Jason Futch
reporter2.riverbendnews@gmail.com
The Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners met for the first meeting of the year on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 9 a.m. at the Hamilton County Courthouse. Several items were discussed, from debris pickup to bid awards being granted. After the invocation and pledge, Jennifer Gisonni with Florida Youth Charitable addressed the board, requesting the county's assistance with fuel costs associated with equipment that would be used in the efforts to remove debris from the hurricanes last year. Hamilton County has seen prolonged issues in the efforts to remove debris from properties affected by storm damages. Gisonni shared that the National Dislocated Worker's Grant would provide the organization with chainsaws, which would allow the county to keep a van to transport workers and heavy equipment at the conclusion of the work. However, the grant does not provide the fuel. Gisonni requested the board to cover the fuel associated with the work. After a brief discussion and addressing the need for more efforts to get debris picked up, the board agreed to provide Florida Youth Charitable $5,000 to cover the costs of the fuel. Following Gisonni's presentation, John Beil, with Thomas, Howell & Ferguson P.A., came before the board to address updates regarding the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Beil shared that the ARPA funding should continue to be used toward improving the Windstream broadband service due to current complications with the Watson agreement and that it would be revisited once finalizations could be made. Katelynn Barrington came forward next to deliver information on Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC). She shared that the property taxes, which totaled $209,508.97, were sent and paid for Hamilton County. She also reviewed the developments and acquisitions that SVEC made throughout Hamilton County, including upgrading the meters so they can immediately share information that a power outage has occurred. She also shared that the rapid fiber installations have been improving and are swiftly moving along. Following Barrington's presentation, State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Grant Coordinator Spencer Nabors presented updates regarding the program. He announced that in 2024, the SHIP Grant was able to build or work on 50 homes in the county. He also shared that they expect a busy year, with more houses planned. Later in the meeting, Chadd Mathis with the Hamilton County Development Authority provided updates for the board on projects the development authority was working on. He noted that Happy Homes was building multiple homes behind the county annex and that approximately six to eight homes were planned to be built. Mathis also noted that a rural infrastructure grant that was awarded to Jasper may not be utilized, saying that he would see if the funds from the grant could be redirected to the Watson Project since the project is taking place within the city limits. He also said that a Dollar General planned to be built in Jennings was moving along on schedule. Later in the meeting, discussions were turned to debris pickup in the county. Robby Roberson noted that in his district, constituents were wondering when debris would be picked up and that some of it had been waiting for a significant amount of time. There was also discussion about some of the hazards that storm debris was continuing to pose months after hurricanes ravaged the community. County Coordinator Gary Godwin was able to confirm that FEMA was still working in the county. However, the assistance has had to be stretched out over several states due to the extensive storm damage affecting the southeast, and debris pickup is not going to be as swift as it had in the past with other storms. "They are picking up debris in seven states, not seven counties," Godwin said. "There are a limited number of trucks, and it's not going to be picked up in a day." He also noted that he understands the frustration, but it will be picked up sooner or later. Roberson requested a copy of the debris pickup chart to determine how the debris was picked up. Construction debris from storm damage is planned to be picked up by the county between Monday, Jan. 13, and Monday, Jan. 27. Road improvements were also discussed, with a bid award going to Anderson Columbia for County Road 6 repair, for a cost of $94,226.75. A bid to construct the backstops for the recreation center baseball field was also awarded to Triangle Barns & More of Jasper for $14,106. The next Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners meeting will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Hamilton County Courthouse, located at 207 NE 1st St., in Jasper.