The Madison County Commissioners met on Wednesday, March 23 at 6 p.m. with a short agenda but had much to discuss.
For petitions of the public, Jerome Wyche of the Kiwanis Club came to the podium to update the commissioners on the amount that has been raised for Christmas in July. Thanks to the community, a total of $2,000 has been raised to help the homeless students in Madison County. There is a total of more than 500 homeless students in the county. “We can't help all of [the homeless students] but we can help the majority,” said Wyche. Those who want to donate have until the end of June to do so.
A citizen took the floor next to ask the commissioners to get speed bumps on Wonderwood. Since Wonderwood had been paved, speeding has reportedly become a problem both day and night. Petitions had been received by the citizen and were given to the commissioners. The commissioners agreed to add the item to the agenda for the next meeting and Commissioner Alfred Martin stated that he would discuss the concern with the Road Department.
Sheriff Ben Stewart informed the commissioners that there will be some changes coming to the Madison County Jail and he would like to speak with each commissioner individually in order to get their input on what changes need to be made. Stewart also thanked the commissioners for recognizing Deputy McMullen and Deputy O'Brian for their involvement with the Winn-Dixie robbery.
In Public Works, several roadway projects were approved.
In new business, the first item on the agenda, Resolution 2016-03-23, which regarded recognition of Wanda Brown as an election worker, was tabled.
Next, Tax Collector Lisa Tuten informed the commissioners that the Madison County Tax Collector's office has three stations that provide driver's licenses to the community, however, only two stations have the equipment needed to provide the licenses; Tuten asked the commissioners for permission to add equipment and another employee to the third station. The commissioners approved this request unanimously and amended the budget.
Leigh Barfield spoke about the online application program on the Madison County Property Appraiser website. Barfield stated that she and her staff have frequently been praised for their user-friendly website and online applications; as a result, Barfield asked the board for permission to add homestead and tangible personal property applications online. “[The Madison County Property Appraiser has a] good website,” said Commissioner Ronnie Moore. “I've had to use it numerous of times. Our system is more user-friendly than some other counties.” The commissioners approved this request unanimously.
The last item on the agenda regarded the proposed ordinance to prohibit fracking in Madison County. County Attorney Tom Reeves went over the specific wording of the ordinance with the commissioners, as some provisions needed to be made to the ordinance itself. The ordinance states that fracking is prohibited in the county. Reeves and the commissioners agreed to add into the ordinance that fracking is prohibited in the county regardless of the chemicals used in the process. Explosive testing and disposal of waste products that comes from fracking are also both prohibited in the county. The commissioners agreed to move forward with the ordinance. A public hearing for this ordinance will be held at the next meeting.
The next county commission meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 13 at 9 a.m. at the Courthouse Annex.