Christian Peterson
reporter.riverbendnews@gmail.com
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Lafayette County Board of County Commissioners met for its regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting initially opened as the Planning and Zoning Board to address two resolutions before the board. The first resolution was a zoning change of a roughly 6-acre parcel from A1 to A3. However, the board denied the change, meaning the second resolution regarding the same property was also dropped. The board then closed the planning and zoning board meeting and reopened for the regular meeting. First, the board approved the minutes from the previous meeting before calling for public comment. There was one response, which came from Katelyn Berrington with the Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC). She was there to spread the good news that all of SVEC's property taxes in Lafayette County had been paid. She also told the board that, by the end of the year, RapidFiber would be available to all SVEC members. The board then called for department head reports. First called by the board was Marcus Calhoun with maintenance. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend the meeting. However, he had left a request for authorization to advertise for roof repairs. The three roofs of concern were the Edward Perry Sports Complex concession stand roof, the emergency operations center, and the Doctor's Memorial roof. The board approved the advertisement. Next was Seth Jackson with Public Works. He was concerned because the county was requiring a CDL license for employees in Public Works. Discussion ensued on how to help employees earn their CDL and how much the county would pay; however, Sheriff Brian Lamb mentioned another school in Middleburg that Jackson was unaware of. The board decided to table the discussion until Jackson had a chance to look into the school. The only other report was from Shawn Jackson, who let everyone know that the annual Toxic Round-Up event would be on Saturday, Feb. 8. The board then elected not to continue the state of emergency for Hurricane Helene. After that, another request was made for permission to advertise the resurfacing of County Road 536. The board was told the project was from US Highway 27 to State Road 51, and that all certifications had been approved, and the Department of Transportation had said to go ahead and advertise. The board agreed and approved the advertisement. It also approved the notice to proceed with the County Road 534 project. The project is a drainage repair project, with construction planned to start on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The construction will require the road to be shut down for a maximum of 60 days. The board also approved Curt's Construction for the drainage improvements on Southwest County Road 534. The board then approved the payment of its bills. After that, the board signed a letter of support for the construction of a storm shelter in Suwannee County. The board also chose to close the library on March 27 and March 28 so that the library staff could do inventory. The meeting was then adjourned. The next Lafayette County Board of County Commissioners meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 9 a.m. in the Lafayette County Courthouse, located at 120 W Main St., in Mayo.