STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF GENEVA  REGULAR SESSION January 22, 2024  The Geneva County Commission met in regular session on Monday,January 22 Chairman Seay called the meeting to order and welcomed guests present. Commissioner Wilks opened the meeting with prayer. Chairman Seay led the group in  2023, at 9:30 a.m. at the Geneva County Courthouse in Geneva, Alabama.  the Pledge of Allegiance.  There were: no elected officials requesting to make public comment. There were no citizens requesting to make public comment. Chairman Seay called the roll, and the following members were present: Commissioners Todd Brannon, Bart Wilks, and Wade Fulford. County Attorney, Phil Eldridge; Engineer, Justin Barfield; Revenue Commissioner, Mary Ann Ellison; and County Administrator, Cindy Williams was also present. The following business was  transacted:  MINUTES OF THE MEETING  NEW BUSINESS:  1.Approve Minutes of. January 8, 2024. Commissioner Fulford made ai motion to approve the minutes of. January 8, 2024. Commissioner Wilks seconded the motion. Vote was 3-0. 2.1 Board Appointments - Chairman Seay reminded the Commissioners to be in consideration for the appointment for the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and  Development Board. OLD BUSINESS: None  Recorded In: OFFREC Book: 1223 Page: 134 Recorded: 3/14/2024 11:00:31 AM Toby Seay, Probate Judge Geneva County, Alabama Inst Num: 20025403 5 Pages No Tax Colleoted Fees: $0.00 Total: $0.00  STAFF REPORTS:  Sheriff: Sheriff Helms was not present.  County Administrator: Administrator Williams reminded the Commissioners about the The Administrator asked department heads for assistance when signing off on time sheets to verify sick and vacation time. Wel had several employees recently that have been using  District meeting being held Thursday night in New Brockton.  1    STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF GENEVA  REGULAR SESSION January 22, 2024  sick leave for vacation time which allows them to hold on to vacation time for the The W-2 forms were sent out with payroll checks last Thursday to current employees and EMA Director, Brian Smith had asked the Administrator to present an increase in his salary due to the increase for RSA retirees. Mr. Smith started at $32,000.00 and has not requested the allowed increase for RSA retirees. He has received the same COLA as all other employees since his hire date and is currently at $34,029.84. The budget amount has been $40,000.00 for his department even though he was making less. Now that he is CLEM certified he is requesting to be raised to the current RSA retiree salary cap of $38,000.00. Commissioner Wilks made ai motion toi increase the EMA Directors pay to $38,000.00, effective immediately. Commissioner Brannon seconded the motion. Vote The Administrator shared an exit interview with the Commissioners from an employee at Road & Bridge. His main reason for leaving according tol his form was a supervisor. The County Engineer: Engineer Barfield stated hel had spoken with CDG Engineering regarding the FEMA bridge replacement projects. The survey crews will be onsite The. APHIS beaver trapping project is still in progress. Hel has trapped three on Wheeler Road, three on County Road 55 south, one on County Road 53 and torn down several dams, two more on Bethesda Road, three on S. Watford Road, and five on Tim Helms Road. Commissioner Wilks asked the Engineer to have them check W. Neva Road off Highway 27. There is a beaver dam that is higher than the road and ift the dam breaks it Since the last meeting, the thermo striping has been put down on County Roads 48 and 49. The hi-build paint striping has been done on Goat Hill Road, and County Road 65. Today the west end of County Road 5 should be completed. Once roads in District 4 are completed they will move on to the remainder of the forty-one miles that are planned. Two trainers from CIMS were down last week training Tracey on the software. Once she is familiar with the program, she will train the others at Road & Bridge. Mr. Barfield has been in contact with the broadband utility contractor. He has built a positive relationship with the contractor on the construction side. There are two contractors running on the construction side running the main fiber underground and another contractor running the drops to the residences. They have replaced the pipe on Gainer Road and will be replacing the one on Pridgen Pond Road. Last week they found damage on County Road 99 caused by the residential crew. The company used a stick pneumatic boring apparatus to bore under the road. That type of apparatus is not allowed by ALDOT guidelines. He has contacted the contractor, Cobb Underground. They were unaware that they were supposed to obtain permits from the Road & Bridge department. They have been put on notice: regarding obtaining permits. The Engineer has asked Wiregrass Construction to give an estimate on repairing the damage to County Road 99. He has also requested the list ofaddresses where the residential drops have been placed to date sO they can be inspected. What the company has been putting underground is at eighteen inches and the requirement fori the County is thirty-six inches. Commissioner  vacation pay out at the end of the year. are being mailed to past employees today.  was 3-0.  Engineer shared this employee's attendance record.  beginning in mid-February.  will wash out the road.  2    STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF GENEVA  REGULAR SESSION January 22, 2024  Wilks asked had Mr. Barfield decided to require a bond for companies that are not local. Mr. Barfield stated that the contractor on the construction side has an office in Slocomb, sot they are local but the contractor on the residential drop side is a Statewide contractor that does not have al local presence. He sent a cease-and-desist email late Thursday afternoon which they have yet to respond to. He also sent the permit form and the typical boring instructions. This is not just issues with Geneva County, other surrounding counties are having the same issues with this contractor. Chairman Seay asked what the plan of action is ifhe does not receive a response to which he replied he would get Commissioner Brannon made a motion to recess. Commissioner Wilks seconded the Commissioner Wilks made. ai motion to reconvene. Commissioner Brannon seconded the Engineer Barfield continued that Coffee County had recently updated their permitting policy toi include bonding for out-of-town contractors. Attorney Eldridge stated that he has been reviewing permitting policies and had found a few County policies but he and the Engineer suggested the Commission hold off on that at this time to see ifthis situation resolves itself. Commissioner Wilks made ai motion to allow Attorney Eldridge to send a cease-and-desist certified letter ift the Engineer does not receive a response from the contractor. Commissioner Brannon seconded the motion. Vote was 3-0. County Attorney: Attorney Eldridge stated that hel had reviewed the CDG agreement for the bridge replacement project. He had reviewed the contract and had advised the Administrator that it was okay to have Chairman Seay sign the agreement and give itt to Commission Chairman: Chairman Seay stated that the renovations on the maintenance shop was complete except for Alabama Power installing the meter and running electricity to the building. A mini split will be needed to have the climate control needed for the area The Farm Center infrastructure improvements have begun. The contractor is working on the demolition. Chairman Seay did ask the Commission what they wanted to do with the old bleachers. They are. homemade bleachers that ifkept would need a lot ofrepairs. Commissioner Brannon stated that it would be beneficial to have a set ofbleachers that could be moved or that would retract and could be moved. Commissioner Wilks proposed having Outdoor. Aluminum look at the current bleachers to see ifthey could be upgraded. Ifiti is cost prohibitive or they cannot be updated, then declare the current set surplus and sale them and purchase a new set of bleachers. Commissioner Brannon suggested obtaining a quote for ai new: set ofbleachers. After continued discussion Commissioner Brannon made a motion to declare the old bleachers as surplus, sale them ifpossible and purchase ai new set ofbleachers. Commissioner Wilks seconded the motion. Vote was 2- Currently JMR+H is working on a color board for the Farm Center and Courthouse  Attorney Eldridge involved. motion. Vote was 3-0. motion. Vote was 3-0.  the Engineer to forward to CDG Engineering.  that will house the voting machines.  1. projects.  3    STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF GENEVA  REGULAR SESSION January 22, 2024  ISA Corporation is expecting to be inj production in early April. They are working on completing an additional parking lot beside the building for employee parking. The new sign at the Industrial Park has been installed and Wiregrass Electric will advise oft the date they will be installing the electricity for the sign. Once that is completed the The Probate Office will have new tag software in February. The IT provider is advising that ai new: server is needed. The cost for that is estimated at $40,000.00. The Chairman stated there are funds in the Probate Judge Discretionary Fund that could be used to pay half the cost and the other half from Capital Improvement. Commissioner Brannon made amotion for the Probate Office to purchase ai new server with the cost split between the Probate. Judge Discretionary Fund and Capital Improvement. Commissioner Fulford Commissioner Wilks asked ift the old pick-up truck for the Courthouse was going tol be declared as surplus for sale. The Chairman stated that at this time he would like to hold on to both trucks. The Courthouse maintenance department uses the old truck for various reasons, and he would like to keep one in good condition for the use of the Commission. Chairman Seay stated that since we. have upgraded to the new telephone system, we have the old telephones that need a new home. We can place them for sale on GovDeals, however, the Geneva County Board of] Education has asked if the Commission would donate the telephones to their department. Our old system is compatible with the system they use throughout the schools. Commissioner Wilks made ai motion to declare the old telephone system as surplus and donate what is needed to the Geneva County School Board and ifthere are excess to list them on GovDeals. Commissioner Fulford seconded  old sign can be removed and that area can be leveled off.  seconded the motion. Vote was 4-0.  the motion. Vote was 3-0.  Revenue Commissioner: Ms. Ellison had nothing new to report.  EMA Director: Mr. Smith was not present. Solid Waste Director: Mrs. Smith was not present. E-911: Mr. Williams was not present. begin planning this year's events.  Auburn Extension: Ms. Marks stated that the Farm City committee met recently to The Cotton Expo will be held February 9, 2024 at the Peanut Festival Fairgrounds in The AG career day for eleventh and twelfth graders, will be held at Landmark Park in Due to the construction at the Farm Center the Extension Office is temporarily moving their offices to the Health Department and all program classes will be held at the. Johnny There is an open position for a 4-H Agent. The position covers both Coffee and Geneva Counties. Ms. Marks is asking everyone to please promote this position. The former agent did a very good job in promoting 4-H in the County. There is also an open position  Dothan.  Dothan, on April 18, 2024.  Hughes Community Center in Hartford.  4    STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF GENEVA  REGULAR SESSION January 22, 2024  for Home Grounds Agent which with citizens on lawns, trees, bees, and other areas. This program is one oft the most popular. The jobs can be applied for at www.accs.du. Commissioner's: Commissioner Fulford made a request that the old window air conditioning units and ceramic heaters be removed from the Lytle and Flat Creek Community Centers, which are also used as voting precincts, and ai mini split be installed. Commissioner Brannon asked about the outside lighting at the Black Community Center. With an election coming up we: need to make certain there is proper lighting. Chairman Seay stated the County does not own that building but we will contact the Town of] Black. Commissioner Wilks requested that the maintenance department ensure all voting facilities are clean and in good repair and that the heating and or cooling are in working order for Election Day. Chairman Seay stated that we would ensure there was gas at all locations that use it, and we did have space heaters for all locations, but hei is unsure if they were replaced after the maintenance shop burned. If we do not have enough heaters, Commissioner Wilks made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Brannon seconded the  we will replace them before Election Day.  motion. Vote was 3-0.  The above constitutes the minutes oft the meeting oft the Geneva County Commission held  on Monday, January 22, 2024.  AALa  Chairman,  Cindy Williams County Administrator Commissioner Todd Brannon hLKE Commissioner Wade Fulford    Commissioner Weston Spivey Batdit Commissioner Bart Wilks  5