During the workshop session of the Dade County Commission meeting, a variety of topics were discussed. The meeting began with a with Approval of previous meeting minutes and a review of personnel status report. From there they discussed proclamations. Included in these were the proclamation of September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and Library Card Sign-up Month and September 18-22 were proclaimed to be Adult Education & Literacy Week.
Discussion turned to the discussion of ARPA expenditures. The first topic regarded the desire for funding the public safety training center. The next ARPA expenditure topic was about the need for Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public buildings and locations. Funding options such as CARES funding, ARBOR funding, and opioid settlement money were considered to support the acquisition of these life-saving devices. Commissioners discussed the utilization of opioid funds to address issues related to COVID and shelters, including maintenance agreements, storm shelters, and security cameras at the sports complex.
Updates were given by Jamey Blevins on the progress of the historic courthouse project, repairs, ongoing construction work, and requests for proposals related to doors and hardware were provided. You can see the Construction Manager as Advisor’s
Monthly Project Update here.
An intergovernmental agreement between the County and the City of Trenton for election services was then discussed.
This document is an agreement between Dade County, Georgia, and the City of Trenton, Georgia, regarding the upcoming city election on November 7, 2023. The agreement allows the City of Trenton to use trained poll workers from the Dade County Board of Elections and Registration to help with early voting, absentee voting, and in-person voting for this election. The agreement is authorized by Georgia’s constitution, and both parties are allowed by law to enter into this agreement.
The main points of the agreement are as follows:
- Purpose: The Dade County Board of Elections will provide four trained poll workers to assist the City of Trenton in conducting its election on November 7, 2023, including early voting and absentee voting.
- Duration: The agreement will be in effect from October 16, 2023, once it’s approved by all parties, until November 14, 2023, after which it will expire.
- Responsibilities: During the agreement period, the Dade County Board of Elections will provide the poll workers and supervise their activities. However, the City of Trenton will handle election qualifying duties.
- Compensation: The poll workers from the Dade County Board of Elections will be paid $10.00 per hour, and the supervisor will be paid $25.28 per hour. Dade County will submit an invoice to the City of Trenton for these costs, and the city will make the payment within fifteen days of receiving the invoice.
- Miscellaneous: The poll workers will not become employees of the City of Trenton during this agreement. Dade County will handle the payment of poll workers and any associated benefits, if applicable, using the funds received from the City of Trenton as specified in the agreement. The City’s only obligation is to make the agreed-upon payments to Dade County for the services provided by the poll workers.
A member of Middleton Estates spoke to the Commission outlining concerns about short-term rentals, Airbnb’s. Stating that there is around 300 of these rentals, the concern being those coming to stay. The speaker specified that there have been times where renters are staying up late, being loud, and disrupting their neighborhood. She expressed the desire to implement certain rules and standards that other Georgia counties have enacted to address this type of situation. The commission stresses the importance of addressing the issue promptly. The work session concluded with a reminder to the resident to get in touch with them at the office the next day to pursue the matter further.
The Regular Session began with citizen participation. John Huffman, a Dade County resident, addressing the commission about the issue of land values. He references a statement made by the County Executive about possibly gating off Dade County to prevent outside influence on land values. Huffman questions the idea, pointing out that it goes against promoting the county and asks why no one contested this suggestion. He questioned whether the county is truly promoting itself or merely isolating itself from the rest of the world. He also raised the issue of rising land prices and suggests that the blame should not solely be on out-of-town buyers, but on local landowners who are inflating prices significantly.
The Commission discussed an upcoming event involving pumpkins and a potential corn maze. They mention that the property where these activities will take place is open for people to walk around and explore. The also talked about the positive impact of the local technical school’s new class, which is one of their largest classes yet, and mentions the benefits it brings to the community. Also addressed were issues with emails and negative comments, expressing that it bothers them and urging for better communication to make the town better. They also mention that despite not being liked by everyone, they have support from many others and believe they are doing a good job on the commission.
Watch the Meeting below!
