Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
During the regular meeting of the Madison County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday, Feb. 22, the commissioners held the final public hearing on a moratorium on the establishment, siting, construction, opening, operation, and/or continued operation of medical marijuana dispensing facilities. This moratorium has been discussed for several weeks, since the amendment legalizing the medical use of marijuana in the State of Florida was passed. The commissioners voted unanimously to enact a temporary moratorium on the establishment or construction of dispensaries where patients could purchase or otherwise obtain medical marijuana. This moratorium will be in effect until Mar. 31, 2018. County Attorney Tom Reeves was careful to note that the moratorium does nothing to prevent someone from legally obtaining or using marijuana for legitimate medical reasons. “This is strictly a land use moratorium, it does nothing to keep someone from obtaining medical marijuana,” said Reeves. The purpose of the moratorium is to give the State Legislature time to formulate rules regarding the facilities licensed to distribute medical marijuana. Many counties across the state have adopted similar moratoriums. The County moratorium only affects the unincorporated parts of the County. The City of Madison and the Towns of Lee and Greenville are all considering very similar moratoriums.
In other business, the commissioners passed the consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda included a request by RS&H for a contract extension for Madison County landfill remediation. Also on the consent agenda was permission to begin tax deed processes for two parcels of land; 22-IN-09-4115-000-000 and 22-IN-09-4103-000-000.
A citizen addressed the commissioners with a concern about large semi-trucks traveling on State Road 255 at unsafe speeds.
Sheriff Ben Stewart addressed the commissioners and expressed his gratitude for all the commissioners standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each meeting. “It may seem like a small thing, but it really means a lot to me,” said Stewart. Other public officials in other municipalities within the County refuse to recite the pledge. Stewart also addressed criticism for not enacting the County's “Code Red” system during the recent shootings in Greenville. Stewart said the Code Red system was not really designed for events such as the drive by shootings in Greenville, but that the system was designed more for weather emergencies.
Emergency Management Director Alan Whigham addressed the commissioners with a change to the contract with Disaster Strategies & Ideas Group, LLC; the company hired to put together a disaster drill later in March. A clause has been placed into the contract establishing a monetary penalty if Disaster Strategies & Ideas Group, LLC does not complete their final reporting in a timely manner. The disaster drill is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Mar. 22.
Road Department Coordinator Lonnie Thigpen addressed the commissioners with bids for road construction projects. The first was a bid for the NW Hickory Grove Rd. resurfacing and roadway improvements project. The low bid for the project was from Music Construction for $1,258,794. These funds will come from the Florida Department of Transportation. The commissioners voted to approve that bid. The Commissioners then discussed the County Road 255 railroad crossing in Lee. The C. M. Brandies company was the low bid for this project at $28,518. The commissioners voted to approve that bid. Traffic on County Road 255 will be detoured for approximately one week. There was discussion regarding replacing drainage pipes on SW Sundown Creek Rd. This item will be postponed until the Wednesday, Mar. 8 meeting.
Commissioner Rick Davis said that a constituent's well had tested positive for fecal coliform. County Coordinator Brian Kauffman said the test can be very sensitive and false positives are not uncommon. Kauffman suggested the Health Department test the well again.
The next scheduled meeting of the Board of County Commissioners will be on Wednesday, Mar. 8, at 9 a.m. in the Courthouse Annex, located at 229 SW Pinckney St., in Madison.