Commission Approves Premium Pay for Highway Dept. and Industrial Park Purchase after heated debate

All eighteen commissioners were present for Monday night’s Commission Meeting where the purchase of Industrial Park, premium pay for the Highway Department employees and budget amendments were discussed and voted on by the Commission.

The meeting opened with public input from Scherry Talley, owner of Miss Scarlett’s Bed and Breakfast, who sought to lower or get rid of her business’s solid waste fee.

“I am a widow, I live alone and [it’s] a new business that is getting started and I feel like it’s very excessive to charge me the [residential fee].. and then to charge me a second time for a business [that is run from my home]... It’s a small business where I may have weeks that no one is staying at my bed and breakfast and I produce no more waste than I would on my own,” said Talley while addressing the commission. “So I guess my question is what are the guidelines or the perimeters that determine who gets an exemption from that charge and who doesn’t?”

Commissioner Allison Tanner, who serves as secretary on the Solid Waste Committee, responded to her question by informing Talley that there is a process she can go through by addressing the Solid Waste Committee with an invoice or receipt to prove she does not use the Transfer Station for her business.

Commissioner Austin Carroll added that the full commission would be unable to decide a solution for her solid waste fee during Monday night’s meeting without the documentation, and the best thing to do would be to attend the Solid Waste Committee’s next meeting which was scheduled for December 6, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. at the Courthouse. Talley said she would be unable to attend that meeting but agreed to attend January’s meeting.

Premium Pay for Highway Department Employees

A resolution sponsored by Commissioners Aren Ragsdale and Patrick Halfacre came before the commission, seeking to officially approve two bonus payments for the Highway Department employees with American Rescue Plan Act funding for working during the pandemic.

The first round of bonus pay, scheduled to be paid this month, would apply to 16 employees at a cost of $15,500. The second round of bonus pay, if the current number of employees stayed the same, would be given to 18 employees at a cost of $18,000, which would total $33,500 altogether.

“I feel like I’ve got a lot of friends [at the Highway Department] and I don’t want to make anybody mad, but I feel like if we give this bonus then we are potentially opening the door for the school system, that has 230 -something employees, to say ‘hey, where’s ours at?’ And I think it’s just something that we need to think about,” said Commissioner Wendell Kelley.

Commissioner Timmie Hinson said he remembered giving teachers bonus pay a couple years ago and did not give the county employees a bonus.

“I believe that the teachers did receive a small amount of covid money almost a year ago when the pandemic first started,” said Commissioner Caleb Feichtinger, “But to catch everybody up, the Highway Department is now the only department that hasn’t received any amount of covid money.”

Before putting the resolution to a roll call vote, County Attorney Jack Heath advised the commission to abstain from the vote if a family member or spouse had anything to gain from the resolution being passed. Commissioners Tanner, Carroll, Ragsdale, Halfacre, Feichtinger, Ronnie Brewer, Robert Brewer, T.J. Hinson, Timmie Hinson, Larry Pigg, Bill Dyer, Larry Hensley, Jim Grinder, Doug Jobbitt, Brian Peery and Kyle Bobo voted to approve the bonus pay while Commissioner Kelley voted against the resolution, and Commissioner Jerry Ashmore abstained.

The resolution passed.

Industrial Park Purchase

The next resolution that came before the Commission sought to sell the Industrial Park to the Industrial Development Board. However two more resolutions were added this week to the Commission’s agenda, which would sell two parcels of land to Ray Brewer and Darren Breaud.

County Mayor Jonah Keltner asked the Commission to suspend its rules in order to discuss all three resolutions together because if the purchases were approved, it would effect the numbers in the resolution for the Industrial Development Board. However two more resolutions were added this week to the Commission’s agenda, which would sell two parcels of land to Ray Brewer and Darren Breaud.

County Mayor Jonah Keltner asked the Commission to suspend its rules in order to discuss all three resolutions together because if the purchases were approved, it would affect the numbers in the resolution for the Industrial Development Board. Commissioner Doug Jobbitt asked to speak to Industrial Development Board member Rob Inman before suspending the rules, but the rules were suspended and the discussion began.

First to be addressed was the resolution for Ray Brewer to purchase 5-6 acres from Parcel 6 which is adjacent to his current property at the park and contains about 13 acres. The resolution was sponsored by Commissioners Ronnie Brewer and Aren Ragsdale.

The purchase included the Emergency Access Road which has become a point of discussion since last month’s Commission meeting after citizens in Commissioner Doug Jobbitt’s district asked to have the gate taken down.

The discussion about the purchase of property quickly became centered on other matters. “I know Ronnie sponsored a deal to sell [the property] to his brother, which he shouldn’t have done. He should have abstained from that because that’s too personal, and there’s nothing personal against anybody, but I don’t think a commissioner should help sell land to his brother,” said Commissioner Doug Jobbitt.

Commissioner Ronnie Brewer responded that the resolution does not affect him financially “one way or the other, not a bit.”

Commissioner Jobbitt then brought up his concerns about the gated road that is listed as an emergency access road in the deed, and a heated debate over the gated road soon ensued.

This story will be continued in next week’s edition of the Lewis County Herald.