Marla Jones, Managing Editor
DEKALB COUNTY, Ala.-- (Full video on Southern Torch Facebook) The DeKalb County Commission approved an emergency declaration for CR 835 (Old Highway 35), on Tuesday.
Road Superintendent, Tom Broyles, updated the Commission on the difficulties that crews were experiencing while trying to get the road re-opened. According to Broyles, over 12,000 tons of material had been placed on the site but heavy rain has made the site unsafe for workers.
DeKalb County Engineer, Ben Luther, spoke on the work on CR 835 thus far. While Luther spoke of some progress, he stated that the upper slopes of the mountain were breaking loose, threatening the stability of the site and making unsafe conditions for workers.
Luther asked the Commission to issue an Emergency Declaration that would bypass advertising bids and expedite a Soil Nail Wall to stabilize the site.
The Commission approved the Emergency Declaration which will allow a federal contract that will pay 80% of the estimated cost of $400,000. The estimated time to complete stabilization would be approximately three weeks.
Luther also presented the 2021 Rebuild Alabama Annual Report to the Commission. DeKalb County received $979,742.10 in rebuild gas tax funds. The amount was $61,770.10 more than originally estimated at the beginning of the program. Amounts were based on previous years of tax funds. The increased amount gave an extra $15,442.00 per district for roads.
Sheriff Nick Welden advised the Commission that the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office was closed due to an increase in Covid cases.
“We have a lot of sickness in our Sherriff’s Office family. Please keep those in your prayers,” stated Sheriff Nick Welden.
“We are short in every location that we can be in. We had to shut down the office for the safety of the public and our people and that is my number one priority,” Welden continued. “I’ll take crucifixion on any angle but those people are my people. We are family.”
Welden announced the retirement of Mary Waters as School Resource Officer (SRO) at Ruhama School and named Sherry Johnson as her replacement.
David Smith, Chief Jail Administrator, requested three new hires in jail personnel:
- Haden Denton to replace Christopher Leath
- Brian Freeman to replace Tim Wilson
- Elijah Avila to replace Jerry Hall
In other business, the Commission approved the following:
- New truck purchases for the Road Department on the Fleet Program
- Damage claim to Jeremy Goza
- ARPA Policies and Procedures
- The hiring of Rhea Roberts at the DeKalb County Revenue Commission
The next meeting on the DeKalb County Commission will be held on February 8, beginning at 10 a.m.
