Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Madison County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday, Jan. 11, it was stated that Tri-County Electric Co-op(TCEC) is expected to begin connecting Madison County households to their new broadband high-speed internet service within the next couple of weeks. The announcement was met with applause from many in the meeting room. Commissioner Donnie Waldrep said he had heard from Julius Hackett, Chief Executive Officer with TCEC, the first households should be connected in the next few days and the first Madison County households in the next couple of weeks. It is expected that once they begin connecting households, TCEC will be able to connect approximately 10houses per day. This is a project that has been several months in the works and is expected to have as large of an impact on the area as
when electric cooperatives first brought electricity to
rural households in the first half of the 20th century.
It was announced that the county will present their
legislative priority list to the county's legislative
delegation during the upcoming delegation meeting. Both State Rep. Allison Tant
and State Sen. Corey Simon are scheduled to be in Madison on Wednesday, Feb.
1, at 12 p.m. to meet with local elected officials and any concerned citizens who
wish to speak with their representatives in state government. The delegation
meeting will take place in the Madison County Courthouse Annex, in the
Commission Meeting Room, located at 229 SW Pinckney St., in Madison.
The commissioners approved a deed for the old Tri-County Health Clinic
property, located in Greenville. The property sold for $125,000. The
commissioners expressed the desire to have that money earmarked for economic
development, specifically for the possible purchase of a new agricultural/civic
center, which has been the topic of discussion at several commission meetings.
It was unanimously decided to have Commissioner Waldrep and Madison
County Development Council head Doug Brown serve on the North Florida
Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors for 2023-25. This was at
the suggestion of County Manager Sherilyn Pickels.
The board approved an agreement with the North Florida Economic
Development Partnership for professional services provided by the organization.
The cost for the year is $10,000. “This is the smartest $10,000 we have spent, in
terms of the services they provide,” said Pickels.
The commissioners passed a resolution stating that the Madison volunteers
(fire departments) are active and providing fire protection services to Madison
County.
The next scheduled meeting of the county commissioners is set for
Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the commission
meeting room, located at 229 SW Pinckney St., in Madison