Monday, March 3rd, 2025
6:30 PM. Community Center
Attending: Mayor Steve T. Nichols, Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins, Council Members Thomas Gary, Josh Burkhalter, and Mike Barfield. Library Manager Rhonda O., City Attorney Jody Campbell, and City Clerk Irma Robles. For public assistance, refer to the attendance sheet. Not present: Finance Director Glenda Cantrell, Public Works Director Doyle Samples, and Mainstreet Newspaper (Draft minutes emailed to Mr. Mike Buffington on 3/4/2025).
CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Steve T. Nichols called the Council Meeting on March 3rd, 2025, to order at 6:32 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Council Member Mike Barfield led the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America flag.
APPROVAL OF MARCH 3RD, 2025, COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA: The Council Meeting Agenda for March 3rd, 2025, was approved, with Councilman Thomas Gary motioning for approval as presented and Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins seconding. Councilman Mike Barfield asked if “Dog Park” would be discussed at this meeting, and City Attorney Jody Campbell replied that the city needs a month to hire engineering services for this project. He added that it could be an agenda item for the next work session. There were no discussions, and all were in favor. The agenda was approved.
APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 3RD, 2025, COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES. Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins motioned to approve the Council Meeting Minutes on February 3rd, 2025, as presented; Councilman Thomas Gary seconded. There were no discussions. All were in favor. The minutes were approved.
Councilman Josh Burkhalter arrived at the meeting at 6:34 pm.
APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 11TH, 2025, SPECIAL CALLED MEETING. Council member Thomas Gary motioned to approve the Special Called Meeting Minutes for February 11th, 2025, as presented; Councilman Josh Burkhalter seconded. There were no discussions. All were in favor. The minutes were approved.
JANUARY 2025 FINANCIALS: Councilman Thomas Gary motioned to approve the January 2025 Financials as presented. Council member Josh Burkhalter seconded this motion. There were no discussions; all were in favor. The financial report was approved.
- 2025-2025 Neatoware Agreement Councilman Josh Burkhalter motioned to approve 2025-2026 Neatoware Agreement and authorized Mayor Nichols to sign it. Council member Thomas Gary seconded this motion. There were no comments or discussions. All were in favor. The motion was approved.
Community Center Brick Columns Repair – Quotes. Mayor Nichols handed out detailed specifications for this repair to the city council.Councilman Thomas Gary motioned to approve Juarez Home Projects’ bid for $8,250 for the renovation work at the Community Center. Council member Josh Burkhalter seconded this motion. Councilman Thomas Gary asked if all three bids had the same information and if all three knew the project’s specs. Mayor Nichols confirmed this information. Councilman Thomas Gary also asked about the timeline for completing this renovation, and Mayor Nichols replied that it was three weeks. There were no further comments or discussions. All were in favor. The motion was approved.
Employee Social Media Policy. Councilman Josh Burkhalter motioned to approve the employee social media policy and place it in the employee handbook. Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins seconded this motion. There were no comments or discussions. All were in favor. The motion was approved.
White House—Surplus Item Sale. Councilman Thomas Gary motioned to move forward with selling the Wilbanks House as a surplus item and taking sealed bids for it. Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins seconded this motion. Council member Thomas Gary asked Councilman Josh Burkhalter to come up with ideas to advertise this surplus sale so the city can get more money and work with Mayor Nichols and City Clerk Irma Robles on this advertisement process, to which Councilman Josh Burkhalter agreed. There were no further comments or discussions. All were in favor. The motion was approved.
OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS: N/A
LIBRARIAN’S REPORT
Rhonda O’Keeffe, Library Manager
Nicholson Library was busy with passports in February. They have kept up with training. There have been a few changes with the new administration.
Sherri (Library Assistant) had the first meeting of the Cookbook Club this afternoon. The group will meet every two months and try out recipes based on different cookbooks.
Library Drop in Craft this month is on Thursday, March 6 (3-5). Nicholson Library is working in conjunction with the Jackson County Farm Bureau. Each participating child will leave the program with a plant!
The next meeting of the Friends of the Harold S. Swindle Public Library will be Tuesday, March 11th at 5:30 PM. The library is having another Plant Swap. This one will be on Saturday, March 15th from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM. There is no cost to this program. If anyone has plants or seeds they would like to donate, please drop them by the library or city hall.
The Adult Book Club will meet this month on Thursday, March 20. The book is historical fiction.
The library will be having a “Women in World War II traveling trunk. It arrives on Friday, March 28th. Patrons can go through the trunk at the library. They have informed the schools about the trunk. It is free from Kennesaw State University.
The Easter Bunny will visit the library on Saturday, March 29th from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Each child will receive a goodie bag from the Bunny while supplies last.
Sherri (Library Assistant) read a Dr. Seuss book to the daycare today in honor of Read Around the World (Dr. Seuss birthday). Our volunteer and Library Trustee Lisa Lampe dressed up as the “Cat in the Hat”. The children wanted to know if she knew any other Seuss characters such as Cindy Lou Who or the Grinch.
The Quilters meet each Tuesday of the week. They are having a pillow case program during the spring break of Jackson County School System.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Steve T. Nichols
-Mayor Nichols mentioned that the bids are out for renovating the Lower Level of the Annex Building at Benton Center. Councilman Thomas Gary requested that this building be renamed to “The Margaret Ward” Building since she did a lot for this community and our school systems. The City Attorney suggested writing a Proclamation to address this matter, and it will be discussed at the next work session.
Library Manager Rhonda O. informed that Mary Jane Hilley, who served for many years at the library as a volunteer and was also part of the Friends of the Library group, passed away today, Monday, March 3rd. She believed she would be buried in Danielsville, GA, where funeral services will also be held.
Councilman Thomas Gary asked how many bid packages had been picked up for the annex building, and City Clerk Irma Robles replied that three had been picked up.
-Mayor Nichols told the city council that the Benton Center parking lot at John Deer Hall was striped today with yellow lines. This should address the “no-parking” issue.
-Mayor Steve added that a yield sign on the railroad tracks was placed last week on Sanford Dr, where the two stop signs were; one is now a yield sign.
-Councilman Mike Barfield congratulated City Clerk Irma Robles for finalizing the Georgia Clerk Certification and thanked her for doing such a wonderful job. Councilman Thomas Gary joined the congratulations and added that City Clerk Irma Robles is moving forward with the master’s certification. He also thanked all city employees for the great job they do.
CITIZENS REQUESTING TO SPEAK: N/A
ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins motioned to adjourn the March 3rd, 2025, Council Meeting. Councilman Mike Barfield seconded, and all were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 p.m.-
Announcements:
*Next Daisy Festival Planning Meeting – March 6th, 2025, at 6:00 pm
*Next Work Session – March 27th, 2025, at 6:30 pm
*Next Council Meeting– April 7th, 2025, at 6:30 pm
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Approved by City Clerk Irma Robles