Ewell Lyle calls out fellow Dougherty commissioner over Walmart flap

ALBANY — District 2 Dougherty County Commissioner John Hayes responded privately after Monday’s commission meeting to comments made by District 4 Commissioner Ewell Lyle during the meeting chastising Hayes for comments the District 2 commissioner made recently regarding the local Walmart outlet on Ledo Road.

Offered an opportunity to bring up any topic of concern, as commissioners are at the end of each commission meeting, Lyle said commissioners “need to think” before they discuss in open meetings issues that might hurt businesses in the community.

“I saw a couple of stories in the newspaper about Wal-Mart officials being on the agenda and then not being on the agenda, and it hit me that there is another side to this issue that hasn’t been discussed,” Lyle said. “I feel that we all should think before we put a local business in a negative light at one of our public meetings.”

Hayes later said, “I only got the gist of Commissioner Lyle’s concern, and I’ll be glad to discuss it now or privately after the meeting.”

The pair talked one-on-one for a good 20 minutes after the meeting.

Hayes had criticized the Lee County-based Walmart outlet for what he told The Albany Herald was its store manager’s refusal to support the local commission-backed Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students. The Herald got no response from local or corporate officials at Wal-Mart when it attempted to clarify the retailer’s policy.

Also at Monday’s work meeting, Associate Juvenile Court Judge Richard Brooker asked the commission to consider approving a $300,000 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant that is used statewide to address the problem of recidivism among youth offenders. Brooker said the Functional Family Therapy program involves youth offenders and all members of their families, “whether it’s both parents, a mom, a grandmother, or any other guardian.”

“And a lot of these offenders,” he added, “have as many as three or four siblings.”

Brooker said the program, funded 100 percent by the state, has become a major piece in juvenile justice efforts.

“We tracked the number of juvenile complaints we’ve had in Dougherty County from five years back, and we’ve seen that number drop from more than 1,200 five years ago to 630 last year,” the Juvenile Court judge said. “The first six months of this year, we’ve had 250 delinquent complaints. If we continue at that pace, it will be the lowest since I started as a judge 36 years ago.

“Now I’m not saying the Functional Family Therapy program has brought about this huge change, but it’s certainly a piece of the puzzle. Our priority is always the well-being of the child, but the second element of this is to protect the community.”

Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said he’s seen first-hand how well the program works.

“I know from my position with the district attorney’s office that you’re on the front line, working to meet our children’s needs,” Cohilas said.

Brooker said the program, which includes objective standards, was implemented in 2014. He noted that the new program was the first overall upgrade of juvenile justice standards since 1971.

The commission also heard a request from Assistant County Administrator Mike McCoy to rescind the awarding of a contract to Don Jackson Chrysler Dodge of Union City in favor of a bid by Wade Ford of Smyrna because of the initial bid winner’s failure to deliver a vehicle that met specifications.

“The vehicle was delivered but, unfortunately, it did not adequately meet specifications we’d required,” city of Albany buyer Dale Henry told commissioners.

The Wade Ford vehicle is a model year newer (2016) and came in at a cost of $278 more than the initial bid.

The board also received information on the low bid for six mobile camera (dash cam) units to be placed in Dougherty County Police Department vehicles. The cameras came at a total cost of $28,302.

In post-meeting discussions, District 6 Commissioner Anthony Jones said he wanted county officials to talk with Code and Planning officials to address a growing problem with blighted county property outside the Albany city limits.