Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

The County Commission met on Monday, September 20, 2021, to appoint commissioners to committees, and to discuss the sale of discarded items at the Transfer Station and other new business. All commissioners were present except for Doug Jobbitt and Larry Pigg.

The idea to sell discarded items at the Transfer Station came after someone had brought a nice boat to the Transfer Station to be thrown away, said County Mayor Jonah Keltner during the committee meetings that were held last week. The business model was inspired by Hickman County’s landfill.

The resolution read, “The three R’s of waste hierarchy, ‘REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE,’ are the main actions that can be taken to decrease the amount of waste generated and improve overall waste management programs... There is still a need to REDUCE the number of items going into our Landfill and one major way we can achieve this is by allowing such items to be REUSED by anyone willing to purchase discarded items located in the Staging Area at the Transfer Station.”

The staging area will contain items that would typically go into the pit and are not currently being recycled by the County such as concrete blocks, wood, couches, chairs, tires, etc..

This does not mean that the public will be allowed to search for items outside of the staging area. Only the items selected by the Solid Waste Director will be sold. All items will be sold “AS IS” without a warranty of any kind, and “cannot be returned for any reason.” The Solid Waste Director will price the items at no less than five cents per pound.

Commissioners Wendell Kelley and Austin Carroll sponsored the resolution and all commissioners voted in favor. The resolution passed.

Commissioners Appointed to Committees

The County Mayor stepped down from the bench and allowed Chairman Pro-Tempore Brian Peery to take his seat as the Commissioners voted to appoint a Chairman of the Commission.

Mayor Keltner was nominated as Chairman and the nominations ceased. Mayor Keltner was voted as Chairman of the Commission unanimously.

Next the Commission appointed a Chairman Pro-Tempore. Commissioner Timmie Hinson nominated Peery and Commissioners Ronnie Brewer and Robert Brewer motioned to cease nominations. Peery was unanimously elected as Chairman Pro-Tempore.

The Commission then voted to keep the Solid Waste, Public Safety and Budget Committees the same. All voted in favor of the resolution except for Commissioner Allison Tanner who wished to change members of the Solid Waste Committee.

Commissioner Carroll was unanimously re-appointed to serve as a member on the Lewis County Library Board of Directors, and to serve as Lewis County’s 2021-2022 representative on the Tennessee County Commissioner’s Association with both terms beginning on October 1, 2021, and ending on September 30, 2022.

The Commission then unanimously appointed Commissioner Kyle Bobo to serve as a member on the Paul Bridges Airport Executive Advisory Board beginning on October 1, 2021, and ending on September 2022.

Commissioners Tanner, Timmie Hinson, Highway Commissioner Joyce Holt, and citizens Ben Floyd and Tom Cook were appointed to serve on the Lewis County Ethics Committee that is responsible for investigating any credible complaint against an official or employee charged with violating the policies outlined in the Lewis County Code of Ethics.

Courthouse Parking Lot to be Sealed and Painted

Two resolutions came before the Commission to accept the lowest bid to seal and paint the Courthouse Parking Lot as regular maintenance, and a budget amendment allowing the movement of the money from a debit to a credit account.

The bid was from L.C. Patching and Sealing for $6,500. The money would be used from the Local Government Recovery and Rebuilding Direct Appropriation Grant, which means zero local tax dollars would be used. The resolutions were approved in a unanimous vote.

USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Grant

A resolution came before the commission to accept $387,000 in grant money to make improvements to the Lewis County Airport under the terms and conditions of the Grant Agreement furnished by Rural Development. Commissioners Carroll and Ronnie Brewer sponsored the resolution and all commissioners voted in favor.

Lease Renewal and Advertising of Space in the War Memorial Building

One resolution asked to renew a lease between the Lewis County Government and the Child Support Office, which is set to expire in November of this year.

The Child Support Office asked to renew their lease at the raised price of $935 per month. Commissioners T.J. Hinson and Carroll sponsored the resolution and all Commissioners voted in favor of the lease renewal.

Another resolution came before the Commission which authorized the County Mayor to advertise Office Space for Lease in the War Memorial Building as both Davis House Child Advocacy Center and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department Investigators have located elsewhere.

Commissioners T.J. Hinson and Kyle Bobo sponsored the resolution and it passed unanimously.

Authorizing Logging and Sale of Asphalt Millings/Dirt at the Airport

A resolution seeking to authorize the sale of asphalt and dirt at the airport came before the Commission. The dirt/asphalt would be priced at $20 per tractor scoop for small loads, $40 per single axle dump truck load, $75 per tandem axle dump truck load, and $1 per dump truck load for every same-sized dump truck load they haul to the Landfill for pit coverage.

The resolution was sponsored by Commissioners Ashmore and Peery and the resolution was unanimously approved.

Another resolution sought to authorize the solicitation of bids to log 44 acres of airport property that is heavily wooded and needs logging for future expansion and improvements. There is access from the highway to the land.

Commissioners Patrick Halfacre and Larry Hensley were sponsors, and the commission unanimously approved the resolution.

The last resolution concerning the Airport was a budget amendment, which sought to move $2,152,000 from the “Other State Grants” and “Other Direct Federal Revenue” accounts into the Airport Engineering Services and Other Contracted Services accounts.

Commissioners Carroll and Aren Ragsdale sponsored the resolution and the resolution passed in a unanimous vote.

Announcements

County’s Financial Standing

At every meeting, Mayor Keltner announces the financial standing of the County to the Commission. The County General Fund stands at $686,304.52 for the month of September. Mayor Keltner also announced that the state still owes Lewis County Government around $651,000 and the USDA owes around $387,000 for the reimbursement of the Airport Grant. The County still owes around $150,000 for Deputy Patrol Trucks, and around $300,000 is a State Grant that the County has to use by June 30, 2022.

The Solid Waste Balance stands at $143,704.47. The Cardboard Recycling Program made a total positive impact of $4,460.82 by saving the County $1,245.73 worth of garbage disposal, and by profiting $3,215.09 from selling the cardboard. The Solid Waste bills were sent out last week for a total of $562,200 in potential revenue. However that number is subject to change.

Lewis County Came First in Sales Tax Revenue

Mayor Keltner was also happy to announce that Lewis County was the number one county in Tennessee for Sales Tax Revenue. In August of 2019, Lewis County had only $68,817.68 in sales tax which improved to $141,551.08 in 2020. This year it jumped to $225,818.01 for a total of 228 percent of change.

County and Paw Paw’s Porch Help Neglected Dog

Mayor Keltner then announced to the Committee his appreciation for Tommy Wherry at Paw Paw’s Porch for opening his shop on his day off to groom a dog that was found by County Dog Catcher, Randall Christy. The dog was “extremely neglected” and Wherry groomed the dog at no cost to the county. The Mayor also thanked Christy for his efforts.