• Katie Hightower

On May 28, the Jackson County Commission had its semimonthly meeting and work session.

Before the meeting, Bob Manning was recognized for his upcoming retirement from the Commission. Manning had been with the Commission since 2013. 

“Bob has done a tremendous job as his role of Chief Financial Officer of this county,” Chairman Bill Nance said.

Manning stated, “It has been a privilege to work with this county” and “the staff now is some of the best people we could ask for.” Matthew Hamrick will be replacing Manning’s position.

In the meeting, the Commission first voted to adopt the minutes from the May 13 meeting and work session. In the previous work session, the Commission discussed the purchase of a forklift for Jackson County’s solid waste department. The forklift originally picked for the purchase was sold before it could receive a vote. Caleb Skipper located a 2015 Toyota Forklift with less hours from United Rentals. The Commission then voted to approve the purchase of the 2015 Toyota forklift.

The next item on the agenda was to approve the surplus of a 2017 garbage truck with 192,800 miles on it. The Commission voted to approve the surplus.

The Commission then approved for warrants (checks) issued by the county to replace Bob Manning’s name with Matthew Hamrick as County Administrator effective June 1, 2024.

The last item in the meeting was to approve the purchase of a convection steamer for the Jackson County Jail. According to Chief Corrections Deputy Hal Nash, “This is something that is vital to the operation to the kitchen. It’s our workhorse piece of equipment.” The Commission approved the purchase.

In the work session, solid waste had a couple of items up for discussion. Nance stated there has been an increased demand for roll-off dumpsters. Caleb Skipper stated that with storm cleanup, all of the dumpsters have been rented out. He was hoping with the new budget to purchase them in October but would like to purchase them sooner “to get us by.” His suggestion was to purchase five 30-yard containers and three 40-yard containers. Skipper said he was quoted $46,190 for all the containers and that Solid Waste would make that money back in a month’s time. Buckner then thanked the Solid Waste department for all their hard word during the storm cleanup.

Nance then reopened the discussion on Solid Waste’s request for a 2024 Ford 350 Service Truck. Skipper stated the current service truck can not fully meet the demands for the work needed as it was not four-wheel drive and did not have a lift-gate. This new truck would provide the four-wheel drive needed for poor weather conditions and the lift-gate would provide a safer means of lifting heavy equipment.

The Park then had a couple of items up for discussion. First, Steven Pereira, Park Director, discussed the purchase of a mower. The new 930-M model is quoted at $12,975. He also said he would like to discuss surplus and the sale of the old mower at auction at the next meeting. 

Pereira then gave the Commission an update on the ramp at Sportsman’s Landing. The park is looking at a concrete company to extend the ramp. The work is on standby because they are waiting on the water levels to drop to workable conditions. 

Pereira then updated the Commission about the Park’s online reservation system. Pereira said that reservations are now up 30-40% compared to last year and most people prefer making their reservations online. Nance then stated he would like to see discussion on the authorization of a temporary [employee] to ease workload.

Jonathan Campbell, County Engineer, updated the Commission on County Road 93. Campbell stated Geostabilization International is the bid-holder for the geo-hazard mitigation work. Steve from GSI then showed the Commission a slide-show detailing the construction. Nance stated that the road had been paved over again and again but “nothing has been done like this to fix the geology.” The cost could be between $6-7 million and the project is estimated to take nine to 10 months. 

Jackson County EMA Director, Paul Smith, then spoke about the May 8-9 tornado outbreak. 

“We are not going to get a Presidential Declaration for May 8th and 9th,” Smith said. 

He stated SBA did come and do another preliminary damage assessment based on individual properties. There were 21 homes with major damage, 12 homes destroyed, and six businesses destroyed. The majority of the homes and businesses affected were insured. Smith stated SPB would not issue a disaster declaration. Smith stated the next goal for EMA is to ask for help with the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund to see if help can be extended to those with unmet needs.

Nance stated the ACCA has a contract service that can be used for debris removal and hazardous waste cleanup. Campbell stated the ACCA contract will proceed soon.

The meeting and work-session ended with representatives thanking Bob Manning for all his hard work and thanking volunteers for their hard work with storm cleanup.