Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I'm calling to order the Columbia County Board of Commissioners October 21st, 2025 meeting to order. Asking Commissioner Carowway Carowway to open us with an invocation, please. Let's bow our heads, please. Heavenly Father, thank you for another beautiful day and another opportunity to serve the citizens of our great county. As we approach the matters at hand, help us to have the wisdom to see the things clearly and to respond to them in a manner pleasing to you. We ask you to continue to bless the community, to watch over all our employees, and to give special protection to our police officers and our emergency service providers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen.

Please stand for 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, liberty and justice for all. The record show we have a full quorum of commissioners. Commissioners, you have the minutes from the October 7th, 2025 meeting in your packet. Had a chance to review them. I'll accept a motion to approve them. Mr. Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Second. Any questions? All in favor, raise your right hand. That motion carries. On to the agenda. I believe the agenda is set. No changes.

Ready for approval, Mr. Chairman? It is approved. On to special recognitions. We have a rec recognizing November 2nd, 2025 is retire educators day. And I believe Commissioner Carowway, you're going to make that presentation. Is Shelley Evans here? not here. I guess I'll just read it from here.

So, proclamation recognizing November 2nd, 2025 as retired educators day. Whereas more than 145,000 retired educators have devoted their time and talents to public education in our state, fostering the academic development of millions of outstanding citizens in the state of Georgia. And whereas retired educators touched and impact the lives of generations of young people, motivating and inspiring their students to use their innate talents and abilities to the fullest, prompting them to become responsible contributing citizens. And whereas on retired educators day, the state of Georgia recognizes these individuals for their time and commitment to bettering our communities and country and encourages Georgians to express their gratitude for the work done by retired educators. Now, therefore, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners do hereby prosecute 2025 as retired educators day in Georgia. If she uh who who was supposed to be here?

Uh Shelley Evans. Shel, she comes in late. We'll recognize her. On to the consent agenda. Commissioners, the items on the consent agenda have been through the necessary committees and receive the necessary votes to be placed on this consent agenda. So, if they meet with your approval, I'll accept one motion to approve them all. Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to accept all of the consent agenda items as presented. Second.

Questions? On paper, raise your right hand. Motion carries. Moving on through debate legal matters through request by request by review for committee and then straight to public comments. Miss Priscilla Vince, state your name and address for the record. Take five minutes.

Priscilla Bence, 4215 Duny Road. Martinez, first let me ask you what you think the definition of pornography is. Well, one definition is it's anything written or in pictures that leads to lust. The modern authors and publishers are experts at writing pornography in a very hidden fashion. They use words that alone are not provocative, but placed in the right setting with the right people and time, they evoke feelings of lust. Innocent words like sweat, tight muscles, sweating, flexing muscles, curving, panting, staring, eating her tongue, lying on the floor, breathing him in, inhaling her nearness. Can't take my eyes off of his eyes. I learned about these innocent words put in just the right place by reading about 30 of these books in the last four years. That's all. I don't need to read many more of them. You may not want to read any of them. They are very descriptive of feelings and what one sees prior to the sex act. It's called sexualization or in the case of books that we feed our children, it's called early sexualization. You remember Dr. James Dobson. He was he helped many of us raise our kids by wise counsel in his books and his radio program Focus on the Family. He was on Ronald Reagan's pornography task commission and he said those six years were the hardest years of his life. Though the definition of pornography does include many of these books that we don't want to include or fear that we will be discriminating against the LGBTQ community. Beyond the pornography problem is the simple fact of human growth and development. Children need to have close relationships and friendships with the same sex while they're growing up. It's especially necessary in prepubescence and early puberty for children and young teens to have same-sex friendships so they can later form heterosexual relationships. These books teach children to skip that step of development completely. To go right from being an innocent child with no sexual thoughts to being enticed and emboldened to have sexual relations with

friends they feel attracted to instead of realizing they need to feel attracted to the same sex for camaraderie and platonic friendship. That whole step is just skipped. The child learns that raw sex is the endgame at whatever age they are. And the sooner the better. The heroes and the heroins are all infatuated with someone and they will get that someone by the end of the exciting book while the child from age 8 to 14 is being indoctrin indoctrinated into that lifestyle. What's the harmable library book? It's everywhere anyway, right? Because books tell tell the child that the library has put that book there for them in a special place for their age in a special room called the young adult or the teen room or the juvenile or the middle ground. It's staffed in a beautiful library with a lot of staff that are n nice people helping them find the books. Everything looks so nice and professional. Why shouldn't they trust the books there? This is the problem. The problem has gotten worse. I came two weeks ago to give you good news that I thought was true. It is true that many books have been moved about 40 or 50. However, for the past year, the number of books available has changed monthto monthth. Especially last winter during session, I think there was fear of the SB74 passing. So the you could see the fluctuation when you went online. But when I did the rundown this week from December 2024 until October 16, when I did a search on young adult and LGBTQ plus, it went from 123 books to 329. And then when I did the search from LGBTQ plus and juvenile and went from 13 to 381 and that was accounting for the 40 that I found that had been moved from young adult over to adult. Going from here, I think there's an overwhelming overwhelming challenge for the new library board. I don't know what the answer is. I think the state law

could help some. The American Library Association has been kicked out of several states and they've had great success with that. I do recommend if you have the time to spend an hour searching the library like I did this week and find out what they're feeding our kids. If you struggle with pornography, you may not want to do this search, but all you have to do is look, take your library uh card, Pines card, LGBTQ plus juvenile, LGBTQ plus young adult, and you'll see them pop up. and you want to go under the book format, greater Clarks Hill Library System, Columbia County Library, and then you're going to when you find the book, you're going to say more information, and that'll tell you where it's shelved. It's a very simple process. The second thing I would encourage is for you to continue the strength of a single county system with local oversight as well as continuing the age appropriate guidelines. And the third thing you might consider is supporting Senate Bill 74, which will strengthen local efforts to curb pornography in children's sections of the state's libraries. question. A Darren Parham. Good evening. Uh Karen Parham, 3421 Hilltop Trail. I want to start by expressing my disappointment in the library board appointments because they raised serious concerns about the independence of our public library system. I recently emailed state librarian Julie Walker. She confirmed that appointing a sitting commissioner is legal under Georgia law. However, she was also very clear that the community services director may not have a supervisory role over library staff. That role belongs to the new library

director who will work for the new regional board. This new regional board is the entity with full legal control over our county libraries and their policies are supposed to be independent. That independence is in question. John Luton is a county employee who ultimately reports to this board. And I want to be clear, this is nothing personal against Mr. Lutin, but structurally his position as a county employee overseeing other aspects of the library combined with a commissioner also serving on the board blurs the lines of authority and weakens public confidence in the board's autonomy. And this isn't the first time we've seen this pattern. Our former library director reported directly to Mr. Luton illegally prior to amendments to the governing documents of the Greater Clarks Hill region made in early 2025. Appointments to the previous board also included individuals whose political agendas mirrored those that were challenging books. When library board seats are filled by people advancing ideology rather than serving the full community, the library stops being a space for everyone and becomes an instrument of control. After the new library guidelines were passed in September 2024, the former library director was advised by county leadership to use an ideological website to screen materials. That process led to dozens of books being moved out of the YA room, disproportionately affecting titles with positive LGBTQ representation. When the director left, the new county library manager moved challenged books and once again primarily affecting LGBTQ titles and choosing which educational materials covering puberty and anatomy are restricted. For the record, the library was never completely reshelved despite statements made on December 10th and claims made afterwards to the community. The county claimed this was about so-called age appropriateness. But that's not what actually happened. The former director stated in a meeting that she was to move anything more than a

kiss or a few curse words from the YA to the adult section despite no outcry from parents of teenagers. And this brings me to the heart of the issue. knowing where each entity's responsibility begins and ends. Everyone needs to stay in their lane. It is not the government's job to decide what other people's children read. It is not the library's role to parent people's children or to only select materials based on religious and political beliefs. The public library has always operated under contentneutral standards, providing the widest possible range of viewpoints. That's what allows it to serve every resident regardless of religion, background, or politics. Parents have always had both the right and the responsibility to monitor what their own children read for generations. That balance worked. Parents parented, librarians curated, and the government stayed out of it. What we're seeing now is government overreach, the replacement of professional judgment and parental responsibility with political interference. Under Georgia law, library boards, not county commissions, hold legal control over library policies. The actions this commission took blurred that line, undermining both independence and professional standards. The reconsideration process should also be reformed. Before the December pause, it relied on trained librarians to push back against censorship. But since nearly all librarians have been forced out and replaced with new staff willing to censor, it now overwhelmingly favors the person challenging the material. The new policy should include robust community participation. When a book is challenged, the public should be notified and allowed to provide input before a decision is made. And anyone, not just the challenger, should have the right to appeal to the library board. I want to remind you of something said in this room at the last commission meeting. An individual said that libraries are a privilege, not a right. Then she said, "If you don't censor materials according to her beliefs, every library in the county should be

closed." Talk about saying the quiet part out loud. Because this was never about protecting children. It was never about following the law. It was always about imposing ideological control. So, I'll leave you with this. Libraries are not a privilege. They are sacred public institutions, pillars of our democracy because they embody the freedom to access information and ideas regardless of wealth or status. There is a book for everyone at the library. And when intellectual freedom is undermined, it erodess the very foundation of not only our constitution, but of an informed, self-governing community. Thank you. [Applause] Mark Marcus Todd going once. Marcus Todd. Howard Johnson. Good evening. Howard Johnson, 252 Silver Maple Road. For those in the room not aware, I am running for that empty seat um sitting in between uh Mr. Duncan and Miss Mear. Um so residents of district 2, keep that in mind November 4th. Speaking of November 4th, um there's also a public service commission election. Um and that's relevant because this is the body that oversees Georgia Power among other utilities. You see, right now there's a proposed data center to be built in our county. Um but the ball's in Georgia P court. Um they're doing their research to find out if they can support the project um before moving forward. However, the land has already been reszoned by this board. So, while there's no action the board can take at this moment, there is action that the voters can take um tomorrow if they like with early voting all the way through November 4th um to put in place people that are going to oversee Georgia Power

who may have different views on data centers than the current power structure does. Frankly, I'm not a fan of data centers personally. Um, I think the product that they support is problematic. So, a lot of that goes to AI. Um, which is a neat little party trick of a tool, but if you ever ask it any questions about a topic that you're quite knowledgeable about, you'll see that it will very confidently be very wrong. And you might pause and uh consider what you trust AI with. I would suggest you do so. um take a look at the errors that it spits out and understand that this product is not um the cure all that we're being sold. The other thing is um data centers are going to be used to support social media um the infrastructure for that. My issue with social media is that it is a deliberately designed addictive program. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, um, all of them literally hire psychologists to help them make their platform more and more addictive. That's how they make their money is by keeping our attention on the screen. It's a product that personally I see no value in and I see no value in building out infrastructure to further support these industries. The data center is going to suck up up to six million gallons of water a day. We're looking at a gigawatt of power. Um, this is a massive utility draw that is going to require massive infrastructure investment and for what again for AI slop for social media that drives further and further division in our country. Um, it's it's not something that we need here in the county. It's really not something that we need as people and I don't think we need to support it any further.

Now, I'm going to talk about the library. Surprise, surprise. I'd like to echo Karen's feelings that I'm very disappointed in the members who have been appointed initially to the new board of adviserss for the single county library system. There's an adage trust is built up in drops and spent in buckets. Unfortunately, the first time I interacted with this board, when I came to the May 6th meeting, you all dumped that bucket on its head when you made the rushed decision to vote our library out of the Greater Clark Hills Regional Library System and form a single county library system. You made this decision without any public comment, without hearing from the residents who it's going to affect. And now you're putting one of your own on the board to govern the library. To me, this is is a very clear consolidation of power. I have no trust in your ability to run a library. At the May 6th meeting, I asked you all if you had experience running a library or education in librarial science, and none of you answered in the affirmative. I'm not sure why we're appointing non-experts to leadership positions at the library. It makes no sense to me. outside of an attempt to gain further control w and remove outside voices. I'd like to see the library free and open for everyone and not a political pawn for this board. It's all I've got tonight. I'll see you all on November 4th and I hope everyone in this room remembers to vote. Howard, [Applause] Chris, will you do me a will you do me a favor and just verify the the John Luton?

Sure, we'll do. Make sure that that it's legal. We'll do.

Mike Welsh. Mike Welsh, 1380 Water Drive, Evans. Um, last time I spoke, I came and talked about the fact that, uh, despite what you're hearing, um, there are quite a few fe folks in this community that back what you did with the library. And you don't need to be an expert. We see what the experts have done to our country over the last few years. So, um, I do want to say though that what we're doing here and what y'all have doing is spreading. I was informed that Effingham County has followed our lead and has exited their multi-county situation and now has an independent board library board and they are quite happy and I have been told that several other counties are in the process of beginning that step as well. So I want to commend you and thank you for being the leaders on a issue that is very much a part of many many values that this community has not only here but across this state. Thank you [Applause] Diane Jarrett.

Well ma'am please state your name address for the record. five minutes.

Lower that just a little bit or stay on my toes, which might solve the problem. Good evening. My name is Diane Jarrett. I've lived in Columbia County since 1983. My address is 3040 Otter Court. The data center project I think is a commission pipe dream. Aken got one the right way and even has a solar farm to back up some of the electric expenses here. I think the carts in front of the horse. Plus, it ignited fierce and valid opposition. Something else you all recently did also ignited deep division in our county. You chose to adopt the point of view of the most prejudiced without asking public questions and you doubled it down tonight with your personal selections of the new library board and set up all kinds of conflicts of interest. What right does a book banner have to tell everyone else what they may do or read? Individual parents have the responsibility to control what their individual child reads, not what the whole diverse county reads. Government, at any level, stay clear of that parental responsibility. Excuse me. You have violated parents rights with your library guidelines and ignited deep division in our county. Again, shame on your choices that happen behind closed doors and misrepresent your constituents. Lastly, watching deputies escort the person playing the national anthem out of this room a few weeks ago by order of the commission still upsets me. That decision showed no respect for the anthem and leading me to have less

respect for those of you sitting in this in front of me here. and additionally less respect for the county manager who still owes that citizen and this county a public apology for what his lead action did. We all know exactly how long the national anthem is and to remove it from the room due to some time restraint is disrespectful to the anthem and to our country and to Columbia County. Shame on you. Please do better. Be more transparent. Thank you. [Applause] Susan Susan Warren. Thank you. Susan Warren. I live in Appling. First, I want to remind all of you to vote in the November 4th special election. There are statewide races for two of the five seats on the public service commission. Electricity is the deciding factor in a lot of our economy. New demand has to be planned, paid for, and decisions about who does that. Paying is one of the oversight areas of the PSC. Every registered voter voter in Georgia is eligible to vote for these two seats. Data center. I'll begin by explaining why we need to make changes at the PSC during this election. One reason so many data centers are coming to Georgia is their cheap industrial power rate which is lower than the national average

approved by the PSC. Power companies are monopolies but are allowed to have a return on their investments. Most utilities are allowed a return of 8 to 9% but Georgia Powers allowed rate is 12%. Approved by the PSC residents have had multiple rate increases six in three years approved by the PSC. Now, let's address Georgia P's letter stating no base rate increases for three years. In their June rate case hearing where that was approved, Georgia Power signaled it will file a separate rate case in 2026 to recover 860 million in storm costs from its 27 million customers and a separate case to recover fuel costs. And they were also allowed to extend their 2022 alternate rate plan for another three years, meaning they will be allowed to defer defer certain costs for consideration for three years until its 2028 rate cases. They were also granted the 11.9% profit margin again for three years approved by the PSC. Georgia P profit increased 22% in 2024. All five of these seats are currently held by Republicans, one of wh who is return whom is returning running for reelection. These commissioners have received campaign donations from Georgia Power executives, managers, and attorneys. Talk about conflict of interest. approved by the PSC. Georgia Powers, excuse me. On October 17th, Fox 5 Atlanta did an interview with Georgia Power who stated they plan

to ask state regulators to add 10 gigawatts of power generation to prepare for more data centers in Georgia. And data centers would account for roughly 80% proposed increase in demand, they said. Another voice in the interview, the attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, warned, "We are planning power for companies that may or may not come, and that creates real risks for customers currently paying the bills. The only way power companies make money is by building infrastructure. But if they build all this infra infrastructure and the c companies don't come or even yet can't come because of a data center boom could burst. We the residents and other businesses are on the hook for these costs. Even the open AI CEO and chairman have said that we are probably in an AI bubble. And even if the PSC allows that ramp up when it votes in December, it will be a very slow process. A typical solar, wind, or battery project takes about five years. The current backlog to buy a gas turbine stretches into the early 2030s. Transmission projects take about a decade. Surging demands have burdened aging transformers, but new ones aren't available. Global supply chain disruptions continue to slow access to the transformers critical to stabilizing power system voltages and efficiency. In February this year, the National Association of Electrical Manufacturers said delivery of a new transformer ordered today could take up to three years when 5 years ago it was four to six weeks. And according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 55% of

residential transformers are near the end of their lives with how many now more with many now more than 40 years old. According to the datacentermap.com site, there are already 4,087 data centers operating in the US, 24 of which are classified as hypers scale and 161 mostly smallcale data centers currently operating in Georgia. The one planned for Columbia County is classified as hypers scale and it appears that there are already plans to build at least three more of these in Georgia. That 10 gigawatts that Georgia Power asked for this year won't even begin to power that. We're going to be stuck with coal and gas generated power and air pollution here in Georgia for a long time. Even if these P plants go with gas generated power, there is air pollution in that option. Um, other things to remember about the upcoming election, there are uh seats in both Col uh both Grove Town and Harlem that are open that will be decided in this November 4th election. So, everyone needs to vote. Thank you, [Applause] Alan Wyatt. Alan Uh Alan White, 2189 Mars Galloway Road in Appling. Uh commissioners, to carry on the theme, I'm here tonight to once again request a halt to the White Oak data center project. And further tonight though, I'd like to reflect on on what it is fighting for. Sometimes that's get lost

in some of the technical discussions around well, we're going to use a glycol system, all this kind of stuff, which is very enlightening, but is really not the reason why we don't want it to be here. What I'm going to talk about and reflect on is what we're fighting to save, which is our Appling and Columbia County heritage. Appling is not just the county seat. Appling is its historical and charmed heartbeat. Foremost character, its central personality. It is in many ways Colombia County's alpha and omega. 235 years ago is when Appling became the heart of Columbia County. The iconic courthouse built 22 years later stands as a timeless symbol our heritage. Appling is still still a one street town. Nestled amid wooded lands, rolling farms where the rustle of leaves, the blowing of cattle still today describes a truly wonderful symphony of that is where we live. This surely is our essence, is it not? Slow and steady, yet still moving ahead sacredly but with assured wisdom. Yes, we have the cows lowing, but we also have some fiber optic cables being built. So, we're not stupid and we're not retired from the progress that we see around us, but we do it in a structured wise way. However, this abominable data center is

not that. It is so big, so brash, so wretching that it is going to destroy Appling and Colombia County. And it'll destroy it, John, forever. It will turn our unspoiled landscapes, our character, and our charm into an industrial sprawl of noise, traffic, and strain. It won't stop at a data center. We know this. We're not that stupid. Look at any industrial development anywhere on the planet and it grows. It continues to grow. Just like we said Amazon, it'll just be a little small fulfillment center. Nothing to worry about. Here we are talking about its expansion beyond the realm of what anyone talked about when Amazon came along. And it will continue. We know that there will be no chance for us to restore from that growth. Once lost, the charmed heartbeat will stop for good with our omega arriving way too early. And as I have relayed before, the data center is a product of deliberate unethical actions on your part. Continues today. still can't get to see this NDA that you all have signed, right? You won't let us see it. No reason to stop seeing it now. This thing is going like a freight train. Why? Why prevent us from? Makes no sense. By prioritizing powerful private interests over the people you have sworn to serve. This is just not right. But commissioners, local opposition continues to grow. It's probably quieter here tonight than it's been for a long time, but don't think for a moment that that means we're not growing. We are growing, growing

strongly. And so are the issues statewide. Clayton County have just imposed a moratorium in September to properly study the impact of data centers. DB County has extended theirs to December 16 to refine what they're doing. Kueta's moratorium is still in place and they are tightening oversight of the data center. Even the state department of community affairs paused the DRRi reviews over resource concerns. And in Twigs County, residents are suing a warning that should not be ignored. So commissioners, I urge you again, please institute a moratorum and allow for true independent experts to comprehensively evaluate this project. Then you will learn what you should have learned prior to this that it is not the right thing to do in Colombia County. Absolutely not the right thing to do. We've learned it isn't for many, many reasons and so have other communities and they continue to fall. Data center proposes are continuing to fall all over the country to allow for that true independent comprehensive study. So we can study this data cent's size, its impact and its location and its compliance with your fiduciary duty. And in this we ask you to do better and to act wisely and act to protect Apple, not destroy it. The future of Appling and Columbia County belongs to the entire historic current and future body politic, not just this temporal political committee on which for now you just happen to have been given an ephemeral part. Do not use your time in the light to destroy the flame that gives it.

Submit yourselves to the awe of the memory of all of those who came before you and built the transparency we enjoy right now. The people coming up to talk today is part of that and submit to the expression that which of which it portrays. A truly you sorry a truly unique county in the freest technology and wheeling and dealing with the big shots but by passion, wisdom and kindness to its citizens. So in the name of Colonel Daniel Appling, a decorated army officer, a man who served with passion, wisdom, and kindness, and in so doing became the man for whom Appling was named. In his name and spirit, we say again, reverse the resoning and pause the data center project. Thank you. [Applause] I have a statement I'm going to read from the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on this subject. Columbia County Board of Comm and actually it's a long statement so bear with me. The Columbia County Board of Commission Commissioners is aware of the concerns raised by residents regarding the proposed White Oak Technology Park data center project and we appreciate the passion our community shows for preserving the quality of life in Appling and across our county. We're committed to responsible development that benefits all residents while protecting our environment and res. However, we must address uh the spread of inaccuracies, unfounded accusations of of uh criminal misconduct and outright falsehoods propagated by the group citizens for open government and others. These claims represent the facts, undermine constructive dialogue, and distract from the potential positive impacts of a project like this. First,

allegations of secret backroom deals and violations of open meetings the open meetings act are inflammatory without merit. All discussions and decisions have in have complied with Georgia law. Non-disclosure agreements or NDAs are standard practice on e in economic development negotiations nationwide as they protect sensitive business information and pre prevent premature disruptions that could jeopardize deals beneficial to the county. These NDAs do not prevent us from sharing key details like environmental safeguards or infrastructure plans with the public once appropriate. claims that meetings were structured to evade transparency. Ignore the legal allowances for executive sessions and non-corum meeting non excuse me non-quorum gatherings are common and necessary to advance projects without exposing competitive details. There has been zero criminal misconduct in this case and such accusations irresponsible attempts to sensationalize routine processes. Second, assertations that the project is a done deal forced on the county without input is simply untrue. While the uh Columbia County Development Authority has secured financing and agreements to position the land for development, essential steps attracting highquality investors. Project remains to be in the planning phase. No construction has begun and key elements including identification of a final end user are not finalized. County does not have all the details regarding the end user at this time. Negotiator negotiations are ongoing and bound by standard confidentiality to ensure the best outcome for Colombia County. Public input has been and will continue to be sought through open meetings, updates contrary to claims of deaf ears or obstinence. Reversing loan, excuse me, reversing zoning now, as some suggest, would expose taxpayers to costly lo law lawsuits from developers who have acted in good faith based on

approved approved zoning. Third, environmental scare tactics such as fear of acqu aquifer depreciation or unchecked water usage short the reality of modern modern data center operations. Any facility would use the county water supplies, not private wells, to avoid the impacts on local farms and homes. Cooling systems would prioritize closed loop designs for efficiency and minimal consumption with commitments to substantially sustain that the align with our vision 2035 plan for protecting rural and character and promoting high quality growth. Wildlife destructions and noise concerns are being addressed through required buffers and site planning and the project would not uh would not compromise water table or electric grid as confirmed by ongoing assessments. Far from being a a behemoth burden, the data centers have been developed in thought a similar thoughtful way, excuse me, in a similar thoughtful manner provided to be valuable assets in communities across Georgia and the nation. They bring substantial economic benefits, including millions of tax revenue that fund homestead exemptions, potentially reduce or eliminate property taxes for residents, directly funding commitments to ease financial loads on families. Utilities create high-paying jobs in technology, construction, and support services, boost local businesses, and contribute to infrastructure improvements without raising utility bills for everyday citizens as costs are covered by the operators. Nationwide, data centers support billions in economic output and nearly five million jobs with lenders, excuse me, with leaders, renewable energy integration to minimize environmental footprints. We invite residents to engage directly with facts through our public resources like our web page and upcoming meetings rather than rather than relying on misinformation campaigns. The board remains dedicated to transparency within

legal bounds in the decisions that strengthen Columbia County for our generations to come. We'd like to en assure citizens that accurate updates will be provided as they become available as we strive to operate as one of the bestrun counties in the nation. That's sincerely the board of commissioners. I believe this will be released as a press release just so everybody can have a copy on to the executive session.

Yes. Well, uh, speaking of the library, well, we've already moved on. So, uh, executive session, there are three items. Mr. Couch, I believe. Yes, sir. For item M1A, I make a motion to approve $75,000 to Daniel Davis partial 072A004 to obtain right ofway andor easements for the Herford Farm Road widening project. Second.

This was a negotiated property acquisition uh for this parcel for the Herford Farm road widening project. That brings us to about 231 of 255 parcels. questions. Motion and second on the floor. All in favor, raise your right hand. Motion carries. Item M1B. I make a motion to approve resolution number 25-34, parcel 072B046, resolution number 25-35, parcel 067012, declaration of taking an order of condemnation for the Herford Farm Road Widening Project. Second.

Yes, we have two condemnations. One is because uh this is for 072B 046. We could not come to a consensus on the amount or the value of the land. Uh the other one this is 067012. We did come to consensus had an agreement to close but we've spent over a year trying to get a release bank and the property owner has asked us to file a condemnation so they can move forward with getting their funds. questions. Motion and second on the floor. All in favor, raise your right hand. Motion carries.

Item M1 C. I make a motion to approve $500 to Baps Augusta LLC, partial 077086B, $4,100 to Gospel Water Branch Community Development, Inc., partial 077066, and $1,000 to Charles Ricard Jr., Parcel 077027 to obtain right-of-way and/or easements for the Furus Fairy Road Widening Project. Second, this is uh as you stated, this is for the Furious Ferry Road widening project, but more specifically, it was for three fire hydrants that needed to be installed and kept within our easements.

Questions? Motion, second on the floor. All in favor, raise your right hand. Motion carries. Mr. Todd, why don't you come on up and speak? So,

if you will, sir, if you just state your name and address for the record and take five minutes, sir.

Yes, sir. My name is Marcus Todd, uh, 6207 Max Court, Harlem. Um, members of the board, the council, I mean, uh, I apologize for my tardiness. Um, I requested to speak regarding uh some pressure I've been made aware of uh on the council on the board of commissioners to change some of the uh standards used in the library system that were in placed uh in 2024. Uh first I want to thank the uh county government for taking the bold step separate from the national and state library systems that require the libraries to make available to children books that are designed to introduce children and young adults to sexually explicit material. So thank you for taking that step to to separate us uh from that. Uh it's a well established fact that introducing children and young adults to such material is a tactic used by child sex predators to prepare targets for exploitation. As such it is essential for a community to protect children and that's why we have certain laws title 16 chapter 12 article 3 deals with a lot of these issues as it pertains to children. I'm sure you are all aware of these, so I apologize for bringing uh information you may already know, but for anyone else listening, they might want to look this up for themselves. Uh part two deals with offenses related to minor children. Uh it says that um sexual exploitation of children uh reporting violation and civil forfeite and penalties. uh subsection B list uh f uh part subp parts 5, six, 7 and 8 uh go through and establish a lot of the standards of uh decency when it comes to what kind of material is should be allowed for children. Uh part three deals with the sale of uh or or distribution of harmful materials uh pertaining to moderns. Pardon me, I'm speeding up a little bit because I know I'm past my time. Uh or I will go past

my time if I try to read through the whole thing. But um it it specifically forbids pictures, photographs, drawings, sculptures, uh etc. Uh that's can be introduced to children, right? So that's part three of title 16 chapter 12 article 3. Uh interesting of note um the third part uh of this section uh part 3 section 16-12-104 provides a library exception. So the point that I'm getting at is uh our law has created a loophole where in state facilities that are tied to universities and public libraries don't actually have the criminal uh criminality for uh exposing children to these materials because it just says there's an exception to everything listed above. Uh and so if the if the county had not taken that step to separate us, then it would have been through this loophole legal for child sex predators to use our our government institutions like our public library as a tool to expose children uh to sexually explicit materials. That's what would or could have happened uh had we not made this separation. So again, here to thank you again for making this and to please um understand what we're up against. Um this this topic is very important to me. My mother is a librarian. She spent over 30 years in the uh through in public and private library systems, most of it in public. uh uh she's done a lot of work in children's departments, university libraries, and she's even founded a public library in another state. Uh from

her, I learned about the American Library Association and its network of organizations that uh to quote my mother, working to destroy families. Uh and they're using libraries to do that. So uh from her I learned that the American Library Association has ties to other organizations uh such a uh that are connected that are themselves part u of a socialist network. Um the motivation comes from the communist manifesto uh that establishes the goal of ending the traditional family in article two of the communist manifesto. uh the president of the American Library Association, Emily Dravinsky, uh was the keynote speaker in the socialism 2023 conference and stated directly directly stated the need to organize both schools and libraries as socialist organizational sites. Right? So, it's a planned intention to use schools and libraries to push socialism and as such they have uh they intended and they've been doing this to send people across the country in an almost missionary-like fashion uh to spread socialist mechanisms uh in parts of the country that are known for strong family ties. And I would say Columbia County is one of the strong family ties type of communities that uh would be central for their targeting. This is the type of community they would love to target because they hate families. I'm sorry to put it in such strong terms, but

I apologize if I didn't tell you, but take five minutes and I'm done.

Oh, okay. Okay. Ro, pardon me. Okay. Well, um um there's other names I have that are tied with these organizations, but the long and the short of it is that um please um stand firm in in what you've done. Um there is still a danger that in the rules that we have now that um advoc um people who are trying to push sexualization of children can still uh direct children towards getting uh inappropriate books in in under the mechanism under the mechanisms that we have in place. Now, right now, we're only making it difficult for children uh to get a hold of inappropriate material, but we haven't removed them. I would recommend that we consider removing um sexually explicit materials altogether. But regardless, um the the the steps taken need to be preserved um because the future of our children is at stake.

Thank you, sir. Thank you so much for your patience. Mention to adjourn. We are adjourned.