Greene Publishing, Inc. Photo By Rick Patrick, October 12, 2016
District 4 County Commissioner Alfred Martin takes over as Chairman of the Board of Madison County Commissioners. Pictured, from left to right are: District 1 Commissioner Justin Hamrick, Clerk of Court Tim Sanders, District 4 Commissioner/Chairman Alfred Martin, District 2 Commissioner Wayne Vickers, and District 5 Commissioner Rick Davis, who is outgoing Chairman.
Rick Patrick
Greene Publishing, Inc.
The regular bi-weekly meeting of the Board of Madison County Commissioners began on Wednesday, Oct. 12, with District 5 Commissioner Rick Davis expressing gratitude to the entire board for the positive working relationship that they have shared over the past year, as he passed the chairman's gavel on to District 4 Commissioner Alfred Martin. Davis will continue to serve District 5 until the end of his term. Martin begins a one year term as Chairman, with District 2 Commissioner Wayne Vickers serving as vice-chairman.
The floor was then opened for public petitions, but there were none. The board then voted unanimously to approve the minutes from previous meetings. The board passed the consent agenda, which consisted of an agreement between the county and the planning council for annual monitoring of hazardous waste generators for fiscal year 2017 and Resolution 2016-10-12A; which called for support of national water trail designation for the Suwannee River.
The board then voted to approve the continuation of the striping contract with Jenkins Painting, Inc. at the current rate. The board heard a presentation from a representative from RDK Truck Sales, Richard Kenner. Kenner presented the advantages of leasing equipment as opposed to buying. Some of the advantages included more options and greater flexibility over purchasing. The county could lease a piece of equipment for two years and if, after that time, the county no longer needed that piece of equipment, or if a newer model became available, the county could get the newer model without being burdened with owning the older piece of equipment. Kenner also presented a check for $95,000 for a piece of equipment that was purchased from the county by RDK Truck Sales. No other action was taken by the board on this matter.
The board then heard a presentation on the Florida Department of Transportation county work program priorities. Some of these included resurfacing nine miles of County Road 150 from State Road 20 to SW Seven Bridges Road. Another proposed project was the resurfacing of State Road 55 (US Hwy 221) from the Taylor County line to US 90. No action was required of the board.
The board then heard an economic development update from Crawford Powell. Powell told the board that he had been in contact with two different Hardees franchisees about purchasing and operating the old Hardees restaurant in front of Winn-Dixie.
Upgrades on paving, lighting, and signage at the Madison Industrial Park are progressing.
Two Dollar General sites are progressing; the one in Greenville is dried in and the location in Pinetta is in the rough grading stage. No board action was needed on this item.
The board unanimously passed Resolution 2016-10-12; recognizing “Working Forest Week in Madison County” from Oct. 16-22. This resolution recognizes the economic impact that the forest industry has on this area. Statewide, the forest industry has an economic impact of just over 16 billion dollars annually. Statewide nearly 80,000 people work in the forestry industry. On a related note; Jerry Gray, owner of Gray Logging, informed the board that North Florida Community College had plans to begin a commercial truck driving program and this program would include training on carrying loads of logs. This will be one of the first in the nation to provide such training.
There was a report from the Florida Forest Service for the 2015-16 fiscal year. During the year, the Forest Service responded to 39 wildfires in Madison County. These fires burned a total of 51.7 acres. This was down from the previous year, which saw 56 fires that burned nearly 140 acres. The Forest Service continues to carry out public education activities including speaking to schools with Smokey Bear and addressing civic groups. Through these efforts, the Forest Service spoke to an estimated 24,000 people during the fiscal year.
The final item of new business for the board was a budget amendment request from the Sheriff's Office to fund another law enforcement position. Sheriff Ben Stewart re-emphasized the fact that the communications department remains understaffed, which has meant that employees are not able to take vacations or take any personal time off. Stewart said that he had asked the City to help with funding of the communications department, but those requests had been denied. “We're stretched, we do the best we can. I need some help,” said Stewart. Stewart is asking the county board for $48,000 to fund another deputy position, to be used at the communications center. Even though the Madison Police Department receives calls from the communications center, 100 percent of the operation falls on the Sheriff's Office. County Attorney, Tom Reeves informed the board that the county is not required to provide dispatch services to the city and the city is not required to pay for it. Stewart said that he thought it was important to have a unified communications center and that it needed to stay that way. He also said that he would welcome a board that could oversee the communications center, similar to what other communities are doing. Commissioner Davis said that with the commission just passing a balanced budget, he was not prepared to vote in favor of funding another position at this time, as much as he understood the plight of the Sheriff's Office. Board Chairman Martin suggested that the county board meet with city officials in order to try to come to an agreement. No further action was taken.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.