COVINGTON, Ga. — Those entering Newton County-owned buildings and parks will now have the option of wearing masks to protect from COVID-19 rather than being required to do so.
County commissioners voted unanimously for the change in the county policy. Chairman Marcello Banes said it will follow Superior Court Judge Ken Wynne’s recent order that a county mask requirement be relaxed in courtrooms during hearings in the Horace Johnson Judicial Center because of new CDC guidelines and downturn in new cases of COVID-19. Wynne’s order also reserves the right to reimpose the requirement if cases increase again.
The new policy replaces a resolution approved in August 2021 to require masks in county-owned facilities and parks both inside and outside the county’s five cities.
Also at its March 15 meeting, the Board of Commissioners voted to approve a new Newton County Juvenile Court position to handle a growing volume of student truancy cases and provide diversion services.
The cost is $4,936 and will need to be added to the Juvenile Court’s current budget, said Chief Judge Candace Branche.
It would handle cases of truant juveniles — as well as cases involving educational neglect by parents which a judge now often must handle, Branche said.
She said a judge should be concentrating only on issues requiring orders for probation or foster care.
“They don’t need to get to me unless there are more underlying problems,” Branche told commissioners at their March 15 meeting.
The position also will provide early intervention and diversion services to address both school attendance and systemic problems, she said.
Court Administrator Kathryn Rider said the court has 239 open referrals managed by two intake officers — of which 68 are truancy and educational neglect cases being actively monitored by the current staff.
However, she said Newton County School System told her there are 1,143 referrals for truancy and educational neglect charges — including 87 new neglect cases between Jan. 5 and Feb. 25 alone.
Many of the neglect problems stem from domestic violence or substance abuse. Parents with substance abuse problems often keep students from attending school so they will not tell other students about the abuse, court officials said.
The juvenile court is required to work with the school system on attendance procedures and intervention. An intake officer needs to be in place and ready to manage cases and intervention services before the start of the 2022-2023 school year, Branche said.
Juvenile Court has legal responsibility for all Newton County juveniles facing truancy-related charges, she said. The court must work with the school system, families and law enforcement on the individual cases and a diversion program.
The court formerly included a truancy intake officer on its staff but eliminated it after a staff reorganization, the judge said. However, the two current Intake officers are unable to handle the caseload effectively and the court needs the position to manage it.
Branche said she wanted to add the position by May 9 and then include funding for the position in its 2023 budget for commissioners to consider.
Truancy will continue to be problem for the school system if more staff is not added, she said.
In a related request, the Board approved Branche’s request for termination of an agreement with a current professional services provider and approval of a contract for a new provider for the Juvenile Court’s Family Treatment Court.
The new provider, Southeastern Psychological Associates of Covington, will provide counseling and substance abuse treatment services immediately after Impact Counseling & Consulting ends its work March 31.
The new contract will require $16,055 for the remainder of the fiscal year through July 1 and already is in the Juvenile Court budget, Branche said.
Also at its March 15 meeting, the Newton County Board of Commissioners approved using part of the county’s federal COVID-19 relief funds for residents of the Dial Mill community to receive broadband internet service.
The Board voted unanimously to allocate $6,127 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the service which is authorized in the APRA.
Newton County received $10.8 million in APRA funds in May 2021 and is due to receive another $10.8 million later this year.
District 3 Commissioner Alana Sanders said many residents of the area along Georgia Hwy. 81 work from home but must travel to a location with internet service to do their jobs.
“We definitely don’t want our citizens to have to pay to work when they are allowed to work from home but they don’t have internet,” she said.
Board members also approved:
• A request from the Finance and Fire Services departments for the purchase of a used fire engine to replace one that wrecked in 2021.
Fire Chief Mike Conner said the county received $313,000 from its insurance carrier and needed an additional $32,000 from money saved in the personnel part of its budget to buy the vehicle for $345,000.
• Adding $147,000 to a design services contract with Lose Design for additional master planning services and design fees for Segment l of the Yellow River Trail System. The change makes the total SPLOST-funded contract $176,500.
• Department of Public Works’ request for an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Mansfield and addition to a separate agreement with the nonprofit Newton Trails for paving 0.83 of a mile of the Cricket Frog Trail in east Newton.
The trail segment is entirely within the Mansfield city limits. The city will pay the county $50,000 for the service — which will result in 8.5 continuous miles of the trail being paved in eastern Newton, said Public Works director Chester Clegg.
• Adding $282,049 to the contract with Sunbelt Construction for additional items requested for renovations to Washington Street Community Center. The change brings the overall SPLOST-funded agreement to $882,124.
• Adding $750,000 to a contract with Sunbelt Construction for an emergency power system for the Newton County Administration Building. The $750,000 addition was budgeted in the Capital Improvements line item and makes the total contract $777,500.
• Fire Services’ request to apply for a CSX grant for $5,000 to purchase a fire hose; the Sheriff’s Office’s request to apply for the Project Safe Neighborhood Grant through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to support its Community Outreach Division and Crime Suppression Unit; and the Juvenile Court’s request to apply for a Delinquency Financial & Technical Prevention Grant to help implement evidence-based programs and prevention strategies to at-risk youth.
• Information Services’ request for renewal of a ClosedPort email security spam quarantine system at an annual cost of $6,873 which is included in its 2022 budget. The system is needed to cover the 8,000 to 10,000 emails the county government receives daily, officials said.
