Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
During the meeting of the Board of Madison County Commissioners on Wednesday, Dec. 27, the commissioners heard a presentation from Road Department Coordinator Lonnie Thigpen about undermining on County Road 146. The undermining is taking place at Bridge 350022, over the Little Aucilla River. Thigpen said it could possibly be a sinkhole but further testing would need to be done. According to Thigpen, it's difficult to see exactly where dirt from around the bridge is going. “I don't think there's an immediate danger of caving in,” said Thigpen. On Thigpen's recommendation, the commissioners voted to hire a company to perform ground penetrating radar on both sides of the road in order to determine the best course of action.
The commissioners voted to authorize the Chair to execute the Small County Road Assistance Program agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to resurface SW County Road 150 ( SW Overstreet Ave) from US 19/27 to SW Seven Bridges Rd. The commissioners also voted to lease one MowerMax boom mower. The commissioners voted to re-appoint Benjamin Grass, Dennis Pitts, Jayson Williams, DeWayne O'Quinn and Danny Plain to the Competency Board.
There was discussion about the possible conveyance of a FDOT barrow pit to Madison County. Madison County and the FDOT are joint owners of the nearly 14 acres of land. This item had been previously discussed during an earlier meeting. There was some question about whether an access road crossed into Taylor County. A survey was done and it was determined that the access road does cross into Taylor County. Because of this lack of access, the commissioners voted to give Madison County's interest in the land back to the FDOT.
Plans are moving ahead for applying for a grant to expand and improve parking at the Agricultural Center. It is believed the FDOT will be very favorable toward the project because of safety concerns in the area, especially with people backing out of O'Neal's Restaurant onto US Hwy 90. The estimated $825,000 cost for the expansion would be covered by a grant from the FDOT. The commissioners voted to pursue the acquisition of a piece of land from a private citizen in the vicinity of the proposed parking expansion.
The next scheduled meeting of the Board of Madison County Commissioners is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 9 a.m. in the Board Meeting Room in the courthouse annex, located at 229 SW Pinckney St., in Madison.