Christian Peterson
reporter.riverbendnews@gmail.com
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, the Lafayette County Board of County Commissioners met for its regularly scheduled meeting. The session began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting. The board then opened the floor for public comment, but there were no responses. The floor then opened for reports from department heads. Marcus Calhoun from the maintenance department was the f irst to speak. He requested permission from the board to advertise for fence repairs at the Edward Perry Sports Complex. Calhoun explained that some poles needed to be straightened on the baseball field, and all four front f ields had damaged fencing. The board approved the request for advertising. The only other department head to provide a report was Seth Jackson from public works. He presented the board with a punch list of debris remaining in the county and inquired if the board members were aware of anything not included on the list so he could add it. The board then heard from Will Rutherford and Clemons, Rutherford & Associates, regarding the jail renovation and the new emergency operations center (EOC). Rutherford informed the board that they were 10 days away from a completed design for the EOC. He expressed concern about the budget and the scope of work for the jail, warning the commission to be prepared to request additional funding and to reconsider the scope of the project. The board then approved the continuation of the state of emergency for Hurricane Helene. They also approved the S.H.I.P. Program Sub-Recipient Administration Agreement with the Suwannee River Economic Council. Afterward, the board began discussing the various committees they had been forming. First, they addressed the Edward Perry Sports Complex Operations Committee. Commissioner Lisa Walker nominated Levi Perry, Seth Jackson, Charles Wood, Denise Rutherford and Geoff Condy. The board agreed with the nominations and approved the committee. The discussion then shifted to the hurricane shelter committee, with Commissioner Anthony Adams nominating Ricky Lyons, Jimmy Witt, Casey Ditter, Anne Murphy and Justin Hurst. This committee was also unanimously approved by the board. Finally, Commissioner Mason Byrd put forward nominations for the Stormwater Issues Committee, which included Kevin Berrington, Sampson Edwards, Justin Hurst and Logan Hewitt. The board unanimously approved this committee as well. The commission then motioned for the outstanding bills to be paid and announced that there would be a discussion about the hurricane shelter at the next meeting. Clerk of Court Steve Land reminded the board that all appropriation requests needed to be submitted by the end of January. The meeting then adjourned. The next Lafayette County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 5:30 p.m. at the Lafayette County Courthouse, located at 120 W Main St., in Mayo.