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PAGE 2A — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JANUARY 8. 2009 Assessors .cont’dfrom 1A Waggoner signs off on grant application for drainage repairs the best I can,” Stewart said. Stewart told the board he would tender his written res ignation to District 2 com missioner, John Pethel, who had appointed him to the BOA, and to new county commission chair Anthony Dove on Tuesday morning. Board members expressed their regret over Stewart’s decision. Fowler, who joined the assessor board last March, said by phone Tuesday that he felt that it was best for him to leave at this time as well. He said he planned to issue an official letter to District 1 commissioner Stanley Thomas, who appointed him to the BOA, and to chairman Dove on Wednesday. “I think the fact that the board has reconfigured itself at this time, I feel it’s best for them to have a new person who can help them with their own agenda,” Fowler stated. “I wish them well.” Fowler was referring to the appointment of newest board member David Ragland to the chairman’s position Monday night. Former chair Samantha Garland took the vice-chair position formerly held by Stewart. Appraisal staff member Regina Coker, who had resigned her posi tion as board secretary, rescinded her resignation and agreed to stay on in that position. Fowler said the deciding factor in his resignation was the board’s decision not to crowded campus. McGhee said there’s a good chance some students there will be put in trailers to accommodate the overflow. The building needs $1.5-2 million in improvements, according to McGhee, to remedy overcrowding. “Really, that’s our biggest space need,” he said. “The high school is more outdated. We’ve got the space. It’s just old and outdated.” The total cost of school system improvements could range from $10-$30 million. Of course, the economy casts a pall over any multi million dollar improvement plans. The outlook for SPLOST funds was stronger when school leaders started pon dering facility improvements. The idea was to sell bonds to fund the improvements and use SPLOST funds to service that debt. However, Madison County’s SPLOST revenue has dipped as the economy has slumped. “If we sold bonds now, we may actually be costing our selves some money,” McGhee said. “Everything may have to be put on hold because of the economy.” McGhee has a general idea of the scope of the desired upgrades at the high school, ranging from 20-40 more classrooms with a couple of labs to improvements to agricultural facilities. There’s also interest in upgrades to football stadium restrooms. accept Lamb’s application. “I’m put out about the whole thing,” Fowler said, adding that he was disap pointed that a “very qualified candidate was not chosen.” Fowler said the board had conducted interviews with Lamb and done a thorough check of his work record and references. “We found them to be exemplary,” Fowler said. Audience member Marion “Hoss” Cartwright asked Stewart if he would recom mend that his replacement be someone from other than District 2, since as of Monday night, there was already another board mem ber from District 2 (Fowler) on the board. Stewart said he would leave that to the discretion of the BOC. In a related matter, the board also voted to name appraisal staff member Stacey S. Rubio as the “lead person” in the appraisal office until a new chief appraiser is hired. Chairman Ragland pointed out that Rubio is the only appraiser III on staff. The BOA agreed to have Ragland ask for additional compensation for Rubio at an upcoming county com mission meeting. Rubio is to be the appraisal staff’s “go-to person,” in charge of day- to-day management matters, according to the board. In other business, the BOA discussed the appraisal staff’s newly designated duty “I’m looking forward to see what they put as their no. 1 priority,” McGhee said. Once that list is finalized, the Board of Education will assess the needs of both the high school and Comer Elementary School and group potential improvement projects into $10, $20 or $30 million packages. “The board will have to kind of decide what we want to take to the voters and what we want to do,” he said. “So that’s what we’re looking at.” McGhee indicated that a $30 million project — which would cover all the system’s improvement wishes — might be a little ambitious at this point. “The $30 million project would take quite a bit of doing on our part to raise those funds,” he said. “I’m not sure the board even would be willing to do what it would take to get $30 million.” Before the economy col lapsed, the school sys tem’s plan was to present a SPLOST referendum to vot ers in October or November of 2009. However, economic woes could push that date back. But if the school system could raise the money for improvements, now might be the time to strike a deal on construction costs. Contractors are eagerly seek ing jobs and the price of steel and concrete are down. “You can get it done cheap because so many construe - to handle requests for home stead exemptions. Tax com missioner Louise Watson designated the tax appraisal office to handle homestead exemption requests, begin ning this week, the board said. Watson sent a letter to the appraisal office last week informing them of her deci sion. According to county attor ney Mike Pruett, it is the tax commissioner’s call to des ignate whether her office or the appraisal office handles homestead exemptions. The tax commissioner’s office has traditionally han dled homestead exemptions in Madison County in the past, the BOA noted. “We’ve got an issue here that’s been thrown in our laps,” Ragland stated, adding that he feels that Watson, the appraisal staff and the BOA should have met on the mat ter first. Pruett advised the board to let the staff “run with it,” and come back to the board with their needs for addi tional training and/or staff as they progress. Several board members, as well as staff members, said they felt at least one additional staff person would be needed to handle the additional work, particu larly since the office is short- staffed already, but they also agreed that the tax appraisal office is the more appropriate entity to handle homestead exemption requests. tion folks are looking for work,” McGhee said. McGhee said the BOE could possibly call a work session in February to review the high school’s improve ment list. NOT ENOUGH FOR NEW SCHOOL Wouldn’t close to $30 mil lion be enough for a new high school? McGhee said no. Madison County spent just $20 million to build a new middle school, but high schools carry a much heftier price tag. With Comer Elementary School needing improve ments, only about $28 mil lion of that could be allot ted toward the high school, well under the cost of even a cheap high school. “You probably build ... an economically priced, fairly cheap, brand new high school for $35 million,” McGhee said. By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com Colbert mayor John Waggoner put his signature on a grant application seek ing $324,904 in Department of Transportation funds to repair drainage problems in the city. Pipes running under the railroad tracks and Hwy. 72 are too small to handle rainwater runoff, result ing in flooding behind the Bread Basket convenience store. Also, the culverts on the south side of the railroad tracks are not large to han dle the drainage that comes under the railroad tracks. “It’s really causing prob lems,” Waggoner told the council at Monday night’s meeting. The city is seeking the grant through engineering firm Moreland Altobelli Associates, headed by for- By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com Colbert leaders ended Monday night’s city council meeting by reviewing the min utes ... from 40 years ago. The council enjoyed a blast from the past as John Waggoner shared the handwritten accounts of the night when he was sworn- in as Colbert mayor on Dec. 30, 1968. “I thought you might want to know what was going on back in those days,” Waggoner said. The council 40 years ago comprised Waggoner, M.E. Hammond, Harold Kincaid, Wyatt Benton and R.D. McGinnis, whom everyone referred to as “Dud.” For the most part, the min utes from that meeting chron icled the house-keeping items the city approved as it pre pared for 1969. The council raised its pay to $100 year and bumped the mayor’s pay to $150 annually. It also paid off bank loans of $1,000 and $600. “We owed money when I got here,” Waggoner said. City leaders also assigned departmental responsibilities that night. Among the more interest ing appointments was plac ing someone in charge of the now-defunct police department (that honor went to Hammond) mer state DOT commis sioner Tom Moreland. If the grant is approved, the project will cost noth ing. The engineering firm’s $3,500 fee is covered in the grant. If Colbert doesn’t land the grant, it will pay the firm $1,750, which is half of its fee for the project. COUNCIL SWORN IN, ORGANIZED At its first meeting of 2009, the council swore in just one council member, Bert Robinson, for a new term. Former councilman Jeff Roberts’ new term was supposed to start as well, but he resigned in October. An election for that seat is scheduled for March. Qualifying dates for can didates will be Jan. 26-28 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city also made the following appointments: Chris Peck (mayor pro tem), Vicky Smith (city and naming a city doctor. Dr. Bryant. Waggoner believes Bryant’s first name was C.C. “We had to have a city doc tor back then because we had our own city jail,” Waggoner explained. “If something hap pened in the jail, he was the doctor we had to call.” A few misspellings offered a few light-hearted moments as Waggoner read the minutes aloud to the current council. One motion in 1968 called for the purchase of wrenches, spelled “rinches.” It was suggested that the city forgot to use spell check back then. Not missing a beat, clerk), Ann Waggoner (assistant city clerk), Jerry Hawkins (auditor), Tracy Dean (registrar), Roger Fortson (representative to clubs in the county), Robinson (representative to the fire department). Peck (street department), Jack Scaffe (maintenance). Dale Perry (attorney) and Pam Fowler (election superin tendent). Colbert also adopted all ordinances and contracts currently being enforced for 2009. Waggoner declared the city fiscally sound as it enters 2009. “I don’t have a state of the city address or anything like that,” Waggoner said. “The only thing I’ve got to say is that we’re in good shape financially. We don’t owe anything other than just normal monthly bills coming and going. We’ve been blessed.” Waggoner replied, “The com puter was down that day,” draw ing much laughter. The Dec. 30, 1968, meeting was held in the city’s old jail- house, which was located at the comer of Colbert-Danielsville Road and Hwy. 72. The council met there until the building was razed in the early 1970s. The city govern ment then moved to the old depot building where it still conducts business to this day. “As you can see, we’ve come a long way,” Waggoner said. To that, councilman Chris Peck responded, “We’ve just got spell check now.” CENSUS WORKERS CALL AND COMPARE PER GRAM 706-369-0000 GREG REEVES Fine Jewelry 613 Hawthorne Ave. • Athens I MADISON COUNTY REQUIRES OCCUPATION TAX CERTIFICATE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2009 All business owners engaged in any business, trade, profession, or occupation in the unincorporated portion of Madison County, Georgia, are required to purchase an Occupation Tax Certificate (OTC). Deadline to purchase your OTC is March 31, 2009. Please go to http://www.madisoncountyga.us/Dir/ Departments/Occupation-Tax/36/ or call the Madison County Building Inspection Department at 706-795-6350 for further information. LANDSCAPING & HORSE ARENAS • RIVER SAND • TOP SOIL • RIVER ROCK • WHITE SAND • FILL DIRT •PEA GRAVEL WILLIAMS SAND 770-967-6501 OR 706-789-3779 Danielsville, GA • www.williamstransportco.com Highway 106 to Jot-em Down Rd. to Young Harris Road to Serenity Lane No. 1 CHINA BUFFETT 200 General Daniel Ave., Ste. 203 Dainelsville, GA 30633 706-795-0183 FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH, YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS! Let your members know when your group is meeting! • The Jackson Herald > Tie Commerce .fas • The Braselton News ' Tie Banis Count/lews 1 The Madison County Journal BANKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. meets first Monday each month 7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441 North in Homer pd.-07/09 JEFFERSON 'AMERICAN LEGION Albert Gordon Post 56 Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Harvie Lance, Commander Phone (706) 654-1274 aio The Jackson Co. Republican Party Would like you to meet us for breakfast the second Sat. of each month, 8:00 at The Jefferson House. For more information, call 706-652-2967 or email fishyglass@yahoo.com Pci.n/os VETERANS OF W FOREIGN WARS Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr. Each 4th Tuesdasy, 7:00 p.m. Lamar Langston, Commander Phone 706-652-2627 263 UNITY LODGE F&A.M. No. 36, Jefferson, GA 1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m. Dwayne Potts • 706-367-4449 Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260 9S Georgia Real Estate Investors AlHt.Vi Association, Inc. - Athens Meets the third Thursday each month 6:30 pm at the UGA Conferen ce Center 1197 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA 30601 Tom Hewlett - Chapter President thewlettl@charter.net Pd. 12/09 O RGANIZED for MTIPELINE SAFETY investigating the health risks to citizens from underground pipelines and booster stations in Madison Co. Meetings 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert Grove Baptist Church the 2nd Thurs. of each month. 706-783-4702. Pd.04/09 White Plains Baptist Church Faith Bible Class meets every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. It is a place where strangers become friends and friends become family. 706-367-5650 White Plains Baptist Church 3650 Hwy. 124 West, Jefferson, GA 30549 BANKS COUNTY AMERICAN LEGION Post 215 Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m. In Homer, GA at the American Legion Building on Historic Highway 441 pd,06/09 JEFFERSON EIONS CEUB Meets 2nd & 4th Monday Jefferson City Clubhouse 6:30 p.m. *(706) 387-1156 Mack Cates, President JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB Meets Tuesdays Jefferson City Clubhouse 12:30 p.m. • (706) 367-7696 Gina Mitsdarffer, President BOE ..cont’dfrom 1A Colbert council revisits minutes from ‘68