County Commission November report

by Amanda Curtis,

Staff Reporter

November’s meeting of the Lewis County Board of Commissioners was held in the new fire hall due to construction being done in the court room at the time of meeting. All commissioners were present. Commissioner Kyle Bobo led the prayer, and Brian Peery led the Pledge of Allegiance. Peery and Ragsdale motioned to approve minutes from the October meeting. All approved.

During public input, a community member from Trace Creek Road offered up $100 from his wallet toward fixing the heat in the library and asked the commission to do the same, saying, “I’m a big fan of the library, and I advocate for them, because I know they bring a lot of joy.” He went on to ask for forgiveness on behalf of someone in the room who allegedly made the comment, “it’s just the library,” when told of the issue of their heat going out, “I like the little traditions of a town,” the member said, “and, the library is a great place of tradition. I hope we can get the heat back on.” Lewis County Mayor Jonah Keltner ordered a new unit the next day. At the time of press on Tuesday, the unit at the library had not been installed. “It’s pretty chilly here,” said Library Director Crystal Nash, “but my staff are doing a commendable job of being such troopers during this situation. We’re all bundled up, but we’ve kept a smile on our faces and a willingness to help our community. Our patrons continue to express their appreciation for our remaining open.” The commission voted to accept James Heating and Cooling’s bid to supply and install the new heater. They do have the new unit ready to install but are now waiting for the rain to clear up to do so.

Next on the agenda was the report of the committee of the whole: Peery read aloud some corrections to be made before voting on the item of business. Amendments were: Laurie Risner was looking at, not working on, a grant for fencing around the EMA Center. A second amendment was made regarding the new CEO of Maury Regional; the mayor added a four month extension to our Ambulance Service. The third amendment addressed waiving the solid waste fee for a part-time tree planting business owned by Ray Runions. Austin Carroll and Bill Dyer motioned to accept the committee report of the whole as amended. All accepted.

Budget amendments for the ARPA Grant County Mayor Consultants. The resolution, sponsored by Larry Pigg and Carroll, moves $7608 in ARPA Grant funds into the consultants line in the county mayor’s budget to pay Laurie Wagner for writing the one million dollar Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthy Places grant. Previously, there was no money allocated in the budget for the line, and this ammendment would correct the issue for audit purposes. Noted was the announcement of the development district’s assistant in writing the grant, at no charge, for the EMA grants being sought for fencing and radio tower equipment among other things. Budget amendments were approved by roll call vote of seven voting yes with Bradley Loveless and Dyer voting no.

Budget amendments for the Solid Waste Department: The resolution, sponsored by Aren Ragsdale and Peery, moves money received from the sale of equipment at the landfill from the revenue code it was received into, into the motor vehicles account of the solid waste budget to help pay for the pull out truck and route truck that was recently purchased. Resolution was approved with all in favor.

The next resolution, sponsored by Bobo and Ragsdale, authorizes the county to replace the old, non-working phone lines as well as provide equipment and lines for the old jail, new jail and Sheriff’s Department. At the time of meeting, the old jail had been without phone lines for a month. The conversation regarding this resolution included commissioners requesting it be put in the contract that there would not be double payments. Todd Laster of the Sheriff’s Department agreed to report back whether new phones were included in the original bid for the new jail. All were in favor with none opposed.

A resolution sponsored by Loveless and Timmie Hinson brings a change in the way of the Stray and At-Large Dog Policy. The change brings the EMA to discontinue giving out the telephone number to citizens of our local dog catcher. Instead, dispatch must now contact them directly, so the incident may be officially documented and recorded. In regards to the catcher’s comp time, to cut down on it, the amendment clarifies that he will not go out after hours unless it is an emergency involving a vicious dog. All were in favor of the amendment.

The resolution to allow the TWRA to assist in enforcing rules to be posted at the newly ramped Blueway access points was approved by all except Bobo who raised the concern of potential over-policing.

The next resolution authorized the purchase of up to $5000 of Christmas decorations to use at the court house from funds from the Federal ARPA grant. Sponsored by Caleb Feichtinger and Pigg, the resolution was amended to authorize $2500 instead of $5000 and was approved eight to one with Timmie Hinson agreeing to order the decorations.

NEW BUSINESS:

A resolution to allow THP to help impose a 20 ton weight limit on Napier Road passed by all approving. Sponsored by Peery and Dyer, the resolution comes after numerous calls to the county mayor’s office as well as the Highway Department regarding the heavy trucks traveling down Napier Road. Holt had a professional engineering analysis done to check how much weight the asphalt on the road could handle. The study revealed the road would need to be replaced within one to two years if the heavy trucks continue driving on it. The resolution requests to post a 20 Ton Weight Limit (No Heavy Trucks, Local Deliveries Only) sign on Napier Road. Three commissioners posed the question if this will affect our loggers. She stated, “commercial, non-locals may be affected as they use the road to pass. Single-axle and tandem-axle dump trucks will still be able to travel through while empty.” Holt is working on a flat grant to pave Napier Road and says if it is granted, they will be able to take the signs down as it will then be paved by federal standards, not state.

The resolution to move $25,000 from the ARPA grants fund to the Highway Department was approved with six in favor and three opposed.

The resolution moving money from the Sheriff’s Department’s drug fund into the regular budget to purchase three radio transmitters was approved by all.

Three notaries and two bonds were approved.