs. M. E. Cook, Sr.; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Cook attended elementary and high school in the public school system of Spalding County; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Cook graduated with degrees from both Savannah State College and Atlanta University; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Cook was an educator in the Griffin Spalding County School system for more than 35 years; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Cook has been an active, dedicated and loyal member of the Eighth Street Baptist Church for many years; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Cook has served in many capacities within the Eighth Street Baptist Church and in particular, she has taught the Sunday School Class comprised of high school juniors and seniors; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Cook has served her community as a member of the Retired Teachers Association, the Griffin Branch NAACP, the Senior Citizens, the Cane Creek Congress of Christian Education, the Emancipation Committee, the Citizens Improvement League, the NANBPW and the Scholarship Committee of the Eighth Street Baptist Church; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Cook has been instrumental in the spiritual development of Ministers Alfred Jester, Shirley Gardner and Patricia Willis.

 

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners of the City of Griffin and Spalding County do hereby proclaim Sunday, July 23, 2000 as

 

“MABLE EDITH COOK DAY”

 

in the City of Griffin and Spalding County in recognition of her outstanding contributions to our community.

 

This the 23rd day of July 2000.

 

 V.    CITIZENS COMMENTS – n/a

 

V.           PUBLIC COMMENT

 

2.       Ms. Rita Mace, 3345 Williamson Road, Williamson, GA commented on the agenda item of the Van Ward rezoning application for a game room.  She said this property is directly across from her residence.  She said that she attended the Planning Commission meeting and felt reassured that this rezoning would not be approved by the Board of Commissioners due the zoning commissions’ recommendation of a unanimous opposed vote.  She was late getting to the Commissioners’ public hearing and was told that the rezoning application was approved by a vote of 3-1 with Commissioner Massengale being the only Commissioner casting the dissenting vote. She said her concerns are spot zoning, the location of his well and septic tank, the gasoline tank, hydrology study required, modeling permits do not reflect any plumbing or electrical or the $25,000 to $30,000 his attorney has stated he has already spent, the inspection by the building inspector and fire marshal, his survey dated January 2000 does not match his prior deed dated back to 1950, question of vacancy of property.  She said that she feels the application was not researched thoroughly by staff and asked the Board not approve the application on second reading tonight.

 

3.       Mr. John Whitney, 1522 Cabin Creek Trail spoke against the moratorium on the issuance of building permits.  He said that he had obtained information from William White’s office that the average residential use is 67,000 gallons a month.  He said information received from Building Inspections office there was 414 dwelling permits issued last year.  He said putting a moratorium on permits was not going to make a difference in saving water based on these figures.  He said the moratorium should be done by the City of Griffin as they have the water system.  He said issuing a moratorium would not attract new industry and residents that the County is trying to attract.  He said he was appalled at the statistics of the Flint River watershed and could not believe that the City of Griffin and Spalding County was depending on such a small watershed on 100% of its water.  He requested that the Commissioners get with the City and find some other source of water besides the Flint River.

 

4.       Mr. Sid Jeanette, 1980 Kilgore Road protested the operation of Cherokee Rose.  He said that it is annoying and a nuisance to their area.  He said he understands the problem has been referred to Planning & Zoning Board.  He said that the code has not been followed and the facility exists illegally.  He said that the facility should be shut down permanently. 

 

Chairman Kendall announced to the audience that Public Hearings will be held on Tuesday, August 8th at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, August 15th at 7:00 p.m. on the PRRRD zoning district and welcomed all citizens to attend and express their concerns.

 

4.  Mr. Allan McCallum, 2831 Williamson Road, spoke in opposition to rezoning the Van Ward property for a game room.  He said that the property is currently zoned AR-1 and is not grand fathered in for commercial use.  He said there has been no commercial use on this property since1985.  He said he feels rezoning this property to commercial would be spot zoning.  He said that the plat submitted was incorrect and DOT had issued a driveway permit based on this plat.  There will be required two-25 ft. buffers with screening adjacent to residential property.  He asked the Board to deny the rezoning.

 

5.       Mr. Ray Browning, 585 Moreland Road, also spoke on the game room rezoning.  He said that he was against this rezoning because of the new subdivision on Highway 362 and Chappell Hill Road that the Board of Commissioners had recently approved adjacent to this piece of property.  He also addressed the agenda item of moratorium of building permits.  He said that he feels that this is premature and that we need to let the City of Griffin take the lead as this is their water.

 

6.       Ms. Darlene McKeehan gave her address as 138 Deer Run, Williamson, GA; however, as contractors they have built a house at 891 Moreland Road and were upset because according to Public Works the driveway does not meet specifications.  She said that they purchased three (3)  culverts at  $350 each  and asked three (3) times for guidance regarding driveway standards.  She said the county wants her to tear up her $5,000 driveway after the fact.  She said the paper she received said nothing about having the driveway inspected.  She offered to core the driveway to determine if it is at sufficient depth.  She said if she had known the rules she would have met every one of them.  She said that the driveway was poured by a subcontractor and did not know that he did not have a business license.

 

Chairman Kendall commented that the Board was not apprised of this before the meeting and asked her to get with County Manager Ruffin to try to resolve the problem as their seems to be some differences of opinion regarding the driveway.  He said that this would be placed on the August 21, 2000 agenda if there cannot be some mutual resolution before this date.  

 

7.       Mr. Milton Cline, 1051 Baptist Camp Road, spoke on Cherokee Rose.  He said as of today eleven (11) people had been struck by pellets.  He said that vehicles had been struck also.  He wanted to know why the walkers couldn’t get the same courtesy shown by the Sheriff as that shown to Cherokee Rose. He said that have illegally removed them from the area, which is public right of way and forced them to go home.  He said that this area has been leased for a fall-out area.  He said that the clays are thrown higher than the trees and that is why the bullets stray.  He said the pellets fall over his property and Mr. Dean’s property.  He said that have constructed a fence that falls on his property line and he would like for the county to have them remove it.

 

8.       Ms. Winnell Graham Crockett gave her address as 170 Landsdown Drive, Atlanta, GA and stated she was speaking on behalf of her mother, Macille Graham, who owns some property adjacent to Mr. Van Ward, which is being considered for rezoning for a game room. She said she had concern with the property boundaries.  She said through the years there has been difficulty with the property lines.  She said that the well house of Mr. Ward is actually on their property according to the last survey they had had done.  She questioned the survey submitted with the application.  She said she was also concerned about limited parking and concerned about it spilling over on their property since it is open cultivation.

 

9.       Mr. George Corley, 934 Baptist Camp Road, spoke concerning his tax bill.  He said that he had received an assessment and his taxes went up $3,000 and he lives in the shooting range area. Chairman Kendall commented that we did not have the final say-so in this Cherokee Rose matter as it will probably go to the Georgia Supreme Court.  If he was unhappy with his assessment, he was free to appeal to the Board of Tax Assessors to re-evaluate his property.

 

10.   Ms. Mable Jenkins gave her address as 1012 Highway 23 North, Millen, GA, and spoke on behalf of her son, Robert Jenkins, who could not be present tonight.  She said that Robert is the owner of Georgia One Clays, Inc., the operating entity of Cherokee Rose Sporting Resort.  She presented the following facts:  (1) as a direct result of Cherokee Rose, this City and County has hundreds of visitors to come and spend their money, (2) events have been brought in to bring people here from all over the world, (3) hundreds of thousand of dollars have been spent by the resort in the purchase of permits, materials and services to open the “Rose”, (4)  have provided jobs for local people, (5) do business with your banks, (6) make purchases from your merchants, (7) attend one of your churches and pay taxes also.  She said that roofing nails have been placed in their driveway on several different occasions to deter participants.  She said there have been acts of vandalism on their property.  She brought complaints about Milton Cline and Tom Dean.  She said that shots had been fired on their property during one of the events.

 

She said that this issue needed to be put to rest as this was serious business.  With tempers flaring and guns firing, someone is going to get seriously hurt.  She said that they were issued a permit to open their business and they needed to move on with their lives.

 

11.   Mr. John Kelley, 2500 West Ellis Road asked the Board not to permanently close a portion of West Poplar Street.  He said that the county should repair the infrastructure.

 

12.   Ms. Gail Dean, 1250 Teamon Road, addressed in rebuttal claims made by Ms. Jenkins.  She also spoke on the safety requirements for shot fall-out zones of the NRA which requires 900 ft. generally 180 degrees around the station and buffers around the property and wanted to know why they were not incorporated into the engineering and design of Cherokee Rose and asked that they be incorporated now at this late date.  She said that neither she nor anyone they were associated with had done anything illegal or destructive regarding Cherokee Rose and there was no shooting from their property onto Cherokee Rose property.

 

13.   Mr. Frank Harris, 881 S. Sixth Street, stated he was a cross-over member of the Planning Commission and chairs the Board of Zoning Appeals and spoke on Application #00-21Z, the Van Ward application, and recommended that the property not be rezoned because of the new proposed subdivision that was being built adjacent to the property.  He said that the Planning Commission had brought recommendation to Board of Commissioners to deny this application because the proposed use for this tract is probably inappropriate for the scope of what is being built next door to this property.

 

14.   Mr. Rod Rosenthal, 365 Caldwell Road, stated his opposition to the rezoning of the Van Ward property located on Highway 362.  He said that he does not feel that this will be appropriate for the area.

 

15.   Ms. Jane Smith, 956 Teamon Road, spoke regarding Cherokee Rose.  She said that she and her husband have run a business on Teamon Road for over 28 years and has customers annoyed by all the shooting going on in the area and afraid of getting shot.

 

16.   Mr. C. I. Smith, 956 Teamon Road, also spoke on Cherokee Rose.  He said that he had lived in this area for 54 years and it had been peaceful until the reopening of Cherokee Rose.  He said that they would work hard to get rid of it.

 

17.   Ms. Reba Phillips, 452 Hickory Circle, asked the Board to reconsider their vote on the special exception of Wendell Cleghorn for upgrading a mobile home.  She said the home is for his mother.

 

Chairman Kendall called for a short recess until 7:30 p.m.

 

Chairman Kendall called the meeting back to order.

 

VI.              MINUTES

 

1.  Consider approval of the meetings for July 10, 2000 and July 17, 2000.  Upon motion by Commissioner Massengale, seconded by Commissioner Childres the minutes were unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

VII.      CONSENT AGENDA – n/a

 

VIII.  OLD BUSINESS

 

1.       Consider request for permanent closure of a portion of West Poplar Street.  Deputy County Manager Wilson stated that he had received responses from Chief of Police, City Fire Department, County Fire Department, “911” stating they had no problem with the closing of the road.  Commissioner Martha McDaniel disagreed with Mr. Wilson’s findings stating that City Fire Department responded that it would have an effect on them in there being a delay in response time if they were called for mutual aid by the County Fire Department, EMS, etc.  

 

Chairman Kendall stated in his opinion that it was not appropriate to close a road, a public thoroughfare, especially like this and made a motion to deny the closure of this portion of West Poplar Street.  Commissioner Martha McDaniel seconded the motion and the motion passed by a vote of 3-2 with Commissioner Childres and Massengale voting against the motion.

 

2.       Consider approval at second reading of Amendment to the Official Zoning Ordinance and Official Zoning Map of the following:

 

·         Rezoning Application #00-21Z:  Van L. Ward, Sr., Vincent C. Murphy and Arturo S. Ward, Owners, 3350 Williamson Road, 1.0 acres, more or less, AR-1 to C-1.

 

Chairman Kendall commented that Attorney Tim Shepherd was present to speak on behalf of this application unless the Board members had opposition.  Mr. Shepherd stated he did not want to speak but was representing Mr. Johnston, who could not be present, and would answer any questions the Board might have. 

 

Commissioner Johnie McDaniel made comments about this application since he could not be present at the zoning hearing when this application was presented.  He said he was quite surprised that it had been approved for the following reasons:  (1) inappropriate for the area since the Board had approved the subdivision to be built; (2) nearest commercial use is ¾ mile from property; (3) the property is residential in nature and property not vacant as stated; (4) UDO prohibits more than one principle use on a tract and the principle use now is obviously residential; (5) threat to the public health, safety and welfare and (6) property value not been diminished by current use; (7) not sure that a hardship exists.

 

Motion made by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel to deny Application #00-21Z.  Commissioner Martha McDaniel seconded the motion.  Chairman Kendall stated this was not on the agenda for denial of the application, only for approval at second reading.  The procedure since it is on second reading would be to deny at second reading and start over. 

 

County Attorney Fortune agreed with Chairman Kendall.  County Manager Ruffin commented that the agenda could be amended to restyle it to read the way you wanted it to. 

 

Mr. Shepherd commented that Mr. Johnston was down here when this was on first reading and delivered all the information to the Board that was pertinent to the application.  He said that the application has already been approved on first reading and the people have already spent a good deal of money towards this property before realizing they had a problem.

 

County Manager Ruffin stated that the constitutional objection was filed prior to the public hearing so the interest of the parties have been protected.

 

After discussion regarding the motion on the floor, Commissioner Johnie McDaniel withdrew his motion to deny application as well as the second made by Commissioner Martha McDaniel. 

 

Motion made by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel to deny the second reading of Application #00-21Z.  Commissioner Martha McDaniel seconded the motion and motion was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

The item will be on the August 21, 2000 Agenda for first reading to deny Application #00-21Z.

 

3.       Consider approval of the following:  Special Exception Application #00-41S:  Wendell Cleghorn, Owner – 453 Shoal Creek Road – requesting a Special Exception to allow a Class A Manufactured Home in the Ar-1 District to replace an existing older model manufactured home.

 

Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Massengale Application #00-41S was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

4.  Consider approval at second reading of Amendment to the Official Zoning Ordinance and Official Zoning Map of the following:

 

·         Amendment to UDO-A-00-10:  Article 2:  Definition of Terms Used, Section 202;R’—Amend definition of campground, religious for allowance of a church

 

Motion made by Commissioner Childres to approve UDO-A-00-10.  Commissioner Massengale seconded the motion.

 

Commissioner Johnie McDaniel asked under these conditions if the church would have to meet all the buffer requirements and all the other restrictions that are provided for this being a special exception for zoning classifications.  County Manager Ruffin stated if it was a new use, it would have to meet the requirements but if an existing use he thought that it would be grand fathered but he would have to look at the code to see how the language reads and then report back to the Board.  Commissioner Johnie McDaniel addressed his concern “as defined in 202 U” and read that part of the code.  County Manager Ruffin stated that you determine this special exception by the principle use of the property. 

 

Until question Commissioner Johnie McDaniel asked could be cleared up, Commissioner Childres withdrew his motion as well as the second by Commissioner Massengale.

 

Motion made by Commissioner Childres to table UDO-A-00-10 to a date certain, August 21, 2000 to make some disposition.  Commissioner Massengale seconded the motion and motion was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.. 

 

·         Amendment to UDO-A-00-16:  Appendix A.  Subdivision Ordinance, Section 408:A—Amendment to final plat submission

 

Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres UDO-A-00-16 was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

RESOLUTION AMENDING

                THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE OF SPALDING COUNTY, GEORGIA

 

            WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of Spalding County, Georgia under the Constitution and Laws of the State of Georgia is empowered by virtue of its police power to regulate the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Spalding County to provide for and enact zoning and developmental regulations;

 

            WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of Spalding County, Georgia enacted the current Zoning Ordinance of Spalding County, Georgia on January 4, 1994 and therein adopted as Appendix A thereto, the Subdivision Ordinance of Spalding County;

 

            WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of Spalding County has determined that it is in the best interests of the citizens of Spalding County for certain text revisions and amendments to be made to the Subdivision Ordinance of Spalding County;

 

            WHEREAS, such text amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance of Spalding County were reviewed by the Spalding County Planning Commission, and a hearing on the text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance of Spalding County was conducted by the Board of Commissioners of Spalding County, Georgia on July 27, 2000, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 33-66-1, et. seq. in the Spalding County Hearing Room, Room 108, Spalding County Courthouse Annex, 119 East Solomon Street, Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia;

           

            WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of Spalding County, Georgia considered the proposed amendment, any and all alternate proposals or amendments, the report of the Spalding County Planning Commission and all data and evidence taken at the public hearing; and

 

            WHEREAS, it is deemed by the Board of Commissioners of Spalding County, Georgia that an amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance of Spalding County, Georgia conforms with sound comprehensive planning principles and is of substantial benefit to the public and in the promotion of the best interests and general welfare of the people;

 

            NOW THEREFORE, IT SHALL BE AND IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of Spalding County, Georgia, that the Subdivision Ordinance of Spalding County, Georgia shall be and is hereby amended as follows:

 

            Section 1:  The following provision shall be added to the Subdivision Ordinance of Spalding County, Georgia, to appear as Article 4, Section 408:A(4):

 

ARTICLE 4.  SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF FINAL PLAT

 

            Section 408. Submission and Approval of Final Plat.

 

A.                Final Plat Submission:

 

4. One copy of the final plat in electronic CAD format (.dxf) registered in Georgia State Plane NAD 1983 coordinates, submitted on a 3.5” floppy diskette or a CD-ROM.  An additional charge of 20% of the final plat fee will be required if a copy of the final revision is not submitted in electronic format.  This fee must be paid before the final plat can be approved.

 

            Section 2:  The foregoing amendments of the Subdivision Ordinance of Spalding County, Georgia shall become effective immediately upon adoption of this resolution.

 

      Section 3:  All Ordinances or resolutions in conflict herewith shall be and are hereby, repealed.

 

X.            NEW BUSINESS

 

1.       North Spalding Citizens United Protecting Our Rights is present to present a proposal regarding problems associated with the Cherokee Rose Sporting Resort. Mr. Tom Dean spoke on behalf of this group.  He stated his address as 1250 Teamon Road.  He presented a petition with 508 signatures opposing Cherokee Rose existence.  He said these petition was merely asking for Cherokee Rose to become legal and to stop operations until all requirements have been met. He said that the group wanted to deal in facts and the facts were that there were twelve counts of non-compliance with the zoning ordinance.  He said they have been pestered with noise for the last four months and been coming to the meetings asking that something be done.  He said that other people have to abide by the law and the code so why doesn’t Cherokee Rose have to. 

 

Chairman Kendall commented to Mr. Dean that the agenda item was for them to present a proposal, which they have not done.  Mr. Kendall commented to Mr. Dean that all this information he has brought tonight should be brought before the Planning Commission as they were having a Public Hearing August 8th and August 15th.  He said this case is going to have to be made at the proper time in the proper forum.  He said that we are trying to follow a procedural outline.

 

Mr. Dean commented to Mr. Kendall that Planning & Zoning Board cannot do anything about what we are talking about here and they have already rendered their conclusion as to what they think should be done after talking with them for the past two months.

 

The procedure is that Planning Commission will make a recommendation to this Board of Commissioners and we five people will have to make a decision. 

 

2.       Consider approval of updated Master Plan for Parks and Recreation.  Mr. Louis Greene, Director of Parks and Recreation addressed the Board.  He said that this was presented by a panel

put together by the Advisory Commission and adopted by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and sent to you for approval.

 

Upon motion by Commissioner Massengale, seconded by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel updated Master Plan was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

3.       Consider approval of relocation of lights at Volunteer Park and construction of new press boxes at Volunteer due to Griffin Tech expansion.  Deputy County Manager Wilson stated the total cost would be $23,000 and be a SPLOST project.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres the project was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

4.       Consider approval of the submission of an application for Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) funds.  The total amount of funds is $48,743.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres submission of grant was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

5.       Consider approval of a Resolution for a moratorium in the issuance of building permits.  Chairman Kendall commented that this matter has come about because of the water problems that this community has faced.  Mr. Kendall stated that he feels like if the county should do anything the appropriate mechanism would be to stop new water taps.  Mr. Kendall commented that we are not out of the woods yet with this water problem.

 

Commissioner Martha McDaniel commented she feels a moratorium is too drastic and her proposal would be that the county not have a moratorium but use the water tap to make people more mindful of the water situation.  She said she would not be in favor of commercial or industrial in this moratorium on taps but on residential construction only for maybe 60 to 90 days and look at it at that time.

 

It was brought out that the City of Griffin does not feel they have a whole lot of new building requests so they do not feel like they need to place a moratorium on building permits or water taps.

 

Commissioner Johnie McDaniel stated he had a problem with their approach on this because they control the water system and they need to take the lead on this.

 

Commissioner Kendall commented that we need to approach this by putting all people on notice that come in to get building permits that we may have to consider putting a moratorium on new water permits within the next thirty, sixty or ninety days depending on what happens with the weather.  County Manager Ruffin commented that when people come in to get their building permits they are getting their water taps also.

 

Commissioner Johnie McDaniel commented that this is the third year that we have been in this water situation and this year being far more the worse and feels that we as a group of community leaders need to sit down with the City and look to the future.  He said that he understands the City has run into problems with construction of the reservoir and they do not want to dredge out the present reservoir and have made connections to tap on to somebody else’s water system, but we can’t base our future on somebody else’s water system.  He said that we need to plan for some infrastructure because we are going to grow in Spalding County.  He said that the City and County are two separate bodies but we are a community.

 

Commissioner Kendall commented that he agreed with Commissioner McDaniel in that we need to be at the table working with the City Commissioners making decisions.  He said how we go about doing it is problematic.  He said that now is the time to approach the City Commissioners regarding regional water plan.

 

Motion made by Commissioner Martha McDaniel to amend the Agenda to add approaching the City of Griffin about some short-term, long-term resolutions to our water problems and authorize letter to be written.  Commissioner Johnie McDaniel seconded the motion and motion was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

Motion made by Commissioner Martha McDaniel to write a letter to the City of Griffin Commissioners asking for a meeting with us, our engineer and their engineer to discuss current water needs as well as water needs in the future.  Commissioner Johnie McDaniel seconded the motion and motion was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

Motion made by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel to table indefinitely the Moratorium on the issuance of building permits.  Commissioner Martha McDaniel seconded the motion and motion was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

Chairman Kendall called for a five-minute recess at this time.

 

Chairman Kendall called the meeting back to order.

 

6.       Consider approval of Grant Request for Griffin Technical College.  This is in the amount of $40,000 to expand Griffin Tech Literacy Program.  Upon motion by Commissioner Childres, seconded by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel grant request was approved by a vote of 4-0 (Commissioner Martha McDaniel out of room).

 

7.       Consider approval of Grant Request to Griffin-Spalding Hospital Authority.  This grant request is from the Emergency Management Agency of $5,000 for the purchase of 500 Weather Alert Radios.   Upon motion by Commissioner Massengale, seconded by Commissioner Martha McDaniel grant request was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

8.       Consider reappointments to the West Georgia Emergency Medical Services for a two-year period.  The two reappointments are Zach Holmes and Walline Pitts.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel the reappointments were unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

9.       Consider appointment to the Spalding County Water and Sewerage Facilities Authority to fill the unexpired term of Ed Cole (12-31-05).  Upon motion by Commissioner Massengale, seconded by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel item was tabled until the August 21st meeting by a vote of 3-2 with Commissioners Childres and Martha McDaniel voting against. Commissioner Childres had submitted a name for this position.

 

10.   Authorization of condemnation proceedings for Right-of-Way for parcel on Hickory Circle.  96% of ROW has been acquired.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Massengale authorization for condemnation was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

11.   Consider approval of Agreement for Employee Assistance Services.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Massengale Agreement was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.  Reference Contract #00-08-07(A).

 

12.   Consider request from City of Griffin to purchase used compactors and containers.  The cost of purchase is $5,000.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Massengale the request from the City of Griffin was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

13.   Consider approval of Local Government Project Agreement with Georgia DOT for utility relocations on SR 155 for installation of passing lanes.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres Agreement was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

14.   Consider approval of the Policies Statement for the 1999 Community Home Investment Program (CHIP) Housing Program.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres Policies Statement was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

15.   Consider approval of proposal from Integrated Science & Engineering.  The proposal is for GIS watershed delineation information, impervious surface evaluation and point source identification for a total amount of $7,950.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres proposal was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.  Reference Contract #00-08-07(B).

 

16.   Consider request from The Bus Project, Inc. for utilize the annex parking lot and 141 W. Solomon Street (Personal Growth Center) properties.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres request was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.

 

17.   Consider approval at first reading an ordinance amending the FY 2001 Budget Ordinance to provide for prior years purchase orders.  Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres first reading was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.  The Ordinance will be incorporated into the minutes on second and final reading.

 

18.   Consider approval of amendment to Service Delivery Strategy between City of Griffin and Spalding County.  Upon motion by Commissioner Childres, seconded by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel the following amendment to Resolution was unanimously approved by a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner Martha McDaniel voting against.

 

A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE SERVICE DELIVERY STRATEGY FOR SPALDING COUNTY

 

WHEREAS, Spalding County desires to apply for Community Development Block Grant Funds in order to rehabilitate a private wastewater treatment and collection system serving a low-to-moderate income neighborhood generally known as Highland Mills; and

 

WHEREAS, the owner of the private wastewater treatment and collection system, otherwise referred to as WWTP, has agreed to donate the treatment and collection system to Spalding County if said grant is approved by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs; and

 

WHEREAS, Spalding County submitted an application to said department in 1999 for $500,000 to rehabilitate said treatment and collection system; and

 

WHEREAS, said department advised the County that funding was not approved because the County’s Service Delivery Strategy adopted pursuant to Chapter 70 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated did not address the County’s desire to own and operate WWTP; and

 

WHEREAS, the County and the City of Griffin desire to amend said Service Delivery Strategy in order to enable the County to pursue funding for rehabilitation of the treatment and collection system.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the City of Griffin and Spalding County that the adopted Service Delivery Strategy, as submitted to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs on September 29, 1999, is hereby amended to include the following:

 

 

Adopted this the 7th Day of August by Spalding County and the 8th Day of August by the City of Griffin

 

19.   Commissioner Martha McDaniel desires to clarify Roberts Rules of Order concerning a motion and second to call the question.  County Attorney Fortune discussed this item.  He said Roberts Rules of Order states the procedure is when the question is called on a previous issue and it receives a second, then a vote is taken and if the motion gets a 2/3 vote, the debate is cut-off and the issue at hand is voted on immediately.  The motion to call the question is not a debatable motion and it takes four votes to end the debate.  There was a discussion about limiting the debate for a twenty-minute period.  The Board agreed that they would follow the procedure in Roberts Rules of Order.

 

 XI.    REPORT OF COUNTY MANAGER

 

County Manager Ruffin spoke about the McKeehan matter.  He informed the Board that she has a driveway that is not thick enough over the county right of way.  She said that she would have core samples taken and had asked to be put on an agenda after the samples had been taken if there could not be some resolution.   The core samples were taken and failed and he had not heard back from her until she showed up tonight.  He said he would go out to the site and meet with her Thursday morning.  The driveway does not meet county code and I feel sure she will be back for the August 21st meeting for you to make some disposition on the matter.

 

XII.         REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS

 

Commissioner Massengale had no comments.

 

Commissioner Johnie McDaniel asked the status of the Highway 362/Rover-Zetella intersection.  Commissioner Martha McDaniel stated she thought that the contract had been moved forward but Deputy County Manager Wilson stated that we had received no official notification. 

 

Commissioner Martha McDaniel had no comments.

 

Commissioner Childres had no comments.

 

Commissioner Kendall reiterated a couple of things that the County has done regarding the water situation.  He said that we have been able to coordinate with the City of Griffin what it is that is being disseminated to our citizens in regards to the water situation.  He said everyone has provided sufficient leadership in trying to make everyone apprised.  He said now is the time to go down to the City of Griffin and try to coordinate something with the commissioners in office now to get us at the table in regards to the reservoir and the water system.  He said that we were the largest customer they have and potentially even larger and we should be at the table when all these decision are made regarding the status of our water supply.  He said that he was hoping their willingness to come to the table with us would be like the Wastewater Management Agreement.  He said this meeting Mr. Ruffin is to coordinate is very important and all the Commissioners need to make every effort possible to attend.