11/19/2013 BOC Work Session Minutes
GORDON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
WORK SESSION MINUTES
NOVEMBER 19, 2013
The Gordon County Board of Commissioners held a Work Session Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in the conference room of the Administration Building.
Chairman Hood called the meeting to order.
Mr. Tom Fravel with American Engineering spoke to the Board to bring them up to date on completion of the initial site work and the completed soil testing done in response to our discovering the crack in the parking deck. Mr. Fravel advised the Board that repair work to the parking deck would cost approximately $100,000 and could be completed by the end of December. County Attorney Smith advised the Board that if any repair work done on the parking deck cannot be used in the new parking deck structure, then SPLOST funds cannot be used to pay for that repair work. Also that SPLOST funds collected to date are sufficient for the construction of a new parking deck. Following discussion, Board members felt that it would be a waste of money to spend county funds on repairs if the deck had to be torn down when the construction of a new deck was started. County Attorney was asked to contact Piper O’Brien to arrange for someone from that company to come to a Board work session to report on the status of any plan work they may have prepared for a new parking deck. The Board also wishes to discover what effect constructing a new parking deck would have on future plans for renovation of the courthouse.
Sgt. First Class Ken Benham with the local Georgia National Guard spoke briefly to the Board just to let the Board and Gordon County know that they are a full time unit which is very involved in the defense of the United States. They want the Board to know that the Guard is available for rendering any help in the future that the Board may need in Gordon County and Sgt. Benham urged the Board to call on the Guard.
Mr. Dan McBee with Rivers Alliance spoke to the Board and provided a brief status report concerning his work with rivers, lakes, and watersheds in Gordon County. Mr. McBee reported on the findings from his gatherings of pollutant levels in the rivers and lakes in Gordon County and urged the County to further study written reports he left for them to read.
Fire Chief Dave Hawkins requested Board approval for his department to submit an application for a Fire Act Grant. The Fire Department would like to apply in the areas of operations and safety, vehicle acquisition and a regional grant. The total grant would be for $437,500 with County matching funds of $43,750. There was a consensus of the Board to allow the Fire Department to move forward with applying for the grant.
The Board discussed each item on the agenda and made no changes or additions.
County Clerk advised the Board that an offer from the Georgia D.O.T. for the County to purchase one of the shuttle vans that was recently replaced by D.O.T. for the 5311 MATS program. The van was offered to the County for $4,500. David Gibson, who administers this van program, included information found on the internet of a similar age, size, and miles van for around $27,000. The Board felt that this was a very good bargain, but would like to try to determine if the van was really needed by the county. The Board will consider the offer and discuss further at a future meeting.
Human Resources Director, Garah Childers, reported to the Board her findings on the cost of County pins for employees in recognition of years of service. The cost was discussed by the Board and no action was taken.
Commissioner Steward made a motion to adjourn the Work Session, Commissioner Cunningham seconded the motion and all voted aye.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
