Jason Futch
reporter2.riverbendnews@gmail.com
The Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners met for the final time of the 2024 year to review the business before the Christmas holiday. Absent at the Tuesday, Dec. 17, meeting was District 1 Commissioner Jimmy Murphy.
Following the prayer and pledge, District 5 Commissioner Richie McCoy acknowledged the presence of Hannah and Zachary Smith, owners of Down Home Nutrition, who recently opened her store in Jasper. “I just wanted to introduce myself and say I am happy to be here,” Hannah said.
“We welcome you all to the community and hope things work out for you here,” McCoy said.
Following the welcome from Commissioner McCoy, the board unanimously agreed to extend the moratorium on recreational vehicles in Hamilton County for an additional three months, with District 2 Commissioner Robbie Roberson motioning and District 3 Commissioner James Howell seconding.
Spencer Nabors, who administers the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Grant for Hamilton County, addressed the board next to provide updates to the board regarding the SHIP and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Nabors shared that one house is currently under construction under the CDBG project, and also addressed that recent building code rules require R-38 insulation to be used in the attics, which will cost more money to install.
He also addressed the permit package that is calling for a Manual D on all air conditioning duct work installed in Hamilton County. Manual D tells the building inspector how the duct work should be run, according to Nabors.
“Your big cities like Jacksonville call for a Manual D,” Nabors said. “We have never called for one in Hamilton County until now.”
Following Nabors’s updates, Commissioner McCoy praised the Sweets- N-the-Streets event on Saturday, Dec. 14, in downtown Jasper. “To say it was just a success is an understatement,” McCoy said. “There were more people in town than I’ve seen in a long time. It’s nice to see the Chamber back up and running.”
A bid award was approved to Anderson Columbia for the County Road 132 project that was discussed during the meeting. A task order was also passed for Locklear and Associates for the project.
The holiday schedule and pay for county employees for 2025 was then passed unanimously.
Toward the end of the meeting, the County Coordinator Gary Godwin brought before the board a possibility of county road employees shifting their work day on Christmas week to working on Monday and Tuesday, taking off on Christmas Day and Thursday, and resuming work on Friday. At first, the board seemed okay with it, with only Commissioner Travis Erixton appearing to be opposed. However, when County Attorney Andrew Decker addressed the commission, he explained that it could cause confusion for other county employees and may not be fair to impose this. However, he said that the board had the ultimate decision.
After Decker explained his reasoning against the idea, the commissioners seemed to understand the situation better and chose not to vote on the issue, allowing Godwin to handle the request with the employees.
After wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, the meeting concluded.
The next Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners meeting will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 9 a.m. at the Hamilton County Courthouse, located at 207 NE 1st St., in Jasper.