Christian Peterson, Reporter@riverbendnews.org
On Tuesday, May 7, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting began at 9 a.m. and was held at the Hamilton County Courthouse, located at 207 NE 1st St., in Jasper. In attendance were Jimmy Murphy, District 1; Josh Smith, District 2; Robert Brown, District 3; Randy Ogburn, District 4; Richie McCoy, District 5; Louie Goodin, County Coordinator and Interim Attorney Cliff Adams was present through speaker phone. The meeting began with a prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
The board first moved to the consent agenda, pulling a task order for the Jennings Bluff restroom for discussion. They then approved the rest of the consent agenda. The board then moved to hear about all of their grants that they had in the works. The SHIP grant was reported as completed, with ongoing conversations happening with electric services around the area. All other grants were still under a waiting period. The board then made it clear that they needed to make sure they were in compliance with their Windstream broadband contract. They requested attorneys Thomas, Howell and Ferguson check on this, of which the firm agreed.
Chad Mathis, the head of Economic Development, was next to speak, updating the board that the Jennings House Road realignment will begin execution at the next Economic Development meeting. Mathis also made clear that he had given Live Oak Construction permission to put their tools on the diner property while they work on Jennings’ sewer rehabilitation. He also told the board that the Motel 6 property had a private offer, which was a good thing and, if the offer did not pan out, the owners would consider the county’s offer. Mathis also stated he was still having difficulty with the owner of the Getty’s property.
The next to speak was James Daniels from Greenwood Villages. Daniels was there to request $1 million to help rehab and remodel an area for a nursing home with certain aspects open to the public. He then presented the board with a large book with all of their information. The board agreed to read and get acquainted with the literature and discuss it with Daniels at the next meeting. The board then made the final approval of the local fuel option tax. Next to speak was Gregory Bailey from North Florida Professional Services, who presented the board with an updated cost from Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative for line relocation, which was $74,251.06. Bailey also presented the board with the information about parking lot spaces across from the courthouse. The board unanimously approved straight in parking options to make sure they didn’t lose any extra spots with angled parking. The board then began to discuss the pulled item from the consent agenda. Ogburn commented that, due to the recent change in the Suwannee River Water Management District, there were a lot of issues getting things approved for development. “Their requirements have held us back in the economic development area,” Bailey said. The board agreed to contact Governor Ron DeSantis about the issue, as Hamilton County is not the only county being affected. The board then approved the task order.
The discussion then turned to redistricting issues, as District 2 had gained 14 percent population and District 3 had lost the same amount. After some discussion, Adams recommended the board do nothing and the board followed council’s advice. The board then approved the payment of their bills. The conversation then turned to the 2020-21 county audit, which showed the county was in very good standing and had worked hard to have quite a bit of money in reserve, setting the county up for prosperous economic development. The board than approved and accepted the audit. After discussion with Smitdas doctor’s office about their issues with construction, and a quick check to make sure all the internet cafés were gone, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 21 at 6 p.m. It will be held at the Hamilton County Courthouse, located at 207 NE 1st St., in Jasper.