Cusseta–Chattahoochee commission appoints regional representative, gives hiring consent and hears resident concern over court fine

The Unified Government of Cusseta–Chattahoochee County’s board approved several administrative items across its Sept. 3 regular meeting and a Sept. 23 work session, including an appointment to the River Valley Regional Commission, a personnel advice-and-consent vote, and approvals and tablings affecting recycling and property use.

On Sept. 3 the Commission approved a resolution appointing Rob Marion to represent the county on the River Valley Regional Commission; the resolution names Marion as replacing Dr. Edward Lee with a one-year term beginning Sept. 3, 2024. The motion was moved by Commissioner Jason Frost and seconded by Commissioner Gerald Douglas and recorded as approved.

Also on Sept. 3 the commission gave 'advice and consent' to the County Manager to hire a recommended candidate for a director-level position following executive session. Chairman Charles Coffey said the manager would publicly announce the individual at a future meeting; the action followed an executive session described in the minutes as covering personnel and legal matters.

Other formal actions recorded Sept. 3 included a motion to approve a VA tax refund for Anthony Leach (mover: Commissioner Timothy Biddle; seconder: Commissioner Jason Frost) and unanimous votes to allow businesses to establish accounts at the county recycle center. The board tabled two items for further review — allowing the Board of Education to use Old City Hall and purchase/placement of a cardboard compactor at the recycling site — until the next work session.

During the Sept. 23 work session resident Christine Richards addressed the commission about a $260 charge she said resulted from not receiving a warning about a citation; she told the board she believed a 911-address number mismatch (her property read as 140, county 911 showed 145) could have caused the missed notice. Richards said she is on a fixed income and was "coming to the meeting to find out where my money is going." County Manager Thomas Weaver noted that fines are imposed by judges and that the commission could not directly alter court fines, but he and staff agreed to check the 911 sign and water-billing details Richards raised.

Department heads provided routine updates at the Sept. 23 session, including recreation (youth soccer registration and field valve checks), community development (newsletter and code enforcement), water department items, animal-control staffing and a planned tire grant. County Manager Weaver proposed items to appear on the Oct. 1 regular meeting agenda: Board of Education use of Old City Hall (if agreement is ready), cardboard compactor, reappointments to the Tax Assessor board, vehicle purchases (including trading a county Ford Escape), naming Paul Rakel/Sowega as engineer of record, cemetery bylaws, and rescheduling the November meeting because it falls on Election Day.

Chairman Coffey closed the Sept. 23 session with a reminder to treat people respectfully in public meetings and asked attendees to fill out a water-department service-line survey; the work session reconvened from executive session and adjourned at 11:57 a.m.