by BRITTANY HALL
Members of the Emanuel County Board of Commissioners convened Monday, March 21, at 6 p.m. for their regularly scheduled monthly meeting at the county offices at the John C. Coleman Hotel. Commissioners present for the meeting were Jim Sherrod, chairman; James Canady, Hugh Foskey and Desse Davis. Absent and unable to attend the session was Commissioner Keith Thompson. County Attorney Richard McNeely gave the invocation and Commissioner Hugh Foskey led the pledge. Chairman Sherrod then called the meeting to order and welcomed guests and media.
Minutes
- Minutes were reviewed from the board’s regular meeting held March 21. Motioning for approval of minutes was Desse Davis, who was seconded by James Canady. All remaining board members voted to accept.
Public Comments
Board members heard from Michael O’Quinn, county consulting services associate with ACCG, on free member service opportunities offered to Emanuel County.
New Business
- Discussion was held on a totaled backhoe belonging to the county and utilized by its road department. Commissioner Canady spoke on the matter and stated that the incident occurred Thursday morning, April 7, while county employees worked on clearing the aftermath of Wednesday’s storm. It was further stated that the accident took place on Highway No. 1 when a big truck ran into the back of the county unit, rolling it several times. He advised that the county employee operating the equipment was fortunate to walk away. Emanuel County Administrator L. Guy Singletary expressed that a replacement for this very important unit is a need for the county as its operations complement the work performance of two other active backhoe units operating on opposite ends. Advising that the county is currently waiting for the adjuster to give the final go, he presented two bids obtained for a replacement of the totaled unit, one from John Deere and the other from CAT. Singletary spoke on recent units obtained through John Deere and gave details of the business’ current bid of $105,720. This price includes the original bid offer (at state contract price) plus warranty fees. Commissioners were informed that the difference in cost for the unit would be reimbursed out of received payment from insurance. Commissioners then entertained a motion to approve the bid submitted by John Deere that passed unanimously.
Comments
- Singletary advised that the county currently has a lot of on-going projects and spoke on several. He advised that the emergency operations center is still moving along slowly and is almost to phase for incorporating private contractors set aside to do pieces of the work.
- Singletary then spoke on renovations completed at the senior center and said the updates looked great but advised commissioners of missing punch items and outstanding materials still needed to be received before closing the project out.
- Commissioners were informed that TSPLOST is on referendum in May. Additional information on this can be found by visiting the region website or contacting the commissioner’s office for more details. Singletary described this funding as a critical component in government works that help finance operations. He also reminded the BOC that the county is actively negotiating SPLOSTS for the November ballot and said it should be a listed ballot item if agreements can be set in place over the next couple of months.
- Singletary gave an update that the county is still actively planning to establish a new administration complex next to the post office in Swainsboro that will house the Tax Commissioners, Elections and Tax Assessor's Office and serve as an early voting precinct and Swainsboro voting precinct.
- Chairman Canady advised of plans for a County Wide Clean Up Day set for this Saturday, April 23, at 9 a.m. Several cities will be participating from within the county, including Cross and Green, Summertown, Canoochee, Garfield and Swainsboro. Individuals cleaning the Swainsboro area will meet at the fountain at 9 a.m.
- Singletary noted speaking with active participants in the Keep Emanuel Beautiful Organization and agreed to form small groups and choose locations to work. He also stated that ideal locations in Swainsboro will be given by the City of Swainsboro for those interested in assisting in cleanup work before the Pine Tree Festival.
- Lastly, Singletary advised on actively promoting a Clean Your Stretch A movement to push forth the effort of keeping Emanuel County Beautiful by awarding participants with $50 gift cards. For citizens to receive their good-deed gift cards, The commissioners ask that all participants post a photo of them picking up trash throughout their neighborhoods on Facebook and tagging the Emanuel County Board of Commissioners page.
With no further discussion to entertain, the meeting was adjourned.
