>> COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
The Board of Commissioners met on Jan. 2 to vote on the new chairperson and vice chair and hear updates on emergency medical services (EMS), the enterprise fleet management leasing program and the multi-use path to be built near the Baldwin County Regional Airport.
Bud Owens with Atrium Health gave a brief update on the first 60 days of service for EMS, giving the commissioners a range of numbers and statistics to show what has been accomplished and what their future goals are. Some pivotal notes include EMS currently having 32 out of the 39 employees they are hoping to employ, an investment of $1.3 million into a new fleet and equipment, running four to five new ambulances at a time, and having an average response time of 8 minutes and 37 seconds.
Owens did note that in December the response time to 9-1-1 calls increased to the 9-minute range, but they are working to keep response time at the 8-minute mark. Most of these calls were in the Milledgeville area and the first month about 86% of callers were transported by the service. Refusal rates for the ambulance were under the national average of 17%, which Owens suggested is positive.
“For November, we had a total of 575 9-1-1 requests. We transported 405 of those patients and that left a 14% refusal rate,” said Owens. “This format (the data form being read) will be provided to your county manager on a monthly basis, and we will come in periodically to give updates and answer any questions you may have.”
Owens also announced to the board that Atrium Health plans to begin EMTR and EMTB classes in Baldwin County to “grow our own” licensed EMT employment line.
Assistant County Manager Dawn Hutchinson provided an update on the new contract with the Enterprise Fleet Management leasing program.
In 2022, the county purchased 12 vehicles for a little over $50,000 and recouped about $35,000 from older vehicles. Maintenance cost for that year was about $360,000, due to it being an older fleet, to equal a net cost of $826,000. For the first leasing cycle, the county has 129 vehicles in its fleet, leased 52, and has received all but three, which are being fitted.
“The lease cost for those vehicles is $453,101. We have sold 39 of the vehicles we have replaced for $151,800 and have about 13 left to sell,” said Hutchinson. “And our maintenance cost for 2023 was $247,000, which is about $113,000 in savings. The net cost of the program for 2023 is $548,703, so we have had savings for our fleet of $277,000.
Moving into board elections, Kendrick Butts nominated Emily Davis for another year as chairperson and Henry Craig nominated John Westmoreland as chair. With a 3-2 vote, with Davis and Butts in opposition, Westmoreland was voted in as chair.
For vice-chair, Davis nominated Butts and Craig nominated Sammy Hall. It was a unanimous vote to elect Butts as the 2024 vice-chair.
Concluding the bulk of the meeting, County Manager Carlos Tobar gave an update on the multi-use path project planned around the Newport neighborhood near the Baldwin County Regional Airport.
He informed the public that Davis was given a tour of the path and that he also invited the other commissioners and a few residents to do a tour as well. Based on this tour, Tobar stated that no trees will need to be removed, no utility poles will be relocated, and only two guide wires will be relocated that are on county property.
Tobar then asked Courtney Hitchcock to speak about two accidents she was involved in when living in the area. Hitchcock told commissioners that she was an avid runner around the airport area from 2008-21 and was involved in two accidents related to drivers not stopping at a stop sign near an intersection.
She recalled that during her first accident, she and a friend were “picked up” for about 20 feet by the hood of a vehicle on June 16, 2017. She stated there were no injuries beyond bruises and that the driver was a resident in the area and did check on them, so she did not report the accident.
For the second accident, she stated that she did not know the precise date it occurred, as she did not post about it online like the first. Hitchcock said she had to jump into a ditch to avoid a vehicle running the stop sign as she was running down a hill.
Tobar also invited Jim Wolfgang, chair of The Baldwin County Regional Airport Advisory Committee, to speak about the connection of the multi-use path to the airport. Wolfgang stated the “trail has taken a life of its own” and a lot of the discussion has been “based on inaccuracies.”
He also explained the path is not an airport project and will not financially benefit the airport, and further stated that despite rumors, there is no parking lot planned. He also suggested that forgoing the project would affect the reputation of the area and could complicate future projects.
Several speakers expressed opposition to the project during public comments, however, and presented commissioners with proof to support their claims.
Among the issues mentioned were why people will not travel to the area to use the path, claims that Tobar “misrepresented to the Georgia Department of Transportation that there is overwhelming support,” a potential conflict of interest related to letters of support from only one school’s employees for the child safety aspect of the grant, and how the new plan for the trail is no longer a loop and has a note for a proposed parking area.
To listen in depth to public comments, visit the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners Facebook page, skip to 1:03:00, and listen until the end of the recording. The next board of commissioners meeting will be Jan. 16 at 6 p.m.