Without a line of credit to operate, the Dodge County Board of Commissioners began the new year with continued financial challenges such as dumpsters sites, trash pick up, dirt roads with large holes that are traveled on daily and operating funds for the recreation department.
Citizens Duane Conley, Patrick Sapp, Ron White, Kathy Sapp and Thomas Sheffield addressed the board during public participation regarding the problem with dumpsters being full and trash escaping onto neighboring properties nearby them. Questions were addressed to the commissioners regarding trash pickup schedules and county staffing since the furlough of the road department employees. Patrick Sapp provided photos to the commissioners of a dumpster site located on Friendship United Methodist Church Road and stressed to the board that something needed to be done with the issue of trash in the county.
County financial problems continue
Sapp informed commissioners that the land the dumpsters were located on was land that his ancestors had given to the county for the purpose of churches, cemeteries, schools and public buildings. He added that there are two churches, a cemetery and a voting precinct within 200 yards of the dumpster site. Sapp gave information of possible ways to save the county money by privatizing waste management in Dodge County.
He stated that 85% of Georgia counties contract the management of trash to private companies. Sapp further stated that some parts of the county have nice dumpster sites that are fenced with video surveillance and some even have employees who work at the dumpster sites, yet other parts of the county do not. He indicated that all the dumpster sites in the county should have the same amenities and be treated equally. Sapp told the county that it was obvious that the county cannot manage their waste and asked them to contract waste management to someone that knew how to manage it.
Sapp finally informed commissioners that a petition was being signed by members of the Antioch Baptist Church, Friendship Methodist Church and homeowners in the area about the health problem and disgrace of the dumpsters.
Commissioner Karen Cheek informed the board and citizens that she had inquired with the local probation office regarding probationers assisting with the trash issues throughout the county. She provided information that the probation office could provide a work detail of 15 to 20 people to pick up trash on the weekends. There would be no cost to the county except for the hourly rate of $10.00 for the supervisor ($120.00 per weekend).
Cheek stated this would be free labor and would be a solution to the problem until something else could be done about the trash. She made a motion to have the county manager Kelly Bowen contact Denise Woodard at the probation office and have a detail of probationers scheduled to perform trash pickup for six hours on Saturday and six hours on Sunday every weekend. Commissioner Junior Howell seconded the motion.
Currently the county operates three trash trucks. One truck is in the shop, one is waiting to go in the shop and one is almost inoperable.
Ron White addressed the commissioners concerning the Eastman-Dodge County Recreation Department. White, chairman of the recreation board, inquired of the commissioners why the recreation department did not receive their December 2011 funding. He indicated that the recreation department could not pay their bills and inquired if the department was going to receive their money from the county.
Chairman Dan McCranie asked White to meet with county manager Bowen immediately following the meeting to work on a plan. White informed the board of commissioners that unless funding was received, he would be forced to call an emergency meeting with the recreation board for the purpose of closing the recreation department due to lack of funding from the county.
Billy Joiner addressed the board concerning the public boat landing. Joiner stated that people were overpaid for work they didn’t perform and asked the
board to ask for the county’s money back. Joiner also questioned payments for two trash trucks, motor grader and funding for the airport.
Bill Tripp provided photos of Bill Mullis Road to the commissioners and asked that something be done. The photos showed the poor condition of the road since the furlough of the county road department employees. Tripp indicated that he and others have been trying to maintain the road themselves but to no avail.
Glynn Harrell asked questions of the board concerning the sale of equipment and the procedure for which equipment is to be advertised for sale. Harrell indicated that inquiries to the commissioners have been ongoing concerning the sale of a motor grader. He asked, “Has there been a dump truck sold as well?” Harrell asked if bids were submitted on the equipment in question, was he privileged to see who bid? McCranie stated, “We have not found that information.”
James Atkins asked the board about a bulldozer. Atkins asked, “Is there an investigation going on to find the bulldozer?” McCranie stated “Nothing stolen as far as the board knows.”
Atkins further asked, “Is the county doing an investigation or is it going to be left alone?” McCranie stated there was a paper trail on the bulldozer and motor grader mid year. A check was given to the county and deposited into the county account.
Glenn Price asked if anyone knows who submitted the three bids and McCranie answered that right now the county only knows who wrote the check. McCranie stated those employees are furloughed and the county manager can ask the sheriff’s department for help.
Charles Dennis addressed the board concerning a business called Shorty Smith Contracting. Dennis wanted a status update of the fine that was imposed in the amount of $1,000.00 that currently remains unpaid.Dennis informed the board
that he and his son have personally spent over $57,000.00 correcting code violations on a home that Shorty Smith Contracting built for his son.
Shorty Smith Contracting broke violations of county codes regarding the construction of the home for Chad Dennis. The company was fined $1,000.00 but has yet to pay the fine.
McCranie and county attorney John Harrington updated Dennis that the matter has been referred to the magistrate court in Twiggs County and nothing has been done over the past two months.
Robert Rooks addressed the board and asked if the county was going to continue to look at the budget in order to avoid experiencing the same financial crisis as in 2011.
Rooks told the commissioners that when he visits the elected officials offices, he never sees them but rather their employees. McCranie recommended that Rooks go to the elected official offices and address them personally.
Eddie Driggers, representing the airport authority, inquired with the commissioners regarding the spec building located at the airport.
Driggers indicated Dynamic Paint might want the building. Driggers asked who could set the terms to lease. McCranie informed Driggers the Eastman-Dodge County Development Authority could set the terms to lease.
Driggers informed the commissioners that a decision needs to be made in a very short time frame and the spec building needed to be completed. Driggers stated that if the spec building did not get completed Dynamic Paint will go somewhere else.
Wayne Pruitt of Dynamic Paint stated the company would like to lease to own the building and offered to take care of finishing the spec building.
Diana Glass addressed the board concerning several issues including the budget and the trash problem within the county. Since the meeting, Glass has sent an open records request to the county for documentation of several items.
In other business, the board discussed the line of credit for the county. There were no recommendations regarding the line of credit.
Discussion was held concerning a past due loan owed by Timberline Transport to the county. Harrington informed the board he is continuing to make contact with its owner.
Eastman City Councilman Buddy Pittman addressed the commissioners regarding the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) negotiations.
Pittman stated that the second deadline is near and he wanted to try to negotiate and finalize LOST instead of using outside consultants. The second deadline is Friday, January 13, 2012.
Commissioner Terry Niblett made a motion to call a special called meeting for the purpose of negotiating LOST for Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at Eastman City Hall. Howell seconded the motion to include all municipalities within the county to be in attendance.
The next regular meeting of the board of commissioners will be Tuesday, January 17, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.
He stated that 85% of Georgia counties contract the management of trash to private companies. Sapp further stated that some parts of the county have nice dumpster sites that are fenced with video surveillance and some even have employees who work at the dumpster sites, yet other parts of the county do not. He indicated that all the dumpster sites in the county should have the same amenities and be treated equally. Sapp told the county that it was obvious that the county cannot manage their waste and asked them to contract waste management to someone that knew how to manage it.
Sapp finally informed commissioners that a petition was being signed by members of the Antioch Baptist Church, Friendship Methodist Church and homeowners in the area about the health problem and disgrace of the dumpsters.
Commissioner Karen Cheek informed the board and citizens that she had inquired with the local probation office regarding probationers assisting with the trash issues throughout the county. She provided information that the probation office could provide a work detail of 15 to 20 people to pick up trash on the weekends. There would be no cost to the county except for the hourly rate of $10.00 for the supervisor ($120.00 per weekend).
Cheek stated this would be free labor and would be a solution to the problem until something else could be done about the trash. She made a motion to have the county manager Kelly Bowen contact Denise Woodard at the probation office and have a detail of probationers scheduled to perform trash pickup for six hours on Saturday and six hours on Sunday every weekend. Commissioner Junior Howell seconded the motion.
Currently the county operates three trash trucks. One truck is in the shop, one is waiting to go in the shop and one is almost inoperable.
Ron White addressed the commissioners concerning the Eastman-Dodge County Recreation Department. White, chairman of the recreation board, inquired of the commissioners why the recreation department did not receive their December 2011 funding. He indicated that the recreation department could not pay their bills and inquired if the department was going to receive their money from the county.
Chairman Dan McCranie asked White to meet with county manager Bowen immediately following the meeting to work on a plan. White informed the board of commissioners that unless funding was received, he would be forced to call an emergency meeting with the recreation board for the purpose of closing the recreation department due to lack of funding from the county.
Billy Joiner addressed the board concerning the public boat landing. Joiner stated that people were overpaid for work they didn’t perform and asked the
board to ask for the county’s money back. Joiner also questioned payments for two trash trucks, motor grader and funding for the airport.
Bill Tripp provided photos of Bill Mullis Road to the commissioners and asked that something be done. The photos showed the poor condition of the road since the furlough of the county road department employees. Tripp indicated that he and others have been trying to maintain the road themselves but to no avail.
Glynn Harrell asked questions of the board concerning the sale of equipment and the procedure for which equipment is to be advertised for sale. Harrell indicated that inquiries to the commissioners have been ongoing concerning the sale of a motor grader. He asked, “Has there been a dump truck sold as well?” Harrell asked if bids were submitted on the equipment in question, was he privileged to see who bid? McCranie stated, “We have not found that information.”
James Atkins asked the board about a bulldozer. Atkins asked, “Is there an investigation going on to find the bulldozer?” McCranie stated “Nothing stolen as far as the board knows.”
Atkins further asked, “Is the county doing an investigation or is it going to be left alone?” McCranie stated there was a paper trail on the bulldozer and motor grader mid year. A check was given to the county and deposited into the county account.
Glenn Price asked if anyone knows who submitted the three bids and McCranie answered that right now the county only knows who wrote the check. McCranie stated those employees are furloughed and the county manager can ask the sheriff’s department for help.
Charles Dennis addressed the board concerning a business called Shorty Smith Contracting. Dennis wanted a status update of the fine that was imposed in the amount of $1,000.00 that currently remains unpaid.Dennis informed the board
that he and his son have personally spent over $57,000.00 correcting code violations on a home that Shorty Smith Contracting built for his son.
Shorty Smith Contracting broke violations of county codes regarding the construction of the home for Chad Dennis. The company was fined $1,000.00 but has yet to pay the fine.
McCranie and county attorney John Harrington updated Dennis that the matter has been referred to the magistrate court in Twiggs County and nothing has been done over the past two months.
Robert Rooks addressed the board and asked if the county was going to continue to look at the budget in order to avoid experiencing the same financial crisis as in 2011.
Rooks told the commissioners that when he visits the elected officials offices, he never sees them but rather their employees. McCranie recommended that Rooks go to the elected official offices and address them personally.
Eddie Driggers, representing the airport authority, inquired with the commissioners regarding the spec building located at the airport.
Driggers indicated Dynamic Paint might want the building. Driggers asked who could set the terms to lease. McCranie informed Driggers the Eastman-Dodge County Development Authority could set the terms to lease.
Driggers informed the commissioners that a decision needs to be made in a very short time frame and the spec building needed to be completed. Driggers stated that if the spec building did not get completed Dynamic Paint will go somewhere else.
Wayne Pruitt of Dynamic Paint stated the company would like to lease to own the building and offered to take care of finishing the spec building.
Diana Glass addressed the board concerning several issues including the budget and the trash problem within the county. Since the meeting, Glass has sent an open records request to the county for documentation of several items.
In other business, the board discussed the line of credit for the county. There were no recommendations regarding the line of credit.
Discussion was held concerning a past due loan owed by Timberline Transport to the county. Harrington informed the board he is continuing to make contact with its owner.
Eastman City Councilman Buddy Pittman addressed the commissioners regarding the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) negotiations.
Pittman stated that the second deadline is near and he wanted to try to negotiate and finalize LOST instead of using outside consultants. The second deadline is Friday, January 13, 2012.
Commissioner Terry Niblett made a motion to call a special called meeting for the purpose of negotiating LOST for Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at Eastman City Hall. Howell seconded the motion to include all municipalities within the county to be in attendance.
The next regular meeting of the board of commissioners will be Tuesday, January 17, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.
Mrs Cheeks this was a good suggestion for FREE labor for the county but please realize that there are no jobs here and some of these people are struggling to meet their monthly probation fees or fines so if you can,please give them credit for their work that would help them to meet their obligation of paying their monthly probation expense.
If one has been sentence to do community service then they are required to perform this service for FREE but if not, it seems as if their would be some kind of violation of their rights to make a probationer work for FREE unless the judge has given a community service order along with their probation order.
There should be a law to get the County Commissioners to stay under one roof 7days a week, 24hrs a day,once a month then maybe they would know what the other one is going to do or say.(communication problem solved)
They don't seem to know what is stolen or what they paid or who shot John and when another one asked there seems to be one with a cover story to make him keep quiet. Welcome to Dodge County(Mayberry).
I am writing a book about Dodge County and somewhere I must stick this version in about the Commissioners of Dodge County. It is unbelivable as to how someone can hold a local government seat and not be more attentive as to the issues at hand.LOL
Through out my 30yrs nursing career,healthcare workers constantly had to have updates on OSHA certification and sometimes I was the inservice instructor, so therefore I am very much against anyone being exposed to such material(I am one of the advocate for good healthcare in the community) that could cause them or their families health problems. I am just against the probationers handling the garbage but there is a reason behind my madness as I have stated.
Is the county willing to get the probationers a certification in how to handle BIO-HAZARDOUS material and will the county be willing to compensate them toward their monthly fees or fines?
The probationers have rights as we all do when it comes to their healthcare.One should not just say because they committed a crime then they should be the ones to do this UN-SANITARY job.
Mrs Karen cheeks I hope that you re-think about this so call FREE labor for the county as you call it. You are a RPH and one of the ones in the community that knows first hand as well as I do about healthcare so I am sure that you understand very much as to where I am coming from about this and that you get the full picture of what I am saying.
ASK yourself,would you expose yourself,family,or others to this enviroment? This so call FREE labor could cause the county a BIG problem in a long run(LAWSUIT) and cause someone or their family their lives in a long run. No one should want to hear of someone getting hepatitis (for example just to name one of the illness one could catch) because of them being exposed to the county's garbage? Please look at it from all angles(there is more than one way to skin a cat) before you go ahead with a definite plan about this,especially at some of the ones that I have mentioned. God Bless!
Consider that an audit on the rec center has not been done since 2008!???!! Where is the over sight? Do we just pass out the money willy-nilly? Is Eastman going to be like Rhine and say''Oh you took the money, we will let you pay it pay, no criminal charges involved, no real questions asked? SOMEBODY at the rec center KNOWS where the money went, but watch them all find different jobs and say "but I don't know.."
Maybe we should hold our county book-keeper accountable for all the short-falls. Where is the county audit? Who is getting our money and where are they spending it??? Time to 'fess up and face the citizens!
A closed door meeting has been requested with you because you are about the letter the hens out of the hen house in the public eyes.