TOWNS COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION
Board Meeting
Towns County Courthouse Conference Room 2nd Floor
Monday, August 12, 2024, 2 p.m.
Present: John Clemens, Larry Dietsch, Joan Crothers, Anna Denton, Jim Olson, Joe Liguori, Michael Courey, David Best. Guests: Frank Riley, Elaine & Andy Williams.
1. President’s Remarks\Report – John
a. Welcomed and introduced the following speakers.
b. Frank Riley of Chestatee-Chattahoochee RC&D Council spoke on Firewise. He said there are 127 Firewise Communities in Georgia, 24 of those are in Towns County. That makes Towns 6th in the nation of 5K communities. He is presently working on grants for Ag programs and has received 7 out of 8 he applied for. One is a walking trail at Union County Farmers Market. He is also taking a census of fire protection needs in Towns, Union and surrounding counties working with the U.S. Forest Service. Michael and Joan are also members of Firewise.
c. Caleb Taylor, a 7th grade student at U.C. School, was also on the agenda to speak about his project. His mission is to honor deceased veterans of Towns County by placing memorial markers (large white crosses) at Veterans Park and to educate the citizens and youth of the different meanings of the specific Federal holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day, 9-11, Veterans Day, and Pearl Harbor. He is asking the Civic Assoc., as a 501(c)3 to oversee this project in Towns Co.with him and continue with it when he goes off to college in 5 years.
d. Membership meeting: Everyone said they thought it was a very good meeting, the speakers were good and only took their allotted time, so the meeting concluded in the 2 hr. time frame.
e. Christmas Float? Yes, we have time, the parade is 12/7/24.
f. Special Meeting in September/October (national political)? This was discussed and John will try to contact Tim Scott (R, NC) and suggest to Charlotte to contact Rev.Warnock (D, GA).
g. Andy Williams has shown interest to join our Board. A vote was taken and he was duly approved to be a Board member.
2. Board Officers Reports
a. Secretary’s Report- Joan: Minutes of June 2024 Meeting that was emailed (no meeting in July); motion made to approve, seconded and passed.
b. Treasurer’s Report-Larry: June balance in checking account was $4,020.06; Income-dues $1,026; Expenses-P.O.Box $194 & Annual Mtg.-$135.81. July balance was $4,090.07; Income-dues $190; Expenses-Marketing $50 & Website (LLAR Plugin) $69.99. Discussed Budget vs Expenses 7/1/23-6/30/24.
c. Membership Report-Anna: June/July 2024 Report shows 113 Individuals, 68 Households, 3 HOA’s, compared to 72 Ind. & 46 households in May.
d. Web site Update/Maintenance-David: June/July Progress Report shows Home Page and Cal.of Events updated thru August ‘24; 7/24 Membership Mtg. Minutes linked at Home Page, and Safety & Crime Prevention flier linked from Home Page. Site health rated “Good” by WordPress; Limit Login Attempts Reloader renewed 7/19/24-$69.99.
3. Committee Reports (significant issues) June & July
a. Chamber of Commerce-John: Chamber of Commerce-John: Made in Georgia income was up approx. $2,600 over 2023; we had attendees from 10 different states. 4th of July Boat Parade had 33 boats registered, Aqui Tiki was the grand marshal, $600 awarded in prize money. Home & Garden Expo- July 20-21, Foster Park. Hiawassee DDA 2024 Summer Fun-Draiser- Back to the 80’s- July 20 at 6 pm Anderson Music Hall.
b. City of Hiawassee-Joan: 6/14:Mayor Ordiales stepped down from Mayor’s office today, Jay Chastain’s 1st day as acting Mayor Pro Tem. was June 18th. Board of Elections cancelled City election for Mayor at the 11/5 election date, leaving City election undecided. Water Plant float in the lake was broken by Wake Boats; contacting the DNR for a No Wake sign. Sign Ordinance and Mobile Home Ord. had their 2nd readings at the 7/2 meeting and passed. The land requirement in the Accessory Structure Ord. for Mobile Homes will be increased from ⅓ acre to ½ acre. Council member Nancy Noblet is now Mayor Pro Tem. of the Council. 7/24 Approved the purchase of a Water Dept. truck, Dodge 2500 at low bid of $63,900. 1st reading held of New Rules of Decorum to govern public speaking at City Council meetings. EMI Pres. Fletcher Holliday said 3rd filter is installed with final EPD approval. He said water loss over the past 15 yrs. of 40% of treated water is a big problem even though employees hunt and repair leaks. In 2023 audit loss of treated water was up to 53%. EMI proposed a 4-6 month study to find where the water is leaking, costing $35K+. GMF is one of the leaks, they have had a company checking, but still can’t find the leaks. Their bill has been adjusted so they’re paying for treated water, but only part of sewer bill; 75% of charges & penalties or $32,093.41.
c. City of Young Harris-Jim: Young Harris Public Hearing, 6/8 Valley Trail development is proposing property annex, unit variance, and parking variance. Height of the structure(s) is no longer an issue (Commis. will not vary from 35’). The project is to develop in two phases. It is favored by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, State of Georgia grants, and federal grants.
d. Towns County Commissioner-Joan: 6/18 Ribbon cutting for return to renovated courthouse–extra courtroom, extra offices, central H/A, electric fenced area & annex w/holding cells for inmates on trial. 6/26 Retirement rates for County employees contributions were matched by the County from 4% to 6%. A 4% increase in salaries of 4-H Coordinator Keri Bradshaw and Extension agent Jacob Williams. The old Rec Center gym will return to youth basketball & winter pickleball court; the offices will be shared by T.C. Historical Soc., CASA, & GED adult education program. 7/24 Bought new tar truck for potholes; cost $268K.
e. Towns County Water & Sewer Authority-Jim: 7/16 Nathan Noblet declared financials to be in very good condition. They put cameras where water was being stolen from hydrants and voted to assess a $500 fine to anyone caught stealing water. One perpetrator of water theft, a contractor, was identified and located. In Towns Co. every gallon in the hydrant lines is bought by the TCW&SA from the City of Hiawassee. The one known contractor has agreed to pay for metered hydrant water. Any other unknowns will have the same opportunity once they are identified and located. The Frog Pond project to date, 6000’ of water pipe is completed. Meter upgrade/swaps are ongoing. Discussion continues about the EPD-mandated Asset Management Plan. A rough estimate to contract a civil engineer is $30-50K. On another EPD mandate, lead (metal) check has cost approximately $200K in
compliance costs.
f. CVB-Jim: Motion approved to increase account minimum reserve to $20K suggested as a contingency buffer for unanticipated budget demands. Considerations of applications to be actively encouraged to serve other qualifying “non-profits” beyond the Fair & Chamber was approved. Bureau presented a new slogan and symbol for “Georgia’s High Point” promotion which can be seen at the Towns County CVB website.
g. BOE- Michael: 7/1 Supt. Berrong renewed another 3 years. S.O. contract renewed for School Resource Officers on campus–BOE pays 75% of contract for traffic control and Resource Officer ($19,659); the County pays 25%. 2 local grads approved for Middle Sch. baseball head coach-Zeke Gribble and Middle School boys & girls basketball – Kendall Floyd. 7/31 Ag facility has a delay, footings for the bldg. have to be re-engineered, putting completion to Jan. ‘25. Grant does not pay for the $400K site prep. costs. Yr.-to-date: Sales Tax $294K, E-SPLOST $522K, Ad Valorem $6 Mil.
h. BRMEMC-Michael: 6/11 They have 56,700 meters in GA & NC, 42K have been changed out; 16,758 Fiber customers in April. 7/9 Outages due to weather bringing down trees-61%, animals-20%. Long term debt is $120 million.
i. Board of Health-Larry: 8/25 Tony Berrong honored for 25 yrs of service; honored in memory of her 5-yrs as Office Mgr. was Ms. Laura Beth Ide. Covid 19 cases on the rise–free test kits are available. Multistate outbreak of Bird flu (HPAI) has infected poultry, now dairy cows and humans; 100 mill. chickens infected, 163 dairy herds in 48 states, and 11 cases in humans in 3 states. No cases in GA since poultry cases in early 2022.
4. New Business Submitted from Board Members: None 5. Adjourn
Next Meeting: September 9, 2024, 2:00 Hiawassee Conference Room 2nd Floor
Joan Crothers, Secretary