Work Session of the Mayor and City Council
City of Ball Ground, Georgia
Ball Ground City Hall ~ 6:00 P.M.

Minutes
August 8, 2019
Mayor Roberts called the meeting to order.

Present for the meeting
John Byrd – Council Member
Lee Prettyman – Council Member
Andrenia Stoner – Council Member
Donna England – Finance Director
Chris Luly – City Planner
Abby Roach, City Attorney
Eric Wilmarth, City Manager
Karen L. Jordan, City Clerk
Donald Campbell – Cherokee Tribune

Council Members Absent: Frank Homiller and Mickey O’Malley

City Manager Wilmarth presented a copy of the Service Delivery Strategy Agreement to each council member for review. Each of the forms included in the document was explained by City Manager Wilmarth.
No Action taken.

Adjourn
There being no further items for discussion the meeting was adjourned.

Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council
City of Ball Ground, Georgia
Ball Ground City Hall ~ 7:00 P.M.

Minutes
August 8, 2019

Mayor Roberts called the meeting to order.

Present for the meeting
John Byrd – Council Member
Lee Prettyman – Council Member
Andrenia Stoner – Council Member
Donna England – Finance Director
Bryon Reeves – Chief of Police
Chris Luly – City Planner
Abby Roach, City Attorney
Eric Wilmarth, City Manager
Karen L. Jordan, City Clerk
Donald Campbell – Cherokee Tribune

Council Members Absent: Frank Homiller and Mickey O’Malley

Pledge of Allegiance

Appearances
Cherokee County Fire Chief Tim Prather presented the department’s annual report on Fire/EMS services for the City of Ball Ground and Cherokee County.

Mayor Roberts commended Chief Prather and his department for the services they provide to the residents of Ball Ground and Cherokee County.

Announcements – City Manager Eric Wilmarth

Consider Approval of July 11, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes
Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Byrd to approve the minutes of the July 11, 2019 City Council Meeting as submitted in writing by the City Clerk.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Old Business
Consider Second Reading of Wireless Facilities and Antennas (Small Cell) Ordinance

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Byrd to approve the second reading of the proposed ordinance.
Motion Unanimously Approved

New Business
Consider relinquishment of unused sewer easement
City Manager Wilmarth stated that in 2001 a construction easement was acquired from Valley Street property owner Mrs. Margaret Stancil to install a sewer line across a portion of her property. During construction, the line was installed without involving Mrs. Stancil’s property. The property is now for sale and the owner is requesting relinquishment of the easement.

Council Member Byrd put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to relinquish the easement granted to Mrs. Stancil.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Consider adoption of policy regarding bidding by employees on surplus property/equipment
City Manager Wilmarth presented the proposed policy for Council consideration. He stated the purpose of this policy is to outline the position of the City of Ball Ground pertaining to the ability to bid on surplus property/equipment. No employee, elected official, nor member of any board or committee of the City of Ball Ground shall bid on, nor cause to be bid on by a third party, of any surplus property outlined in the policy.

Council Member Prettyman put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Stoner to adopt the proposed policy as submitted regarding employees bidding on city owned surplus property or equipment.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Consider adoption of Sewer Capacity Fee Schedule
City Manager Wilmarth submitted for Council consideration a Sewer Capacity Fee Schedule. The fees are for commercial business and are calculated based on their projected consumption.

Council Member Byrd put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Stoner to approve the Sewer Capacity Fee Schedule as submitted.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Consider adoption of Service Delivery Strategy Agreement
City Manager submitted for Council consideration the Service Delivery Strategy Agreement between Cherokee County Board of Commissioners and the City of Ball Ground.

Council Member Byrd put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to authorize Mayor Roberts to execute the agreement as submitted.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Consider adoption of Intergovernmental Agreement between Cherokee County and City of Ball Ground regarding MHz Radio System
City Manager Wilmarth presented an Intergovernmental Agreement between Cherokee County and the City of Ball Ground regarding a Cherokee County Simulcast Remote Radio Site to be constructed and located on property owned by the City of Ball Ground. Also, outlined in the IGA Cherokee County will implement a Voice Trucked Wide Area Radio System replacing the current system. Terms of this agreement are outlined in the IGA.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Byrd to approve entering into the Intergovernmental Agreement with Cherokee County and authorize Mayor Roberts to execute the document.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Consider adoption of an Intergovernmental Funding Agreement for the Cherokee Office of Economic Development
An Intergovernmental Funding Agreement for of the Cherokee Office of Economic Development was presented to Council Members or consideration. The City of Ball Ground will provide an annual payment of $5,000.00 and an additional $1,000.00 Cherokee Office of Economic Development GIS contribution on February 1 of each year. Additional terms of the agreement are outlined in the IGA.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to approve entering into the Intergovernmental Funding Agreement with Cherokee County and authorize Mayor Roberts to execute the document.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

Consider adoption of Inmate Housing Agreement between Cherokee County and City of Ball Ground
City Manager Wilmarth stated the intent of the agreement will be for the Sheriff’s Department to accept, book, and house Inmates for the City, subject to the terms outlined in the Agreement.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Byrd to enter into the Intergovernmental Inmate Housing Agreement with Cherokee County and authorize Mayor Roberts to execute the document.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Consider adoption of Storm Water Fee Schedule
Per the City’s Storm Water Utility Ordinance Section 28-103 Titled Establishment of a stormwater utility and enterprise fund the City Council from time to time may establish fees for such service. Therefore, it is proposed by the City Council to establish a fee of $4.00 per month and such fee shall be include in the monthly water bill of each city water customer. The $4.00 fee per month shall be billed annually to non-water customers.

Council Member Byrd put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to establish a $4.00 per month fee for each city water customer to be include on their monthly water bill and the $4.00 fee be billed annually to non-water customers.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

Consider InterDev Agreement for GIS Services
City Manager Wilmarth presented to council members for consideration a proposal from InterDev to continue providing GIS services to the City of Ball Ground. This is a 3-year agreement with a 4% escalator per year beginning on the first anniversary from the effective date of the agreement. The escalation fee schedule is as follows: Year 1: $29,120.00 Year 2: $30,285.00
Year 3: $31,496.00.

Council Member Byrd put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to approve the 3-Year agreement for GIS services from InterDev as submitted and to authorize Mayor Roberts to execute the document.
Motion Unanimously Approved

Consider Annexation Notification and Land Use Dispute Resolution
City Manager Wilmarth stated the Annexation Notification and Land Use Dispute Resolution is part of the Service Delivery Strategy Agreement and is to be submitted with the annexation notice to Cherokee County.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to approve the Annexation Notification and Land Use Dispute Resolution and to authorize Mayor Roberts to execute the document.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

City Managers Report
City Manager Wilmarth provided Mayor Roberts and Council Members with an unaudited report of account balances, statement of revenue and expenditures for the month ended July 31, 2019. The report showed cash on deposit totaled $774,015.28.

Mayor Roberts Comments
Mayor Roberts commended City Manager Wilmarth for his hard work and dedication in making the Roberts Lake Project a reality. This will be a tremendous asset to the City of Ball Ground for many years to come.

Mayor Roberts commented that his great uncle once operated a power plant on the property that once supplied power to the city. Remains of the operation are still visible today.

Council Members Comments

Council Members each commented on the growth of the City and commended the employees for the work they do each day.

Public Comments

Scott Barnes, who has represented the City of Ball Ground on the Cherokee County Planning Commission for the past 13 years submitted his resignation to Mayor Roberts and City Council. Mr. Barnes stated his place of employment no longer allowed him to serve on this board because of potential conflict of interest. Mr. Barnes stated October 2, 2019 would be the last meeting he would attend.

Mayor Roberts extended his sincere appreciation to Mr. Barnes and presented him
with a plaque for his thirteen years of service.

Executive Session (If Needed)

Adjourn

There being no further business for Mayor and Council Members consideration a motion was duly made and seconded to adjourn.
The minutes of this August 8, 2019, City Council Meeting approved this 12th Day of September, 2019.

Mayor A. R. Roberts, III

Attest: Karen L. Jordan
City Clerk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 21, 2021

CHANGES FOR COVID-19 TESTING IN NORTH GEORGIA

North GA — As public health departments in Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties complete the shift from COVID-19 testing to COVID-19 vaccine distribution, MAKO Medical is contracted to provide *Free COVID-19 Drive-thru Testing in the North Georgia Health District, beginning Monday, January 25.

MAKO Medical COVID-19 TESTING site locations and operating times will be as follows:

Woodstock First Baptist Church
11905 Highway 92, Woodstock, GA 30188
(Please enter via Trickum Rd/Gunnin Rd entrance)
Starts 1/25: Mon – Fri, 8 AM – 3 PM
and at
Edwards Park
115 Edwards Park, Dalton, GA 30721
Starts 1/27: Mon – Fri, 8 AM – 3 PM

The test is a nasal swab test to determine the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Testing results will be available within 48 hours. This is not an antigen or antibody test.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED at https://mako.exchange/splash/GAmakotesting/.

*Insurance will be accepted, if available.

For more information about COVID-19 in North Georgia, log onto our website at www.nghd.org.

Hello Ball Ground:

A lot has changed over the holidays and as many of you may know first hand, COVID is now exploding in Cherokee County and across the State of Georgia. We have begun to feel the effects right here in our City of Ball Ground Employee Family.

In recent meetings with State and Georgia Municipal Officials, Mayor Roberts has been briefed that the crisis in Georgia is not only worsening but that it is fast approaching catastrophic levels and many hospitals across our State have little to no ICU bed capacity. We know first-hand that last week most of our local hospitals were completely full and diverting patients to other hospitals. This is not only dangerous for the treatment of individuals ill with the virus but also extremely dangerous for the numerous medical emergencies our community faces on a daily basis.

We are now seeing the results of the Thanksgiving holiday surge which is 60% higher than the surge we experienced last summer. Just to put things in context looking at the past two weeks in Cherokee County we are up 2,366 cases. Pickens is up 305 cases. Those numbers by themselves don’t sound huge, but you factor in that we are having to wait on testing again, and in Cherokee, the positive rate over the past 2 weeks is 21.9% of all folks being tested are positive, compared to just 9.3% prior to. Next door in Pickens of all folks being tested in the past two weeks, 30.3% are positive compared to their previous rate of 10.2%. So we are simply at a tremendous growth rate, and the full fallout of Christmas and New Years hasn’t fully hit us yet.

The Governor has issued new executive orders and where originally the Governor wanted no local enforcement, the State is now really pushing for local governments to begin enforcement of his orders. Some of the key areas where the State is pushing for local law enforcement to begin enforcement include:

Enforcement of the 50 persons per gathering limits
Enforcement of limiting bars and sporting events to 50 persons or 35% of their fire capacity, whichever is greater
Enforcement of the requirement of restaurants to ensure at least six feet of separation from seating to seating or utilize physical barriers to separate groups sitting within six feet of one another

While our numbers are currently horrible – there is help on the way as the vaccine is beginning to arrive and distribution is taking place. Mayor Roberts and I both plan on taking the vaccine as soon as it becomes available for our age groups and we strongly encourage each of you to consult your personal physician and make a choice that is best for you. Personally, we firmly believe that the vaccine is our best way out of this pandemic.

In other news:

The monthly meeting of the Mayor and Council will take place via phone conference Thursday. This morning our contractor will be here to take cameras live, create the YouTube channel for the City, and hopefully by the end of the day, we will be able to provide instructions on how our customers can view the meeting live thru YouTube. Regardless, we will be providing the phone number for anyone who would like to call in instead.

The new water line project on A.W. Roberts Drive is currently underway and approximately 30% of the new line has already been installed, but obviously, we are having rain setbacks today, and we expect rain again tomorrow as well.

The sidewalk project behind City Hall is 95% complete, simply waiting on the handrails to arrive and we keep getting “backorder” answers on them. While the sidewalk is available we do urge caution in the area as we do need the handrails to make the area safer.

Finally, and one of the things that is not so pleasant to talk about. We really need the help of our sewer customers in the City in ensuring that we only put down the drain things that are made to go down the drain. It continues to amaze me the things we find in our sewer lift stations. We had an incident last Monday in one of our new lift stations where large quantities of grease formed around a substantial quantity of shop towels and got sucked into one of our pumps, shorting out and destroying the pump. Meanwhile, the pump right next to it caught up a pair of underwear and jammed up the impeller. By the end of the day, Monday, the shop towels and underwear combined to create a little over $10,000 in damage to the station. This includes parts, a pump, contract labor, and hiring a septage hauler to pump down the station while pumps were being taken care of. Meanwhile, the same shop towel situation at two other lift stations has cost over $30,000 in the past 3 months. Grease blockages in the sewer mains have run another $12,000. We really need your help. Grease has no place in a sewer system, likewise with shop towels, clothing, coke bottles, and just last week we pulled out some golf balls and tennis balls. Ultimately this type of damage impacts you, our customers, as our rates must cover typical daily operations, treatment, and all of these repairs. We appreciate your help.

As a reminder, with Cherokee County Schools having gone back to distance learning, at least for this week, we have wifi hotspots in place if needed. Simply pull into the parking lot at the Ball Ground Senior Center – no password required.

Stay safe Ball Ground – and strongly consider accepting the vaccine when available for your profession or age group.

Eric