Christian Peterson: reporter@riverbendnews.org
On Tuesday, June 20, the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners met for its regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting began with approval of the previous meeting's minutes after a few minor changes. The board then approved the consent agenda, pulling only one item for discussion. The discussion then turned to the time sensitive item on the agenda, which was a request from Cracker Wood LLC for a special permit to put three poultry houses on their property, even though it was zoned differently. After a presentation from Ronald Meeks the Development Services Director, the board approved the special permit.
The board then began discussion on the pulled item from the agenda: the acceptance of a grant from Duke Energy in the amount of $25,000 for retail strategies. Mary Swoope with Duke Energy had pushed the board to go for the grant and, while she wasn't involved in the selection process, she was more than happy to present the check to the board. After some words of appreciation from Jimmy Norris and Charissa Setzer with Economic Development, the Commissioners took a moment to take a picture before unanimously accepting the grant.
Eventually, the commissioners turned to general business, starting with the final plat approval of a replat of Duke's Place subdivision. The changes included a decrease in total lots and an increase in the size of some lots. The commissioners approved the replat unanimously. The board then set the sale price of the property on 10th Terrace to $30,000, reflecting the appraisal price. Next on the agenda was the purchase of a five acre parcel along the entrance to Binderholz. The commission approved the purchase at the appraisal price of $58,000. General business ended with the board terminating any contracts they had that used the PACE system.
Finally, the board turned to public comment. During which time Jimmy Pittman approached the stand and thanked the commission for the County Road 49 project. Bo Hancock was next to speak, simply thanking the board for holding a workshop. The final public comment was from Kat Meeks-Bass, the new grant writer for the City of Live Oak. She told the board the road on which she lived, 39th Place, was in terrible disrepair, and she was curious why the county hadn't helped and how they could. Attorney Adam Morrison explained, in the 1980's, the county chose not to take over the maintenance of any new roads. Both County Administrator Greg Scott and Attorney Morrison had looked for any proof that the road existed before this decision but, up until now, were unable to. Commissioner Don Hale told Meeks-Bass about some private options and working with the neighbors to get the road grated, however, the commission could not do anything about it due to the policy in place.
The next Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the Judicial Annex, located at 218 Parshley St. SW, in Live Oak.