BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Monitor
The Union County Board of Commissioners met on April 15 for their regular monthly meeting to discuss several ongoing projects and plans.
Board Chair Channing Dobbs began the meeting with a warning to citizens concerning the inappropriate language used by a citizen during the public comment portion of a previous meeting.
“I want to state my extreme displeasure about the bad language at the last meeting,” Dobbs said. “There is no excuse to use such language at a public meeting, and this board will not tolerate it. If it happens again, that person will be asked to leave the podium immediately and not be allowed to finish their comments. Should they persist, then they will be removed from the meeting room by law enforcement. Cursing and other bad language will not be tolerated.”
Juneteenth and EOC construction
When public comment began after Dobbs’s warning, Fred Sirmones, Jr. asked permission from the board to use the R.J. Phillips Park for a Juneteenth Celebration/picnic on June 22. The actual observance of the holiday will be June 19. He told the board that the whole park might be used. Commissioner Mac Johns said he would have to check the recreation department schedule to see what, if any, other activities were scheduled that might conflict with the uses of some parts of the facility and that he would check the calendar and be in touch with Sirmones as soon as possible.
The board heard comments from Union County Sheriff Brad Whitehead concerning two matters in which he needed the board’s assistance.
Whitehead said he needed board approval for some amendments to the contract between the UCSO and Ajax Construction, the firm that will be building the new Emergency Operations Center. Whitehead said that if the board approved the amendments, the project would be able to begin in about one month. He also asked the board to waive the permit fees for the project, as it was a county project to benefit the citizens. The board approved both requests.
Damaging ditches
Whitehead also told the board that his office had been receiving quite a few complaints about damaging ditches around the county. He told commissioners that ditches that could cause damage to vehicles were in violation of state statute and asked if the road department could make signs that could be used to warn people of the particular ditches. Commissioner Mac Johns said he had also been getting calls and would volunteer to work with the road department to get the signs properly worded, made and put out. It was suggested that each commissioner make a list of any damaging ditches in their district and send the information to Johns.
Reserve for jail construction, extension on Ag building
Union County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Kellie Rhoades asked the commission if she could put the reversions turned in by the sheriff at the end of the past few years in an account accessible to the sheriff for the new jail. Reversions are unspent money from a department’s annual budget. The sheriff’s reversions total $92,211. She said the sheriff’s office had been turning back money for the past few years with an eye to using it to help pay for the new jail. Commissioner Donna Jackson asked if the money could be put in a reserve for use only if needed and Rhoades said that was what she wanted to do. Jackson agreed and made a motion to approve the money being put in a fund for the new jail, and the motion passed unanimously.
The board also approved an application for an extension of the completion date for the addition to the Agricultural Education Building, as the project has been bogged down with plan changes and other delays. The board granted the permission unanimously.
When the consent agenda came up for approval by the board, Dobbs stated that he had requested that Rhoades provide a verbatim version of the minutes from the board’s March 25 meeting because he felt several things had been omitted from the copy in the agenda for approval. Rhoades replied that she did not have the capacity to produce verbatim minutes. Dobbs asked his fellow commissioners to remove those minutes from their approval, and a motion was made by Jackson to approve the consent agenda with the exception of the March 25 minutes, and the motion passed unanimously.
Funding for Independence Day
The board heard a request from Jody Read and Shane Collins of the Lake Butler Rotary Club for the funds set aside in the budget by the county to help fund the annual Rotary Independence Day Celebration at Lakeside Park. They said the event would be held on Saturday, July 6. The board approved the disbursal of the funds,
The board voted unanimously to approve the renewal of the contract with WW Gay for bimonthly maintenance on the chiller units in the courthouse. County Coordinator Jimmy Williams said the contract would provide service for the same cost as the previous year and that WW Gay was the only company that would work on the chiller units. He also said that, as asked by the board, he was looking into alternative equipment to the chiller units for cooling the courthouse in the future.
The board approved the purchase of the Unicode service for the clerk’s office so that all of the county ordinances could be codified according to state statute. The service will make all of the ordinances easy to find and add new documents as they are approved. The process will take 15 to 24 months to complete and cost $13,950.
Recreation board vacancy, lighting for field
The board heard a request from Johns to fill the vacancy on the County Recreation Board. He said the sitting board members had selected Beverly Lassiter, the person they would like to see approved, and they would move forward with electing board officers as soon as the board was up to full strength. Johns then made a Motion to approve Lassiter’s appointment, and the motion passed 5-0.
Johns also asked the board for assistance in doing something about the lighting on the girls’ softball LED lights, which are not as bright as promised and need to be replaced. He said the field is scheduled for a championship series this year. He reported that the school district had purchased the lights, but they needed to be installed. Johns said it would cost $2,500 to get the lights up and working and asked if the county could help with that expense. He said the price was for labor only. He said there was money in the budget if it could be moved from the New Equipment line item to the Operating Expenses account. The motion was made by Johns to approve the budget amendment and allow the labor costs of installing the lights to be paid, and the motion passed 5-0.
Processing public records requests
Board members heard a recommendation to change the way public record requests were handled in the county. Williams said weekly reports could be generated or commissioners. He said the new process would compile all the requests from all the county departments. Dobbs said it should be made a policy. Currently, most of the requests come to the clerk’s website. Rhoades said she was not prepared to take on the compilation, that she could not take on any more work reports, but she would forward all the requests to the Board Secretary if the board chose to let her do the compilation. Jackson said she would like to see not only the requests but also the response to/handling of them. She was told that it would be done.
New Road Dept. Chief
Commissioners heard comments from Road Department Superintendent Shelton Arnold regarding his upcoming retirement on April 26. In response to his suggestion of promoting from within, the board discussed and voted on which of the three applicants they wanted to hire to replace Arnold. Christopher Griffin was selected unanimously based on his qualifications, experience (as assistant Superintendent under Arnold) and his knowledge of the county. His starting salary was set at $55,000, with a review after six months. All of the commissioners expressed their thanks to Arnold for the job he has done during his tenure as Road Department Superintendent.
Librarian retirement
Library Director Mary Brown said that because of her upcoming retirement, she asked for permission to advertise for her replacement and that the board set the salary for the new hire. The board set the salary range at $46,000 to $52,000. It was decided that Dobbs would represent the board on the interview committee, with Brown, New River Library Cooperative Director Tricia Wiley, and Union County Director of Personnel Michaela Clemons filling the other seats on the committee. The going away party for Brown will be held at the Union County Public Library on June 25, at 10 A.M. Brown also asked commissioners to remember and attend the Employee Appreciation Day event on May 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Agricultural Education Building, noting that this year’s event will feature a picnic.
