The Wayne County Commission met in regular session on Monday, September 19, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. County Executive Jim Mangubat called the meeting to order, and County Clerk Stan Horton called the roll. Commissioners present were Herbert Brewer, Logan Shull, Tom Mathis, Stephen Pevahouse, Colby McDonald, Tyler McDonald, Jeremy Heard, Stan Hanback, Sherrie Powers, Kathryn Staggs, David Martin, Alvin Creecy, and Rickey Kelley. Commissioner Vickie Petty was absent. Also in attendance were County Clerk Stan Horton and County Attorney Andy Yarbrough.
Commissioner Kelley first made a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting as presented. Commissioner Staggs seconded, and the minutes were approved. Commissioner Kelley then made a motion to approve the minutes from the various committee meetings. Commissioner Martin seconded, and the committee minutes were approved as well.
County Clerk Horton presented the following to be approved as notaries: Cynthia E. Kephart, Rhonda Long, Dana Simmons, Christi Moore, Amanda Ross, and Betina Sanders. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to approve the list of notaries, and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Pevahouse. The notaries were unanimously approved.
A Trustee Bond presented by Sheila Rich, County Trustee, was next. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to approve, and Commissioner Staggs seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
County Executive Mangubat next presented budget amendments from various offices to be approved by the commission. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to approve the amendments, and Commissioner Brewer seconded. The budget amendments were unanimously approved.
A water update was next on the agenda. Commissioner Kelley made a motion to table this until a new resolution could be written and presented to the City of Waynesboro. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Heard and passed unanimously.
Commissioner Brewer next made a motion to add to parcels of land adjoining the Ag Center for future use by the Ag Center. Commissioner Creecy seconded, and the motion passed on roll call vote with Commissioners Brewer, Creecy, Shull, Mathis, Pevahouse, C. McDonald, T. McDonald, Heard, Hanback, Powers, Staggs, and Martin voting yes, and Commissioner Kelley voting no.
Jeff Minatra of Collier Engineering then presented a slide show of improvements at the Ag Center and discussed the future plans of the contractors on the project.
Tyler Taylor next gave a report on the plans for the Collinwood Medical Center, and a brief report on Wayne Medical Center revenues.
The HVAC and paving projects were next on the agenda. County Executive Mangubat said that the Perfection Group stated that supplies had been hard to get, and the parts will not be available until mid-June of 2023.
JECDB Director Rena Purdy informed the commission that the Industrial Development Board had plans to meet on September 26, 2022 at 8am. The bylaws were to be discussed at the meeting.
Purdy went on to ask the commission for approval of $50,000 to install cabinetry at the Ag Center, and for money to be moved from Fund 127 ARPA to purchase commercial kitchen supplies for the Ag Center. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to approve, and Commissioner Brewer seconded. The motion passed on roll call vote with Commissioners Mathis, Brewer, Shull, Mathis, Pevahouse, C. McDonald, T. McDonald, Heard, Powers, Staggs, Martin, and Creecy voting yes, and Commissioner Kelley and Hanback voting no.
Next, Ms. Purdy presented an Industrial Park Grant to the commission. Commissioner Powers made a motion to approve the grant, which is in the amount of $100,625 with a 5% match. This match money, $5,031, would be moved from Fund 127 ARPA. Commissioner Mathis seconded the motion, and the motion passed on roll call vote with Commissioners Powers, Mathis, Brewer, Shull, Pevahouse, C. McDonald, T. McDonald, Heard, Staggs, Martin, and Creecy voting yes, and Commissioners Kelley and Hanback voting no.
Commissioner Brewer next made a motion to appoint County Executive Mangubat as Chairman of the Commission and Commissioner Ricky Kelley to be appointed as Chairman Pro-Tem. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Martin and passed unanimously on roll call vote.
County Executive Mangubat presented a list of committee appointments to the commission for approval. Commissioner Kelley made a motion to approve, seconded by Commissioner Staggs. The motion carried unanimously.
Building codes were next on the agenda. Commissioner Kelley made a motion to once again opt out on the building codes, and Commissioner Hanback seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Mathis said that the commission should consider creating some type of memorial in honor of Babe Staggs. County Executive stated that this would be looked into soon.
Rena Purdy requested that the commission change parcels of land at Industrial Park for the helipad. This would be changing Parcel 4 to Parcel 5. Commissioner Kelley made a motion to approve, seconded by Commissioner Martin. The motion passed unanimously.
County Executive Mangubat next announced that the EMA Committee was pleased to announce the new EMA Director, Brian Smith.
Department reports were next on the agenda. County Executive Mangubat said that Robert Hayes had presented him a written report on the Solid Waste department.
Sheriff Fisher presented a report on the Wayne County Jail. He then spoke to the commission about the need for employee pay scale increases and the need for health insurance. He showed the commission the pay scales in other counties, and said that our Sheriff’s Office is in dire need of retaining employees, but can’t compete with other counties. The commission asked Sheriff Fisher some questions about his thoughts on the pay scale issues. Sheriff Fisher said that if he continued to lose employees due to raises promised by the commission not coming through, inmates would have to be moved, creating a loss in revenue. The commission agreed to discuss this further at the next meeting, and an Insurance Committee meeting will be planned to discuss the insurance issue.
Highway Superintendent Chuck Moser gave a report on his department, along with a report on equipment upgrades to be made by the Budget Amendments request.
Commissioner Creecy addressed the commission next, stating that commissioners could not serve for free, and that it should be written up for commissioners to receive $20 per meeting. County Executive Mangubat said that a resolution would be written up and presented at the next meeting.
With no further business to come before the commission, Commissioner Staggs made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Pevahouse seconded, and the meeting was adjourned.
