>> COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners hosted a public hearing on Sept. 15 to discuss four items on the agenda related to provisions, animal control, utilities, and property standards.
Seventy people were in the room, including county officials, to listen to or speak during the hearing. The first matter on the agenda was Chapter 24: Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions-Section 34-76 and 34-77. This ordinance is a prohibition against unauthorized urban camping on county property. No one signed up to speak for or against the ordinance.
The second ordinance was Chapter 14: Unified Animal Control Ordinance section 14-37 which is the prohibition against making false reports.
Tina Behne was the only resident to speak with concerns related to identifying a false report. She told the board an example of a dog that has been bothering her and her family but has left by the time animal control shows up and explained that in such a circumstance it would be hard to determine if that was a false or real report, considering the animal was no longer in the vicinity. Behne, therefore, asked for more clarity on how these reports may be identified.
The third ordinance was Chapter 58: Utilities section 58-33 which requires all new mobile home parks to have individual water meters for each mobile home at the county right-of-way. Six people spoke in opposition and with concerns regarding this ordinance.
According to Tyree Adams, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division does not allow his mobile home park to sell water because they are not state-certified. He also stated they did not ask for the water meter to be installed and that about 25 years ago, they paid the county to place them at each home to get water through the park for about $10,000 a year.
Therefore, he does not understand how it is fair to make the park liable for the cost of moving them to the right of way and ensuring water is getting to the homes as needed.
“As long as this goes on, as you continue to read (through the amendment), this makes our tenants drink water that is non-compliant with safe drinking water. There is no way possible to grandfather that in. They have to take them (the meters) all back,” said Adams. “You can change the meters and put them back on the right-of-way but personally we had to work with the county to put water through there 25 years ago…so how are we going to pay the county then to place them at each home and then be expected to libel for the expense to move them.”
Commissioner chair Emily C. Davis stated that the board will look more thoroughly into these concerns before decisions are made.
Next, Brandi Rollins spoke about her increasing water bills despite no leaks being located by professionals and emphasized that her mobile home park has had to take better care of the meters than they should, due to finding many covered in mud and grime.
According to her, a razor had to be used to scrape off grime to view numbers connected to the meters. She emphasized that this state of disrepair should not be possible if the county was properly taking care of the meters. Anthony Byrd and Jermaine Johnson also spoke on similar topics related to fluctuating bills and having companies survey the area of their mobile homes to find no leaks.
“Our bill has been going up over $3,000,” said Byrd. “I have sent companies out to this property (Southwood Mobile Home Park) that have underground surveys to find leaking pipes and they have found nothing. So, how is a bill going from $700 to $3,000?”
Closing public remarks, Jim Bonner, of Capitol Mobile Home Park, focused on what is happening to tenants of these parks. According to Bonner, the majority of tenants are on fixed or lower incomes and have to pay higher rents. He also stated that parks are having to pay people to read the meters, pay people to do bills, and are having to do collections.
“We are in business and when we incur extra costs, we have to pass that on. This is not right. It is discrimination against those with lower income and fixed income. They don’t have a choice like we don’t have a choice,” said Bonner. “We have been forced into the utility company against our will and now we have to incur the expense to put these meters back.”
According to Bonner, what the public is asking is for not only for the ordinance to be rescinded but rescinded back to the way it was. He states that parks should not incur additional expenses than they already have, which has already been “excessive.”
The final ordinance discussed was Article V: Property Standards sections 18-105, 18-107, 18-201, 18-207, and 18-261, which allows Code Enforcement to require repairs to the interiors of rental properties. Tina Behne spoke during the public hearing and County Manager Carlos Tobar read two email submitted comments. Behne expressed concerns about enforcement and stated that she feels the ordinance “leaves the door open to commit to any building.”
One email comment regarded section 18-201 letter E to suggest adding that “all exterior properties shall be kept free of abandoned vehicles in public view.” The second email comment regarded section 18-227 occupied buildings letter E to make the change to the wording from “inadequate ventilation” to “inadequate sewer and/or water heater ventilation.”
The next public hearing regarding proposed amendments will be held Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. at the government building.