BOC March 10 Meeting – Video Coverage

The BOC held its regular meeting March 10, 2011 and covered various issues. The Special called meeting minutes were approved and it moved into new business. The final adoption was made of a Resolution to increase the 911 charge. A local citizen addressed the Board to advise it that his 911 charges were being sent to another county. The County Attorney explained that the funds should be dependent on the billing address but it was handled by a 3rd party. He plans to send a letter out concerning where the funds are directed to ensure the correct handling.

March 10th BOC Meeting part 2 from Fetch on Vimeo.

Next on the agenda was the appointment of two members to the Gilmer County Tax Assessors Board. The BOC had a list of 7 to fill 2 spots with 2 additional names showing interest that same day. The BOC shared the following list: Jack Smith, Fred Keener, Paul Mitchell, Billy Masters, B.J. Reece, Diane Neisler, and Barry Abernathy. The BOC opted to take the opportunity to review the interested parties to assist with making the best choice. This action was tabled until the next regular meeting which will give ample time to appoint the members. The BOC appointed Jean Smilie as a member to the Highland Rivers Community Service Board.

March 10th BOC Meeting part 3 from Fetch on Vimeo.

There was discussion on the DOT Proposal for work on the street in front of Dalton College. City of Ellijay received a grant and requested a permanent easement in front of the college to make changes, which seemed would be improvements on the sidewalk. The BOC will need to consider whether they will gift or sell the property.

Mr. Smith gave an update on the signage change which would replace two signs on Hwy 515. The current signage reads “Apple Capital” and if replaced it would add “Biking Capital” and also change the color from green to brown. The DOT’s sign proposal did not appear to be appealing, some stating that it was “too much to read.” A local citizen expressed their dislike of the proposed sign and reminded the BOC that this was the 40th Apple Festival this year saying “we’ve been here a long time.” The BOC looked at the sign proposal and decided to do some research on possible alternatives. The BOC expressed they would like to be fair to all since both potentially bring tourists to our area.

March 10th BOC Meeting part 4 from Fetch on Vimeo.

March 10th BOC Meeting part 5 from Fetch on Vimeo.

Near the close of the meeting Larry Lykins asked the BOC about plans for the County Pool and inquired if the request for bids had been announced. The BOC explained that swimming pool repairs and renovation request for proposals has been announced. Also Will Beattie stated at the beginning of the meeting that the donation check for the pool’s repair is ready to be picked up from the Harrison Foundation. Mr. Lykins expressed to the BOC the need to move quickly if the plan was to have the pool ready for summer. Various aspects of the cost of the County Pool were discussed including cost of lifeguards. Cathy Harrison stated “they should research the possibility of using volunteers such as teens that could be certified to handle lifeguard responsibilities.” Mr. Sanford expressed that while the pool is important – there is also the need to get to work on the road projects to ensure they receive funding.

March 10th BOC Meeting part 6 from Fetch on Vimeo.

The last question of the meeting inquired on how the cutting of the 1.5 million from the budget was coming along. Mr. Sanford told us there had been meetings among the various County Departments and assured us that the budget is near the finishing stages of putting it together.