MINUTES MERIWETHER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION MARCH 25, 2025 4:00 PM Commissioners Present: Chairman Adam Worsley, Vice Chairman Emmett Collins, Commissioner Jennifer Snelson, and Commissioner Bryan Threadgill Commissioners Absent: Commissioner Gene King Staff Present: County Administrator. John Gorton, County Clerk Allyson Stephens, Finance Director Jamie Tarleton, and Administrative Assistant Hailee Palmer Staff Absent: None. I. CALL TO ORDER The Meeting was Called to Order at 4:01 p.m. by Chairman Adam Worsley. II. ADOPT AGENDA A motion was made to. Adopt the Agenda by Vice Chairman Emmett Collins and seconded by Commissioner Jennifer Snelson. All were in favor. III. NEW BUSINESS 1. County Administrator John Gorton stated that the reason they were having this Work Session was to try and figure out the County's projects and needs for 2025. County Administrator Gorton added that he hoped the new Public Works Director, Brian Griffith, would be there to discuss in-house paving. Chairman Worsley asked ifhe was coming. County Administrator Gorton replied that he asked him to be there but was not sure if he was coming or not. Chairman Worsley asked ifl he had started work already. County Administrator Gorton replied yes, and that he started yesterday. County Administrator Gorton stated that he understood one of the biggest needs oft the County was road work and Director Griffith came from Harris County where he had extensive knowledge on roads = this would be a great benefit to Meriwether County. County Public Works Director Brian Griffith stated that road paving was obviously super expensive - he stated they did road paving in-house and they had worked out a deal with Caterpillar on a lease for equipment because it was over a million dollars' worth of equipment. Director Griffith continued that their initial investment would be $200,000 to get into the paving business and they would need some support staff with people that were knowledgeable, and that those people would not be hard to find. Chairman Worsley asked if they would not be hard to find. Director Griffith stated no sir. Chairman Worsley asked if they were expensive. Director Griffith stated that they weren'tastronomica, but above entry-level. Chairman Worsley stated that he understood that good help was not cheap, and cheap help was not good. Director Griffith stated that the guys he was thinking about were County guys and that some oft them followed him from Fayetteville to Coweta and some followed him from Coweta to Harris and some were wanting to follow him from Harris to Meriwether. Director Griffith added that they were experienced guys who were ready to come to work and it would give them three to five more guys on the ground that could train the rest ofthe Staff. Director Griffith continued that they already had a knowledgeable Staff, and he did not foresee it being difficult to train them, and they used inmate labor in Coweta County, SO they would have three guys that were certified officers and then twelve inmates - they were able to pave roughly 30 miles a year in- house. Chairman Worsley asked ifthis was something that would put a presentation together to come back to at another meeting. County Administrator Gorton replied that it would be, and he [Director Griffith] asked if it was something that he would be interested in and he told him yes. Chairman Worsley stated he thinks the Board is interested, and didn'tsee why not. Director Griffith stated they were in desperate need for some road repairs in Meriwether County. Vice Chairman Collins stated that as long as they get the extra Staff, and they weren' 'ttaking away from other things. Director Griffith replied sure, and they were looking to add a few = he had a good relationship with Warden Jenkins at Harris County and a couple oft the guys that he was interested in bringing on board were certified officers, and he believed that they could facilitate picking up a fewi inmates along the way to help with the labor shortage. Chairman Worsley stated that they would need a presentation of what he was looking to do, how much road they could cover with costs, and the labor impact with how many positions and the costs of the positions. County Administrator Gorton stated they would put something together, and he was intrigued by it, and he was pretty sure the Board would be too. Chairman Worsley stated that if they get a presentation together that clearly explained what they wanted to do, it could be something they could get approved in one meeting and not have to table for more discussion. County Administrator Gorton stated that he could ask their auditors ifTSPLOST would help fund any of the leasing programs since it would go strictly to the road. Director Griffith stated that he was pretty sure they could use some LRA and LMIG money for purchasing asphalt to pack and supply trucking, but didn' t believe they could use all ofit for that. County Administrator Gorton stated they would get a presentation together, but that it piqued his interest, and he was pretty sure it would pique the Board's interest too. Chairman Worsley agreed and stated that they had 200 miles of paved road, and they were getting one to three miles a year done. Director Griffith stated that with the proper equipment they could get roughly ten miles ofwork done each year for a million dollars on average. County Administrator Gorton stated they would get the presentation done within a couple ofr months and then present it to the Board and see ifthey could budget it for FY2026. Chairman Worsley stated that it was a huge concern ofthe Board = the conditions of the roads and they had been trying to find the best way to attack roads with the money that they have, and the entire Staffhad done a good job with managing money. Chairman Worsley continued that it was a good time to be thinking and doing this since they currently were in a surplus of money and in good investments to do some ofthese things. Vice Chairman Collins stated that was what he was going to say, but they were way behind. Chairman Worsley stated that the dirt roads would be in the top three also. Director Griffith stated that they had four motor graders now and three and a halfoperators now and they went together in packs, SO strategically they were going to make some changes. Vice Chairman Collins stated that they should be able to go over the County easily with four motor graders. Director Griffith stated they would split it in half and have two on each end of the County - north and south and come up with a route book SO they will actually drive in route instead of jumping here and there around the County. Director Griffith added that they were trying to compile a County road list with every road, right-of-way, paved, unpaved, etc. SO that he knew where the line split. Chairman Worsley stated that they should have that. County Administrator Gorton stated that Director Cassandra Jones should have that. Director Jones replied that she gave it to him. Director Griffith stated he pulled the map and saw that a few roads had been added along the way. Chairman Worsley asked if they had a forced ranking oft the grade ofthe road versus the traffic that is on it for the dirt roads. Director Jones stated that she did not. Chairman Worsley asked if that was something they had or ifthey could generate it. Director Griffith stated that traffic studies would need cameras on the roads. Chairman Worsley stated they could possibly go by the number of houses on the road. Vice Chairman Collins stated that if it was planned out the way he said it would be, then they would all be done two or three times a year. Director Griffith stated he was hoping for a little more. Vice Chairman Collins stated that he wasn't worried about which one was traveled the most because he would get to them more than once. Director Griffith stated that a realistic number was once every three months for what they had, and four times a year should be about where it falls. Chairman Worsley asked what Ms. Cassandra was saying. Director Jones replied that with the house count and traffic count with the dirt roads - it's usually three and a half times the number of houses for your average traffic count. Chairman Worsley stated that was good to know. County Administrator Gorton stated that the good thing about Mr. Brian was that he was also a Meriwether County resident, SO he did know the roads in Meriwether County. Director Griffith stated that he had skin in the game. Chairman Worsley asked ifhe lived on a dirt road. Director Griffith replied no, and that they had recently paved a piece of Trammell Road. Discussion continued about using LRA funding for the backside ofTrammell Road that had been closed. County Clerk Allyson Stephens stated that Trammell Bridge was already bid and awarded. County Administrator Gorton stated that he had received part of the Courthouse assessment, but not the full assessment = The engineer was giving it to him in pieces. Chairman Worsley stated that this was very frustrating because they went out and hired someone to tell them everything that was wrong and it had been three months. County Administrator Gorton stated that he was waiting on his architect to finish up. Vice Chairman Collins asked when they started assessing the courthouse. County Administrator Gorton replied at least February, SO it had been going on two months - he was supposed to have a report by the 14th, and he talked with Chris on Thursday. County Administrator Gorton continued that he had three oft them, but not the full assessment and it seemed that the dome and the clock tower was not flush with the roof like it was supposed to be. Discussion continued about the Courthouse renovations. Chairman Worsley stated that they need to put some pressure on them, because a week from today was April and sixty days to get RFPS its June. County Clerk Stephens stated that they had to have a joint meeting with the cities, and they had to do all oft that for the ballot, referendum, and IGAs. Chairman Worsley stated that was why it was frustrating, and he knew it wasn't Mr. Gorton. County Administrator Gorton stated he would reach out to Mr. Chris and put some urgency that they would need the assessment as quickly as possible to get it done, because he was also assessing a couple of roads for the LMIG and Director Brian was capable of doing that, SO they didn't have to hire out to assess the roads. Chairman Worsley asked with him doing that - how much time away from his primary role of guiding and directing Public Works would that take away. Director Griffith replied that it wouldn't once the training was taken, and he would need to be there of course, on the ground at first, but with the people he was discussing on bringing - he had total confidence in their abilities. Chairman Worsley stated that he didn't 'tj just mean the pacing, but the entire management ofl Public Works - he would hate to hire a manager over an entire department and then start sending them because of pockets of their expertise to different areas and now he wouldn' 't have time to manage the entire department, and that was where he was concerned. Director Griffith stated that it would all get done and they would have to give him some time, of course, but with the road evaluations - once he compiles the book with all the roads and he starts riding - he would be evaluating the roads. Director Griffith continued that it might take a year to go down every single road in the County, but eventually it would be done. More discussion continued about road assessments. County Administrator Gorton stated they were still waiting on internet for Building A, once the internet was installed - they were waiting on one to two more pieces of equipment to get there, for some reason they were behind and they anticipated having it done a month ago, but Building A still did not have internet and that's why no one had moved yet. Commissioner Threadgill entered the meeting at 4:21 p.m. County Administrator Gorton added that the building had been sanitized and cleaned, and as soon as they set up internet - Probate would be the first to move into the building due to them being the main ones that have an intrusion from water when it rained. County Administrator Gorton continued that the DA' 's office would probably go next SO they had security up there, and then Building & Zoning would go next, then Tax Commissioner's office, then Tax Assessor's, then Magistrate Court. County Administrator Gorton stated that Ms. Kye was looking at going where the Tax Commissioner was at now, SO she could continue to have access to her records across the street. Tax Commissioner DeAnn Cruse stated in regard to security, her clerks needed security, and that building would offer security for them. Tax Commissioner Cruse continued that they were currently behind a desk but at the new building they would be behind glass. Director Griffith asked if they handled a lot of cash. Tax Commissioner Cruse replied yes. County Administrator Gorton introduced the new Public Works Director to Commissioner Threadgill. Commissioner Threadgill stated he was trying to figure out who was questioning stuff in the middle ofa a Work Session and that it was nice to meet him. Director Griffith apologized. County Administrator Gorton asked if there was anything else that the Board would like to see besides the roads, buildings, and Courthouse. Chairman Worsley gave brief summary about what they had discussed in the meeting SO far to Commissioner Threadgill. Commissioner Threadgill asked ifthey had a layout of where everyone was going to be. County Administrator Gorton stated they had a rough draft and that he had to get with the Board of Assessor's and make sure they were fine with the layout for the Tax Assessor's, but he had already been up there with Tax Commissioner Cruse, and they looked at it, but still had to finalize on where everyone would go. County Administrator Gorton continued that they were waiting for internet to be turned on hopefully this week, and that any fixture that was left behind - he purchased in surplus (i.e., desks, shelving, filing cabinets, etc.) for approximately $1000. County Administrator Gorton stated that SPLOST was up for renewal, and they needed to have all five Commissioners present to see about wanting to do a Tier 1 project for SPLOST though Courthouse renovations. Commissioner Threadgill asked if they explained how the Tier 1 worked since it was totally different than a regular SPLOST. Staff replied yes. Discussion continued about the operations and fundamentals of a Tier 1 SPLOST project. County Administrator Gorton provided an update for the Elections building, which was looking at being completed next week, about two weeks ahead ofs schedule. County Clerk Stephens stated that she was planning on moving in the week ofthe 7th County Administrator Gorton stated that it was eleven days ahead of schedule. Chairman Worsley stated that was good. Vice Chairman Collins asked about the jail. County Administrator Gorton replied that the plumbing was completed - the locks had been completed. County Administrator Gorton asked IT. Director Matthew Brown ifhe knew if they had been down to replace the locks. Director Brown stated they said they were coming either last Friday or yesterday, but he hadn' 't heard anything from anybody. County Administrator Gorton stated that Mr. Bill Cawthorne was here yesterday, and he said that they had replaced all the locks that had issues, sO all locks should be done, and they had been paid in full. Commissioner Threadgill asked if the locks were working with the system. County Administrator Gorton replied that they should be working, and there was a wiring issue that they would get to in May. County Administrator Gorton added that they had run into issues with getting contractors for the kitchen - they had Bates looking at it and stated they were interested in it, they had a gentleman from Thomaston that said he could do it, but he was two weeks out finishing another project at a hospital - they had contractors back out because they have electrical running under there and they don't want to cut the concrete with electricals because they are afraid they are going to hit it even though they have assured them that they could kill the power - they had contractors that stated they didn't want to do it because it was the jail. Chairman Worsley exited the Work Session at 4:28 p.m. Commissioner Threadgill asked ifthey told them they would have security the whole time. County Administrator Gorton replied they had, and he had spoken with ChiefHadley about moving kitchen staff to Building A or Pathways to cook meals out of there for inmates and then bring them back to the jail. County Administrator Gorton stated that it was grey water and not sewer water, but it still posed as a health hazard. Vice Chairman Collins stated that if Bates could do it, then he would let them do it. County Administrator Gorton agreed and stated that he texted him and said they were interested. More discussion continued about the pipes in the jail and getting quotes from vendors. County Administrator Gorton stated that the buildings were a big concern, and that Commissioner Threadgill had mentioned that before the Tax Building had pipes that needed to be replaced and issues with the faucets outside that needed to be replaced. Commissioner Threadgill stated that Ms. Kye wanted to move her office to where Ms. DeAnn was, and if they had those issues in the building, would it be best just to move everyone to one location to get the situation taken care of prior to moving somebody in and then having a major issue, and then have to evacuate rapidly. County Administrator Gorton replied that where the assessment comes in from the Courthouse, as soon as they know what the full extent of the assessment is - they can use part ofthe Courthouse while they would be doing other things and Ms. Kye would like to be as close to the records as she could be. More discussion continued about the Courthouse and the clock tower renovations. County Administrator Gorton stated that there was a photoshoot opportunity that they wanted to do with the Courthouse in May, and they did not foresee any construction going on at that time - they would just need to shut down that one section and he could get with the Sheriff and Fire to make sure they have it shut down, but would only need a couple hours to do a couple shoots of the Meriwether Courthouse. Commissioner Snelson asked ifit would be exterior or interior. County Administrator Gorton stated it would be exterior only. Commissioner Threadgill stated that they may not need anything then, but Mr. Chuck would have to give that over too. County Administrator Gorton stated it would take place Thursday, May 29,2025, for Shell Rotella Oil SuperRigs Calendar, and they would love to have the Meriwether County Courthouse in their calendar. County Administrator Gorton added that they would need to barricade off ofLaGrange Highway and the current Elections building - he would get in touch with the Sheriff and make sure they were fine with it. Commissioner Threadgill stated that ifthey needed to block roads off then it might be the city that had to make the blockade. County Administrator Gorton stated that he would reach out to her and let her know that since it was within the City limits, she would need to reach out to Greenville also. County Administrator Gorton stated that Building A ofthe Elections/Pathways Building was currently being used by Fire as a drill training course center because it had enough room. County Administrator Gorton added that the Fire Chief would like to move out of the Board of Education which is where they were currently getting all of their training done at and try to utilize Building A. Commissioner Threadgill asked if they were currently paying the school board anything for the lease on that. County Administrator Gorton replied that it was only with the UGA extension, he believed and hadn't seen anything on the fire side. Commissioner Snelson asked ifE Building C was in good shape now or ifthey would need renovations for that. County Administrator Gorton replied that it may need slight renovations, and it was still laid out like a Juvenile Detention Center. Commissioner Threadgill stated that the Board, before Commissioner Snelson was on the Board, took a tour to look at it and Building C looked okay, and the Sheriff's Office had talked about doing something with it SO they went back out and at that time there was a wall inside of a stairwell that had cracks in it and it looked like it had some type of roof leakage, but they did not see that in the initial visit. County Administrator Gorton stated they would go down there and check it again to make sure. Commissioner Snelson asked ifthey had heard when they would be able to fix the front of that building. County Administrator Gorton replied that it was in, and Mr. Lee had been trying to help Elections meet their deadline, and he was done at Elections, and he would get with him, but he should be getting that done by next week. Discussion continued regarding precautions of water damage on buildings. County Administrator Gorton stated they had given notice to Mr. Hand about the building they were renting downtown. Commissioner Snelson stated that they already had it listed on Facebook. County Administrator Gorton stated that the Recreation Director would start next week - baseball season would kick offthis Friday. Commissioner Snelson stated that softball had started last night for the older girls. County Administrator Gorton stated that it had roughly 200 kids, sO recreation had grown quadruple since last year with the number ofkids. Commissioner Snelson shared a story about going to the game last night Meriwether VS. Pike County she stated that it was an impressive program that was producing good kids. County Administrator Gorton stated that he and Mr. Randy Carter had discussed the possibility ofkeeping the gym open later to keep the kids off the streets at night. A short discussion continued regarding the gym and doing what was best for the kids in Meriwether County. County Administrator Gorton stated they had good things looking forward to for 2025, and they were fully staffed departmental wise with department heads, but they still had vacancies that they were trying to fill. County Administrator Gorton added that the budget would be coming up and they would start that in May, and he would like to get a capital lease program in place that way they could buy SO many vehicles a year, and whoever needs them - that's who would get the vehicle and designate them to a certain department. County Administrator Gorton continued that SPLOST would pay for certain vehicles under certain departments, but county-wide they needed to get about four or five vehicles a year, ifthey can, and replace them with those older vehicles that were getting up there in age and milage, and they were spending way too much on maintaining them when they needed to just buy a new one or a fairly used one. Vice Chairman Collins asked what departments he was referring to. County Administrator Gorton replied that he knew Public Works had a few as well as the Sheriff because they run the whole entire County. County Administrator Gorton mentioned that they had discussed before - getting the SheriffOffice new vehicles and passing their current vehicles down to other departments. More discussion followed about what vehicles needed to be upgraded. Vice Chairman Collins asked ift they had gotten the ambulance mounted. County Administrator Gorton replied that they were expecting that to be done by the end oft the month, but he would reach out to Custom Body. More discussion continued regarding department vehicles and their current status. County Administrator Gorton stated they were looking at grants, and there was a grant sent over to County Clerk Stephens about radios and 911 equipment. County Clerk Stephens stated that it wasn't technically a grant, but every year Senator Ossoff and Senator Warnock do an appropriations and they could apply for certain things through those appropriations, and she did reach out to a neighboring county and they were able to send her - because she didn' 't receive it for some reason = but Warock's Office had opened up, it was too late to do anything with Senator Ossoff s, but with Warnock she thought they had until April 4th to try to get some appropriations or funds for a possible radio system that would be county-wide or something like that. Commissioner Threadgill stated that he thought they pretty much had that. County Clerk Stephens stated that they do, may need an upgrade, but unfortunately, they couldn't do it on buildings because it had to be a federal building. Vice Chairman Collins stated that he looked at a few of those grants too, and if your County was under 20,000 you would get 35%, but ifyou had a real rural county = then you would receive more help than if you had a higher population. Vice Chairman Collins added that you had to be careful about the grants and what grants you apply for, because you didn't want to apply for stufft that you didn' t need, because then you would only get 30% when you might end up spending 70%. County. Administrator Gorton stated they were still in search of trying to find a grant writer, most grant writers were paid through the grant. Commissioner Threadgill stated that Mr. Theron Gay had the name of someone with Coweta County and they had reached out to her at one time, and it was a female that worked for the firm, and that' s all they did was take on the responsibility for those grants, ifthey feel that they could get them. County Clerk Stephens stated that it was Allen Consulting. County Administrator Gorton stated she did CDBG and CHIP grants, and he reached out to her. Discussion continued about finding a grant writer and the management of grants. County Administrator Gorton stated that once they get internet at Building A, and the Courthouse renovated and moved back - it would be up to the Board, but his plan would be to move the Administrative Building to Building A and let that be their government center. Commissioner Threadgill asked what the plan would be for this. County Administrator Gorton replied that it would be at the discretion of the Board. Tax Commissioner Cruse asked ifhe was considering putting a complex up there and keeping them up there or putting them up there and moving them back. County Administrator Gorton stated he would like to see everyone up at Building A, but when it came down to it - the Commissioners had the final say on where everyone went, but his vision would be - it's a 14,000 square foot building and they could turn that into a government complex that could serve the citizens at multiple capacities, and they could do some reconfiguring later in regard to foot traffic and work out the logistics on that. Commissioner Threadgill stated that the issue with Greenville being the County seat, and they have SO many County buildings in that area - if they pull everyone out of the seat itselfand those buildings, it is going to stop a flow to another city that they have of people coming in. Commissioner Threadgill added that he thinks they should renovate the buildings that they have to establish areas, but to him that would be a temporary place for most departments and offices that they have in the County. County Administrator Gorton stated they would temporarily move the Tax Assessor's and then renovate the Tax Building for the Court and get it configured the way it should be and maybe keep Building and Zoning in Building A that way they aren'ti in the middle oft the building. Commissioner Threadgill stated that it had always been a very strange building, having three offices within one area. Director Jones stated that it was not peaceful, and it wasn'ts safe. County Administrator Gorton stated they had an engineer look at the building and he said they could reconfigure this any way they wanted to = it would just be at what costs? Discussion continued about the future possibilities for renovations at the Tax Building. County Administrator Gorton asked if there was anything that the Commissioners would like to see Staff complete for 2025 other than buildings and roads. Vice Chairman Collins stated that he thought they had a plate full. Commissioner Threadgill stated that they should try to lock the budget at last year's s budget amount, since it seems to increase every year they need to utilize everything, continue doing roads as they can, and take the additional money and allot a period of three to five years giving them that additional money each year to renovate all these buildings ifthey couldn 't get grants for them. Commissioner Threadgill concluded that he thought it was very doable to lock a budget into last year' S amount. County Administrator Gorton assured that it would be doable, and he could account for it where it balances per DCA standards. More discussion followed about the balance ofthe budget and where they could allot money for future renovations and projects. County Administrator Gorton stated they were making roughly $40,000 a month just offt the investment pool = they could use six months of investment funds to put toward in-house patching idea and then use the other six months of investments to put towards building renovations. Discussion continued about investment funds and the budget. Commissioner Threadgill asked if they needed an Executive Session for the next meeting, and if so, they could do it now. County Administrator Gorton stated they needed Legal there for the Executive Session, but they did have a need for it in the next meeting. IV. EXECUTIVE SESSION There was no need for an Executive Session. V. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to Adjourn the Meeting at 5:05 p.m. by Commissioner Threadgill and seconded by Commissioner Snelson. All were in favor. Approved by: Mafonty Vole of yhe Boxrd of Conmisioners Attest: &. + ALlyaoi Aplon Counly Clet Date: Apri 7, 2025