Putnam County Commissioners kicked off the month of March with a 10 a.m. board meeting last Friday. At only an hour long, the meeting was on the shorter side as the commissioners and staff succinctly moved through the agenda.
Notable items included a Putnam Development Authority quarterly update, a special presentation to support changing the state flower and setting the 2025 Budget and 2024 Mill Rate schedule.
Matt Poynter from the Putnam Development Authority (PDA) presented a quarterly update to the board. Poynter emphasized how the PDA has been working to “rebrand” some facets of Putnam County to make the area more appealing to companies and businesses. This rebrand has included a new logo for Putnam County as well as the slogan “Putnam Forward.”
Poynter said the PDA is in the process of circulating a Business Retention Expansion Program (BREP) survey to companies around Putnam County.
Poynter said he is aiming at getting feedback from 50 to 75 percent of the surveyed companies, but the PDA will not be presenting a report on results until sometime this summer.
Additionally, the PDA plans to improve the aesthetics of the local industrial park. It seeks to make the environment and appearance more appealing to both businesses and community members and hopes to implement these improvements once the proper funding is in place.
Later, Virginia Linch presented details of Senate Bill 518 to the board, which proposed replacing the Cherokee Rose as Georgia’s floral emblem with the Sweetbay Magnolia.
During the approval of minutes at the beginning of the session, however, District 3 Commissioner Stephen Hersey moved to edit this agenda item, as he stated Senate Bill 518 does not aim to change Georgia’s “state flower” as the agenda states but intends to replace the Cherokee Rose as Georgia’s “state floral emblem.”
Linch presented insightful historical significance regarding the proposed change.
According to her presentation, the Cherokee Rose was mistakenly identified as being native to Georgia when it is not native to North America at all and is found naturally in China and Southeast Asia.
“The Cherokee Rose was also an emblem of the Trail of Tears, which was genocide,” Linch said. “It was when the indigenous people of this state, the Cherokee Indians, were … forced from their homes. The Cherokee Rose is part of that symbolism.”
Alternatively, the Sweetbay Magnolia, according to Linch, is native to all regions of Georgia and would make a better choice for Georgia’s floral emblem.
Several senators, including Putnam County’s senator, Rick Williams, are in support of the bill. The board presented Linch with a proclamation that they fully support Senate Bill 518 to adopt the Sweetbay Magnolia.
Notably, three individuals signed up for public comment at this meeting, each of whom spoke on the same topic: the general obligation (G.O.) bond referendum.
All three people – past County Commission Chairman Billy Webster, commission candidate Bill Vargo, and his wife, Barbara Vargo – are concerned about where additional money to pay these G.O. bonds off is going to come from, and if the answer is taxation.
“My main concern is when these payments come due every year, where’s the other $3-5 million going to come from that T-SPLOST doesn’t handle?” Bill Vargo asked. “Are you going to raise property taxes on all of us?”
According to policy, the board does not immediately respond to matters of public commentary, so no further discussion regarding the G.O. bonds payment structure was made at this meeting.
Nearing the end of the agenda, the board looked over and approved the 2025 Budget and 2024 Mill Rate Schedule as presented.
The approval is solely on the schedule itself – no financial decisions have been made thus far – but now there is a set schedule for when and how the budget approval should proceed in the coming months, with final budget adoption scheduled for Aug. 30.
After just over an hour in the Putnam County Commission building, the first board meeting of March was adjourned. The next board meeting is scheduled for March 19 at 6 p.m., again in the county commission building.