BY DAN HILDEBRAN
No members of the public spoke, commissioners tabled several items to their next meeting, one commissioner spoke about the need to ratify land use regulations, and the sheriff updated commissioners on preparations for possible snow during the Union County Commission’s January 21 meeting.
Chair Channing Dobbs gaveled the meeting to a close less than 30 minutes after the opening prayer and pledge.
Although a proposed ordinance to prohibit smoking in county parks was on the agenda, no one from the Union County High School’s Students Working Against Tobacco was present, so consideration of the ordinance was tabled. The high school group had been the force behind the proposed smoking ban.
Commissioners approved a right-of-way easement with Clay Electric Cooperative. The easement would allow the utility to replace an existing line with a new one near State Road 121 in the area of the Department of Corrections Reception and Medical Center.
The co-op’s engineering department characterized the line replacement as an improvement in service.
Commissioners also approved members for a committee to review requests for proposals for Phase 2 of the public works complex.
The committee members are Tim Allen, Pam Woodington, McKayla Clemons, and Joyce Thompson. Two contractors have submitted proposals, and the committee will review them.
Sheriff Brad Whitehead briefed commissioners on his office’s preparation for the incoming storm. He stressed the importance of staying off the roads.
Lastly, Commissioner Mac Johns stressed the importance of commissioners completing needed work on the county’s land development regulations and rules for RV parks.
“I’ve talked about us kicking cans down the road in previous meetings,” Johns told his colleagues. “Here it is. We’ve waited another month. We ain’t even touching the can this month, so it’s going to be another month before we need to really seriously start thinking— each one of us start thinking about how we can do something.”
