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PAGE 2A-THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. AUGUST 10. 2023
Hull continued from 1A
MC’s election infrastructure
audited by Secretary of State
“This situation should
have never occurred,” Per
ry said in presenting his
invoice to the council and
expressing understanding
that the city was not in a fi
nancial position to pay the
entire bill.
The meeting was the first
regular meeting since the
city government had ef
fectively shut down with
litigation over the legitima
cy of Walton’s position as
mayor.
Finances and legal top
ics related to reconstruct
ing records and operations
took priority throughout the
meeting.
City clerk Sandy Pou re
ported that her personal au
dit is not complete, which
forced her to present an
incomplete financial report.
“It has been a lot more
complicated than I antici
pated and I knew it was go
ing to be complicated, ” she
told the council.
She said she has missing
checks, incomplete checks
about what to do with the
historic courthouse and the
county plans to move for
ward on restoration. The
county is currently wait
ing on quotes to conduct
the removal of hazardous
materials. Grants are being
explored and the Jackson
County Historic Court
house has been visited to
get an idea of potential
courthouse uses.
The county would also
like to relocate the road de
partment to the old landfill
location to free up space for
a potential active living se
nior center and recreation
assessed value, which typ
ically equates to about a
$500 rebate. Higdon said it
will apply to 6,641 property
owners in Madison County.
“This credit is a one-time
reduction and will not be
included on next year’s tax
return,” he added.
ZONING MATTERS
In zoning matters Aug. 7,
the BOC:
• voted to table a deci
sion on a variance request,
which would allow a home
to be built on a property at
7959 Hwy. 29 N in Daniels-
ville that cannot meet front
property line setbacks,
with a deficit of 35 ft., due
to septic and water issues.
The item will be discussed
again Feb. 5 to give the
property owners more time
to explore their options.
• received the withdrawal
notice for a request to re
zone 11.88 acres located at
0 Hwy. 72 E in Comer from
A2 to AR. Chris Smith,
applicant for his mother,
Sandra Smith, had origi
nally requested the zoning
change to divide the prop
erty into three tracts for in
heritance purposes.
• approved a request to
rezone 6.8 acres located at
1045 Crawford W. Long
St. in Danielsville from B
to AR. Curtis Whitsel re
quested the zoning change
to return the property back
to a residential zone to sell.
• approved a request to
rezone 9.32 acres located
at 0 Hwy. 98 E in Daniels
ville from A1 to AR. Ralph
Power requested the zoning
change to split the property
back into two separate par
cels of 4.61 and 4.71 acres
for tax purposes.
• approved a request to
rezone 28.79 acres located
at 0 Holly Creek Church
Road in Comer from A1
to A2. William “Ricky”
Hix requested the zoning
change to split the proper
ty back into two separate
parcels of 16.11 and 12.67
and lacks copies of some re
ports. In addition, she said
that some funds were de
posited and expensed from
incorrect banking accounts.
She does have all credit card
statements and is devising a
system to classify charges
without receipts and details.
The city will submit its re
cords for an external audit
as she completes that record
keeping, perhaps as early as
August.
Hull took the next steps to
re-establishing its require
ments for LOST funds from
the county. The council
voted to approve a service
contract with the Sheriff’s
Department at no cost to the
city. All fines from tickets
issued within the city will
be paid to the county. The
service contract expires
in December 2024, when
Sheriff Michael Moore’s
current term expires.
In addition, the council
also approved the contract
with the fire department
in the amount of $200 per
department gym. Both the
center and gym could be
incorporated in one space
to help with needed expan
sion.
The last projects ap
proved are related to pub
lic safety and connecting
departments together. The
county would like to have a
fire training facility for all
the volunteer fire depart
ments and the departments
have said they would pay
a portion towards the
project. While discussion
and an intergovernmental
agreement are needed with
the VFD’s to focus on exe-
acres for tax purposes.
• approved a request to
rezone 8 acres located at
2300 Buford Carey Rd.
in Danielsville from A1
to AR. Robert and Diane
Briggs requested the zon
ing change to allow a sec
ond home to be placed on
the property for their son as
an accessory dwelling unit.
• approved a request to
rezone a 12-acre portion of
77.63 acres located at 460
Macedonia Church Rd. in
Danielsville from A1 to A2.
The applicant wanted the
12 acres to be split out and
gifted as a homesite.
• approved a request to
rezone 6.72 acres located at
1352 Esco Road from A1 to
AR. The applicant sought
the request to allow a sec
ond home to be placed on
the property for her son to
live in an accessory dwell
ing unit.
• approved a request to
rezone 18.27 acres located
at 255 Collins Dudley Rd.
in Danielsville from A2 to
AR. The zoning change
allows for 3.98 acres to be
split off with an existing
home to be sold and to al
low a possible additional
split for a family member
in the future.
• approved requests to re
zone two properties located
month through the end of
the year. The city had been
paying the fire department
about $750 a month until
last September and the de
partment has been serving
the city without pay or a
contract since last year.
The department has agreed
to accept the lower fees
since the city is operating
with depleted funds. How
ever, the mayor instructed
the council that they could
amend the contract at any
time, once the financial
picture of the city is more
certain.
Those two service con
tracts, along with water
service, fulfill require
ments for the city to rein
state its LOST funds. Both
city attorney and Mayor
John Barber said they’ve
discussed those funds with
county officials. The attor
ney and mayor are unsure
if the city will receive the
funds pro-rated or retro
active with the night’s ac
tions.
cution and operation prior
to construction, the BOC
discussed that the facility
could be built by the Dan
ielsville EMS station and
Sheriff’s Office.
In addition, the 911 cen
ter has been in despair,
so discussion has focused
on combining a new cen
ter with EMS station no.
1 and locating the new
center at or near the EMS
site. The county is finaliz
ing the building location
site plan and architectural
plans before it will move
forward on a sealed bid
process.
at 419 and 425 Irvin Kirk
Rd. in Danielsville from
A1 to A2. Gloria Cochran
and her daughter sought the
requests to rezone 31.53
acres to allow for a 12-acre
split and 10-acre split on
the respective properties
for family.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the
BOC:
• looked at Hull’s con
tracts for services related to
LOST distribution. Hull is
determining what services
could make it eligible for
LOST once again.
• discussed the restruc
turing of the current build
ing inspection permit fees,
but plan to revisit at a lat
er date. Commissioners
would like the fees to re
main as low as possible but
be able to cover the costs of
inspection.
• approved the renewal of
its contract with Chastain
& Associates for its insur
ance package with Trident
Insurance Company and
Saville Public Entities.
• approved a contract
with Sportography for
2024 for recreation depart
ment photos.
• appointed Nikki Sim
mons to the Madison Coun
ty Division of Family and
Children Services Board.
Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger recently
announced the successful
audit of Madison Coun
ty’s election infrastruc
ture, both software and
hardware, in preparation
for the 2023 municipal
elections and 2024 presi
dential elections. In coor
dination with the Madison
County election office, the
Secretary of State’s office
recently conducted health
checks of the voting sys
tem, finding that Madison
County’s election infra
structure remains secure,
unaltered and fully func
tioning as Georgia heads
into a major election cy
cle.
These health checks are
in conjunction with Secre
tary Raffensperger’s Four-
Point Secure The Vote
Plan for the 2024 election.
That plan includes:
Testing before the
election (logic and
accuracy testing)
Each and every piece
of voting equipment, in
all 159 counties, is tested
to assure each contest is
voting properly, by testing
The Circle of Honor
sponsored by the Madi
son County Touchdown
Club will have the 2023
induction ceremony prior
to the season home opener
against Franklin County.
The Touchdown Club is
still looking for nomina
tions for the Circle of Hon
or. Nominations can be
given to any Touchdown
Club member. “We need
year(s) played, awards,
any stats and if they played
every candidate and bal
lot position on the ballot
marking devices and that
all scanners are reading
ballots properly.
Testing during the
election (parallel
monitoring)
Live election equipment
will be randomly selected
and tested during the active
voting period, every day
of voting from the start of
early voting through Elec
tion Day. This testing will
detect any active, ongoing
threat.
Voter review and
accountability
Since 2020, Georgia vot
ers have had the ability to
review their own ballot for
accuracy before turning it
in for tabulation. In 2020,
the University of Georgia
conducted a study of Geor
gia’s live elections and
found that more than 80%
of Georgia’s voters review
their ballots.
Testing after the
election (risk limiting
audits)
With the passage of HB
316 and SB 129, Georgia
now has robust post-elec-
college football,” leaders
said. The Touchdown Club
is also looking for any for
mer football players that
went on and played college
football. The Club needs
their name, years played
and college they played
football at. This list will
go in the football program
honoring those individuals.
“We are looking for any
players that meet the cri
teria,” leaders said. “There
is a good list that has been
tion audit procedures in
place to detect any anom
alies in the outcomes of
elections.
These election equip
ment health checks are part
of the greater election se
curity initiative launched
by the Secretary of State
Raffensperger’s office to
administer the most secure
elections in the country.
“Georgia’s election sys
tem consists of multiple
layers of security, robust
audit procedures and thor
ough function and diag
nostic testing prior to any
election,” Raffensperger’s
office said. “The Secre
tary’s top priority is elec
tion security, with 100%
voter-verified paper-based
elections, 100% photo ID
and a 100% commitment
to accurate and trusted
elections. Additionally,
the Secretary of State’s of
fice is partnering with the
Department of Homeland
Security and other federal
agencies to ensure that all
159 county election offices
are safe, secure and held to
the highest physical securi
ty standards possible.”
started but we have very lit
tle from the years 1956 up
to 1979. Of course please
submit anyone else from
1979 up through 2022 in
case we missed anyone.”
All prior inductees are
invited to meet the 2023
class at the meet and greet
held on August 18 before
the “Circle of Honor” night
and home opener against
Franklin. The event will
be in the BOE lunchroom
from 5 to 6:15 p.m.
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HARRIS DOOR
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Closed Saturday and Sunday
• Full Benefits Package
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• Matching 40IK (Starts Day 1)
• 3 weeks paid vacation
(Accrual Starts Day 1)
• Long Term Disability Insurance
(Company Paid)
• Short Term Disability Insurance
(Company Paid)
• 1 hour lunch break and
two 15 minute breaks per day
(5786 Hwy. 129 N, Suite A)
Pendergrass, GA
Call 706-693-0060 (Jennifer)
or email HR@harrisdm.com
Projects continued from 1A
BOC continued from 1A
Touchdown Club seeks 2023
Circle of Honor nominations