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AMERICUS – The Sumter County Board of Commissioners (BOC) held its monthly regular meeting on Tuesday, January 17 at the Sumter County Courthouse. All of the commissioners, with the exception of Commissioner Jim Reid, were present in the chamber, but Reid participated via Zoom conference call.

Early in the meeting, the BOC had a reorganization session in which the commissioners were nominated to serve another term in their current positions. Commissioned Jesse Smith made a motion to re-elect Board Chairman Mark Waddell to serve another term in that position and Commissioner David Baldwin seconded the motion. A vote was made and the motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Clay Jones then nominated Commissioner Jesse Smith to be the BOC’s Vice Chairman and Commissioner Smith himself seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion passed unanimously.
Waddell then asked for a motion to close the nominations for Vice Chairman. Commissioner Baldwin made a motion for approval and Commissioner Jones seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion to close the nominations passed unanimously. The BOC also voted unanimously to elect Commissioner Smith as Vice Chairman and it passed unanimously.

The BOC also voted to unanimously elect Latoya McCants as County Clerk. Waddell asked for a motion for McCants to serve as County Clerk and Commissioner Baldwin seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion passed unanimously.

The BOC also voted unanimously to elect Della Griffin as the county’s Deputy Clerk. Commissioner Smith made a motion for approval and Commissioner Jones seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion to approve passed unanimously.

The final vote for re-nomination had to do with re-electing Hayden Hooks to be the county’s Attorney. Commissioner Smith made a motion for approval and Commissioner Baldwin seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion to approve the re-election of Hooks passed unanimously.

The BOC also unanimously approved the VOCA Grant activation paperwork for the period beginning October 1, 2022 and ending on September 30, 2023. County Administrator Rayetta Volley stated that everything regarding the paperwork that had to be done before getting the BOC’s final approval has been done and that all that is left is for the board to approve the paperwork. Commissioner Smith made a motion for approval and Commissioner Jones seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion to approve passed unanimously.

The BOC also unanimously approved a list of proposed roads in Sumter County for the TSPLOST portion of the 2023 Paving Project. County Department of Public Works Director Jim Littlefield reminded the BOC that it has previously approved Middle River Road and Lane Subdivision for the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants (LMIG) funds and that this will be for the TSPLOST and SPLOST portions of the paving project.

“We will resurface portions of McMath Mill Rd., Joe Buchannan Rd. and in addition to Joe Buchannan, we’re going to widen that a little bit on each side by about a foot,” Littlefield told the BOC. He also stated that his department plans to resurface Roy Bond Rd. between Hwy 280 and the railroad tracks as well as all of Blacksmith Rd. and Styles Robinson Rd. Littlefield stated that in total, about 12.8 miles of roads will be resurfaced and that the total cost will be just under $2 million.

Waddell asked for a motion to approve the paving project. Commissioner Smith made a motion for approval and Commissioner Jones seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion to approve passed unanimously.

The BOC also unanimously voted to re-appoint Charlene Pennymon to serve another four-year term on the Americus-Sumter County Land Bank Authority. Pennymon’s term will expire on March 19, 2027. Commissioner Smith made a motion to approve Pennymon’s re-appointment and Commissioner Jones seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion to approve passed unanimously.

Later on in the meeting, Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department (SCPRD) Director Tim Estes told the BOC that there have been huge crowds out at The Columns at Boone Park for the rec basketball games every night and he gave a special thanks to Sumter County Sheriff Eric Bryant and his staff for their help in making sure that there have been no major problems regarding crowd behavior. Estes also mentioned that registration for youth baseball will begin at the end of January and will continue all through February.

Estes also mentioned to the BOC that the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA), in conjunction with the Georgia After School Network, is administering what they call a BOOST Grant. “This would be for our summer day camp program and I need to ask for your support to be able to apply for that grant,” Estes told the BOC. Estes went on to say that the deadline to apply for the grant is January 31. “What it would do, if we get it, is it would reimburse all of the salaries of our part-time summer day camp employees and also cover 100 percent of any equipment that we purchased that is specifically for day camp,” Estes said. Waddell entertained a motion to approve Estes’ request for the SCPRD to apply for the BOOST Grant. Commissioner Smith made a motion for approval and Commissioner Jones seconded the motion. The BOC voted and the motion for approval passed unanimously.