Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

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budget and some solid waste issues so i'd make a motion that we convene their special call meeting do we have a second motion in a second all in favor motion carries opening ceremonies mr goodman i appreciate you Pray me from the dead last week. I really do. In the meantime, would you pray tonight?

We are grateful to have you back in that chair and even more grateful that Martin's not in that chair.

Well, thank you for that, too.

Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the prayer. And gentlemen, remove your caps, covers. Our Father and our God in heaven, we are grateful for all your many blessings, and we're grateful for the restoration of health of our chairman. Father, we pray for others who may be standing in the need of prayer for healing, for bereavement issues, all of the things that afflict the human condition. Father, we pray for wisdom tonight as we consider these matters that will be brought before us, that we act in good faith and represent as best we can according to thy will. Father, we always pray for the safety of those who stand between us and the things that can harm us, both abroad and here. We pray special blessings on our law enforcement and public service people. Bring them safely home to their families at every time they serve. Father, all of these things we ask in thy name, amen.

Okay, all commissioners are present.

So we move to adopt the special call agenda. Any changes or deletions to the special call agenda? Seeing none, motion to approve.

So moved.

Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Motion carries.

Move on to approval of the June 11th, 2026 public hearing minutes and the June 16th regular meeting minutes. Any changes or deletions or comments?

Mr. Chairman, just one correction. In the public comment section following Sheriff Cheney's remarks, Martin Turner had used as an example of the salary of being paid to the sheriff's deputies back at that time that by comparison he was paying his nephew $25 an hour and his nephew resigned and went to sheriff's deputy position for $12 an hour. In the minutes, it's confused. It says that Martin was paying his nephew $12 an hour, and I know he's a tightwad, but I don't want to see that stand. I want that corrected.

Thank you, Katie. Can we make that change? Okay. So we have a motion to approve the minutes as amended.

Yes. Second.

We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Motion carries. Now we'll move on to the public comment section. Anybody have any public comments? Has anybody signed up? Is there agenda items only? Anybody wish to speak to the board? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on. So we're going to entertain a motion to adjourn the special call meeting and convene the solid waste authority meeting.

Mr. Chairman, I move to adjourn the special call meeting and convene the solid waste authority meeting. Second.

We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Motion carries. Do we have any agenda amendments to the solid waste authority? Any changes or deletions? Having none, do we have a... Motion to approve the agenda as presented.

So moved. Second.

We have a motion and a second.

All in favor?

Motion carries. Now we'll move on to the approval of the solid waste minutes from June 2, 2026, solid waste authority meeting.

Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the June 2, 2026, solid waste authority meeting minutes. Second.

We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Motion carries. Move on to the Solid Waste Agenda Public Comments section. Does anybody have any comments on the Solid Waste Authority agenda? Agenda items only. Seeing none, we'll move on to the Solid Waste Authority agenda. Lisa.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman, commissioners. You should have in front of you there the agenda item along with the budget and the resolution for the Solid Waste Authority. The first agenda item is for your consideration of the Solid Waste Authority annual budget for the period of July 1st, 2026 to June 30th, 2027. This is for the Solid Waste Fund and the Curbside Collection Fund. We are requesting you adopt the annual budgets for both of these funds as required by the state of Georgia, and the annual budgets have been presented and advertised properly, and a public hearing was held on June 11th to receive comments from the public. And the resolution and the detail of those budgets is attached to your packages. The budget is, if you'll see there, it's $6,872,607. So...

Microphone, Mr. Chairman. I'm sorry.

Microphone.

Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion we approve the Solid Waste Authority and the Curbside Collection budget for 2027.

Second, Mr. Chairman.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries.

Thank you.

Item number two is the indigent defense contract.

Janice. We're still in the solid waste authority. Mr. Chairman. Where are we?

We're in the solid waste authority meeting after you adjourned that.

No, we have additional solid waste public comment. And then we adjourn it.

Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Yep. So make a motion to adjourn the solid waste authority meeting. Anybody have additional comments? Sorry, I got lost here.

Mr. Chairman, I move that we adjourn the Solid Waste Authority meeting and reconvene the special called meeting.

Second. We have a motion and a second to adjourn the Solid Waste Authority meeting and reconvene the special called meeting. Motion and a second. All in favor? Motion carries. Now we'll move on to the special called agenda. Lisa, as we stumble through, we'll get through this tonight, I promise you.

Okay, this agenda item is for your consideration of the annual budget adoption for the 2026 fiscal year, and it includes all 18 funds. The resolution and the list of all the funds are attached to your packages, and the total of those funds is $86,848,621. The annual budgets as presented have been advertised properly. A public hearing was held on June 11th and the budget was balanced using the current millage rate and an estimated 2026 digest and the final quotes came in for the insurance premium that resulted in a reduction in expenses from the proposed budget that I did a couple of weeks ago and that is Department 1557 and that dollar amount of reduction is $370,963. There was also a reduction in the capital projects fund transfer out of $82,218 to the general fund. So with these two reductions, the budgeted fund balance use, also called your proceeds carried forward that was in your budget, is now at $2,015,393. So we are requesting approval of these budgets as presented. Thank you.

Thanks, Lisa.

Did you have any questions?

Yeah, can you give me that number again, $2 million from the fund?

Oh, yes. It's $2,015,393.

Thank you.

That's the current amount, yes. And it almost reduced it half a million dollars with those changes. So that was quite a good, yeah.

Very good news.

Yep.

Okay. Do we have a motion? I move that we approve the annual budget for 2027 as presented.

I'll second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion?

I believe we beat that horse to death. I'm sorry? I believe we've beat that horse to death.

Yeah, I agree. Between staff's meetings and all the work sessions, I think we have exhausted all questions.

Oh, I have one other thing. Did you want to mention anything about any changes to the budget for Thiokol?

For Thiokol?

Yeah.

That was to?

Were we going to do anything with their budget?

We were going to increase their budget 10,000 to make it 30,000. That's not in these numbers?

No, it is not.

We need to do that.

Okay. Well.

If the board's okay with that.

Yeah.

So that'll increase the budget by 10,000. Any comments from the board? The thing about THICOL is.

I guess what's the increase for?

It's for more staffing. They've gotten 20,000 from us for several years. They hadn't had any increases, hadn't asked for any increases. So it's for staffing, open the museum, more hours, additional funding for supplies and all that sort of thing. I think it's a good $10,000 to spend. And part of that is what the Thiokol folks have done is historically they have taken probably the biggest tragedy in our county from a life perspective and kept it on the forefront for us. And even myself, I was around then. I was a young kid. I remembered happening. But had they not done what they've done over these years, I would have forgotten about that too. I knew about FICO, but they've kept something that's in the forefront of our community in front of us at the state and federal level. So I say, I think 10,000 additional is easy money to spend as far as I'm concerned.

I got one question. Where's that $10,000 coming from? Is it coming from the hotel?

Hotel types, yeah. It is.

You going to make a motion, Ben?

Well, we already have a motion on the floor.

I made the motion, so I'm going to rescind my motion.

Well, you can just amend it.

I'm going to rescind my motion and amend my motion to add $10,000 to the die call. line item which is coming out of the hotel motel tax and martin had seconded that so you're okay did you second that yes okay and so to clarify it's to adopt the entire budget including the ten thousand dollar increase that's the that's the uh motion yeah we have a motion in a second all in favor all opposed commissioner smith's opposed

And I would just like to note it's not because of the $10,000 increase. It's for the entirety of the budget.

Okay.

All righty.

Thank you. Thank you. Now we're at the Janus.

Good evening, Commissioners. I am requesting approval for the annual contract agreement for the Public Defender's Office based on the proposed FY27 budget. The contract falls under the provisions of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act of 2003. This contract will reflect only Camden County's share of the pro rata share for personnel cost, including supplements and the office operations for the five-county circuit. There's an attachment with the contract showing all the details. We're requesting approval for this item.

Good. Thanks, Janice. And according to notes, it's already budgeted for 2027. Yes. Okay. I'll make a motion to approve.

Second.

I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries.

Thanks.

Mike?

Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, just on a side note real quick, I don't think we stress enough when you talk about THICOL that that accident was the precursor to the United States government creating OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, was founded because of what happened in Woodbine, Georgia. That's a big deal along the way.

Mike, can I say one thing real quick regarding that? If you haven't been to the THICOL Museum, they have a really good tour to do and all this stuff comes out. So it's more than just a disaster, it's what happened after that. Absolutely. And it was an issue where, at a point in time where all our communities came together, and helped each other, similar to the Brantley County Fire. So thanks for your comments.

Agreed. I have a couple of things for you guys this evening. Now that the budget has been approved, every year we come before you to enter into the memorandums of understanding with the cities of Kingsland, the city of St. Mary's, and the PSA for their clinic usage. As you all are probably aware, each of those entities pay a portion of the clinic's budget based on their percentage of usage in the previous four quarters. So now that we have agreed on the clinic budget of $659,651, Kingsland will be responsible for 12.52% of that, which is $82,588 a year that they will pay us to use the clinic. The St. Mary's MOU will have them responsible. They used 18.51%, so they will pay us $122,101 in the next fiscal year. And the PSA, their usage over the last two quarters was 2.2%, so they will pay us $14,512 annually. So you can see there amongst those three entities, of that $659,000 budget for the clinic, we'll get... over $220,000 of that money back from the cities for their usage of the clinic. So at this time, I would ask that you approve the memorandums of understanding for the two cities and the PSA.

Thanks, Mike. Entertain a motion?

Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the memorandum of understanding with the City of Kingsland-St. Mary's and the Public Service Authority for the use of the clinic. I'll second.

I'll second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion?

I wonder why Woodbine doesn't participate.

That's a good question, sir. It's been a cost savings for all of those entities and a morale deal for their employees. They get to use our clinic and be seen for free and get their medication for free. I say for free at no cost to them. The expense is what the cities pay to use our clinic, but It's a fantastic thing for their employees to be able to use to go to the clinic and bring their dependents to the clinic if they're covered under their individual plans. And Woodbine does use the clinic? Woodbine does not. They do not use the clinic? No, sir. They do not. They have not participated in that. And this is the actual 13th year that we've had these MOUs with the cities to use our clinic. So it's been going strong for over a decade, and it's a really great program. Saves them a lot of money on what they would pay for their health insurance plans. All those claims that come through our clinic, instead of on their plans, it saves them way more money than what they end up paying us to use it. So it's a good deal for everyone.

It's probably an issue of discussion later, but I think it would benefit Woodbine to participate. Yes, sir. That's a different discussion for a different night.

I think one of their concerns had just been proximity. Kingsland and the PSA and the City of St. Mary's are closer down there to where the clinic is by St. Mary's Middle School. One of the things that I had wanted to do was to, the health department, when it closed up here, was to allow the clinic to come up here one day maybe two days a month and use that clinic space and allow folks that were working up here in Woodbine or possibly to get the city of Woodbine to participate, it would make it a whole lot easier for them. But again, that's probably a discussion for a different day.

It is, and absolutely. Let's further that discussion later on. That's a great idea. Yes, sir. Okay. We have a motion and a second.

All in favor? Motion carries. And then the last thing I have for you, Mr. Chairman, is just the approval of the professional services agreement with Dr. Angelito Lacanalau, MD. He's the medical director of the clinic, and we renew his contract each year along with these MOUs to serve as our medical director for the new fiscal year. And he's asked for no increase. It's a $24,000 cost is what we pay him, $2,000 a month to be the medical director of our clinic. And he's responsible for reviewing medical records and all those types of stuff. And then he actually sees patients on Wednesdays at the clinic. There's certain levels of care that an MD can do that the nurse practitioner can't. So he oversees that and then sees patients on Wednesdays. Thanks, Mike. Yes, sir.

Entertain a motion.

Make a motion to approve the professional service agreement with Dr. Angelito Lacanala. Second.

We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Motion carries. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you. Moving on to the additional public comments section. Anybody have any comments? Janie?

Good evening everyone. My name is Janie Everett and I live in Woodbine and I'd like to report success. Animal Control has picked up 10 or 12 cats and treated them from my personal property and they delivered them back. They're much healthier and we're looking for people to adopt them but at least We're taking care of the animals and animal control is helping us. And so I want to thank everyone that spoke with animal control. The cats are healthier and happier now. Also, I'd like to invite everyone to the museum on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. I know it's kind of a conflict with the gavel to gavel at 6 p.m. affair that they're having Thursday. But we'd like to invite everyone to come to the museum. the chairman of the Camden County Board of Commissioners and other commissioners will be there to address the public. And so we invite everyone to come on out and let's have a good time and have a discussion this Thursday. Thank you.

Thanks, Janie. You'll be very kind to us, won't you? Yes. Thank you so much. Okay, anybody else? Okay, moving on. Motion to adjourn the special call meeting.

So moved. Second.

Motion to second. All in favor?

Thank you all.