GILES COUNTY BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES OF MEETING
1 November 2021
ATTENDEES: Committee Members – Chairman Erin Curry, Gayle Jones, Judy Pruett, Roger Reedy, Tim Risner, Larry Worsham, David Wamble (absent) Other Commissioners – David Adams, Harold Brooks, Bill Cary, Mike Cesarini, Stoney Jackson, Rodney Journey, Tommy Pollard, Joseph Sutton, Tracy Wilburn, Joyce Woodard Other – County Executive Melissa Greene, Financial Management Director Beth Moore-Sumners and Nancy Griffin Financial Management, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Vicki Beard, Director Waste Management Julie Phillips, Bill Young and Scott Stewart (The Pulaski Citizen)
Chairman Erin Curry opened the meeting asking for a motion on previous minutes of 5 August 2021 and1 October 2021. Motion by Tracy Wilburn and seconded by Larry Worsham on the 5 August minutes was made and approved. Motion by Roger Reedy and seconded by Larry Worsham on the 1 October 2021 minutes was made and approved. Prayer and pledge was provided in previous meeting, same day.
First Item and second Item on the agenda – Approval of the school 141 Amendment on bonuses contingent upon school board approval was motioned by Tracy Wilburn and seconded by Roger Reedy. Motion approved. Approval of the school cafeteria 143 Amendment for bonuses contingent upon school board approval was motioned by Larry Worsham and seconded by Tim Risner. Motion approved.
Third Item on agenda- A motion by Tracy Wilburn and seconded by Tim Risner to approve the purchase from the state contract a truck for waste management use was made and approved with guidance from Beth Moore-Sumners on funding source.
County Executive Melissa Greene then discussed the America Rescue Plan (ARP) federal funding that will come directly to the county. She noted that the deadline for federal guidelines on how the funding can be spent is still not available, but she expects when those rules do become available there will be a rapid turnaround requested. To make that happen, she asked that of the $5.71M expected that $1M be set aside for broadband in this meeting so that some of the preliminary discussions and actions can happen expeditiously. She suggested that discussions with the commissioners could happen to keep them updated by one-on-one visits to her office. Larry Worsham moved to approve setting aside the $1M and Gayle Jones seconded. Motion approved.
Melissa further discussed the four other categories for the ARP funding with one being loss revenue. That category offers the most flexibility in terms of use and CTAS in working with the county to calculate what that loss would be. Judy Pruett asked if the schools were considered in this funding and per Dr. Beard the schools have received $11.7M of their own funding, but cannot use those funds as capital programs. Melissa discussed the complexity of the funding and its uses and was soliciting ideas from the county. Roger Reedy asked if it would be worthwhile to meet with all water districts and Melissa answered this funding is coming to the county and not directly to the cities. That means the county will have to show how used and may well result in an additional space in financial management to manage, with funding coming from the ARP funds. Besides funding for water and sewer there will also be funding for non-profits, although non-profits cannot request those funds. Mike Cesarini questioned the effective use of $1M for broadband and Melissa noted the $1M is a partial input into a larger grant. Also all will be fiber. She is meeting with several of the potential broadband providers on 12 November and also in December.
Melissa then discussed the study contract for the courthouse. OHM was chosen with a $230K contract which will deliver a set of detailed plans developed through the use of Laser measurements with the county owning the plans. Questions centered on the $120K cost for the plans (with the balance for the study). Questions on whether we would want to build back a replica of the existing building if it were to be destroyed, e.g. through fire. Erin noted the plans are to protect what we already have and noted the engineering costs are reasonable from her own experience. It was noted the HVAC would use some piece of this plan to make the necessary plans for that update. Roger Reedy motioned to approve the total $230K with Larry Worsham seconding. It was noted this would be covered through the litigation funds. Motion approved.
Being no old or new business, Tracy Wilburn moved for adjournment and Tim Risner seconded. Motion approved.
