The Public Facilities Authority met for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
The board members for the PFA are Gary Richardson, District 1, Scott Johnson, District 2, Connie Melear, District 3, Andy Finch, District 4, and one vacant countywide position. The vacant position will be appointed by Board of Commissioners Chair Doug Duncan. During this meeting, officers were appointed, and Melear was named the chair, Richardson was appointed the vice chair, Finch was named the secretary/treasurer and Johnson was appointed the manager.
After reading through the bylaws, asking questions and making some minor changes, the bylaws were approved. The bylaws include information that defines the responsibilities of each person, information about terms, information about how often meetings are held and more.
County Attorney Chris Driver said the Public Facilities Authority can issue bonds for public projects. It was also stated that the cities of Grovetown and Harlem, Columbia County School District and even the county can use the PFA. Johnson added one of the cities has already reached out to them about a project.
During the meeting, Johnson said he and Driver will work on creating the initial application that needs to be filled out by the interested parties prior to being brought before the board. Then, if the board has questions, they can request additional information.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved the creation of the PFA during its Feb. 21 meeting. Following approval, the resolution was sent to the Georgia General Assembly for creation at a state level.
According to resolution 23-05 in regards to the Public Facilities Authority, members will “authorize the issuance of revenue bonds of the Authority payable from the revenues, tolls, fees, charges, and earnings of the Authority, contract payments to the Authority, and from other money pledged therefor and to authorize the collection and pledging of the revenues, tolls, fees, charges, earnings, and contract payments of the Authority for the payment of such revenue bonds; to authorize the execution of resolutions and trust indentures to secure the payment of the revenue bonds of the Authority; to fix and provide the venue and jurisdiction of actions, provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes as so required.”
The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 9:30 a.m.
Stephanie Hill is the managing editor and covers Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
