Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I'm calling to order the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on this August the 4th, 2026 meeting to order. Ask Commissioner Steed to open us with an invocation, please.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the many blessings you've given us today. Thank you for the people here and all the staff that help us do our daily work. Lord, be with the first responders as they protect us. Be with everybody. who needs your comfort, Lord, and help us make the right decision tonight. Give us the wisdom for that. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Amen. Please join me in the pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Let the record show we have a full quorum of commissioners. Commissioners, you have the minutes from the July 21st, 2026 meeting in your packet. If you've had a chance to review them, I'll accept a motion to approve them.

Mr. Chairman, I'll make a motion to accept them as presented.

I second. Any questions? All in favor, raise your right hand. The motion carries. Seeing no special recognitions, we go straight to the consent agenda. Commissioners, the items on this agenda have been through the necessary committees and received the necessary votes to be placed on this agenda. So if they still meet with your approval, I'll accept a motion to approve them all.

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to accept all of these consent agenda items as presented.

I'll second that.

Any questions? Motion is seconded on the floor. All in favor raise your right hand. Motion carries. On to the debate. Commissioner Malheur.

I have one more. I make a motion to approve the request for the variance to section 90-53 for property located at tax map 083 parcel 046 and the associated encroachment agreement subject to the conditions enumerated in the July 16th Planning Commission report to reduce the side and rear setbacks for a proposed single family residence.

This is a request for variance as well as an easement encroachment agreement. This is a A house located inside of an AR zone property, any house built in AR property has to meet R3A setbacks. 2008, this house did burn. The slab does remain, so they're looking to put the house, the new house, back on the existing slab. However, it does require this easement, encroachment, as well as a variance to the side setbacks. As you can see here, this small portion of the home here and here falls inside that side setback.

And it was a single family residence before, right? Correct.

Correct.

So we're just putting back what was already there.

That's correct.

Thank you.

Any questions? Any other questions? As a motion, second on floor, all in favor, raise your right hand. That motion carries. Seeing no legal matters or requests for review by committee, we have public comments. Cambry Wood. Please state your name and address the record ma'am and you have five minutes.

good evening chairman duncan commissioners county managers and staff and fellow residents of columbia county my name is cambrie wood candidate for chair of the columbia county board of commissioners and resident at 473 cambridge way in martinez. I' m presenting for your consideration a proposed resolution establishing a temporary 180 day moratorium on the acceptance and processing of new To be clear, this resolution is not intended as a wholesale rejection of data centers, economic development, technological advancement, or responsible private investment. It is intended to make certain that developments of this magnitude incur under ordinances that are comprehensive, enforceable, transparent, and protect Columbia County citizens and its long-term economic health and stability. data centers are not ordinary commercial or industrial developments among other concerns their size infrastructure and utility demands generator requirements and eventual decommissioning these are not matters to be addressed after projects are approved or when problems begin to appear they should be addressed before additional applications are submitted before expectations become entitlements and before taxpayers find themselves putting the bill to correct deficiencies in planning. the 180 day moratorium is not simply for the sake of delay it provides a reasonable and clearly defined period to take a strategic pause to study to engage to the resolution establishes an active work period during which the county reviews its existing ordinance identifies gaps evaluates the cumulative effects of existing and future data center developments and prepares a comprehensive ordinance for public consideration. equally important the resolution requires meaningful public engagement because decisions of this magnitude demand more than a brief presentation followed by a narrowly limited comment period and a final vote. Citizens and stakeholders alike should have the opportunity to ask questions present research express concerns recommend standards and receive meaningful responses from county leadership. this resolution calls for a minimum of three public town halls at accessible locations and times so that working citizens and those with family or other responsibilities have a realistic opportunity to attend and participate. the first allows for public input before the proposed ordinance is drafted the second allows for public review and comment on the actual draft language the third allows responses to public comments to be presented to the public and review of an incorporated changes before the final draft moves towards completion in consideration by the board. this is important because public participation should help shape the ordinance it should not occur after major decisions have already been made. the resolution also identifies major subjects that should be addressed or strengthened including land use setbacks buffers noise generator operations electrical demand and rape rate payer protections water consumption stormwater traffic emergency response considerations environmental protections financial assurances development incentives community benefit or support agreements, corporate responsibility, oversight, enforcement and decommissioning. These issues are too important to be left to assumptions, voluntary and non-legally binding promises or negotiations conducted one project at a time behind closed doors or shielded by non-disclosure agreements. Responsible developers also benefit from clear rules. A comprehensive ordinance provides predictability, it tells investors what columbia county expects before they purchase property design a facility or commit significant capital. The purpose of this resolution is to put the community of columbia county and its citizens first while remaining fair open and respectful to those entities who wish to invest their money here. Those goals are not mutually exclusive. proposed resolution also protects existing lawfully obtained and executed permits and legally established invested rights it is forward-looking and intended to ensure that future applications are considered under standards that are appropriate for developments of the scale. Commissioners 180 days is a modest amount of time when compared to the decades that these facilities may operate and the long-term consequences their developments may create. I' m asking you to pause before moving further to bring all stakeholders and affected parties to the table. listen carefully and without judgment or partisanship to present and examine facts and develop ordinances that columbia county can confidently defend as responsible balanced and complete. tonight I respectfully ask that this resolution be placed on the appropriate agendas reviewed by the county attorney and staff and brought before the board for formal consideration and adoption. Let us take that necessary time now so that Columbia County does not spend years attempting to correct decisions that were made far too quickly. I thank you for your consideration and for the opportunity to present this resolution. Do you have any questions for me at this time?

questions I do think it's important to note that I have already requested changes to the data center ordinance in Columbia County as well as a moratorium while we work through those changes I'm only one vote but I'm actively working with my fellow commissioners to garner support for that while I'm speaking about my one vote I would also like to remind everyone that I voted against two of the three data centers that were proposed for Columbia County and my position on that has not changed I'm in favor of tax relief for our citizens and continue to work tirelessly for it. It is my belief that we can accomplish that with what has already been approved. Thank you.

Is there a question for me?

No, just a comment. All right.

Thank you. Lee Muntz.

good evening. Chairman members of the board of commissioners my name is lee munns and again I live at 6343 Harlem grovetown road and I' m here tonight on behalf of the citizens for open governance to present a proposed resolution concerning nondisclosure agreements and confidentiality agreements agreements involving Columbia County government this resolution is based on a simple principle when public officials and Public employees are conducting public business any agreement limiting what they may disclose should receive public oversight This proposal does not say that confidently is never the proposal does not say that confidentiality is never appropriate there may be legitimate circumstances involving litigation cyber security personnel matters proprietary information economic development negotiations or other legally protected matters where limited confidentiality is necessary However, the decision to enter into nondisclosure agreements should not be made by one commissioner, one employee, one appointee, or one department acting independently. An NDA can affect more than the individual who signs it. It can affect the public's ability to understand negotiations, proposed developments, land transactions, infrastructure commitments, tax incentives, public expenditures. and other matters that may have long-term consequences for columbia county. Under this resolution, no commissioner, county employee, department head, consultant, agent or other person acting on behalf of the county could sign an NDA relating to county business without first completing public approval process. The proposed agreement would have to be reviewed by the county attorney, placed on a published meeting agenda, presented to the board, and approved by an affirmative vote in open session. The board would also identify exactly who is authorized to sign the agreement and determine why the agreement is necessary, what information is being protected, how long the confidentiality will last, and what legal authority supports it. This resolution also addresses boards and authorities that are appointed, created, funded, or overseen by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners. These boards and authorities will be directed to the fullest extent permitted by law to adopt their own guidelines within 15 days. Connie, I'm not putting you to sleep, ma'am.

No, I was wondering when you were going to take your hat off.

Well, you're more than welcome to ask, but I'm not going to take it off. their members appointees and employees and consultants. Mr. Chairman am I violating any rules of the house by wearing a hat?

Not to my knowledge.

Thank you very much. Their members appointees and employees consultants attorneys and agents would not be permitted to sign NDAs involving public business unless the agreement had been reviewed approved by the board during the public meeting this is important because public business should not become less transparent simply because it is being conducted through an open appointed board authority commission committee or other public body. The resolution also directs the county manager, county attorney, clerk of the board, and the appropriate county staff to prepare a comprehensive amendment to the Columbia County Code of Ordinances within 45 days. That ordinance would establish clear and permanent rules addressing who may request and sign an NDA, what circumstances may justify one, and when it may be considered. how it must be approved how long it may remain in effect and what records must be maintained and made available to the public in other words the ordinance would clearly address who what when where why and how of any nda involving columbia county government The resolution also directs the county manager and county attorney to identify and review existing NDAs and report their findings to the board within 30 days. This review would not automatically invalidate any existing agreement. It would simply allow this board and the public to understand how many agreements currently exist, who signed them, what authority supported them, and what public purpose they serve and whether they remain necessary and lawful. Most importantly, this resolution makes clear that an NDA cannot override the Georgia Open Records Act, the Georgia Open Meetings Act, a court order, a subpoena, an audit, an investigation, or a person's right to report suspected unlawful and unethical conduct. The existence of an NDA should never by itself become a reason to withhold a public record or prevent public business from receiving appropriate public scrutiny. This resolution is not anti-business, anti-development, anti-economic growth. It is proactive pro accountability pro transparency and pro public trust. Private companies may request confidentiality but public officials have a separate and higher responsibility to the citizens they represent before a public official employee or appointee agrees to remain silent about public business. appropriate governing body should determine that the restriction is lawful necessary Narrowly limited and in the public interest on behalf of the citizens open governance I respectfully ask this board to accept the proposed resolution Place it on an upcoming agenda and direct the county attorney to review it and make any legally necessary Adjustments I want to thank you for your time and consideration just a footnote In my business, I sign NDAs all the time to protect people's designs, their means of making something, their means of delivering something. I get what NDAs are for, but NDAs are not to hide public business. You have a responsibility to engage the public actively about what you are doing on their behalf. Mr. Chairman, I have one last question I wanted to ask you before I close.

Please hurry, we're past time.

Okay. We have 151 days before Mr. Johnson vacates his office. What is the board's proposed plan of filling that position? We will recruit someone. Okay. And when will that process start?

I can't tell you.

Okay. Thank you very much.

Great.

Thank you. Blaine Carter.

I'm going to do a little reading, which is not my normal thing. I'm Blaine Carter. I live at 861 Deerwood Circle. The last time I spoke, I referenced an executive order signed by President Trump on July 23, 2025. And in section under purposes for this order, section 2 definitions down in I, I'm sorry, in number 2, D1, excuse me. It says a data center or covered component project for which a project sponsor has committed at least $500 million in capital expenditures as determined by the Secretary of Commerce. That's a qualification for this executive order to be kind of offset. And I referenced that last time and I said $550 million. I was incorrect. I just wanted to correct myself before you so I don't come across as a total moron saying whatever I'm trying to say. I've been totally self-employed for 39 years and I've watched all sorts of things happen in local governments and so I'm always aware of what's being done with tax dollars whether I agree with them or not and I am I'm curious about my new tax assessment y'all may not have to respond or want to respond and but I was surprised to be able to find 2024 property tax statement, 2025 property tax statement, and now the 2026 assessment. And from 2024 to 2025, my property, my fair market value went up $50,000. And then 2024 to 2025, and from 2025 to 2026, it's gone up $140,000. So I'm trying to figure out... Well, my opinion is that governments want to grow. And Mr. Johnson's done a really good job, I think, managing the county. And I don't always agree with how the money's spent, especially when it comes to landscaping, which I have been involved in for years and years. I think a great use of money instead of landscaping the sidewalk down Washington Road and the taxpayer paying for the irrigation, the landscaping, and the maintenance would have been to have the business owners on that have to meet a certain standard and maintain that property, which they had been maintaining for probably 50 years. So that's just a personal comment. But I'm just curious about this because in 2016, Governor Kemp signed a law saying that I want to read a portion of. And let's see here. Sorry for my... Let's see. I got it. I thought I had it organized here. I apologize.

That's okay. Mine went up 70,000, 25 to 26, so I get it.

So my opinion is every government grows and it is a, I call it SRS mentality, Savannah Riverside. It's let's spend this budget so that we can justify a bigger budget next year. That's just my personal opinion. But again, back to this law. The Homestead, Georgia Constitution Article 7, Section 1, Paragraph 4 reads in pertinent parts as follows. The homestead of each resident of Georgia actually occupied by the owner as a resident in homestead and only so long as actually occupied by the owner primarily as such is hereby exempt from all ad valorem taxation for state, county, and school purposes. And it goes on to say other things, but that's the quote of it. So I've noticed that my statement from 2025 says the amount of your ad valorem tax bill for the year shown above will be based on appraised 100% and assessed 40% values specified in box B of this notice. And I'm sure y'all have seen your own tax bill. So I've been curious for years since I saw this about three years ago, how I keep getting a bill that says it's an ad valorem tax that the governor signed a law in 2016 doing away with them. And so especially when it jumps 140,000, my personal jumps 140,000 in a fair market value on this form in one year. I've not done anything to my property. I haven't added any buildings, any outbuildings, anything like that. And so what I've come to surmise is there's a bigger budget coming for next year. And the way to do that without increasing taxes is increase assessed values. And I just don't think it's ethical. I just renewed my insurance license. I'm a licensed insurance agent in the state of Georgia. And there's a whole lot in there that you have to sign, basically, The ethical standards of an insurance agent in the state of Georgia is pretty high. And I would think that those are the same ethical standards that everybody sitting up there has to apply to or has to adhere to. And so I'm just asking you all to give some sort of public notice, a public statement as to why these assessed values jumped so significantly in one year. Thank you.

Scott, you referenced the 2016 law he was referencing?

I'm not sure about the 2016 law he was referencing.

You said it was 2016, right?

Yeah. And I can get some more information to get the actual law, the number. I just didn't have time. My wife told me that meeting was tonight, and I forgot about it, so I was rushing out the door.

You are aware that we rolled back to the rollback rate, the taxes, so even though that went up $140,000, it doesn't really affect you.

So my bill's not going to go up?

Not for county.

I wouldn't say that. Negligible. Well, it's required by law that the Tax Assessors Board, they have to judge it within, help me out, Scott, they have to be within X percent of the fair market value in the market, and they use all the different factors to come up with that.

And so I guess my question is, who determines and how does the determination for the fair market value come to a number? Right.

Again, it's based on the research done by the Board of Assessors based on the fair market value of the houses.

But it's dictated by law, right?

It has to fall within a certain range or the state steps in and penalizes.

The county government, this county government, has nothing to do with how they assess your property.

So who assesses it?

It's the Board of Tax Assessors and their staff.

Okay. But this board pays them or this body pays them correctly? My tax dollars pays that person?

Tax dollars pay the staff. That's correct.

Right. So do they do a drone flyover?

I mean, if you're asking me, do they, you know, fly a drone over your house, I have No idea. I wouldn't think so. But they have software and other things that they use, which I'm sure use statewide to work through values of homes.

But you would agree that $140,000 in one year is pretty significant, John? Did yours jump that high?

Mine was $70,000, and I didn't do anything to mine.

Right, and you live within a gated community. I don't, and so that's why I'm asking. It's $140,000.

I live in a place equivalent to yours. It's not a gated community, but mine went up $150,000.

I think it's based on comp values of the sales run house.

I want to clarify to that one, the rollback rate. it's not specific to one particular house, it's the overall increase in value. So you could have somebody whose value increased a greater percent than the general, and so they would have an increase in taxes.

So in the past, I also addressed Ms. Malir at the end of the meeting in the old building about the proposed tax abatement, or whatever the wording is correct, from the money coming from the data centers. Mm-hmm. to offset home, give a homestead, whatever. Y'all know what I mean, right? But that didn't pass the state, correct?

You get to vote on it in November. 439 passed. Okay. So you get to vote on it in November.

All right, but it's not in place yet.

Correct. The money's not there yet either.

So when I'm watching television and I'm seeing the ad from the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce saying, basically telling all the people watching that ad over and over and over that all of these things are happening. They're in place and all that. That's not correct information that our Columbia County Chamber of Commerce... Only if the Columbia County voters fail to pass the law on the ballot. I get it.

I get it.

But to continue telling information that says we're going to have this reduction or we're going to have this elimination, it's... To me, it crosses an ethical line, and I just don't get it. I'm trying to wrap my mind around why my bills keep going up on the tax basis, whether it's from the school board. I mean, there's all kind of issues I could rant about, and I know I'm over time, so I apologize for that. But I just, I'm trying to appreciate my county and at the same time not be ticked off at all the bills I keep getting.

And so that's why we went after the data center. So we could write, I get it.

But according to that executive order that I just read from, it says no taxes will be placed on any items going into those facilities. So I can't figure out unless y'all can tell me where those dollars are going to come from.

That's going to do it. Let's talk about the state law, the retail sales tax. That's the sales tax on equipment. That's the sales tax.

But where's the money coming from that's going to do the rebate that everybody's talking about?

The value of the buildings and the property.

There's actually three parts to it. You have the value of the real estate, the land and the buildings. You have the ad valorem tax on the little blinky boxes on the inside. And then there'll be sales tax on the energy. And that's quite a significant amount.

And I think those blinky boxes on the inside that she just referenced to is going to be changed over like every three to five years.

Now the state does have, um, uh, they, they don't take sales tax on the purchase of that equipment.

So the power, Georgia power or whoever Southern company is going to give that, that money to the County. That's where it's coming from. Basically.

It'll come from the end user and taxes. The end user, the data center. Correct.

Google. OK, so they're going to. Yeah, I know. I saw the things where y'all were up there with President Trump. I think that's pretty neat. But so. OK, I guess I can just summarize what I'm questioning is, I guess I'll wait and see.

Mr. Carter, I know you're frustrated and I want it to happen just like that as well. We have to. All the things that people want us to take our time and do it correctly and be transparent, it takes time to do things. Get it set up here, go to the state, get our legislators to take care of those things that they have to take care of on the state level and bring it back to the ballot. And I feel like we moved fairly quickly for government, for a government clock. We've moved as quickly as we could to make this happen and I feel very confident that the voters are going to vote for it in the fall.

Why wouldn't they? And if I could add, just so, Blaine, I appreciate your comments. We are serious about this. It's a very complicated issue. It's extremely complicated. Sometimes it's hard for us to explain it, but we do understand it. I just sat here and just ran through it while you were talking, and I was very thoughtful to your comments, and it made me think, and I want to go back and look because a lot of times you're right. People get their tax bill a little misunderstood about what they're paying to Columbia County and what they're paying to other people. So I just went back and looked at your tax bill from 2022 to 2025. Your tax bill actually went up a total of $29 on your county tax in those, what, four years. You paid $29 more today than you did four years ago. I would say the rate of inflation is probably much higher than that. But if you're just looking at what you paid, actually in 2024, you paid $22 less than you paid in 2022 because we got you that additional exemption. a homestead exemption, and you're going to have another one this year as an additional homestead exemption. So it's our goal.

So I have a homestead exemption?

If you have a homestead exemption. Okay, but I don't.

I can look. I don't.

You don't have one?

No.

Okay. Well, you've got one that, so the county gave, well, I'm sorry, it was an additional, maybe it was additional sales tax in 2017. I'm sorry, 2024. But your county tax bill in 2024, I'm not going to talk about your values, but it was $808 as opposed to $830 in 2022 and $859. I appreciate that, Mr. Johnson.

But when I pay the bill, I pay the county, I pay the school board, I pay the county tax.

But you're addressing the county and you're talking about your taxes, and I think it's important if we're going to be transparent that we're completely transparent. And the fact that we've rolled back the millage rate to the rollback rate and your taxes have legitimately gone up to what you pay this board of commissioners, what we use for the things you described here, has gone up $29 in four years.

Not quite as much as your income, though.

I'm not going to argue with you. I'm just putting it out there with you just because, again, for the sake of transparency, we are all concerned about taxes, which is why this board has been so committed to eliminating property taxes so we can take that off the table. And there is a plan to do that. We're working towards that plan. But I still say that in Columbia County, we're blessed. If I looked at our benchmark counties, look around other counties, we're doing some data right now trying to put some things together. People that live in several communities pay a lot more than we pay. But it's still too much. And I understand that.

But I just wanted to throw that out there. I take issue with what you just said simply because my taxes pay you. Or part of my taxes pay you. And your income's gone up significantly. Way more than mine has in the last four years. And so it's hard for me to...

Are you talking about his personal income, or are you talking about the income, like all the taxes that the county brings in?

His personal, as a paid employee of the county. Thank you. Right, and so I just, I know we want the taxes to go down, and I appreciate it, and I thank you for your sincerity.

Jeffrey Holder.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Jeffrey Holder. I live at 5022 Bryant Cove Road since 2004. And questions are similar to those that were just presented regarding hb 439 as passed and signed by the governor to take effect on january 1st 2027. explicitly says that the we will not get tax credits greater than what our tax burden is several times and that makes perfect sense right it's not like your taxes were $1,000 the most credit you could get is $1,000 exactly that's the way it was presented and they said that in the bill your individual credit would be calculated after the money is put into a fund the assessments for the year have been completed but it never says what the mechanism for the calculation is it just says it will be calculated and So my question is how is that going to be calculated? You know is it going to be if? the total tax assessment for the county is $100 and there' s this and there' s $100 in that fund then does everybody get 100% credit or not?

if I' m following your logic yes.

that would be nice to be put in writing because I don' t see that just says it will be it could be any number of ways that that is calculated as opposed to just being a direct pro-rate. I would like to see that stated clearly and like you said once this is approved by the voters it' s not going to take effect until money has actually been collected and put into that fund.

Actually, we've already started the fund, right? Did we not?

The fund's not established yet because HB 439 actually establishes the fund.

We do have some money that we've set aside, some economic development funds that we've set aside.

The money we got from the... $8.4 million has now grown to about $8.6 million with interest sitting in an account, a subsection of the general fund that will be moved in the Homestead Tax Relief Grant Fund as soon as that is approved, if it's approved by the voters. Okay.

it' s going to be some point in the future maybe that would be 2027 maybe it' s 2028.

I think the first building is supposed to go online in 2028.

Is that what' s going to trigger it when they actually complete a building and have it online?

I think it' s going to begin with that if it passes in

Where did the $8 million come from?

The closing of the land deal when they bought the land out in Appling. But that would be 40%. I'm spitballing my numbers. 40% of the homestead tax.

Well, I think there will be some additional taxes. So the way House Bill 439 is written is not necessarily just data center money. It's written that any overages in the general fund could be applied to the Homestead Tax Relief Grant. We expect or anticipate that the data center is paying very large tax bills. There will be significant overages in the general fund. Before that ever happened, though, we underspent the general fund this year by $13 million, about $13 million.

I didn't understand you. You said over or under?

We underspent our budget this year by $13 million. So that $13 million can be transferred out, and typically we would transfer that to a capital improvement fund, which we have done historically. All those are... Very easy to follow in our audit. You can see where every penny was and where every penny is. But the fact that we have a little over $8 million there, and if we underspend our budget by $12 million this year, we could potentially have up to $20 million in that fund next year. I think it'll be a matter of how much you'll need to be able to do that because we are handcuffed with 439 that we can only allow the homestead tax relief to come from an additional fund exemption and that exemption is capped at eighteen thousand dollars it's our desire the desire of the board to go back to the to the legislature to get a constitutional amendment to remove that cap so we could refund a hundred percent of your taxes to you so i don't think in 2027 i know in 2027 we won't be able to do that because we don't have a constitutional amendment but i do think we'll have enough money to be able to fund what hp 439 was intended to do which is give you an additional exemption

is there a difference between my homestead property tax and my property tax?

if you have a homestead yes.

I have a homestead exemption.

the tax is the same the exemption comes off of the tax.

because our homestead exemption is

It was two, and now it's gone up to 10, and we're looking at 18, which is very small compared to the value of your home. We know that's why we're trying to get it so that we can give back everything in the fund, not just tax on that 18.

that' s a much different number than the bottom line on my tax assessment.

we are working very hard to make it where we can get all of the county portion to go I can' t speak for the school board which is two-thirds of that bill but we' re working very hard to get that constitutional amendment so that we can give back as much as we need to offer your bill to wipe out the county portion of it now we're relying on the folks in Atlanta to carry that water understand that the constitutional amendment that we can affect without you know without due process in Atlanta.

Okay, well that clears that up for me so the potential for 2027 would be simply for that 10 or $18,000 portion.

we will continue to put money in that fund.

sorry I didn' t understand you Mr. Carraway. it' s a total of 26 or 28?

the state is 18 and ours is 8. combined the two.

26. the other thing that is being disseminated is that our power rates are not going to go up. I don't know about you, but I don't really trust Georgia Power. If they say our rates aren't going to go up, that they're not going to go back to the PSC and say, we're spending this much money to upgrade this coal-fired power plant that we were supposed to retire, but now that we have so much demand from data centers, we're going to continue operating it, and we need more money to do that. the fact that we're having these data centers invade Georgia is gonna cause, I mean, I think Georgia Power is ultimately asking for nearly double the gigawatts that they currently produce. So it's hard for me to believe that our rates aren't going to be impacted by that going forward.

The Public Service Commission has worked with Georgia Power to codify the fact that in 2026, 27, and 28, they have a rate freeze. So other fees that go with it, I can't speak for that, but as far as your rates, for 26, 27, and 28, they'll be frozen. And they seem to think in 29, because of the volume that they'll be selling, that they'll be able to reduce the rates after that.

well I' m skeptical. I will believe it when I see it. I believe that' s all I had. thank you.

thank you.

I believe we have one executive session item.

I make a motion to approve $1,850 to Vicki Dye, parcel 042211 for additional permanent easement for the Uchi Creek Interceptor Project.

Second.

We're going to do a little rerouting on this sewer line project to avoid a historical tree, so this allowed us to keep that tree in place.

Questions? Motion to second on the floor. All in favor raise your right hand. That motion carries. I believe that's all we have to do with the night. Any more motions to be made?

I'll make a motion to adjourn.