The Ware County Commission held a called meeting Monday, September 23, 2004, at the County Administration Building.
Present were Chairman Elmer Thrift, Commissioners Leonard Burse, Sammy Hendricks, and Jerry Pope. Absent was Commissioner Timothy Lucas and County Manager Scott Moye.
The following agenda items were discussed/voted on.
• Recreation Department Advisory Board Bylaws Revision: Assistant County Attorney, Jennifer Herzog, presented a new set of bylaws for the Recreation Department Board.
During discussion, Commissioner Hendricks expressed concern there was a provision which would disqualify members of the immediate family of a commissioner to be appointed to the Board.
The provision can be found in Article IV, paragraph A and reads, in part, “No ‘immediate family’ of the Board of Commissioners may serve on the Board; immediate family in this context being defined as relatives of the second degree, more specifically as follows: wife, husband, mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son, grandmother, grandfather, grandson, granddaughter, including ‘step,’ ‘inlaw,’ or ‘half’ relatives of the same degree of relationship.”
Hendricks’ reasoning was being a small county would be eliminating good, qualified people if the provision remained in the bylaws.
Commissioner Burse recommended the commission take some time and review the provision and decide later if the provision needs to be removed, stay as is, or amend it.
On motion by Commissioner Burse, and a second by Commissioner Hendricks, the the bylaw adoption was unanimously tabled until the next meeting.
• Ware County Firefighter Training Reimb ursement Agreement: Ware County Fire Chief Dee Meadows proposed the County Fire Department have new recruits sign a contract to reimburse the county for professional training if the new firefighter resigns within two years for any reason.
In response to a question from Commissioner Burse, Chief Meadows said the cost of training right now is within the range of $1,500-$2,000.
On motion by Commissioner Pope and second by Commissioner Burse to accept the proposal, it passed unanimously.
• Bid Award – Health Department Parking Lot Rehabilitation: Sealed bids were opened on September 17, 2024, at 10 a.m., to rehabilitate the parking lot at the Ware County Health Department.
Two companies submitted bids, Douglas Asphalt Materials for $73,510.45 and East Coast Asphalt, LLC for $70,328.50.
On motion by Commissioner Burse and seconded by Commissioner Hendricks to accept the bid, it passed unanimously.
• Memorandum of Understanding with the Downtown Waycross Development Authority: The MOU with the DWDA to allow the executive director to be a participant in the county’s group health insurance.
This agreement has been approved in the past because the DWDA is too small to have its own group insurance. The DWDA will reimburse the county for the entire cost of the insurance premium.
On motion by Commissioner Pope and seconded by Commissioner Burse to agree to the MOU, it passed unanimously.
• Commission comments: Commissioner Burse commented on the Red Star Pilots Association Fly-Over at the airport. The two-day event was a training session on formation flying for the group and the public was invited to come out and observe.
Commissioner Burse also gave a shout-out to the airport employees saying, “We should be really proud of our airport for the exposure and recognition it brings to our county.”
He praised the staff, specifically Airport Manager Frank Bartanowitz, Becky Hinnant, Justin Strickland, and Adam Herrin for the “great work that they do.”
Photos by DANNY BARTLETT Ware County Fire Chief Dee Meadows (left) explained the rationale behind a proposal to have new recruits sign a contract to repay the cost of their training if they resign within two years. Ware County Supervisor of Elections Carlos Nelson (right) updated the Ware County Commission on the upcoming elections. He reported 22,905 registered voters in Ware County with 1,332 new registrations this calendar year, and 721 since the runoff election in June.
