Newspaper Page Text
Page 2, May 13.2019, The Islander
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DNR seeks applicants for Shellfish and
Mariculture Advisory Panel
JWSC accepts Executive Director resignation
Burroughs appointed interim executive director
By Pamela Permar-Shierling
The Brunswick and Glynn County
Joint Water and Sewer Commission
(JWSC) held a special called meeting
last week (May 8) to accept Executive
Director Jimmy Junkin’s resignation.
The Commission also appointed Dep
uty Executive Director Andrew Bur
roughs Interim Executive Director.
The JWSC spent the first 30 min
utes of the meeting in executive ses
sion. The vote to go into executive
session was questioned by Comm.
Don Elliott, and both he and Comm.
Wayne Neal abstained from the vote.
When the commission returned
from executive session Comm. Bob
Duncan made a motion to accept and
execute Junkin’s resignation, con
sulting, and severance agreement
and the vote was unanimous.
Junkin’s resignation states he is
resigning for “personal reasons” ef
fective August 16, 2019.
The consulting agreement states
Junkin will be available month to
month on an as needed basis for a
minimum of 40 hours per week.
Severance and salary paid through
the resignation date was $39,205.
Junkin was under contract effective
August 16, 2018, with four automat
ic annual renewals. His salary was
$135,000 annually with a $450 per
month vehicle allowance.
The JWSC members would not say
why Junkin resigned however Comm.
Elliott issued a personal statement
which is repeated in full:
“I am making the following state
ment in accordance with the Role,
Conduct, Responsibilities of the
Brunswick Glynn County JWSC Sec
tion 6 paragraph (b) which states: No
Commissioner shall provide public
comment including the press or other
media entities, which is contrary to
an official act or action taken by the
JWSC. A Commissioner’s interaction
with the public media must support
official decisions made by the JWSC
as a whole. This restriction does not
apply to personal opinions communi
cated by a Commissioner provided,
however, the commissioner declares
he is expressing his own personal
opinion and that he is not speaking
for or on the behalf of the JWSC.
I fully support the JWSC accep
tance of Jimmy Junkin’s resignation
and its terms.
The following Public Comments
are my own personal opinion. I re
gretfully voted to accept the resigna
tion of Jimmy Junkin from his posi
tion as BGJWSC Executive Director.
First: His resignation was not due
to any ‘for cause’ reasons stated in his
contract as was the case for firing the
previous executive director.
Second: His resignation was his
choice and the best option for him
personally. He is not leaving to take
another position. I fully agree with
the public statement being released
by the Commission. When he was
hired, he worked diligently to move
the utility forward in terms of im
proving customer service, restoring
and renewing water and sewer infra
structure, improve and updating roll
ing stock and equipment and control
ling inventory.
He fostered great community rela
tions. He improved the coordination
of effort between County and City
Governments and the JWSC. He pro
vided an environment of transpar
ency. He made great hiring decisions
and is leaving a very competent staff.
He was very personable and had a
collaborative management style in
which he sought the ideas and views
of others. However all was not rosy.
He did not receive from some full buy-
in for his efforts to improve utility op
erations through Asset Management.
Third: His contract and resigna
tion are public documents for which
you should obtain a copy, read and
draw your own conclusions.
Fourth: In my opinion this Com
mission and current sitting Commis
sioners have a problem with trans
parency and operating under Georgia
open government laws. In my opinion
that needs to change.”
BGITA Announces Tennis Tournament
for Area Players
Brunswick-Golden Isles Tennis
Association (BGITA) has announced
a brand new tournament for lo
cal tennis players. The Golden Isles
Hardcourt Championships will be
held June 8 and 9 at the College of
Coastal Georgia.
Each player will receive a tourna
ment t-shirt and an opportunity to
compete for the local championship
at their level of play. Participants
must 18 years or older and residents
of Glynn or surrounding counties.
“This tournament will offer divi
sions for all levels of local players - be
ginners to advanced. Singles, doubles
and mixed doubles will be available
for men and women,” said Tourna
ment Director Patrick Anderson.
“We’re excited to partner with Col
lege of Coastal Georgia for what we
expect will become an annual event.”
BGITA is the local affiliate for
USTA (United States Tennis Asso
ciation), the national governing body
for the sport of tennis. BGITA spon
sors adult and youth league tennis,
plus other non-profit activities for the
Glynn County community.
For more information about the
tournament, go to www.Golden-
IslesTennis.com.
Georgia Department of Natu
ral Resources Commissioner Mark
Williams has announced the forma
tion of a Shellfish and Mariculture
Advisory Panel to provide guidance
to the Coastal Resources Division
(CRD) in matters related to the
management of wild harvest and
farming of shellfish such as oysters
and clams.
Like the current Shrimp, Blue
Crab and Finfish Advisory Panels,
this group will be a sub-panel of the
Marine Fisheries Advisory Coun
cil. Members will be appointed by
Commissioner Williams for a four-
year term with the possibility of
re-appointment.
This new 11-15 member panel
will consist of knowledgeable citi
zens with interests in Georgia’s
shellfish fishery including: a maxi
mum of four Department of Agri
culture certified shellfish dealers
and four CRD-permitted master
shellfish harvesters; a minimum
of two recreational shellfish har
vesters or coastal county residents;
one non-DNR scientist experienced
with shellfish science and affiliated
with an academic institution based
in Georgia; one Georgia Depart
ment of Agriculture food safety offi
cer; and one related business owner
such as a restaurateur.
“CRD takes seriously its
commitment to public involvement
in the management of Georgia’s
coastal resources,” stated Doug
Haymans, division director. “For
over 25 years, the Division has con
vened members of the shrimping
and crabbing community when de
ciding management measures for
those species and we’ve recently re
established an advisory panel for
finfish. To date, we’ve relied heavily
on the Georgia Shellfish Growers
Association to provide feedback on
oysters and clams, but with recent
interest in growing the shellfish in
dustry in Georgia, it makes sense
that CRD develop an advisory pan
el dedicated to shellfish.”
Interested citizens should sub
mit the Marine Fisheries Advisory
Council application to Dominic
Guadagnoli at CRD. Applications
are available at https://coastalgad-
nr.org/CitizenAdvisoryGroups or in
person at the CRD Headquarters
in Brunswick. Applications must
be received or postmarked no later
than June 7, 2019. Individuals se
lected to serve on the Advisory Pan
el will be notified in mid-une.
Anyone who has questions about
the Shellfish and Mariculture Advi
sory Panel may contact CRD’s com
munication specialist, Tyler Jones,
at 912-262-3140 or tyler.jones@dnr.
ga.gov.
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