>> COMMISSIONERS
Tha Baldwin County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday to approve appointments, discuss the Oconee Heights Streetscape Project, and listen to an overview of the SPLOST tax.
Before the meeting officially began, Joy Monten-Thomas came forward to the board to request the county’s support for the Atrium Health Navicent’s next Community Health Walk on April 1.
“There is no money involved. I am just asking if we can use the city and county logos on our promotional flyers and for you all to come out,” said Monten-Thomas.
The board unanimously voted that the county logo could be used for the promotional flyers and expressed support of the Community Health Walk.
Moving into the regular meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution for the adoption of the comprehensive plan.
The Airport Advisory Committee requested the board approve Jessica Mitchell as an advisory committee member. According to County Manager Carlos Tobar, Mitchell had the honor of landing the first plane on the new runway at the airport and has a degree in airport management.
“Mitchell will be one of three women on the advisory committee and looks forward to assisting with the educational component of aviation,” said Tobar.
The board unanimously approved Mitchell’s membership.
Continuing with appointment approvals, Mac Patel and Edward Walker were requested by Tobar to be reappointed to the Development Authority of Milledgeville and Baldwin County. District 2 Commissioner Kendrick Butts requested that reappointments meet the board, in the future, before approving of their appointment so the board can know them more personally. With some discussion, the board agreed with Butts about this future expectation and approved the reappointment.
Assistant County Manager Dawn Hudson presented a resolution for a 2023 Tax Anticipation Note (TAN). According to Investopedia, a TAN is a short-term debt security issued by the local government to raise money for a public project. The debt is repaid with future tax collections and usually expires around or shortly after yearly taxes are due to be paid. To learn more about what a TAN is and the specifics of a TAN for Baldwin County, refer to 13:20 of the regular meeting on the Board of Commissioners Facebook page.
According to Hudson, two interest bids were received for the 2023 TAN from Century Bank & Trust for 4.25% and another from Exchange Bank for 6.25%.
“So we recommend you accept the bid from Century Bank & Trust and authorize the chair to decide the resolution,” said Hudson.
The board unanimously approved the resolution under Hudson’s recommendation.
Tobar reintroduced the Intergovernmental Contract creating the Baldwin County Land Bank for approval to the board. According to Tobar, the contract must be approved by the city and county boards. As part of the contract, the Milledgeville City Council has requested that property be conveyed to a nonprofit organization. Due to this, District 3 Commissioner Sammy Hall previously suggested that properties be bifurcated for voting and suggested three members from the city appointees who could be voters.
“So for any lots, even if the county owns them, in the city limits of Milledgeville, those three members would be the only ones who could vote to accept the property. If they accept the properties it has to be a nonprofit but for the county properties it can go to for-profit companies,” explained Tobar to the board. “The city was adamant that properties within the city limits go to nonprofit organizations like Habitat for Humanity. They have to sign this agreement too so we think this is a great compromise.”
The board decided to table the discussion for a future work session to be able to answer questions and further discuss the contract. The work session will be March 7 and the board will be inviting the Milledgeville City Council to be a part of the discussion.
Per old business, the board all expressed concerns about trash alongside roads in the county and finding a solution to clean it up better. In addition, Tobar explained that the upgraded camera on Richards Street has been ordered but not yet installed. The goal is to catch the people dumping in the area. District 4 Commissioner Henry Craig also suggested that a committee could be made to help prioritize the trash issue and cleaning the trash through assistance from community service.
Butts also suggested that a public service announcement be made as well to ensure the public understand the expectations of not dumping and how they could be assisting to handle the trash issue.
Moving into new business, Latonya Howell presented Moments in Milledgeville and Baldwin County Black History.
“As we take time to honor national Black History Month, I think it’s important to honor our local trail blazers and legacy holders,” said Howell.
To listen to Howell’s presentation, please refer to 38:00-47:02 in the recording of the meeting.
Moving into the county manager’s report, Tobar proposed the Oconee Heights Streetscape project to the board. The project would put one-way streets on Barnes Ave. SE, Coombs Ave. SE, Bell Ave., Horne Ave. SE, South Elbert St., South Jefferson St., and Edwards St. SE. The one-way roads would be multi-use lanes with street lights and bollards portioning the roads to include walking paths. Each one-way street would be repaved and storm drains would be improved, if necessary. In addition, a sidewalk would be constructed on Vinson Highway from McDade’s Grocery to Caraker Ave. This project would be fully funded by a grant if the application is approved.
“The main goal of the grant is to connect neighborhoods and create safer streets,” said Tobar.
According to Tobar, the Milledgeville City Council has not offered any opposition to the application but has not yet approved the application either. However, after thorough discussion, the Board of Commissioners approved the application 3-2 to move forward.
At 59:40, as the meeting drew to a close, Tobar walked through an overview of the SPLOST tax in anticipation of the Tuesday, March 21 SPLOST election. To learn more about the SPLOST election and resolution visit https:// www.baldwincountyga. com/commissioners/page/ splost-electionresolution- 2023?fbclid=IwAR32foNQYNLN1gTiUt-sA4UhxLjM5ON0vuax-vSQJtDb1pjbW3R8F9E-BJCY6o.