BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
LAKE BUTLER — The Union County Board of County Commissioners has voted to increase the administrative powers of County Coordinator James Williams to include authorization to sign certain contracts and other necessary paperwork (such as change orders) on Florida Department of Transportation projects (grant funded) with prior board chair approval on the grants/projects.
“This is a limited grant of authority that will help streamline various projects and will health the projects to run more quickly and smoothly,” Commissioner Jimmy Tallman said.
In the past, delays in getting necessary paperwork signed led to delays and requests for time extensions until the board chairman’s signature could be obtained – a common problem with boards that meet only once a month and have chairs that work out of town.
The approval comes with the conditions that any documents signed do not financially obligate the county for any costs and remain within the project budget.
The resolution approved to grant Williams these extended obligations does not in any way give the coordinator governing powers, simply administrative powers to keep things running in a timely manner. All projects must be examined and approved by the board, and the coordinator must consult with the board chair before executing any document. It is not a delegation of authority in any way.
In other discussion and action, the Union County Board of County Commissioners:
—heard a report from Emergency Medical Services Director Toby Witt that the fire department has received a grant that will reimburse up to half of the purchase price for equipment, up to $16,000, used to fight wildfires.
“The allowed items are mostly things that the department would purchase anyway,” Witt said.
—heard a report from Williams that the county would be getting two new inmate work crews, nearly immediately, to cover the mowing and groundskeeping at 23 facilities (such as the courthouse, commission office and other governmental buildings and properties) and 30 guardrail locations. The road department is in the process of putting together two new equipment trailers with mowers, weed eaters and other equipment necessary for the inmates to do their jobs.
In a related matter, the influx of inmates will free up road department workers for mowing the cemeteries in the county, although Commissioner Mac Johns said he would like to see a list of cemeteries and the amount of time it takes to do each one and discuss payment in some form with the governing bodies of the properties. In the past, some of the cemeteries have donated funds to the county for the service, and Johns said he would like to see some payment from them to offset county costs.
—heard a report from Williams that the plans for the new fire station in Providence were within 90 days of completion. Once the plans are finalized the county can call for bids on the construction itself.
—approved a request, first meeting as the county planning and zoning board and later at the BOCC, from local landowner Jimmy Matthews to change the zoning of less than 10 contiguous acres (0. 81 acres) from agricultural to industrial light and warehousing to allow the owner to create an RV storage facility.
The facility will provide secure parking for storage purposes only and that none of the vehicles would be hooked up or inhabited. Many people do not have room to park their RVs at their homes or live in developments that prohibit the parking of the vehicles.
