No Bookmarks Exist.
We got Mr. Camp. 00:00:06
All right. Good. Good morning, everybody. 00:00:17
I'm not going to imagine that there's a lot of people watching, so we'll just talk to each other, but please do know that this 00:00:20
meeting is being recorded so we could have guests online. 00:00:24
It is likely that people will go back and watch this, so when you speak, please turn on your microphones. 00:00:28
And good morning, everybody. This is an exciting day. Eva. I'm glad you're back with us to help facilitate. 00:00:34
Um. 00:00:40
These are. I love these retreats and. 00:00:41
We may get out early today, we may not, but I think the big idea is we don't often get this time together to really go deeper on 00:00:45
Watkinsville and how we feel about the future and what our hopes and dreams are. And so my challenge to all of y'all today is to. 00:00:53
Is to think boldly, you know. 00:01:01
I think this is our most important moment together as a group during the year. Even though we're not voting on anything today, 00:01:04
this is our opportunity to really ensure that we're aligned about where we where we want this town to go, what citizens have 00:01:10
shared with us and what we want to do. So I'd encourage you to think boldly, think about what we want Watkinsville to be, not just 00:01:16
12 or 18 months from now, but what do we want Watkinsville to be five years, 10 years, 15 years from now? 00:01:22
As we've gone through the branding process and other things recently, it's really made me reflect about some of the shade that we 00:01:28
sit under. 00:01:31
And when I talk about shade that we sit under, it's the shade that comes from trees that were planted 30 or 4050 years ago. 00:01:35
You know, decisions around roads, around infrastructure. 00:01:41
You know some citizens 20 or 30 years ago to believe in the dream of Martha Wiley. 00:01:47
And all of a sudden you have ESP and all of a sudden you have opportunities. 00:01:52
Children and adults with special needs now being activated all over the state of Georgia. That was a small tree that was planted a 00:01:56
long time ago. That's turned out to be great. 00:01:59
Water and sewer was a was a tree that was planted a long time ago that we benefit from. So what are the trees that we want to 00:02:04
plant this year? 00:02:08
That's going to yield a lot of shade for this community in the future. So that's that's a helpful way maybe to just reflect on 00:02:12
that because a lot of the things that we do. 00:02:16
We won't see the fruits of that labor maybe for a long time. Some things we will, you know, some things. Some trees we planted 00:02:20
last year, we're already seeing shade from. We're seeing good work on our branding process. We're seeing good work at Hair Shoals 00:02:24
Park already underway. 00:02:29
We're seeing good work on our downtown efforts. We're seeing great work on community engagement. 00:02:35
Transportation and Sharon will go over a lot of that progress. So we've done a lot, but I'll challenge all of you to think about 00:02:39
what we want to do. 00:02:43
In the next few years. 00:02:48
There are a few areas where I think we're at a critical time for Watkinsville, I think. 00:02:49
We have a window, I think, to make some to do some significant preservation of green space in our community. 00:02:57
And I think that window is closing just given the potential for residential development. 00:03:03
And the pressure that there will be for residential development? No county county in the next five years and. 00:03:09
We still have probably a fifth or sixth of all the land in Watkins. 00:03:14
Is undeveloped, you know, So that's something to think. 00:03:19
Umm, we still have a ways to go in terms of connectivity, in terms of how our citizens. 00:03:23
Can get around and get around inside the community without a vehicle. What does that need to look like? What are our investments 00:03:28
that we can make? 00:03:32
You all understand the constraints that we have in terms of budget. We stretch those dollars a long way, but they're not. 00:03:36
We're not the county, we're not the school system. We don't have their kind of resources, so we're always going to have to be a 00:03:42
little bit creative. 00:03:45
Um. 00:03:48
But if I paint a picture of 12 to 18 months from now and I tell you it's very likely we have 500 new residents in Watkinsville. 00:03:49
It's very likely we will have preserved. 00:03:56
Privately held, but still probably preserved, about 50 acres of green space between Wire Park and Trove. So that feels good. 00:04:00
We'll have a world class facility next door in terms of a accessible playground in ball field. 00:04:06
We'll have synergy, signage and clarity on our brand. 00:04:11
But. 00:04:15
You know, I think the big thing that jumps out to me is, you know, we're going to have, we're going to have a lot of new folks in 00:04:16
this town. 00:04:19
In the next year, and that's exciting, but it also creates some challenges as Wire Park opens and other things open, so. 00:04:23
I would challenge all of you to think boldly and think about what we want Watkinsville to be and what trees you want to maybe 00:04:29
start thinking about. We want to plant today, we're not going to plant them today, but we can go through the landscape design, 00:04:36
right. We can select our, select our trees and think about what we may be able, may be able to afford so. 00:04:42
That's my preamble. I think what we wanted to kick off with would be. 00:04:49
If any of you guys have any big thoughts that you want to share and lean into that Now we'll say that we do have our, you know, 00:04:52
our sort of our collective vision that we've all, you know, aligned around in the past that's at Tab 1. 00:04:59
You know, that's something that we came up with several years ago and I think most of us. 00:05:07
Umm. 00:05:12
I always like to review that at the start of the year. This is sort of my guiding light when I think about the decisions that we 00:05:13
make, so. 00:05:16
But so that is a vision. That's what we call the Watkinsville. 00:05:21
But I'd love to hear from you guys in the next 15 or 20 minutes before we turn it over to Eva. 00:05:25
And if you've got ideas, big picture ideas, hopes, dreams, things that you want to cover today. 00:05:31
Let's come to just get it out there and I would tell you to. 00:05:39
We're in an open session. 00:05:43
So if you want to talk about very specific matters related to land acquisition sensitive stuff. 00:05:45
I would say let's talk more generally today and rather than being super specific about that because we wouldn't want to. 00:05:51
Put ourselves in an awkward position as a council. 00:05:58
With that, does anybody have anything they want to share about? 00:06:02
Their hopes, their dreams, what they want to see in Watkinsville or what you want to accomplish in the next year. 00:06:06
What trees do you want to plant? 00:06:11
For me. 00:06:18
For me, when I was running a year ago, my main concern was sidewalks. I grew up in AI don't know about it. I grew up in a area 00:06:18
that had sidewalks. 00:06:24
Get on your bicycle or your feet and go across the entire county on a sidewalk safely. 00:06:30
And when I moved to Oconee County, there's it was kind of rural, like where I grew up as a child. 00:06:36
And as Oconee grows, I'd really like to continue to see sidewalks become an integral part of well, what we can control is the 00:06:44
city. 00:06:48
Umm. 00:06:53
So I would like that to still be always be at the top of our list because as we grow as a city. 00:06:53
New businesses coming in, new developments such as Wire Park and other things. The Harris Shoals, ESP. 00:07:00
We need to be able to get to these places without using the vehicles and get the kids back on their bicycles and off of their. 00:07:08
Thanks, Jeff. 00:07:19
So I couldn't get it to turn on. 00:07:25
So I. 00:07:28
I agree with you, I. 00:07:31
Walking paths, but I think with the 500 potential new. 00:07:33
People we got in here and all the traffic that we're going to have, we've got to figure out strategically how to get traffic out 00:07:38
of Watkinsville. 00:07:42
And I think that that's one of the bold plans that I really want is from Barnett Shoals to 15. We need a path, like a direct path, 00:07:46
Barnett Souls to 15. 00:07:51
And then we need a direct path. 00:07:56
Simonton Bridge over to 441. Get all of that traffic out. 00:07:59
Out of Watkinsville how we do it, but we need to start looking at it. 00:08:03
We are going to have a big issue. 00:08:09
Here before long with. 00:08:12
We'll pop right on this. 00:08:20
Comments, you know the traffic when I was beating the sidewalks and we do, I agree with you Jeff, 100%. 00:08:23
But most of the people traffic seemed to be the big, big issue in Watkinsville. And you know, I love the idea of planning the 00:08:31
tree. 00:08:36
And the streets, the roads is something that we're probably 20 years behind. 00:08:42
On the on the just this past year, we got an opportunity. 00:08:48
They caught. 00:08:53
My court. 00:08:56
That opportunity of a possible alternate route for the trucks. 00:08:58
Coming down 15, because if everything continues to grow the way it is, then you know we're going to have more trucks. The truckers 00:09:02
don't want to be in downtown. 00:09:07
I'm afraid that will the tier to keep people from coming to downtown because of the traffic. So we got to be very careful that we. 00:09:13
Can make that happen, You know, get people around. 00:09:24
They're going to use all the other veins, all the other little side streets already. 00:09:29
So you know, we need to keep pushing to try to get that alternate route. 00:09:34
To get at least get the trucks deter. 00:09:39
From downtown. 00:09:43
So that's my goal is to keep trying. 00:09:47
Push. 00:09:52
I agree with everything that's been said. I would say also. 00:10:00
As Jeff and I have been going to other little cities and just, you know, traveling, going different places. 00:10:07
I want Watkinsville. 00:10:13
Even though we want to get rid of traffic, I want people to want to come to Watkinsville. I want Watkinsville to be. 00:10:16
A unique. 00:10:23
That. 00:10:25
We have creatively thought outside the box to make it like nothing else in the world. I know that's kind of big, maybe it's a big 00:10:26
oak that I'm, I'm planting there. But I I think we have the potential for that. I think we have the group of people, we have the 00:10:32
resources we have. I mean even being on this branding committee and seeing the group of people on this committee and like we have 00:10:37
phenomenal. 00:10:43
People and community and so and even though the city. 00:10:49
Isn't super flush. We are in better shape than a lot of cities are and we live in a pretty wealthy community and so. 00:10:54
I think there are ways, creative ways that. 00:11:03
Can utilize that and have public private partnerships to make our community. 00:11:08
Just an outstanding place and on the flip side of that, as I was looking through our goals of what we want to be is to be a very 00:11:14
inclusive place. 00:11:19
I would love to find a way to have some more affordable housing in our community because on the one hand, as we make our community 00:11:24
greater and greater, it's going to naturally bring up property values. 00:11:31
Which is is great, you know, I think property values going up is great, but at the same time I think we might need to be thinking 00:11:39
creatively of perhaps. 00:11:42
Some areas that we maybe let tiny houses in, or maybe let just something that is going to give people in their 20s, those those 00:11:46
next group of community members, a way to live in the city limits of Watkinsville affordably. 00:11:54
Connie. 00:12:05
Well, I've been in town for 35 years and it has changed a lot in the last. 00:12:09
15 to 20. 00:12:15
I. 00:12:18
Would hate to see it change a whole lot more. I think we have a lot of plans right now that we need to accomplish before we keep 00:12:19
expanding to more ideas. 00:12:24
We need to keep the city clean, we need to keep the infrastructure in good shape and we need to keep all of the buildings we 00:12:30
currently have. 00:12:33
Occupied because I don't want to see the downtown area turn into a ghost town because we keep adding more and more buildings and 00:12:38
shops outside. 00:12:42
The downtown area. 00:12:47
It's a nice city. It's it's different than what was 35 years ago, but it's still nice. 00:12:49
Perfect. That's a lot of great themes there. I think we cover a lot of those and what we'll talk about today, but. 00:12:57
And I am, you know, I think one of the biggest accomplishments, even if we can't say it's our accomplishment we were part of it is 00:13:03
the May courts approval. 00:13:07
The reality is the vast majority of the traffic in Watkinsville is not from and of Watkinsville, it's from outside of Watkinsville 00:13:11
that's forced to come into Watkinsville. 00:13:15
That road, if approved, will be a game changer. It'll pull trucks, but there's a good chance, depending on how they design it, 00:13:20
that it will pull some other through, traffic through. 00:13:25
We don't want to pull all the traffic out. That's how you get a ghost. That's how you get a Main Street. With nobody coming to it 00:13:29
is you don't have anybody coming through for. 00:13:33
Meals and those kind of things. So it's a fine balance, you know, in terms of terms of what we want I. 00:13:38
The traffic is a problem, but the traffic, you know drive to some other towns in South Georgia that don't have that traffic, 00:13:43
that's a reason why those retailers like it to some degree is because of those traffic count. So we're going to have to balance 00:13:47
that. 00:13:51
As we. 00:13:56
OK, well thank you all for the ideas. 00:13:59
Eva, I think at this point I'm going to turn it over to you. 00:14:03
All right. Well, thank you for having me. 00:14:06
And I brought my my Watkins Little coffee cup this morning. So we have that. Do we have that brand? Do we have that logo on our 00:14:10
brand slide, the Watkinsville Coffee Cup? 00:14:15
Please add it on my behalf. 00:14:22
No, thank you all again, always enjoy coming here and just hearing over the years what you all are looking to work on and and just 00:14:26
seeing how you're progressing through the the list so. 00:14:32
I think First off this morning Sharon is going to do the 2021 year in review. 00:14:39
There was a dedication for the pedestrian bridge there on Hardin Hill and when we finished striping it last month, when it got 00:15:21
finished striping, that project is now complete. I know that is that's a big transformational. 00:15:27
Thing for the city that has been going on for 15 plus years, I believe. Mayor, is that correct? Somewhere around that time Wire 00:15:34
Park is under development. Every day I go by it, there's something new going on that's going to be that's going to be pretty 00:15:40
transformational for the city and you all have to decide how that's going to connect with your downtown and I heard a minute ago. 00:15:46
I think Connie was the one making sure you don't lose people from that. You know, you're gonna have to figure out a way to connect 00:15:52
that better, you know, provide for citizens to better access both those areas and not one or the other. 00:15:57
We had some we had, you know, the Christmas parade as usual, the fall festival, some of the activities, the copper cops and 00:16:04
bobbers, which the chief does to try to engage. 00:16:11
Children and with adults, with police officers so they don't find them scary. 00:16:18
Obviously the ESP, Miracle League field, Ball field and the playground is currently this, you know, this year. It'll be hopefully 00:16:24
completed this year or in any major. 00:16:29
Supply chain issues. 00:16:35
We mentioned you all mentioned May. 00:16:37
And then we had a couple of fun things, engagements that both the Mayor and Councilman Thomas did this year to try to engage the 00:16:40
community more in the community. 00:16:45
With some exercise and with some decorations, outdoor decorations, stuff like that. That was pretty exciting. So those are just 00:16:50
some pictures hit some highlights on this. Administratively talked about American rescue plan but Munich code was huge. We still 00:16:57
have some tweaking to do to our codes. You you will see a few things coming forward. Our subdivision regulations need to be. 00:17:04
Need to reflect our actual process, which they don't. Right now we're working on that stat. We're at staff level and moving it 00:17:12
will move it through the attorney and then get it to y'all. Hopefully we may. We'll see how how it plays into the budget process, 00:17:17
we may not. 00:17:21
Tax you all and put that into the summer because it's not that big of a deal, but it is. It does need to be reflective of how we 00:17:28
actually operate in the city. I mentioned the community engagement, the cemetery we had, you know, we have a map of all the grave 00:17:33
sites, which I think is important again, history of the city. 00:17:37
And of course the the charter, new city charter on the compliance planning side, the library that library services agreement, how 00:17:43
we're going to operate, work with the county as well as support the library. We had quite a few developments as Councilwoman 00:17:51
Massey mentioned Trove Waters, Walk, Wire Park, those are all either either started or continued their process in 2021. 00:18:00
Some other developments the school elementary schools expanding. 00:18:10
Motors on Main, which was a conditional use that you all approve, which is something you know different for the city, which I 00:18:14
think has been really good for the city so far. And then we've had a lot of my staff continues to get. 00:18:20
Training, Toby actually received his local administrative project certification, which gives us access. Once I get the application 00:18:27
complete, gives us access to. 00:18:32
Department of Transportation monies, federal monies that flow through the state, which should open more doors for us. And recently 00:18:39
he got his red card certification. I mentioned that last week, which will allow him to do some inspections of soil erosion. 00:18:46
Issues they're going on on municipal courtside, you know with 2021 we still had issues with the court operating. So we didn't have 00:18:55
as as many court dates and some of that was driven by the judicial. 00:19:00
District that set those rules, but we did you or you did appoint Kevin McFarland as the new city solicitor. Lee was took on 00:19:08
finance responsibilities and she also received her certification for the local administrative administered project that requires. 00:19:16
Lee would handle all the financial issues that the federal government requires for those monies that are gotten are received by 00:19:26
the city from the state or by the state. And then Toby would handle all the sort of. 00:19:32
Physical you know going out making sure the projects are running according to their their protocols and stuff. So we'd have two 00:19:38
people in here to get certified on the police side you know a grants there were you made a decision recently actually the end of 00:19:43
last year about the jaws of life for the fire department as y'all continue to to provide additional support to the fire 00:19:48
department. 00:19:53
License plate readers, those should be going up this month had some technical issues, but those are moving forward. And then, as I 00:19:58
mentioned, the chief has done a really good job of trying to engage the community through the Easter egg hunt, cops and bobbers, 00:20:03
faith in blue, and then our trick or treating downtown. 00:20:08
Really appreciate their effort. We did hire someone to focus on the parks. Mark Novak is new and and that is starting. He's 00:20:44
starting to evolve a little bit. That's evolving. It's going to evolve, continue to evolve as the park project is implemented. 00:20:50
Had some dedication for Sarah Bell and then the pavement management program, which you guys are going to see a little bit more of. 00:20:59
And during the budget process, and maybe even prior to that has to do with what Councilman Garrett mentioned, which is our roads. 00:21:05
We don't have that many roads that are the city's responsibility, but we do have roads that are the city's responsibility that 00:21:10
have not really been maintained in. 00:21:16
Intentional way. It's sort of just been oh there's a there's a hole or you know there's no then no real. 00:21:22
Umm. 00:21:30
The the infrastructure improvements on dirt on Durham St. not inclusive of the road, but of the storm water. We're done. And of 00:22:04
course, we talked about the playground. 00:22:08
So just a couple things to note. I didn't put 2020 next to it. I do have a little bit of data to share, although I hate I. 00:22:15
Hesitate to share too much about because obviously percentages change based on your the amount of money you have too. But so 00:22:24
generally there are four areas where your revenues for large pieces where your revenues come in. I think it's always important, 00:22:29
especially as an elected official to understand where your money goes. People are going to say well what are you spending money 00:22:33
on. 00:22:37
And in this case, where your money comes from? 00:22:43
The majority of it comes from sales tax, which fortunately for us increased 20% between FY20 and 21. Of course, keep in mind FY20 00:22:46
was low. 00:22:50
Because of the the pandemic and actually 20 part of 21 was low as part of the pandemic do we're coming out of it? 00:22:55
Property taxes or make up 15% of the revenues we take in. Those actually went up 5% I expect. I'm trying to remember, Lee, do you 00:23:03
remember what Alan said? He thought they were going up this year, was it 10? 00:23:08
It was the. 00:23:14
Digest was more and maybe more than that yeah. So we'll we'll see what that looks like when we get our get the digest from the 00:23:16
from the from the county. 00:23:20
Franchise fees, which are, you know, gas? 00:23:24
Phone. 00:23:29
Power those are make up 10%, they actually went down a little bit and if you think about the fact that. 00:23:30
And of course there's a whole bunch of little things, but those are the big pieces of what make up their revenues. So a lot of 00:24:16
that we don't control which is I think important to note, we really a lot we're sort of. 00:24:21
You know, we don't, we don't really drive that, although some of some of your decisions can drive that. I mean obviously you 00:24:28
talked about traffic and bringing people in that sales tax, but we do get a percentage of the overall county, not just the city 00:24:34
sales tax, property taxes. You do only get what's in the county, I mean sorry within the city. So wire park, you know you're going 00:24:40
to get, you get those property taxes of course they pay county taxes too so. 00:24:47
On the expense side, what what I guess I'll point out is 73% of what is done is basically. 00:24:56
Hang on a SEC. I jumped a slide. 00:25:05
OK, what I'll point out is Public Safety and Public Works, and for the most part, that's obviously police. And then Public Works 00:25:09
is mostly garbage. So I've mentioned before, I don't have it here, but. 00:25:13
When we go through the budget process, I'll point. 00:25:19
Over half of our, but half of over half $1,000,000 I think it's like. 00:25:21
Six, hang on a second. She gave me that sheet and I think I laid it in my office. I think there's roughly half of our budget, 00:25:27
about $1,000,000 goes towards public safety and garbage. So about 7 or 800,000 I think is for police right now at least budgeted 00:25:33
for police and then right around 3 or 400,000 is budgeted for garbage. So those are two huge services that your citizens want, but 00:25:40
they take up a good portion of your budget. 00:25:47
Is that include leaf and limb or not? Yes, yeah, garbage and leaf and limb work together. 00:25:55
And then this is the one I was going to. So 73% of what we do is people including, I mean everybody in this room including Eva, 00:26:02
because our contract services include Northeast Georgia Regional Commission. We consider them a contract. We pay them to provide 00:26:08
services. This is one of the services they provide. They also helped us with some grant applications. 00:26:14
But you know, the government's typically run on people, there's the rest of it makes up a smaller percentage but mostly physical 00:26:20
bodies doing the work, so. 00:26:25
The contact services for trash and lawyers? Judges. Yeah, all that. Yep. 00:26:32
So that's just sort of a snapshot and then during the budget process we'll get, we can take deeper dives. But I just I think it's 00:26:42
always important for you sort of see where your money you know how it comes in, where it goes and sort of what makes up. 00:26:47
What you're spending money on. 00:26:53
Any questions on any of? 00:26:55
All right. Thank you, Sharon. 00:27:06
So next we're going to talk about strategic initiatives if Y'all turn to Tab 4. 00:27:10
I know past years we've taken the approach of going through kind of line by line with these and this year we're going to see if if 00:27:20
this works better. 00:27:25
To just let y'all lead a little bit and instead of just going line by line, look through these and just share if you have any 00:27:32
comments about any of them, any changes. 00:27:39
I. 00:27:47
Or if you know there's a there's an item that you think is missing from this list, we can discuss that as well. 00:27:48
So Mayor and council, I will let you guys. 00:27:56
I'll give a few quick updates so everybody looks at this. 00:28:06
We had, I think we've discussed. 00:28:10
Y'all are aware that under. 00:28:12
14 I think is what that would be. 00:28:15
Mark is working on a conceptual design for Barnet Shoals that would ideally Again, there's a lot of detail to work out, but would 00:28:19
widen the sidewalk. 00:28:24
Ideally, address some of the storm water challenges that we face, some portions of those roads. 00:28:30
And to address an earlier comment, better connect wire Park to downtown, make that feel like. 00:28:34
Journey, so to speak, you know. So that is underway. There's work remains to be done on that. Then a conversation with the county 00:28:41
on how we might share. 00:28:46
The cost for that, but I did talk to Chairman Daniel and he indicated. 00:28:51
He'd like us to take the first shot at what a concept would look like for that, so we're working on that. 00:28:56
On also on I-14, the Mulberry Simonton Bridge connector. Have not let go of that idea. I'd still like to find a way to get there, 00:29:03
even if we have to do it in slow steps. Chuck, I almost called you on Sunday about went down there and walked that, but at some 00:29:07
point. 00:29:12
I'm going to call on you. We'll go down there and kind of walk that together and look at that. 00:29:17
And then we're still waiting for from the DNR on I-17 for the grant. 00:29:21
Fund that we've applied for. My preliminary indications are that it's unlikely, unlikely that we're going to get it this year. 00:29:26
Umm, but given some of the other things that are going on. 00:29:33
Portions of that route. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. We've got plenty to say. Grace over, so. 00:29:37
Just a couple updates on L. 00:29:42
You for. We continue to work on that. I got an update from. 00:29:45
You know we're working with the county to try to advance that. So I did get an update. I can share offline with some of y'all 00:29:52
maybe during lunch or something on that one. But and then 8021, as you guys know, that's what you dot right now, but that's. 00:29:57
That's a good one. So a couple quick updates but y'all feel. 00:30:03
Ask questions or comment. 00:30:06
On these things or if you have other ideas that we need to. 00:30:09
Look. 00:30:11
I'm. 00:30:13
You know, looking at the sidewalk area in front of Ashford Memorial Church Methodist Church, where it's very difficult and it's 00:30:22
impossible here. Need help? You can't. 00:30:28
Use that stretch of sidewalk. So I mean, I I'm a little biased because I live on Main Street, but from Hardin Hill to Jackson St. 00:30:34
that stretch of Main Street. 00:30:39
I think it would be nice to look at that stretch. 00:30:44
You know, in my eyes, if we could do something would be really nice. I don't know if you work with the state. 00:30:48
Since it's a state. 00:30:54
To because there's a lot of room from the street to where the sidewalk is. Maybe you curve and gutter it and make a very nice 00:30:56
wider sidewalk. 00:31:00
Since that's heavily traveled by pedestrians that like to make. 00:31:05
The hardened hill, new sidewalk. 00:31:12
To Main Street to Jackson St. makes a nice mile loop and I walk it and I see tons of other people walking it. But anyway, the the 00:31:14
corner there, especially at Hardin Hill and the. 00:31:20
You know it's not 80. 00:31:27
Compliant. And anyway, that's something I would like looked at. I think it's very important for the city to look at since it's in. 00:31:30
Our historic downtown. 00:31:36
Sharon, do you want to offer update on that? I know you've talked to G dot about that intersection in particular. 00:31:38
The I think the while we wait on share and I think the you know there's a that's a tricky tricky intersection and. 00:31:44
Very expensive problem to solve. It's one of the reasons that we did not pave Hardin Hill all the way to Main Street because that 00:31:56
would have triggered A requirement that we, correct me if I'm wrong, but that would have triggered A requirement that we then 00:32:01
resolved on our dime that interchange. 00:32:06
We think it's probably G dots issue to resolve. You know you have a non compliant sidewalk there with very little land. 00:32:11
And we also have a mid block crossing. 00:32:19
At Ashford, that is also problematic and not particularly safe. 00:32:21
There. So there's there's a lot that needs to happen in that area. I think and Sharon you may want to comment, but I think in our 00:32:26
perfect world we'd love to at least have G dot be the lead dog on resolving that issue at that intersection. But I agree with you. 00:32:33
And. 00:32:41
The idea of what happens a little further down Main Street is it's an interesting question, you know. 00:32:42
Yeah, so I'm having trouble pulling up the e-mail, but my recollection is, and I know Toby probably helped me if I'm wrong, but is 00:32:48
we sent that to. We actually sent that intersection request because that's an intersection that is controlled by G dot and they 00:32:54
have it on their plan to do, but they haven't given us a date because it would that entire. 00:32:59
You know, all four corners would have to be adjusted. We did get them to address the the sidewalk stuff that was in front of the 00:33:05
Christian Church in order to keep the water from pulling up there. I think that helped a lot. But the that bigger intersection is 00:33:12
something that's on a bigger plan and they really didn't provide any date of when they're going to do it. Toby, do you? 00:33:18
Actually had it in Q1 of 2021. 00:33:27
But our 2020 and then 2021, but with COVID and the restrictions and their mobilization not being able to mobilize their crews 00:33:32
pushed a lot of that back. So we're really. 00:33:37
Thankful but shocked what they did part in terms of the church over there. 00:33:43
But it is on their radar to not only do the one at Hardin Hill and Maine, but also the one at Simonson in Maine. 00:33:48
Because as you know, we don't have a sidewalk that. 00:33:56
Goes from Town Center down to there, but if they fix that intersection and make it 88 accessible, maybe a little bit of sidewalk 00:33:58
in on that side as well. So all that's on there on their path as well as further down. 00:34:06
In front of the courthouse for 3rd St. Connecticut where they have the stairs there fixing that as well. 00:34:15
Well, there's a sidewalk from Town Center to that intersection, right? 00:34:22
But I mean from Town Center to Simonton Bridge. 00:34:29
No, not in front of the AT&T. 00:34:32
You have to walk. 00:34:36
You can walk all the way from Town Center to that. 00:34:39
But Barnett, that's right. 00:34:42
Yeah, but either way that's good news. So is there anything that? 00:34:45
Crosswalk to to the church, to the Ashford. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. It's a two way. There's only two ways you can. Yeah, yeah. 00:34:49
Designated crosswalking. 00:34:57
Into that side of between Ashford Memorial and the AT&T. 00:34:59
Do we think to Jeff's point though you? 00:35:05
How do we get a feel for whether that's something that they could tackle this year? Is there a way to find out? Do you? 00:35:09
Back out to. 00:35:14
Individuals. 00:35:16
At first. 00:35:18
Started the process of going through the local guys and then what I did was I contacted the person who's in charge of the ABA. 00:35:19
Or she died. With that route, we got a lot more motion. 00:35:28
Did did that include the power pole? Was right slap in the middle. I'm sorry I had to step out for a minute. 00:35:33
The powerful was right slap in the middle, right in front of the elders property right there. 00:35:38
I'd love to surface that. I mean, I'd like to add that on the work program, I think you know to that stretch of sidewalk, both the 00:35:43
power pole, I think both of those should concern the ADA folks absolutely. And honestly I'd rather have G dot run it because I 00:35:48
think it's going to be like it's going to be very tricky with. 00:35:54
Both there with Georgia Power and the elders and then also at Ashford, I mean there's no way to solve that without impacting a 00:36:01
very historic. 00:36:04
Set of properties there, you know you know because you're going to have to, I mean there's going to have to be some sort of a 00:36:08
ramping solution there, right. I mean there's that's all I can I'm trying to probably would cut a wall, cut a retaining wall right 00:36:13
there. 00:36:18
And so you I'm just imagining, especially in front of the the Ashford house, you would have to cut where the flower bed is now, 00:36:23
cut a retaining wall in, and then your sidewalk would be recessed ground level. 00:36:29
For the. 00:36:36
Yeah, just from the my power perspective, that's going to be expensive. 00:36:37
All of those poles, you try to keep them in as straight a line as possible and so you're not going to be able to just move one 00:36:42
pole. We have to move multiple poles and that's gonna be very expensive. 00:36:46
One of the Georgia Power want to since you know, flex, but no, I mean from the standpoint of ABA, that poll was there from ADA 00:36:50
saying that that poll was there before the sidewalk was. 00:36:57
I don't. I don't disagree with you if we're, if we're a community. 00:37:04
That's invested in inclusivity, Extra special people. 00:37:09
All kinds of other things that we've got a whole population that can't use the, what would you call that, the Western pedestrian 00:37:14
infrastructure in our community because of a power pole? 00:37:18
And the challenges presented by the church, you know, then I think that's. 00:37:23
I think. 00:37:27
Should be aware of that, and I think G dot is the right party to bring. 00:37:29
Try to bring everybody together to resolve that rather than us. I mean, we've just got to get them focused on it. 00:37:32
I can include that. 00:37:38
About the intersection. 00:37:40
Slides pictures of the pole on the sidewalk. 00:37:42
A. 00:37:48
And the at that time, Georgia Pat, the guy he spoke with it, Georgia Power said that that poll was not movable. Now what I recall 00:38:22
about the conversation was it has there's a lot of power on it. You know, apparently if you take that, if you have to move that 00:38:28
pole, you're shutting down, you know all of Main Street. And of course when we had that power outage, what a few months ago, I was 00:38:34
like this is perfect time to move to the ball. 00:38:40
All the power's already out. Nobody's going to be upset but so, so I know there's some challenges. We'll certainly work all of our 00:38:46
connections and and we will add that, add that to add that in the intersection improvement to the. 00:38:50
To the list, yeah, it's not that particular poll that has all the devices on it. It's actually the one that's in front of the 00:38:56
Ashford parking lot that has all the devices on it. If you, I mean, if you look up, there's a whole bunch of stuff, but you can't 00:39:00
move one pole out of line. 00:39:05
Without moving the others and so they can do it all. 00:39:10
Yeah, curve around it. Yeah, that would probably be better than. 00:39:16
Yeah. 00:39:22
I mean, you know, I mean, we need five, we need 5 feet of right away, you know, probably 10. We need a temporary easement and we 00:39:23
need some, right. You know, we need an easement. 00:39:27
Permanent easement, Whatever, You know? I mean, we don't need to pay for that dirt. We didn't pay for dirt from people on the 00:39:32
other side, what they'd still own. 00:39:35
And that. But you know that would be. Another solution would be. 00:39:39
They're probably. I mean, I don't what's the right away from the center line of a state highway 25 feet. 00:39:43
50 feet. So I mean, technically G dot already owns that, but that's an old road, so. 00:39:50
Yeah, we've, yeah, we've tried to look that up. 00:39:56
Yeah, and one thing I brought to comment on I had reached out to G dot. 00:40:00
About the sidewalks. 00:40:06
Up near your house, Jeff, where they're all broken and. 00:40:08
And at that time they told me that they. 00:40:12
Bill sidewalks. They did not repair them. I didn't maintain them. That would be left up. 00:40:16
To the city, but mark you, you may know. Or Toby, when you reach out to them to, you know, clarify that and they'll let out new 00:40:22
projects to bid. 00:40:26
That will have sidewalks. 00:40:32
But as far as them? 00:40:34
Building sidewalks and maintaining them, he said. That was left up to the city. 00:40:37
Old school. 00:40:44
Now, a lot of federal money that G dot uses requires them to put sidewalks. 00:40:48
When they redesigned roads and they do roads and so and that. 00:40:55
Actually, I'm sure a lot of y'all have seen it. The center median 3 wireless down through. 00:41:00
Right, right. 00:41:06
Funding to be able to pay, right? But I mean as far as their crews themselves, he said. They. 00:41:12
Would be it would go out to bid, Yeah, Yeah. I think it's unlikely that like for example South main sidewalks that they would mess 00:41:20
with that I do think. 00:41:24
You know, when it comes to these ADA intersections that they control, I think that's that's. 00:41:29
Where I'd like to see us push is on the I think it's probably unrealistic to expect them to do something, for example, from 00:41:36
Ashford Manor down. 00:41:39
Past your house. I mean that, you know, realistically if we want to do something. 00:41:43
We'd probably have to do it, but we got an ADA situation at AG dot controlled interchange I think. 00:41:47
I'd like gdot to. 00:41:53
I'd like G dot to resolve that instead of a little Watkinsville. I mean we could be talking about hundreds of thousands of 00:41:55
dollars, you know that's well, well beyond what we've got the resources to do while we're talking about sidewalks and again I 00:42:01
apologize I would love to continue that South Main on the round all the way to Collin Ferry. You know if we're we're, they just 00:42:06
installed the trove sidewalk all the way to the end of Collin Ferry. 00:42:11
It would be nice to be able to connect. 00:42:18
Quarter mile. 00:42:20
Well, I'd love to see us, you know. Again, it's up to y'all if you want to put it on here. I think to take that sidewalk from 00:42:22
Jackson, even to Harden Hill. 00:42:26
Even if we did it in phases, Phase one to Column Ferry, Phase two, Column Ferry to Jackson Terrace. Phase three. 00:42:30
Jackson Terrace to Hardin Hill And then you've you. 00:42:36
There's a lot of people who walk that anyway, and it's dangerous, you know, and there's there's a fair bit of right away, the 00:42:39
whole way through there, you might have to do it. 00:42:43
Column fairy side instead. 00:42:48
With Jackson Trail side there's there's less less trees and all to takedown. Yeah, I think it would be. That'd be hard to do. I 00:42:52
think we'd have to think through. We'd have to leave that to Mr. Campbell but I think it'd be hard to. 00:42:57
Tell people here's where you cross. Now the other thing that we need to think about potentially is Sharon has mentioned us, the 00:43:04
pipe plant project is likely to come back before us. 00:43:09
The pipe plant project we expect, we don't know would potentially include. 00:43:14
A access to South. 00:43:19
Coming across potentially again what's been previewed to us, I don't have this, you know, don't you know again it's what's been 00:43:22
previous, some sort of connection coming into South Main which could create a natural crossing point. 00:43:28
That would allow then someone to cross their access column ferry. 00:43:35
And safely reach that sidewalk to walk their kids to school. 00:43:40
And then we have worked with Mr. Mcduff. 00:43:43
And his land planner so the plans are finalized. The sidewalk is all the way down, Column Ferry. But the plans. 00:43:46
That everybody knows where the plans have to go on the column Ferry elementary side so that those kids can be getting the school 00:43:51
so. 00:43:54
This time next year we'll have kids walking to school. But to your point Brett, we want also need at some point families who don't 00:43:58
already live on column ferry to be able to cross and access that sidewalk and get their kids down there. So and remind me, please, 00:44:02
are we putting? 00:44:07
Flashing lights at that. OK goodness in the plan. 00:44:12
Yeah. On Column Ferry there was and one of the one of the. 00:44:17
One of the requests was, and I know Chief talked to you all about this was about a always stop at one point there at Column Ferry 00:44:22
at the railroad crossing. But that all is sort of in play depending on what happens, you know if there's a if there's a connection 00:44:27
to. 00:44:32
Potential future pipe plant development, then that may come down further, as the mayor said, further down on the Main Street, then 00:44:38
further out. So it's sort of everything sort of in flux and in play, but I've made some notes. We'll make sure to include those. 00:44:44
Do we want to add the though this other idea of? 00:44:51
Side. 00:44:55
Connectivity further on South Main. As a South Main resident, I'm not comfortable suggesting that so. 00:44:56
But I would need some of y'all to. 00:45:03
That's nod your head and say yes, absolutely, I'll run that, I'll run that. I would love to have a continued path that that comes 00:45:06
down to there. So I have, I'm, I'm all for as many sidewalks as possible so I'm not opposed to it. 00:45:12
If we think through the. 00:45:19
Hopeful. 00:45:22
Rails to trails that would be going through there, How does that impact the decision as far as because as we know how much 00:45:23
sidewalks cost like would that would if we have the rails to trails going through? 00:45:30
Because that's like along that just obviously on the other side does that. 00:45:37
Satisfy at least some of that. As long as there's some way, there's safe connectivity to that. 00:45:42
That's the Railster Trail is would be fantastic. I'd be great, but it doesn't fill the need that we're referencing. I'm calling 00:45:50
Ferry, at least from my thought have always been I want to see kids walking to school. So getting column Ferry and tying it to the 00:45:56
Jackson St. 00:46:01
Area allows Christian lakes. 00:46:08
All Jackson St. area to be able to walk across the street if there's a way. 00:46:12
Again I'm not opposed to it, but if we are emphasizing the rails to trails is there a way to like from Jackson St. have a 00:46:19
crosswalk across the street there and like a path through like next to someone's yard to that rails trails over does that I mean 00:46:26
is that am I making sense if you do have the, if you do have the crossing that were that was kind of presented from the Smith 00:46:34
Setzer plan at the Jackson St. that allows coming down Jackson St. 00:46:41
Crossing at an intersection of some sort there. 00:46:49
To the rails, the trails where you would turn right and then left down the sidewalk that just, you know, just roughly finished. So 00:46:52
yes, yeah, if you do it, I'm just wondering that would be a lot less side. And I'm just thinking about like aren't there ditches. 00:47:00
So maybe we just table this, put it as like a low or medium priority until whatever, whatever happens with. 00:47:08
Pipe plants. So maybe we capture it as a low priority you know to and make it do you think it's around the idea of how do we get 00:47:17
families to that column ferry sidewalk. Yeah. Say I agree you know that you know otherwise we know we're going to have families 00:47:22
walking down. 00:47:26
441 in the mornings trying to cross column ferry to get to the sidewalk. I mean, there's going to be the next version of Jeff 00:47:32
Campbell. I remember when you did that with was it Sadie or Hello Porter when you walked through a city And I got. 00:47:38
So there will be, there will be others who try. I'd love to make it safe for them to do so. I will also just throw out there as 00:47:45
we're talking about crosswalks. I actually had a citizen contact me this weekend. 00:47:50
Saying that she is having issues as she walks in Watkinsville with the crosswalks, with the flashing lights that cars don't stop. 00:47:57
For them. 00:48:04
And. 00:48:06
It is the law, right? Like at a flashing the cars are supposed to and so if that is perhaps something that. 00:48:07
Our law enforcement. 00:48:15
And we can also raise some awareness, you know put something newsletter, put something on Facebook, remind people, well it's 00:48:17
probably not our local residents, it's the piece on Main Street, it's the people coming down. So I don't know if some some pain of 00:48:22
tickets. 00:48:27
Last year, I think now we put some signs and go to try to. 00:48:33
Prepare people. 00:48:41
They're not paying attention way and so that you know maybe some some ticketing there. 00:48:44
Assess that very situation. I believe the same false walk about four years ago. Notice the lack of compliance with another 00:48:53
community. Is using the little bright neon flags where you get one foot out. Wave your flag to get the drivers attention. Actually 00:48:59
works really well with other community that uses that. It's really goofy. 00:49:06
Well, in Athens they had that multi. In Athens they had to do multi colored flags. In Madison, I think they still have orange 00:49:14
flags. 00:49:17
Would work a lot better. 00:49:21
Well, I think our officers have also and again it's kind of nice having Chief on and he can't comment. So we can just. 00:49:25
But. 00:49:33
But you know, I feel like I don't know if it was our previous police chief or this police chief, but we had, we had a little bit 00:49:34
of targeted enforcement where they kind of walked it plainclothes. 00:49:39
And then they had, they had a police car stationed a little bit down the road, and when the cars didn't. 00:49:45
They said that's the license. 00:49:50
Go get them. And all of a sudden you know it did make a difference. 00:49:52
Yeah, yeah. 00:49:58
Yeah. 00:50:00
But a little bit of that probably goes a long way. And to your point, it may be out of towners, but a lot of times it's it's like 00:50:02
the speeding problems in Christian Lake. Several years ago, that was all Christian Lake residents. 00:50:07
Once the police started enforcing it. 00:50:13
I I I think some targeted enforcement could. 00:50:16
Fun. And you could probably we could have a little social media fun with that too, you know, I think that would be much better 00:50:19
than the flags, I think the flags are not illegal. 00:50:23
Way of. 00:50:28
Got in. 00:50:30
I think that's why some of them got away from it when they just get stolen, you know, I mean it's just it's catnip for teenagers 00:50:32
when you have flags sitting out for that, you know, so. 00:50:37
Citizens arrest. 00:50:52
Yeah, so it doesn't matter if the flash is, you get a flag, there's a. 00:50:59
Do we? So I want to make make every effort to if you have any questions about marquee, it has an important hence to leave the 00:51:06
center. 00:51:10
Just in case there's anything related to something that's on this list or even the committee updates that you need to involve in 00:51:15
and you won't feel. 00:51:19
Specifically, I know the transportation study did talk about you know connectivity from Colin Ferry Road to South Main Street and 00:51:28
and that that is that is a node that is a point of emphasis and and there's a couple different ways to try to look at that. But 00:51:34
one of the issues is sight distance as you approach the curve and and also you don't want to have a mid block crossing. So any 00:51:41
potential new development is, is again part of what's been discussed here today. 00:51:47
You. 00:51:55
The need for that crossing. So there's a little bit of a process, but I appreciate everybody thinking about that and focusing on 00:52:29
that. I don't know that we have a quick and easy solution and maybe the reason it hasn't already been done, but just to think 00:52:34
about, you know, if you could say here's a solution or here's something to work towards that is not a mid block crossing, I think 00:52:39
that'll be cute. 00:52:44
Do we have a Speaking of sidewalks, I know that when we do development agreements that sidewalks are part of that, especially when 00:52:51
they're. 00:52:55
Sewer capacity. But do we have an ordinance that when people are like redoing a home or not in Morgan's manner little neighborhood 00:53:00
but like on any of the main things that in order to pull building permits they have to. I know Clark County has that, that they 00:53:07
have to run a sidewalk like the the house on Main Street that was kind of. 00:53:14
Was very rundown right before Experiment station on the right across from Dobies area. That house just got completely flipped. 00:53:21
And so I'm just thinking as things like that happen, it makes. 00:53:32
If to have people put in sidewalks. 00:53:37
Yeah. 00:53:43
It's not a. 00:53:45
Right. I think it was only sewer is that something we. 00:53:49
Houses being renovated. 00:53:54
Point. 00:53:57
Is that something we want to think about? 00:53:59
I think it have to be on 1/4 that's identified by the transportation plan as. 00:54:11
We want to have sidewalks on that, right, not like and not get point an HVAC permit or a roof permit, but like a, you know, when 00:54:16
you are doing a major renovation on a property. 00:54:20
Patch. 00:54:27
And renovation, because again we think about some of the largest subdivisions in Watkinsville that don't have sidewalks right now, 00:54:30
Christian Lake, Stone shows being one if five years, if somebody in Stone Shoals wants to renovate their home, I think Watkins 00:54:35
would want to encourage that. But then did they put a sidewalk for 100 feet and that's why I think the main corridor not like in 00:54:40
neighborhoods because that would be strange. 00:54:45
I mean and and not as necessary, I think most of us, I mean, would it be ideal for every neighborhood to have sidewalks? Yes. 00:54:51
Do any of us see that as a priority? No. I mean we can. I feel safe walking Morgan's Manor every day with my dog. 00:54:58
You know, same I walk in Christian Lake a lot. I mean, I think that. 00:55:08
It's it's the main corridors, no, the only. 00:55:11
Right. But there are there are properties like this one on North Main that. 00:55:18
Maybe instead of having it be just new construction, I mean there was one on Harden Hill that was completely, they called it a 00:55:23
renovation, but it was basically a teardown. They kept the parts of the foundation and it was a new build. I mean, right. But we 00:55:29
would have wound up with a sidewalk on the opposite side of the road, you know. So I mean it's it's a weird and and the only issue 00:55:34
the issue I see is then you have a. 00:55:40
Potentially 100 foot piece of sidewalk for. 00:55:46
Ever. Just 100 foot piece of sidewalk, yeah. 00:55:49
That we are going to be doing, yeah. 00:55:54
Yes, that's. 00:56:04
Why don't we take a look at our policies on that and see if they need to be updated? I think is a good first step, right? So in 00:56:08
addition to sewer. 00:56:12
On those quarters, is there a trigger for? 00:56:17
Sidewalk construction and what's the appropriate trigger? And then maybe they can circle back to us on that. We can understand a 00:56:20
little bit more. 00:56:23
I could see your point, you know, on. 00:56:26
You know the South main quarter that we were just talking about if a couple with those houses were. 00:56:29
Renovated at a certain level, you know. 00:56:33
Yeah. 00:56:36
Somebody's investing over $100,000 then. 00:56:38
Maybe it makes sense. 00:56:41
To. 00:56:43
Add that ribbon to sidewalk up front. I don't know, maybe we can check on. 00:56:44
What other categories are mark specific in here? I do think it's good to get him while we. 00:56:53
Made the storm water. Do you want to have? Oh yeah, OK Are we comfortable? Y'all moving on to green space and environment. 00:57:00
Do you mind Remember I mentioned something about potentially a truck bypass or a bypass that goes from Barnett Shoals to 15? 00:57:09
Is that something we want to look at as well? 00:57:17
Maybe or or maybe down by like Norton Road. 00:57:22
Yeah, so I'm thinking more to. 00:57:29
Mandate that FEED and seed and LAD can't come through Watkinsville. They got to go and take a truck bypass. 00:57:31
And so I guess. 00:57:39
I really wish we could have caught this before wire part was done so we could have put a continuation all the way across, but you 00:57:42
go from. 00:57:45
15 to Barnett Shoals to Simonton Bridge all the way over to 441 with a truck bypass all the way around Watkinsville. 00:57:49
You'll have one that goes from 15 to 441 eventually, and then you could have one that comes from 15 to. 00:57:59
441 on the opposite side of Watkinsville, like on north. 00:58:05
Out by the fire department. 00:58:09
It's just something to think about because we, I mean, we're about to add a bunch of trucks, cars, people to Watkinsville, a bunch 00:58:12
of them. And I mean anybody that travels through downtown Watkinsville already knows we've got a terrible traffic problem. 00:58:20
Anytime of the day, really. 00:58:28
Yeah, I purposely don't go to downtown Watkinsville because it's just it's. 00:58:34
Traffic jam most of the time, I mean I go around, but it's just something to think about. I mean, so like right there at Norton 00:58:39
Road where you know Wire Park is creating a, you wouldn't be able to put trucks on it because they're having two separate 00:58:44
roundabouts I believe, but maybe at Norton Road. 00:58:49
Coming across over there down the power line because you do have a transmission line that comes right through there. 00:58:55
Umm. 00:59:01
And then same thing for Simonton Bridge, you've got a transmission line that runs across same same line but. 00:59:02
Out of Watkinsville for. 00:59:10
I just think it's wildly, I mean, Brett, I love the way you thinking. I just think it's sort of wildly unfeasible. I mean that's a 00:59:12
gigantic project. 00:59:16
To serve. 00:59:20
Athens Seed and Just. 00:59:22
I just don't see it as. 00:59:25
I don't think you're going to take any out of town trucks. In fact I think you could pull out of town trucks closer in. Ironically 00:59:26
by doing that I'm. 00:59:30
I mean, I've looked at the map a million times. I just don't know how you wiggle something through there without absolutely 00:59:36
destroying that into town. That's my concern. You know, I'll, I'll look at it with you. I got, I got some plans. 00:59:41
Later y'all y'all weigh in. I just. I struggle with that concept and and it wouldn't just be for so here's the my thought you know 00:59:49
I I know we're about to put a bypass around Bishop but most of the trucks don't come down 441 they come down. 00:59:56
Because it's shorter for them, they just. 01:00:03
It's shorter for them to come down 15 and they're going to continue to come through Watkinsville unless somehow or another we 01:00:06
mandate that they go down to 441. Well that's what. 01:00:10
Yep. 01:00:16
You know, so hopefully that does draw the trucks that we're hoping for. 01:00:18
Where you gonna put it all the way back at 20 in Greensboro? 01:00:27
But then if that if that bypass at 1:15 over to 441 happens. 01:00:32
Yeah. 01:00:37
So there. 01:00:55
Something I can help mitigate some. 01:00:58
Truck drivers use. 01:01:01
Think right now is for the most part. 01:01:02
Global positioning mapping systems. 01:01:06
And reaching out those like so. 01:01:09
When they do the software for these mapping systems, they don't take into account a lot of times. 01:01:12
Where they're coming in. 01:01:17
Your point on 15 when you're on I-20. 01:01:20
Take. 01:01:23
Of the Greensboro, and you have to make that hair thing turn down. There was an. 01:01:24
It doesn't take that into. 01:01:28
And it doesn't take into effect that you're going to come through. 01:01:30
A main town where it's top. 01:01:33
And. 01:01:37
Reaching out to those mapping companies that can do the mapping. 01:01:38
Redirecting those trucks through their mapping system to go down to four 31441. 01:01:43
To come down to 441. 01:01:50
That way would be ideal. 01:01:54
You know, because it's the mapping system that they go by, because a lot of those guys. 01:01:57
Over the road, truckers don't know the roads and don't like Some of them are old school and are familiar, but other ones do not 01:02:02
know. 01:02:05
And they're going by their mapping system, which is taking them through Greensboro, which? 01:02:09
1-2 like 390° turns. 01:02:14
And then they're bringing them right down through Watkinsville. 01:02:18
And. 01:02:21
You know, and some of them to that point are actually even coming up Simons. 01:02:22
And then trying to turn left to right, coming off assignments and on the main which we. 01:02:26
Is. 01:02:30
Logistically possible, unless. 01:02:32
You got traffic backed up and I know the chief has reached out the G dot about repositioning. 01:02:34
The lines off of Barnett, where Barnett comes into. 01:02:40
Repositioning those. 01:02:44
Back a little bit further to keep those trucks off the sidewalk. 01:02:46
Right there at Maine and Bar. 01:02:50
But I think that's. 01:02:52
Possibility is to reach out to the mapping companies and see if they can remap. 01:02:54
Those lines and I've talked to Dutch about that and also talked to some folks at G dot and with the Georgia Transportation or 01:02:59
Logistics Innovation Center. 01:03:04
So we're trying to get a call together on that topic like electronically, digitally. What can we do to also? 01:03:10
Encourage trucks to go around. One of the things we're fighting against is there's construction on 441 right now too, which slows 01:03:16
it a little bit more. 01:03:19
That's 441 improves. That's going to help the problem too. You know, in the map, because it's just going to be. 01:03:22
A better Rd. will go a little faster, but for the next two years, Chuck, I guess, you know we've got construction between Eatonton 01:03:28
and Madison, which sort of. 01:03:32
If you use Waze or something like that, it sort of slows it down, but. 01:03:36
There's a guy named Barco Bill who is at the Georgia Southern Logistics Innovation. 01:03:39
And I've talked to him about our issues. And then Dutch knows those mapping systems real. 01:03:44
And so I want to get a call together with the two of them and maybe maybe Seth Milliken from the Georgia. 01:03:48
Transportation Alliance who have also talked to about the Watkinsville situation. So they've all agreed to have a conversation and 01:03:54
see what we can do about how do. 01:03:57
Get freight through Oconee County the most efficient way possible because I think I've told all y'all we're basically the we're 01:04:01
the Atlanta freight bypass right now. And you know, so ideally that freight should move on a four lane Rd. not a two lane Rd. 01:04:07
Through Wrightsville, through Greensboro, through Watkinsville. 01:04:12
You know, which is what it's doing right now. 01:04:19
Yeah. So in my friend in the trucking business at 15 usually pops up about 7 or 8 minutes quicker when you put it in in Savannah. 01:04:22
Well, they don't know 7 or 8 minutes, you know, you know, I mean, big deal to them, but they don't understand what that 7 or 8 01:04:28
minutes means. You know, OK, you really got to sit still. You got to do these turns, all this other stuff, you know, all things 01:04:33
being equal, you know, we need to find a way to steer them towards. 01:04:38
441 but you know. 01:04:43
It's just a terrible and you would think that we can stop the trucking industry industry from coming down 15. 01:04:52
You. 01:04:58
I mean, we can. We're going to work on it with technology, but that's the thing with state routes you can't stop anybody from 01:05:00
using. 01:05:03
That's their that's their right, you know? 01:05:08
All right. Do we want to circle back to the storm water stuff, since I think we've got. 01:05:18
About 20 more minutes with Mark. We've got Parks, Green Space and Environment is our next one right, Eva? Is that where we're 01:05:23
going? OK. 01:05:27
I'm sure, yeah. 01:05:42
Yeah, What? Can you give an update on what's happening? Because I see all of Wire Park getting so pretty and then there's our 01:05:45
library. 01:05:48
It's certainly the details are fairly under design. 01:05:53
Probably. 01:06:03
Starting third quarter of the year, I don't know. Yeah, one point kind of go with the working library. 01:06:06
County branch of library in Rockfordville Ave. or. 01:06:16
More than likely be. 01:06:21
But construction calls for a huge issue. 01:06:26
If you try to do something now, it's more expensive than it was to build a year ago, a few years ago. 01:06:32
If you don't build it now, it probably won't be a lot more questions. 01:06:40
Thank you. 01:06:44
If you build it. 01:06:48
Mark, what you know. 01:06:51
Are there any plans or has anybody discussed the old library and what may happen there? 01:06:53
Is that owned by the Industrial Development Authority or owned by the Library Authority? 01:06:59
Board of Commissioners. OK. All right. 01:07:05
Because that will be an interesting asset for the community, you know. 01:07:07
You know, just a recorder standpoint to give you an idea. Technically my understanding is keep publicly confirmed, but. 01:07:12
The Sheriff's Department with. 01:07:19
Oconee County Board commissioners actually owns the building where the post office is located. 01:07:21
They own the building where the library is located and they own the building where the health department located. So that is along 01:07:26
that corridor on the on the western side of. 01:07:30
The state route that comes. 01:07:36
Can you give us an update on the? 01:07:39
So there is an agenda setting meeting with the Board of Commissioners tonight, at which time they were placed on their agenda for 01:07:42
a vote next week to select the bid for the company that provided the the lowest bid and work towards authorizing that company to 01:07:48
move forward. I want to speak to the Board of Commissioners, but in correspondence, yeah, on February 1st, 4 bids were received. 01:07:54
The date has been going through on those four bids and the. 01:08:01
My understanding. 01:08:08
It's an issue to bid, not a, you know, request for a proposal. So the lowest responsibility will be selected. That'll be put on 01:08:10
the agenda tonight for a vote a week from tonight. 01:08:14
Yeah. And then they can't start construction soon enough and we're still thinking three to five months. 01:08:22
Depending. 01:08:30
Rock. 01:08:31
Maybe I don't have their schedule in front of me. I don't think three months is anywhere in the realm of possibility. 01:08:32
Too short? Correct. 01:08:42
I feel pretty confident that there will be sewer in before the library is open. 01:08:47
I don't think it's a lot. I don't think it's the library we're worried about. 01:08:53
Some of them can because there's existing septic there. 01:09:01
I don't, I don't. I don't think you could begin to get it's there's probably, to Brett's point, there's probably some limited 01:09:05
stuff you could do with the existing but it'll be a challenge to have I would think to have food and the other stuff that. 01:09:12
You know the the highest use from a sewer generally would be a restaurant. You see, anybody who's dealt with, you know, sewer 01:09:22
impact fees or grease traps or any of those other types of things understands if you change your business from a retail business 01:09:27
or an office building to a restaurant, that changes the sewer impact of that location. 01:09:32
Yeah. 01:09:39
We've been involved the whole way. I mean, so we've we handed it to them, but we've remained engaged and continue to be engaged on 01:09:43
the project. 01:09:47
Parks, green space and environment, I guess that would be environment, but is there any any other questions about and again I do 01:09:52
have some some draft or preliminary things, it's very preliminary but just talking about some multi pathways. 01:09:58
That the mayor mentioned earlier along Barnett Shoulders Rd. That will not just be a transportation element. 01:10:06
Or Greenway element that that will have a storm water element within it as well. Still you know, got some obstacles. 01:10:13
We we need to probably be doing everything we can and everything we talked about so far today. 01:10:19
To talk with Georgia Power. 01:10:26
G dot is somebody we always have to coordinate with in Watkinsville because there are so many state routes in Watkinsville, but. 01:10:31
It's difficult to turn around. 01:10:39
And Walkman zeal and not see a powerful OK, so this is going to show my ignorance when it comes to power. I know there are people 01:10:41
who know a lot more than I do. How hard is it to get? 01:10:46
Above ground power lines underground. 01:10:52
So you don't want to do that? 01:10:54
It is very, very costly to do it. 01:10:58
And when they do go out, because they do it. 01:11:01
Exponentially longer because then you got to get people out there to locate the power lines, you got to come dig them up, you've 01:11:05
got to fix. 01:11:08
I mean exponentially. 01:11:13
So just for residential for instance, it goes from probably 15 minutes of fixing an overhead line to two and a half 3-4 hours to 01:11:15
fix it. So an underground for say our overhead lines. 01:11:22
You're talking a full day's project? 01:11:29
I mean, isn't a lot of the power damaged wind and weather that wouldn't affect underground stuff? 01:11:33
There's also a difference between transmission and distribution lines, you know, and so I think, I think what we'd be talking 01:11:39
about would be distribution lines, correct. Yeah. So all the ones you see, all of our main lines that come down are Main Street, 01:11:44
are all distribution now transmission lines are out. 01:11:50
Like Norton Road. That big substation right there. The big, big wires. 01:11:55
But you're you're not going to. It's ridiculously expensive to. You won't see any city that's got all of their stuff on. 01:12:01
Now neighborhoods, big neighborhoods like. 01:12:09
Down in Greensboro. 01:12:12
Forgot the name of the all of those are all underground but that I mean or even Daniel Plantation I mean there's some you know 01:12:14
there's there's some no county that I mean like Christian Lake is all underground but that's that's a resident most big 01:12:18
neighborhoods are all underground. 01:12:22
But coming up to them is overhead wire because it's so much cheaper to do overhead and easier to fix the maintenance arms. 01:12:26
So much cheaper to fix. 01:12:35
So but Christine I think to your point you know we and to marks point is we're going to need to. 01:12:36
You know we're going to need to wrap our brain around for example, Barnett Shoals just hypothetically and we could all probably 01:12:43
stand up and look at those plans if we want to. I mean, Mark, are they over there? Yeah, I mean if y'all want to have a stand up 01:12:47
break and walk over there and look at what Mark's designed, I mean we don't. 01:12:52
Hi everybody. But you know it's nothing says that we have to be miked up the whole time. If we want to go over and look at those, 01:12:57
we can stand up and look at them. 01:13:00
You know the idea, Our idea, this simple idea would be to extend that sidewalk out into the road a little bit. Add a new curb. 01:13:03
I think, Mark, that's what we're still talking about. South, the road Skinny's up a little bit. We still keep wide lanes because 01:13:10
we're not doing bike lanes, but you've got like a 10 foot, 10 foot. 01:13:15
And you saw it in some ways for better for worse on the Harden Hill Rd. You know there was initially planned hey we're going to 01:13:19
move all these powerful and and and we're just going to move them. George Powers going to move them for us because that's the best 01:13:24
thing in the world to do. 01:13:30
And. 01:13:36
And it was it was going to a project that already had a lot of money in the budget. If you start looking at every poll being 4050, 01:13:37
sixty thousand plus, depending on the things that are on the pole, well then that eats up a lot of potential for OK, how much do 01:13:43
you want to shorten the sidewall project? How much do you want an error sidewalk project versus? 01:13:50
And go around the. 01:13:57
And and so there's pluses and minuses that we we we can see it, we can talk about it. But you know, so there are every situation 01:13:59
there's a critical of this poll. 01:14:04
No ifs, ands or buts. At what cost? And hey, this poll can stay where it is. 01:14:10
And you work on an alternate solution, because if you say. 01:14:15
Let's just say $50,000 to move a poll versus an alternate solution. Well, there's probably a lot of alternate solutions. 01:14:20
That don't cost $50,000. 01:14:27
Water parks Annual estimated electric bills $550,000. 01:14:29
If that helps us. So that Georgia Power wasn't getting before. 01:14:34
So just something to think about. So anyway those conversations to your point to that they they are much more amenable to move 01:14:39
stuff when they're making lots of money. 01:14:44
So Harden Hill, they weren't making any additional money. Now they, you know, I didn't know. Let's be real, They're going to make 01:14:49
this money either way. But this is a pretty significant economic development. 01:14:54
I don't know if you want to look at it, if you can visualize it, if anybody wants to stand up and stretch your legs, you could 01:15:33
look at it everybody. 01:15:36
Somewhat, yeah. 01:15:43
With. 01:15:48
Yeah. 01:16:05
So this the right order? Well, it's 2 copies, so it's kind of an overall and then and then an overall. 01:16:13
It gives you an idea. 01:16:22
Just doing it on that northern side of the roadway. So what we I guess discovered in some ways is that one kids with white pathway 01:16:25
is better than two properties. So you still have the sidewalk on the other side of the street. 01:16:32
When you're looking at one side of the road. 01:16:40
Thinking that Kirk is there now, we're having to find the sidewalk that's there now. 01:16:45
There's a 2 foot strip directly to the curve, ripping that curve up, pushing it in. 01:16:49
Making a possible run sidewall. 01:16:55
The thought is to do that without relocating the center line. What will happen is that northern lane will be more narrow lane but. 01:16:59
Yeah, being multi use staff. 01:17:23
But then you know if you're looking. 01:17:27
19. 01:17:35
So what you do? 01:17:39
A lot of. 01:17:43
They have. 01:17:47
Is there enough? 01:17:58
I can. I can look at. I haven't. I don't know that. OK, I'm just trying to. 01:18:00
But this doesn't contemplate this point. Now there will be some storm water work again in that. So when you're digging the storm 01:18:08
water pipe, any changes to that? 01:18:13
A reminder. 01:18:21
Just curious why you chose that side instead of this side? 01:18:25
So I think, you know the connectivity was a big part of that. So there are sidewalks on both sides of the roadway. 01:18:30
And we have to actually familiar with, you know we went through some of this exercise with bike lanes as well but it was it was 01:18:35
specifically connecting to the hives into the only only reason I say that is put it on this side. You know that's correct. You're 01:18:42
correct. But then in theory you've got an issue of and where do you call back. 01:18:49
The only other thing would be the industrial drive which does get a fair amount of of traffic then if you have pedestrians coming 01:19:07
across that area from a multi degree. 01:19:12
I mean, I would personally put it right here. 01:19:19
I think, yeah, there will be something there. And so I mean that's it's good and straight. You can see for 1/2 mile either 01:19:24
direction, quarter mile either direction. 01:19:29
And and you know, most of the pedestrians are going to be on this side too. 01:19:44
This other idea is we control find a way to control some the speed of storm water. 01:19:58
And this is just in general terms because. 01:20:10
Replacing in some. 01:20:13
Impervious, but we're also increasing your landscape. Just this work and I have no idea what we can talk about. 01:20:16
But it would decrease the amount of impervious area that's going to be existing. 01:20:25
Well, again that the thought would be a 2 foot wide strip that's there down you've got Dog Woods, we've got other things. It's 01:20:36
really not wide enough for 20 minutes. So if you go to a three foot wide it would the question then becomes. 01:20:42
Well your opportunities for treasure landscape and at this point you know you could do some undersory trees when after it could 01:20:49
fit no problem. But if you wanted something larger or something but then you have our overhead power but you know you could do a 01:20:54
four foot strip and you can give yourself. 01:20:59
I know we like grass, but that is a whole lot. 01:21:05
You just put additional 12 inches of remember that's accounting really. 01:21:11
Intention is that they have to cut it and we all of course we know that they're going to cut what they're going to cut and we're 01:21:17
going to have to supplement, you know, extra but. 01:21:21
So if. 01:21:24
Personally, don't like it when you put 1218 inches of the grass because. 01:21:27
Then then this. A whole lot but this would this would be a pretty good strip. 01:21:32
And the issue is when we did the Hard Hill Rd. sidewalk, we had a ditch section where again in my opinion that project as much as 01:21:38
it was a pedestrian project was also some more project as well. But you were creating sidewalk and curving whether they were not 01:21:43
there before. And this project there's August sidewalk until we go today. So it's the differential would not be as severe the 01:21:49
water. 01:21:54
Piping, but now the structures are out, so now you got to put. 01:22:01
It. 01:22:06
Well, hard to heal. They weren't there. I mean driveway there wasn't there. So this is again it's an existing turbid intersection 01:22:12
out of the existing big section. So from a improvement standpoint, there would be a storm water element to it, but it should not 01:22:19
be a storm water element because the piping would be you would have storm structures, it might be a lesson structure or something 01:22:25
like that, but you wouldn't have each storm structure would be very small into pipe rather than 100%. 01:22:32
Yeah, jump into. 01:22:52
Out Lexington Highway. Skate around and Winterville. 01:22:59
Winterville has Is that what it is? And it is gorgeous. I got a friend. 01:23:07
And I mean there's there's like 8 or 10 foot wide. 01:23:15
It's got happened while I still get on my bike. 01:23:29
You missed that but just general, but this is this is the point we have so far. 01:23:36
And I think the idea, you know before where you had to be right away acquisition, you had to do some of those things when you're 01:23:51
going back behind it. If you think about the edge of the sidewalk now and it's coming in because you have such a wide landing 01:23:56
theory, you don't have to do by the way acquisition, that's a big. 01:24:01
That's what I think on Main Street from Jackson to Ashford, you have the same thing. You would be going into the street because 01:24:06
there's all of that. 01:24:11
You know you had a section, It would be. 01:24:32
Your own property, yeah. 01:24:41
This is my property so. 01:24:47
But. 01:24:50
So you have not done budget obviously, but that is what will just seem like you're not going to simple like. 01:25:01
You know sidewalk alone would be about a million a mile roughly. And that was probably 2019 figures. So just sidewalk not 01:25:10
including your I mean and there's yeah. 01:25:15
Yeah. On this part and no land acquisition, that's not quite a what is that like? 01:25:21
Something like that. 01:25:32
It's not. I haven't put it together yet. 01:25:34
It's a little less than that, yeah. 01:25:39
Something like that anyway. 01:25:44
So all the powerfuls are on the side, they're not. 01:25:52
Yeah. 01:26:00
It's not the way. It's not the way it worked out. 01:26:07
And there's still a sidewalk here. So it's not like these people can't. Yeah, there's a good sidewalk. But I mean, I still would 01:26:15
prefer this, but I think it would be wise, but we could talk about it. 01:26:23
What would be the right of way, let's say? 01:26:34
Let's. 01:26:38
End of the road again. 01:26:39
But the lanes are still wide enough safely. 01:26:50
You know, but it wouldn't feel like. 01:26:54
There's not many places in the city where you can say hey when you turn 5% walk into a 10 foot title and not have right away 01:26:58
acquisition. But as we talked about kind of in that life lane as well, what were the roadways already relatively wide and what 01:27:03
this is one of these probably. 01:27:09
Sewer only on the water park side the the. 01:27:14
Only on that side? Or is it on both sides? It is mostly. It's not 100%, but it's mostly on this side. 01:27:20
Cortana. 01:27:27
Yeah, we were talking about maybe. 01:27:33
I'm planning to be back. Well, we may be done by. I'll let you know. 01:27:42
OK. 01:27:53
All right, y'all we ready to roll? 01:30:08
Just be sure you get with Julie before you go today. She's got some paperwork for you to sign. Can we get a little clarification 01:30:15
though for our plan? So right now what we have is we have the storm we have on the. 01:30:19
Try. 01:30:58
Evaluate the city on large scale or just go at your direction on specific projects like we are here on this one with the 3rd St. 01:31:00
Gar. 01:31:08
We just. 01:31:10
I'd just like to clarify it a little bit, for the purpose of the plan anyway. 01:31:12
I mean I think you know, you know that where your big areas are and that's why you're focused right now on the, you know the 01:31:17
Barnshall 3rd St. area and. 01:31:21
We refine that where it says maybe instead of issuing RFP we. 01:31:26
You know, work with our consultant with which essentially is right now our city engineer to develop those parties. You know, along 01:31:32
with your priorities and concerns, you hear from the citizens and stuff, maybe address it on a project by project basis. 01:31:37
I don't know how. 01:31:43
I guess my thought, you know after spending the considerable about a time on it this year is that we know that we've there's just 01:31:47
a few areas in the city where we have, where we have. 01:31:51
Some challenges there, we also know it's. 01:31:57
I'm a little nervous about. 01:32:00
A plan which input would imply all of a sudden it's our issue to fix private property owners stormwater. 01:32:03
Um. 01:32:10
So I think ideally in my mind, it may not make as much sense to tackle it that way anymore versus. 01:32:11
You know, we've got a, we know we have a potential situation where there's a lot of water on Barnet Shoals Rd. on Depot Street 01:32:18
that we need to do a better job of controlling that, sort of. 01:32:23
Joint responsibility with the county. We can tackle that, work on that. 01:32:28
Versus I'm a little concerned about what a stormwater plan might yield in terms of. 01:32:32
Umm. 01:32:38
Challenges that we aren't legally obligated to attack, but all of a sudden we'd have a report saying these are issues. So that's 01:32:39
that's kind of where I've landed after looking at this for a while and and if we start trying to manage storm water. 01:32:46
For other people, then where does that end? 01:32:54
Yeah. 01:32:57
And. 01:33:02
I think that makes a lot of sense as you're looking at, especially connectivity issues where there's an opportunity to. 01:33:04
Combine. 01:33:11
To possibly mitigate anything that might be there, but that doesn't mean you take the responsibility, it's just you're trying to 01:33:13
make it. 01:33:16
And I guess I should turn my back to press an issue that that Brian and Brett both alluded to. We need to tread lightly on this. 01:33:26
This road is it is a county owned and managed and. 01:33:32
Maintained at that location of Barnet Shoals, I think we need to probably sit down meet with the county as an initial measure. 01:33:39
And I think that's the, I think the mayor had already gotten some feedback. I think you might have missed that. 01:33:46
Given us the opportunity to maybe pitch something, evaluate it, and then pitch it to the county for their for their feedback, is 01:33:53
that correct, mayor? 01:33:56
Yeah. So we've already talked to the county. They're open to discussing Barnet Shoals as a joint effort. They wanted us to take 01:34:00
the first shot at. 01:34:04
Some designs and some renderings. They actually suggested that during some of their meetings with Wire Park. So it was their 01:34:08
planning director who brought up the idea about Can we? 01:34:12
Should we reimagine that corridor a little bit, which, you know? 01:34:16
It's not the developers responsibility to do that, nor should it be holy hours. I think it it should be a shared responsibility. 01:34:20
To take a look at that since it is a county. 01:34:28
So. 01:34:30
All right, so storm water, are we comfortable with this idea of? 01:34:33
You know. 01:34:36
Stormwater master plan. Either removing that from a list or saying upon evaluation, we've decided that we're going to. 01:34:38
Address the issues as they arise. 01:34:43
Is everyone comfortable with that? OK, Sharon, are you comfortable with that direction and modifying the plan to reflect that? 01:34:48
And our other priorities here, I think we're making good progress on the rest of them, maybe not as fast as we want on everything, 01:34:56
sewer line in particular, but. 01:34:59
Hardin Hills. 01:35:04
Hair Shoals Park, that's proceeding, correct, Christine, Connie, everything's you know. 01:35:05
And in terms of the work actually beginning, I know we've discussed before, do we need to? 01:35:15
Bond or borrow to make that go any faster. Are we comfortable with staff driving that or we at a point where we need to? Is there 01:35:21
anything that this body needs to do to activate that? So as far as. 01:35:25
I should let me clarify the as far as what to do with the old playground, regular committee meetings are happening. 01:35:31
I haven't heard anything from planner Bob Smith in months and months and months and months and so I don't know. I know we were. 01:35:38
Kind of hiring him, but I'm not really sure what his role is supposed to be, how much we're hiring him. Should I be reaching out 01:35:46
to him Like I guess I'm a little confused as to as far as the rest of the park and then how to implement things. So when when we 01:35:52
met, the last time we met and I don't recall if it was, I think it was before Christmas, we met to talk about sort of the next 01:35:58
steps. And most of those are staff level we're evaluating. For instance, we we've met with, we've had Vera Veritas actually do an 01:36:04
evaluation. 01:36:10
Of the playground and they pretty much said it's we shouldn't have anybody on it. You know we've we've known that for a while but 01:36:17
they made it very clear that needs to come down ASAP and so that that is something that. 01:36:22
Is on our agenda for the March. I think you have a meeting March 8th with your committee. 01:36:29
You and you and Connie have that meeting on March 8th to talk about that, but we also have. 01:36:33
Looked at and had evaluated the building, the old well pump house, whatever building at the front. 01:36:39
Parking and pave. 01:37:22
Because that could happen too. Well, you know, we may have some L big money, we may have some AARP, you know, there may be some or 01:37:23
spouse money, whatever. I mean, we need to get estimates so y'all can start making decisions about. 01:37:28
Do you want to do it? How much is it going to cost, etc. And go ahead and get everything we can. Like I said on this side, I think 01:37:34
there's also concerns or questions about what may happen with the BBQ pits and that would that would be part of it. So I've got a 01:37:38
good update from today. 01:37:43
Playing about never sent me a bill for that day that he came and spent an hour. So with us he won't probably but we had engaged 01:38:22
him to sort of sort of start sussing out sort of next plans. And at this point it's been more on the staff side to do everything 01:38:28
we can do within our ability and then and then from that point you know as we determine what. 01:38:34
We can't do getting prices and coming back before you and and asking you just you know designate and appropriate that money out of 01:38:41
those accounts for that. 01:38:44
So I I met with the BBQ committee with Rotary this morning actually. 01:38:49
And and discussed, I took the big book with us and we walked through and so I discussed two different options that you and I, 01:38:57
Christine discussed where to locate new BBQ pits. The consensus was that we would go with the existing smaller structure that is 01:39:02
there. 01:39:08
And that we would extend that out to make it larger. 01:39:14
I have. I would have to meet in front of the full board in order to ask for funds for that, but I have put the bug in their ear 01:39:18
to. 01:39:23
Fund the entire project for the new BBQ pit so that. 01:39:31
That's kind of where the Rotary Club is right now that they like the the smaller pit if. 01:39:38
If you're looking at the old pits that are on the left hand side next to the Shoals, the smaller pit is directly in front of you. 01:39:44
And so the thought would be to just to extend that one. 01:39:56
Pit or that structure to the same length. 01:40:00
Existing structure that when you and I went out there and looked at it, we didn't actually talk about extending the length of that 01:40:05
so. 01:40:08
Yeah, we would have to. So we're going to have to make it bigger. 01:40:13
Idea of the four like building it sideways wasn't. Yeah, they said that wouldn't work. Yeah, of course you're talking to someone 01:40:17
who's never done big Pitbull. So what we what Christine and I discussed was potentially putting 4 pits side by side in that small 01:40:22
area. 01:40:28
The the issue becomes you can't then would not be able to get between. I think there was about 3 feet just rough estimate 3 feet 01:40:34
between what potentially could be pits in there. There just wouldn't be enough area with. 01:40:40
The handles that overhang about 24 inches on. 01:40:47
Each one that there would not be room to get in there and actually move the the. 01:40:52
Wire rack. 01:40:57
And so like I said, we we would have to do concept drawings and all that kind of stuff, but it would be to extend the the building 01:41:00
would they continue to use? 01:41:05
Building that they sort of serve out of and have the sinks and stuff in, yes. So the kitchen, we hope that the kitchen remains 01:41:10
there because that is a huge portion of of us cooking and then you know if if you know those pits go away. 01:41:17
For, you know, seating or viewing what, whatever you use that we can use that for. However, but the kitchen needs to remain here. 01:41:25
That'd be expensive to replace, yeah. And and so the the thought, the additional thought with the location of that smaller 01:41:31
structure is the location proximity to the kitchen. 01:41:38
Yeah, there's just a lot of history in that little quadrant there. Like there's, you know, there's a lot of community sweat equity 01:41:46
that I'd love to find a way to preserve that little piece. 01:41:50
And keep the pits nearby if we can. 01:41:55
But also I just want to be sure y'all continue to. 01:41:58
The Lions Club, the scouts, the others who use it. I just don't know enough about BBQ. I know we've got a few experts in the room, 01:42:01
but if they all use it the same way then that's great. I just want to be sure that. 01:42:06
The Lions Club and the Scouts are cooking the same way as Rotary, so that we're thinking through all the different users. John 01:42:12
Williams, all those folks, you know that they're. 01:42:15
That we do that but. 01:42:21
Generally, I just would love to think through. 01:42:22
I don't want to say the fastest, but I really would love to see. 01:42:26
Some sort of work plan month by month, You know, when are we going to move that old, not old, but when are we going to move the 01:42:30
metal part of the playground? When are we going to put up the handicapped seat? When are we going to pull those old bollards out 01:42:34
that look like? 01:42:37
That look terrible down there, you know, I mean. 01:42:42
I don't know if, Sharon, if that's something that the committee and you can work on, but I think it would also give the staff an 01:42:44
idea of, OK, this month, this is what needs to happen. This month, this is what needs to happen. Otherwise I just feel like it's 01:42:49
going to drag a little bit and we're going to be back to mowing grass. 01:42:53
Without a lot to show for it here in a month or two down there, I know Lawrence Stokes seems excited about the STEM. 01:42:59
Idea, and not necessarily the whole subcommittee is. So we're we might be going back to whatever y'all come, whatever y'all come 01:43:05
up with. You know, I think it's fine. I don't. I just don't want to hold up around that. The playground needs to come down. People 01:43:10
are already playing on this thing. We're having to run them off. I mean there there are people out there Saturday, you know, So I 01:43:15
don't think we're going to be lacking for a playground. 01:43:20
I. 01:43:26
You know, I want to be sure that. 01:43:27
Moving. 01:43:29
If we're not going to spend the money to hit it all at once, I want to be sure we're showing progress quarter every quarter down 01:43:30
there in terms of what's happened well and I will say one other question that I have that maybe y'all know. 01:43:35
And this is something that Brett brought up when he and I were talking about BBQ pits was. 01:43:41
Will because the plan had been to remove the ball field. 01:43:47
But then Brett was saying that the Miracle League field is too small for Little League to use or they're not using it. I don't 01:43:51
know. I don't know if anybody has any clarification for that, but I don't know what our. 01:43:56
Commitment is a Little League like because it makes sense to go ahead and get that. 01:44:02
That my general understanding from talking to Wesley is with Oconee Little League is that they really don't use that for like 01:44:37
games. They use it for practice. They're they're they're using that they do Rocket Field for games and they use the county Rec 01:44:42
fields but they don't use that. So it's not as you know, it's again, it's more for you know, the practice. But even if we get them 01:44:47
through this season, I really don't it doesn't matter. But at the end of the day we need to pull the fence. We need to begin the 01:44:52
transition down there. 01:44:57
I just shared you're gonna have a better feel for what our guys. 01:45:03
Are capable of or if we need to anticipate starting to spend money down there. 01:45:06
I just what we've said all along is we're going to finish this and then pretty quickly work is going to begin down there. 01:45:11
And it's really important to me that work begins down there. 01:45:16
I don't. I don't think pulling the fence and dugouts and all that will stop them from practicing down there. 01:45:19
I mean it they could still play there just won't be a I mean the dugout well, I don't. So I don't know. My general understanding 01:45:27
from when we met with planner Bob and your committee was that we were going to try to do everything on this side. You know just 01:45:34
focus our efforts so that you know the building moving the playground. We were in the process of trying to get figure out if we 01:45:41
can move it, if we have to hire somebody to move it, move in Mr. Former Mayor Ivy's swing down there to in the same area. 01:45:48
But I didn't want to put a lot of resource because that's really just deconstruction. That really isn't a big deal and I don't 01:45:56
want to be doing it while the kids aren't, you know, back. And you know, I just figured let's focus on this side and get 01:46:00
everything we can on this side situated, I will say. 01:46:04
It's my recollection and I can be wrong, but in the in the. 01:46:10
In the Hair Shoals Park master plan, I kind of gathered that the intention was to not to further block the the Vista, the view of 01:46:13
the Creek. And my concern is, is based on what I think I understood Councilman Thomas is that you're going to actually add, you 01:46:21
know we did talk about when we were down there trying to where I'm like we need to talk about that because that wasn't in any of 01:46:28
the plans and so that was their their, their preference. Now that doesn't mean that it has to go that way. 01:46:35
I'm gonna almost speak them out of both mouths right now. Both sides of my mouth. I mean, you and I discussed putting, potentially 01:46:43
putting it down by the dumpsters up against that that hill. 01:46:48
That hill area, so that is a. 01:46:55
Possibility, because that would be a lot more logical as far as traffic flow for people picking up their BBQ, yeah. 01:46:59
So I mean it, it is a possibility. The only concern that was brought up this morning was that it was that. 01:47:05
You know, the pits aren't the prettiest thing in the world. I mean, that's just they aren't and it's going to be right there for, 01:47:13
you know, the. 01:47:17
Anybody that comes? 01:47:21
Now I got you that. 01:47:22
It would be as well by the shoulder, by the Creek as well, right by the dumpster. I mean, like, it's not like, oh, we're. 01:47:24
Focusing on the dumpsters as we go. 01:47:32
So I don't want to take up too much. 01:47:35
Yeah, I'll, I'll come. 01:47:40
And I would love some guidance of for the old playground, What kind of budget do we have? 01:47:43
To now that we know we can't salvage it, it's going to be trashed. What kind of budget do I have to recreate something or to 01:47:50
create something new? I do. Y'all do. I mean, I would love some guidance on that because as I have these subcommittee meetings, 01:47:56
I'm kind of like, well, I really have no idea how much money you have or what we can do. And can we have a community like we did 01:48:03
with building the new playground? Can we have a community deconstruction? 01:48:09
And obviously we know that, you know we're putting in almost you know 450,000 or so on the playground next door which is much 01:49:35
bigger and obviously it's metal and we don't know what you have planned and. 01:49:40
I mean that's sort of a idea of what maybe could be used that we do have separate money set aside for signage for the bathrooms at 01:49:46
both. Well the bathrooms, I'm sorry Rocket Field we we are looking at. I know that was something that your committee asked us to 01:49:51
look into is updating the interior bathrooms and we've already, we've been down there. We went down last week to actually specify 01:49:57
when we're getting with someone to try to. 01:50:03
Get us a price on what that might look like. 01:50:09
I'm wanting some direction from the council and from the mayor. How much do we want to put into? 01:50:44
Repurposing that. 01:50:51
I mean, look, I'll give you all direction all day long, but I'm trying to be inclusive if you guys. 01:50:53
Give direction then I would. 01:50:58
I would. 01:51:01
Fix the ball field area. I would want to fix the pits. I'd want to fix everything that's below the Shoals. 01:51:03
In the next 12 to 18 months and get that done and get estimates for what that takes. 01:51:10
I'm not particularly picky about what appears back on this hill. I think what's going to happen up there is pretty spectacular. 01:51:14
And whatever we wind up redoing in the area of the old playground is great. We're going to have the smaller playground down there. 01:51:20
That's my perspective. And then I think phase two, we push on up the road. We do the community amphitheater, we do the air around 01:51:25
the ponds, we do the trails. That's how I would tackle it. 01:51:30
But you know, again, we're here to have this conversation as a group. I would then say let's go get some estimates and let's see 01:51:36
what we can afford to do and what we can lean into the community. 01:51:40
On and let's stick as closely as we can to the plan that the community seen and get it done. 01:51:44
But that's going to some of its going to take, you know, paying people with real equipment and you know Bobcats and some stuff 01:51:50
like that, just to get it done in a timely fashion. Some of it is Toby and his guys. 01:51:55
Getting down there and getting after it too. So you know, so I that's my take, you know, and I think we ought to go run the 01:52:01
numbers and see what we can afford to do. That's why a year ago we were talking about does it make sense just to go ahead. 01:52:07
Because of what construction costs were going to be. And now that's come true, go ahead and get some of this stuff done while 01:52:14
we're actively working down there versus doing it in drips and drives and knowing it'll cost us an extra 20% to do it that way. So 01:52:18
yeah, I I agree, I I would. 01:52:23
Personally, just go ahead and deconstruct the playground and we'll see. I think this right here will suffice. 01:52:29
And I mean this is phenomen. 01:52:36
But I will tell you, as the person who's been talking to people and listening to people about the old playground, there is a lot 01:52:39
of love for that old playground. And so I mean a lot. 01:52:44
And so if there is not a plan of something that is cool, it's gonna, there's gonna be backlash from that. And I feel like it's 01:52:49
also disrespectful like to our community as a whole. So I I don't think we just need to tear it down go Oh well we have this new 01:52:56
playground. We have to have a good plan. Do I have $200,000 ish. Then that gives me some idea of what can happen with it. I mean 01:53:03
I've the the only caution I'll give is is. 01:53:10
You know and I'm not well versed in 88 compliance, but if we redo that. 01:53:17
Playground. I think it will have to all become 88 compliant. Well, I don't know that it's going to be a playground. Like it's not 01:53:23
going to be termed a playground. We we have a beautiful new playground. It's going to be a repurposed space. We're leaning towards 01:53:29
it being very STEM or steam based. 01:53:35
While still embracing the natural. I mean, what we heard over and over from input as we were looking at the park was just the fact 01:53:42
that Harris Shoals is so natural and that was really important to people and so it's figuring out how. 01:53:49
To make that. 01:53:56
Entertaining. Educational. 01:53:58
Accessible. I mean, we have a member from ESP on the committee to make sure that we are thinking through all of these things. 01:54:01
But it's still a meaningful part of our park. So that's probably why it's taking so long. It's there's a lot of moving parts for 01:54:09
it. So, so one approach would be to say OK, this that area TBD, you know, so we could give you a holding number right though we 01:54:14
could say OK, it's going to cost. 01:54:20
You know, again, I'm hesitant to throw out a number, but there's a number right, that that's going to be and and you've got a 01:54:27
number, but we know what the rest of that area. 01:54:30
You know, I do kind of feel like that's going to take some time to figure out, but I feel like I don't know that we should press 01:54:35
pause on. 01:54:38
The other places where we have some reasonable amount of clarity when we're not, I mean we're not like Sharon has said and I was 01:54:42
just thinking I haven't heard from Bob Smith, but yes, we have had multiple conversations and meetings and the. 01:54:48
The city staff is doing a great job of getting things moving along. 01:54:54
Yeah. 01:55:00
Speaking of meetings this morning with Rotary, Jim Alexander was there. 01:55:03
With Hardin Hill Honey and he was talking about how we're a tree city. He was like, it's very easy to become a bee city as well. 01:55:08
And so we had some conversations and he is interested in putting some beehives. I showed him the plan. I took the book with me 01:55:15
this morning. I showed him the plan of all the the grasses and flowers and all that we're putting in there. And so he was very 01:55:21
excited about becoming AB City as well. So we're going to talk through that what what is required I had to get here, so I didn't 01:55:26
get. 01:55:31
Fully discuss it. 01:55:37
Umm becoming AB? 01:55:39
All right. So it seems like we've kind of organically moved into the the committee updates, which is great. 01:55:44
Let me, let me ask one question real quick. The sewer line, I'm going to ask ask this of you. Have we heard anything from the 01:55:54
state about the grant yet? No, we have not and I know we've discussed I think initially it was beginning of January then it moved 01:56:03
to January 31st and they did do the, the broadband announcements, but we have not heard anything for the other buckets that. 01:56:12
Preparing to announce, I know that it was pushed back because they were reviewing. Well, first of all, they received. 01:56:21
A huge amount more applications and just total requests that I think they were anticipating and then also the final rule was 01:56:28
released, so they were. 01:56:33
Re reviewing a number of requests just to make sure that they align with those, but we are, we are keeping in your house. 01:56:39
Um. 01:56:50
I checked the portal this morning, there was no update. 01:56:51
Umm. 01:56:55
So do. 01:56:56
We have kind of any other topics for parks, Green space and environment committee or updates? 01:56:59
That we should cover. 01:57:06
Or have we kind of covered those and we're ready to move on to, we'll circle back to finance and personnel? 01:57:08
Do you think we need to talk a little bit about Rocket Field? 01:57:15
Is the plan to just continue to hold off on that until we have more of a downtown master plan because it is part of the downtown 01:57:19
area, or are there immediate things we need to do? I feel like I have the same Groundhog Day, like I have the same conversation 01:57:25
about Rockville all the time. 01:57:31
What's yeah, last year what we determined was it would make sense to do as part of the downtown master plan. I guess you know the 01:57:38
question would be and this is you know it is a little bit committee driven. We may just have to be a little organic here but. 01:57:43
Don't have a thought on how we might. 01:57:49
Activate or kick that off, you know, at what point do we need to retain somebody to get that process moving or is that? 01:57:52
For you guys to a point where you feel like we can make a recommendation there. I know you've been doing a lot of. 01:57:58
Do you mean for the downtown master plan? Because I think those go together, you know? 01:58:04
I don't think we have. 01:58:11
You know a company to recommend for the master plan, yet we are meeting tomorrow and unfortunately I was. 01:58:13
Fell behind in my duties, let's say, but anyways we are meeting tomorrow as a committee at 22. 01:58:20
Hopefully here. I forgot to ask if we could meet here if there's anything going on. 01:58:26
OK. So anyway we're meeting with the two of us with Courtney and Christy for that and we've. 01:58:31
2 field trips to Monroe and to Greensboro and so it's been a very good educational process for me, especially for both of us I'm 01:58:40
sure. 01:58:45
But we, you know. 01:58:52
Both of them they've used. 01:58:54
Carl Vincent for some of their master plans and I've got 2 here in case anybody wants to look at them. 01:58:57
Bainbridge, GA and Thompson, Georgia. 01:59:03
To me, a master plan makes sense. It would. It's kind of like, well, do you want to build a house with plans or just wing it? 01:59:06
You know. 01:59:14
So the University of Georgia is a resource. There's other businesses that you can choose certainly to create a master plan, but 01:59:17
that'll be our discussion tomorrow. 01:59:22
I would also like to take another field trip and we've discussed going to Madison. 01:59:29
About a year and a half ago, Ish the Madison DDA director, came here. Monica, maybe? Or. 01:59:34
OK. 01:59:46
20 point OK, yeah. So I remember. I remember I was over there then and. 01:59:47
That great council member Marcy Campbell, I think her name was brought her in and. 01:59:54
So anyway, she came and spoke and. 02:00:00
In meeting with Monroe and Greensboro I. 02:00:04
Some of our issues align a little bit more closely with Madison's from the standpoint. 02:00:09
Has been trying to attract business. 02:00:17
And they've done an outstanding job of attracting business in the last few years. Greensboro is trying to attract business. 02:00:19
We don't have the problem of trying to get people, businesses to open up in Watkinsville. We've got that now we're we're trying to 02:00:25
control the control. The chaos may be a little bit strong. 02:00:31
But no, we're trying to figure out the plan for all these new projects. 02:00:38
You know, don't go into any details mentioned earlier of course, but you know the library is going to move. Well, a DDA can kind 02:00:43
of that person could look into library space and be speaking with county, city. 02:00:50
Private individuals as far as working on things that can happen in the city and what projects might be coming up and make all 02:00:57
those contacts and connections so. 02:01:03
I think we need a master plan. Next step is, which we'll work on tomorrow is. 02:01:09
Finding who are the companies that can create a master plan, What that might cost to see if the city what we want to spend, what 02:01:16
can we afford to spend on that project. Therefore we have the plans to create the city we we want. 02:01:24
And then also meeting with Madison to learn. 02:01:33
How they continue her. 02:01:36
Generally, is making the city more attractive making it more interesting. They built that. 02:01:40
Park off the West side of downtown Madison. I would like to learn her role in that. 02:01:47
So in just the redevelopment projects they've done she when she spoke here, I remember her talking about. 02:01:53
Two-bedroom, 1 bath housing, which speaks to your point of smaller affordable housing that they did some project with several 02:01:59
small houses and they sold very quickly, but it was the DDA that worked on those projects. 02:02:06
So that's interesting to me because I think we do need that type of housing and it would be neat to have that type of housing. 02:02:13
Focus towards, you know, artists. Since we've got a lot of artists in the in the region, how can we get them to live? 02:02:20
In the city but those. 02:02:27
Speaking of which, I just got a text from Joe Calloway. One of our local artists literally just popped up. 02:02:29
Anyway, but anyway, those are some of the things we're doing and that will continue to work on SO. 02:02:35
I'll get back on track with the development duties, but that's what we. 02:02:41
Some things be going on. If you have any questions feel free. 02:02:46
Or Christine can add certainly. 02:02:49
I would just say that one of the interesting things in going to Greensboro and Monroe is their challenges are very different than 02:02:52
our challenges because they have more poverty and just trying to revitalize and we are fortunate that we don't have that in our 02:02:57
community. In fact, in Greensboro's, I almost felt like they were like, why are you needing to do anything? You guys have a great 02:03:02
situation. 02:03:07
And so I am very excited to go to Madison 'cause I do think it is going to be a more similar challenge. They also have very 02:03:14
different revenue streams, I think both Greensboro and. 02:03:19
I know Greensboro, but I think also Monroe, they own all the utilities, so they have huge revenue streams that we don't have and 02:03:24
so. 02:03:27
Even though populations were actually similar, they weren't that dissimilar to where we will be in a year. 02:03:31
Their revenue streams are so different and so that feels a little overwhelming to me to think how are we going to be able to 02:03:38
really? 02:03:42
Do this and do this well with the budgets that we have because we don't have utilities. 02:03:47
I gave you a copy two months ago as well, Christine. That kind of 10 page summary, yes, that tracks basically what Monica Callahan 02:03:55
told you all April 2020. She and others in the region are very good with funding with the grant and then you fundraise A matching 02:04:01
grants and so forth. 02:04:08
There's you know a couple other thoughts on that is you may you know. 02:04:16
Nick Messina, who's the head of the Gwinnett Chamber. I know Gwinnett, you know, sometimes it's not what we want to hold up as our 02:04:21
example, but there been several communities there that have been surrounded by other growth and the downtowns have had to go. 02:04:27
Re establish themselves but they're in a situation similar to us and that they are sort of competing with other growth centers you 02:04:33
know and. 02:04:37
Swanee and Duluth in particular, two that have done a really nice job of sort of reinvigorating and creating their downtown. 02:04:41
But he offered to connect us in Chuck Warmington and Lawrenceville. Lawrence has got to, you know, and then the folks in Swanee or 02:04:50
Duluth, if you wanted to see what they've done, I was glad to do that too. I drove through Braselton a couple weeks ago. 02:04:57
There's a parking deck. No those hushed in student. 02:05:05
There's a parking deck downtown in Houston. 02:05:09
You know, in a brewery. It was a very nice downtown, but I was shocked to see a parking deck in Houston. But anyway, they've done 02:05:12
a very good job turning it around. And there's one thing I wanted to mention, the master plan. In addition to creating the 02:05:18
blueprint, it also helps if you have Adda one of. 02:05:23
Potential requirements is having a master plan in order to get funding for the grants that you're talking about. If you have the 02:05:30
master plan, that's one of the requirements. 02:05:34
You know one great resource and I think you all mentioned it earlier is Courtney at the our chamber. We have she's on our 02:05:39
committee. She is phenomenal. I mean I I personally think we've got probably the best director of the chamber that there is. I 02:05:44
mean she is incredible. 02:05:49
So. 02:05:56
To your to your rocket. 02:05:56
I would personally like to get rid of the dog park at Rocket Field. 02:06:01
You know, so just think about all the kids, the Little League kids that are there, the majority of the people that have dogs don't 02:06:08
pick up their. 02:06:12
They just don't. And so now you've got all these Little League kids out there playing in dog poop. 02:06:17
It's, it's not safe. It's not fair. The Little League is. I mean they're leasing it from us and we have dogs that are pooping all 02:06:22
over the field and. 02:06:26
Yeah, I got you. But but we we have turned, we have allowed it to be a dog park. We we've encouraged it to be a dog park and 02:06:31
they're they're not cleaning up. The dog owners are not cleaning up after their dogs. 02:06:36
Um. 02:06:43
You know, and I know that's that's not good for dog owners that like to take their dog and let them go. 02:06:44
Have fun. 02:06:49
Yeah. 02:06:52
This goes back to our master plan. You know, if we can somehow strategically get some more land, then we can create a dog park. 02:06:54
Designated just for dogs because I don't think our baseball field should be. 02:07:03
That area. 02:07:07
I agree with that. Again, I've said this before the there's been a lot of talk about changing Rocket Field, and I think Rocket 02:07:14
Field is part of Watkinsville history. 02:07:19
And the last two years, yes, we didn't have anybody out there playing because of the COVID. But this two weeks ago, the little 02:07:25
kids are coming in practicing already and and it's great to see those little kids out there playing. 02:07:32
And when I talked to the guy in charge of Little League couple years back, he said they needed all the ball fields that we have. 02:07:38
To accommodate all these little kids and if we got over 500 people getting ready to move into Watkinsville, we're going to have 02:07:47
more kids. So we need to keep it a ball field and yes, we need to find some property for a dog park. 02:07:54
Also. 02:08:02
With it being one of the counties. 02:08:04
Baseball fields, I think we ought to be getting, I don't know that we are be getting money from the county to use it as a ball 02:08:06
field. I mean, it's part of their parks and Rec. 02:08:12
They they send kids over to play T-ball at at Rocket Field. 02:08:18
It is one of one of the baseball fields in the county, so I'm not sure why we can't get parks and recs to fund some of the 02:08:23
maintenance cost. You know, new lighting, you know, not all of it. I'm not asking for all of it, but some of it, they do have 02:08:29
somebody that comes in and cuts the grass and as far as I know, they are responsible for paying the lighting bill during the 02:08:35
season when they use it. 02:08:41
But if we need some maintenance done, then yeah, we need to look into that. Little League is separate from the county rec 02:08:48
department. We own the ball field. 02:08:52
At the end of the day, the ball fields our responsibility. We lease it to them. So you know, there's the county rec. 02:08:56
Does not. I think Little League also contracts with County Rec. I don't think that, you know. So it's not like soccer or something 02:09:01
else. Little Leagues, its own entity. 02:09:05
At the end of the day, it. 02:09:09
Responsibility. My perspective on Rocket Field has always been what can we do to maximize? 02:09:11
The use of it for the community, I think it should be a ball field. I don't think it being a ball field precludes it from being 02:09:17
other things we have. 02:09:22
Every community. 02:09:27
We've looked at that. We've cited. 02:09:29
Gathering spaces, squares, green spaces. 02:09:31
That's a logical place that we can do more on than just play baseball. And but I want to respect the history of it. Before it was 02:09:34
Rocket Field or just the ball field, you know, You know, so there's there's some cool history there. I just think there's I think 02:09:40
it could be more if it was carefully planned. 02:09:45
And. 02:09:51
You know than a parking lot and a fall festival in a ball field that gets I think on a normal week, I doubt there's people on it, 02:09:53
more than 5% of the daylight hours and I think that's. 02:09:57
Nobody can go out. 02:10:02
You know, if our people could go out there and have lunch, if our people could go utilize it in different ways, I think that would 02:10:04
be. 02:10:07
Would be wonderful. I agree with that, and I've had several citizens multiple times ask if we could put a bocce ball. 02:10:10
On the outskirts of, I mean, I obviously smack down on people playing ball but like Rocket Field is wider than that. That's just 02:10:18
that would be another aspect of our community another. So just a thought I think if we circle back let's let's kind of this has 02:10:24
been an interesting conversation. Here's what I'd suggest you. 02:10:29
We know we've come back to a fundamental issue, which is we have ideas for things that we'd want to do. We have dollars allocated 02:10:36
for. 02:10:40
Some green space acquisition we have, We can't get into specific parcels I think don't think that would be wise. 02:10:45
But I do think we need to think about, you know, there are things like pickleball, there are things like bocce ball, there are 02:10:52
things that. 02:10:55
You know where, but people don't want that necessarily. At hair Shoals, you know, you get real sensitive to having it be an active 02:10:58
recreation area. 02:11:01
I do think it would be wise for us to sort of put our heads together and say. 02:11:05
You know, I'll tell you the other reality right now is people have gotten it in their head that every acre in downtown 02:11:09
Watkinsville is worth more than $100,000, which is somewhat preposterous, but somehow another that's the number that's in people's 02:11:15
head. So, but I think we have got to think creatively about. 02:11:21
Driving some deals with some of the people who are going to develop in Watkinsville that we expect some of these amenities to 02:11:28
happen or. 02:11:31
We're going to have to get creative and say where are we going to make, where are we going to create these opportunities for our 02:11:34
citizens and how are we going to do it. And it's going to start with getting a little bit more land than what we have, you know? 02:11:39
My two cents, you know. 02:11:46
Again, not for discussion today, but I want to plant that seed with you guys because. 02:11:48
Unless anybody objects, I think you know Sharon and I may have to come back to you guys with some suggestions and thoughts and 02:11:53
would welcome y'all's offline about what may make sense for us to place. 02:11:58
I think I was in. 02:12:04
Gatlinburg, of all places, recently, and they had. 02:12:06
A walking track, a dog park, a patanka and bocce area, all probably on 2 acres or three acres. I mean, it wasn't that complicated. 02:12:09
You just have to have the space to do it and some creative planning. 02:12:16
And the level of use it got was great, you know, and it was a it wasn't just a ball field with dogs running around. It was a kind 02:12:22
of a fun space with a bench and a watering area and all the other kind of stuff you see at a dog park, so. 02:12:28
I think we're going to have to think creatively about how we put that together and where that might be. So I just ask all of you 02:12:33
to kind of wrap your brain around that because a lot of the stuff that we're talking about comes back to this sort of fundamental 02:12:37
challenge of. 02:12:40
We don't have. We need spaces. Even if we can't fund it right now, we need. 02:12:44
Acquire some space and it comes back to what I said at the start, which is if we don't, you know, and maybe that's what we all 02:12:48
want, but. 02:12:52
We're going to We've got some beautiful green space left in this community that's likely to go away in the next 5 or 10 years if 02:12:55
we don't. 02:12:58
Think boldly about what how we may work with some families and others to preserve it. So there's sort of program space where we 02:13:02
probably need more based on what we've heard from our citizens. 02:13:07
And then there's sort of non program green spaces, linear and other that it may be wise for us to be looking at. 02:13:13
Otherwise it's it's going to sort of be out of reach or the private sector is going to just sort of take care of it and we won't 02:13:20
have it anymore. So. So I thought with that and I agree Brian. 02:13:25
Years ago when we were looking at what we do own, we do own that stretch on Barnett Shoals that for a while was where the mulch 02:13:32
and things were going and that always seemed like almost a useless little parcel, but with Wire Park going in and all of that, it 02:13:38
now actually, as I think about it, is a more like maybe we should look at what we do with that. It's no longer like, oh, it's at 02:13:44
the very far end of town. 02:13:50
That's an interesting idea. 02:13:58
Yeah, if we exactly, we're going to be. 02:14:01
Maybe. 02:14:07
Yeah, extend this. Extend the sidewalk. Extend the sidewalk from Shoal Shoal. 02:14:10
Stone Sorry stone Shoals down there. Nothing says friendly neighbors like dogs. 02:14:16
The the other thing keep in mind that the mayor mentioned earlier is Trove has some land that supposed supposedly will be 02:14:24
triggered to become public land. 02:14:29
And Waters Walk, as it moves forward, also has property that will be donated to the city. So those are two, two pieces. I mean 02:14:35
that we. 02:14:39
Are more are closer to being had than others that may be out there to be had, but I mean you certainly look at those as well. 02:14:44
Have to remain green according to the development agreement, though like we will be able to program it right well but well. 02:14:52
But you could have. Well, I think it was passive. I think the key is it wouldn't be for for kids to throw it, you know, basketball 02:14:58
courts or anything. Yeah, but you could have. 02:15:02
I mean, I don't know that a dog park necessarily be AI, don't know. I guess I'm just saying keep in mind that you do have other 02:15:08
parts. Yes. No, that's good. I am personally not excited about dog parks. I'm just going to throw that out there on the record. 02:15:14
Is there a reason we couldn't do a dog park at Hair Shoals? I know that's not super convenient to the folks that live near, you 02:15:22
know, First Second 3rd St. 02:15:26
In the county, there's a great dog park. The people who want to put their dogs in a car and drive to a dog park. 02:15:31
The reason the people who use Rocket Field other than when that dog park was shut down, which was when when I started this was the 02:15:38
issue. 02:15:42
Was the dogs on Rocket? 02:15:46
Um. 02:15:49
That it is people who live with who people don't drive their dogs to Rocket Field. People are just walking and that's their dog, 02:15:51
you know? 02:15:56
You've seen some people drive. 02:16:02
I know that was going on when the dog park was shut down because it isn't an official dog park. 02:16:04
I guess for me, dog parks I think are loud and they're. 02:16:10
Like, I don't know, we, I guess they could follow Joe. 02:16:13
If you post the thing that we're not going to be liable because it's recreation, I don't know. 02:16:18
Drop. 02:16:30
When you have an official dog park, so I. 02:16:32
I am one member of the council, but I would say for me personally, a dog park is low on my priority list and I have two dogs. I 02:16:35
mean, I like, but I walk them and. 02:16:39
Pick up their mess on my walks, I guess my. 02:16:43
I don't have a dog so it doesn't matter to me. I know there are dog owners out there, but the the Little League is complaining. 02:16:48
A lot about the dog poop on Rocket Field and. 02:16:55
I mean. 02:16:59
Tenants if you will, and they complain. 02:17:00
The condition of the field. 02:17:03
Well, I mean, there's a lot to complain about there. The restrooms are nasty. I've not, I've not heard a single complaint from 02:17:06
Little League. Have you heard a complaint from Little League about the dogs? So I would encourage them to, if they've got issues, 02:17:11
it would be good if staff knew that there was actually an issue there and we can begin. 02:17:16
Put up additional signage, we can begin to do some things that may not make it perfect, but right now. 02:17:22
I will say if. 02:17:27
I've spent more hours of my life than I want to on dog parks. You know, if I think we've got to decide if we want a dog park in 02:17:30
Watkinsville, then we need to. 02:17:35
Determine that and find a location for it at some point. But right now, nobody. We have yet to show a true willingness to tackle 02:17:40
Rocket Field. Have the necessary debates. 02:17:45
And figure out what it's going to be if we're going to do it as part of the master plan process then coming out of. 02:17:50
I have a feeling Rocket Field will no longer be a dog park. I also have a feeling Rocket Field may you know, still be a ball 02:17:55
field, but also have some other uses that are more make it a little more easy to access and and activate so. 02:18:01
Until then, I really don't want to get into tweaking Rocket Field, especially with the lease with Little League, you know, So I'd 02:18:10
rather much rather have an input process in a plan than I dealt with it the last time. And it felt like death. By 1000 cuts, it 02:18:14
was it was miserable. 02:18:19
Where are we, Eva? What else do we want to talk about here? So I think we have moved into economic development in downtown 02:18:26
planning. 02:18:30
You know we've we've talked a little about kind of the status of the downtown master plan and maybe activating A DDA. Are there 02:18:34
any other? 02:18:39
Economic develop. 02:18:44
Topics that we need to cover today or are we ready to move into another category? 02:18:45
Seems like we're ready to move into another category, so. 02:18:56
Do we want to get some updates from the finance and personnel committee from Council Member Massey? 02:19:00
I have been attempting to attend some of their weekly meetings that the. 02:19:10
Employees have been having and I'm very impressed with how everybody gets along and everybody keeps everybody else updated on what 02:19:17
they're working on and and the accomplishments they're making and. 02:19:23
Umm. 02:19:31
And I like the fact that. 02:19:33
Sharon and Julie and Lee and everybody's been doing a good job on the financial input of that and keeping all of us updated on all 02:19:36
that. 02:19:40
And. 02:19:45
That's about it. You're doing a good job. Thank you. So we did we do have as of I guess. 02:19:46
Friday I've engaged a company that was doing work with Condrey and Associates to do an evaluation of our performance, our 02:19:53
performance evaluation tool and also help me create a merit pay or pay for performance type program which is one of the goals for 02:20:01
me this year. So we started that process and I'm hoping that before the end of budget will have something we'll have a plan. 02:20:09
Set out to address that so that is 1 update. 02:20:17
All right, wonderful. Any questions or comments with regard to finance and personnel? 02:20:25
I think just a big thank you to Sharon for running so much of that and it. 02:20:32
Being relatively seamless and leave for your work on finance. Thank you to both of. 02:20:35
No, that's a lot of work. 02:20:41
I'm sorry. 02:20:43
I meant to mention with the economic development Jeff and Christina, can we explore the option of possibly having a charging 02:20:45
station put in? 02:20:50
Somewhere downtown. I mean, if we looked at that before, I think it would attract. 02:20:55
Possibly attract, but I don't know what the cost would be to put one or two in. 02:21:01
Yeah. 02:21:07
Yeah. 02:21:08
I mean it makes sense in like that comfort station, yes, definitely like putting, yeah, the pumps or whatever you want to call 02:21:11
them, the charter station, what does the. 02:21:16
I don't know anything about them, but what if I drive my electric car there and attach it? 02:21:21
Do you swipe a credit card? How does that work? Yeah, So one thing I would tell you one you've got to be close to a power source. 02:21:27
A big power source. So the comfort station back there is probably not going to be ideal. 02:21:35
You're going to need to be able to draw some power off of something that hole that try to cross from it on the middle of our 02:21:45
sidewalk. 02:21:49
Yeah. 02:21:54
They're gonna have to. They would have to dig from there through the elders property, over to. 02:21:55
Over there to it. 02:22:03
Again, it's possible, but so yeah, there there's an app. All the different cars have their own. 02:22:06
Charging stations. Tesla has its own app and it tells you, hey there there, your charging stations are in this vicinity. 02:22:14
But yeah, that Georgia Power. 02:22:24
Is there are those pumps are there generic ones so you can charge any brand of. I don't know if the yeah so each car has it's like 02:22:27
specifically Tesla has its own. 02:22:32
Charger that you have to plug into the. 02:22:38
To handle for for the Tesla. 02:22:40
I also had a private sector company contact me about wanting to put one in here. 02:22:44
Which I don't. I don't know that it makes a ton of sense, unless we had electric police cars or something. And then there's 02:22:50
multiple cons like the Superchargers, like a Tesla one would require a huge direct current power source. 02:22:55
Moderate one requires a little bit less. That charges at a reasonable rate. You know, that would give you maybe 20-30 miles an 02:23:01
hour. You know the supercharger would be. 02:23:06
Got crazy? Now Wire part would probably be a phenomenal place to put. 02:23:10
But. 02:23:15
I mean it and it still can go in because I can tell you when when I was working for the power company, we put some in Greensboro 02:23:18
behind an existing facility. And I mean. 02:23:23
People love them. That drop? 02:23:29
Ledger. 02:23:31
Yeah, I. 02:23:32
Well, part would definitely be putting some in. I was just more thinking about downtown area, trying to attract them to the 02:23:36
downtown area and I don't know about the lot to release up on the corner by. 02:23:42
I mean there's nothing. So typically you want to put it somewhere that I mean because it's not like an instant thing. So you need, 02:23:48
you need to plug it in and be able to do something. I mean I guess you could go to Adobe's and I guess if you did put it there 02:23:54
then we could maybe you know walk to downtown area. 02:24:00
But maybe like Town Center or because I mean the existing power is already there. They could come off of like so on the backside 02:24:07
of Town Center, the power, the the Transformers sitting right there. So they could pull off of that and we could have some 02:24:12
charging stations there at Town Center. 02:24:17
Would be feasible for between the salon and the church right there salon and the church. 02:24:23
Where the big powerful is across the street. 02:24:30
The private parking right below. 02:24:34
The Christian Church parking. 02:24:36
Oh. 02:24:38
The power zone powers on the other side of the road, though, so you'd have to know that wouldn't turn the courthouse where they 02:24:44
have their power buried. 02:24:48
There's no power poles back there. There is a transformer somewhere. I'd have to go find out where the big green box is. It's all 02:24:54
buried back there. But yeah, but I mean you'd come off the big green box. I mean the like 6 foot tall big, 6 foot by 6 foot box. 02:25:01
You that's what you would come off of. So there you could put some behind the. 02:25:08
But I Generally speaking, unlike in Greensboro, there's only four for all of I'm not Greensboro, Madison. 02:25:12
There's only four in Madison, and it's right on the Interstate. 02:25:19
That way. 02:25:22
Folks coming down the Interstate can stop, so you're probably not going to want to put them all over. It's probably what I'd 02:25:24
suggest is, you know, we can add it to the work plan. Chuck, I think it's a good idea to explore charging station options in 02:25:29
Watkinsville, Sharon and just see private sector versus Georgia Power. 02:25:35
I can connect you with the guy. He's he's a, he helps with some startup businesses here and he's got a startup in San Francisco 02:25:42
and he comes to Watkinsville a couple times a year and he wanted to put solar panels on our roof. 02:25:48
And use the solar panels to. 02:25:55