Treutlen County Board of Commissioners Consider Board Appointments

The Treutlen County Board of Commissioners considered board appointments for the Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission (HOGARC) Area Agency on Aging and the Hospital Authority during their monthly meeting on Dec. 1 in the Board of Commissioner’s Office in Soperton.

First, the board considered a seat which had become open on the HOGARC Council, which assists the county with grant writing a comprehensive plan development. However, the current occupant of the seat wanted to remain in the position, so the Board reappointed her to the position following a motion from Commissioner Thalia Gillis.

Next, the board considered two seats on the hospital authority. According to the information provided by the authority, one seat occupant wanted to remain while another seat needed to be filled.

For the latter seat, the authority sent the board three names to review, though research by County Attorney James Garner suggested the process should have been reversed, with the board sending the authority three names instead. Board members expressed confusion regarding the process, and County Clerk Angie Hooks admitted difficulty in receiving the authority’s by-laws.

Ultimately, the board decided to select a candidate from the three names provided to recommend the authority to appoint. 

In chairman updates, Board Chairman Phillip Jennings suggested the board consider the bids for the renovation to the local jail’s security camera system, suggested by Lieutenant Brandy Noble of the Treutlen County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Jennings, out of the three bids received, the Pineland bid would be the cheapest option, around $30,000, while also being “more extensive.” The company also offered a lease option which Jennings likened to service plans already in place for a county air conditioning unit.

The lease option would cost the county $9,000 up-front, then $230 per month. 

“I tend to like those, especially being we don’t have our own IT department,” said Jennings.

Commissioner Joey Powell offered a motion to accept the bid’s lease option pending a review of the contract, which passed unanimously.

Commissioner Gillis reported a complaint she had received to the board regarding the local senior center. According to Gillis, she had been told one of the center’s four employees, who she declined to name, had allegedly been paid for hours they had not worked.

The center employs four people, two full time and two part time, whose hours are logged via time card, which County Clerk Angie Hooks noted could have been complicated by employees working for multiple departments. Chairman Jennings suggested the board could arrange an audit to determine if there were any incongruities with the time cards.

“If we’ve got anybody that’s working in multiple departments, and those department heads aren’t determining those time cards to be in agreement of it, we’ve got a problem,” said Jennings.

The board also voted to rescind a previous motion to pay for one month of food deliveries for the center at the suggestion of Attorney Garner. The motion was offered by Commissioner Powell, which passed unanimously.

The funds were originally pledged during their November meeting due to the government shutdown, which would have deprived the center of the funds needed to pay for food to provide for 10 in-house residents and 24 deliveries. However, the shutdown ended soon after, rendering the pledged funds unnecessary. 

Gillis also reported two complaints she received regarding the recreation department: one alleging a resident’s grandchild signed up for the cheer team yet did no cheering outside of practice, and one alleging a resident’s grandchild signed up for the soccer team yet played no games outside of one scrimmage game against fellow Treutlen children.

Jennings offered to investigate these claims, as he is also a member of the recreation department board. He noted the department was struggling with updating its internal policies due to a multi-year shutdown and damage from Hurricane Helene.

Commissioner Rodney Meeks commented on companies driving heavy equipment, such as excavators and bulldozers, on county roads “without taking the proper precautions,” causing damage to the roads.

“We’re putting out a lot of money to update our county roads and make sure they’re nice for our citizens and safe,” said Meeks.

Meeks proposed a potential ordinance which would threaten fines against anyone who damages county roads with improper transport of heavy machinery. Jennings supported drafting an ordinance, suggesting the ordinance apply even to dirt roads.

“I don’t have a problem with it at all,” said Jennings. “There needs to be some deterrence.”

The board elected to formally discuss an ordinance during their January meeting.

Commissioner Hollis also offered a motion to offer full time county employees a Christmas bonus of $150 and part time employees a bonus of $75, which is the amount the board has offered employees in the past. The motion passed unanimously.

In his manager’s update, County Manager TJ Hudson returned to the request to purchase a new work vehicle for Fire Chief John Johnson. He had initially suggested purchasing a red 2025 Ford Explorer, but noted the county could opt for a red Ford F-150 to save money.

According to Hudson, the truck would cost around $46,000 with a six to eight week turnaround time, though the Soperton City Council agreed to pay for half the cost. Commissioner Powell offered a motion to pay for the other half of the truck up to $25,000, which passed unanimously.