Mayor Jason Bailey recently learned that the Union County 911 Board was not appointed according to state requirements. When he became mayor, there were and still are not any local bylaws so he just followed traditions and filled vacancies as they arose. But new learning brought change to the 911 Board at the September Union County Commission meeting.
The mayor researched the 911 Board members and the dates of their appointment to set up the required staggered terms. At the end of the modified staggering, appoints will either finish a defined term or begin a new term of four years.
The revised 911 Board will have nine members with the following terms: two members whose term expires in 2025, one member whose term expires in 2026, three members whose term expires in 2027, and three members whose term expires in 2028. The sheriff is on the board as a non-voting member and currently serves as the 911 director with no additional pay. Cheryl Walker abstained from the vote since she is a member of the 911 Board. Gerald Simmons moved to approve the motion and Sidney Jessee seconded the motion. The motion passed with Larry Lay, Greg Dyer and Eddie Simpson voting against the motion. The next meeting of the 911 Board is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1, in the large courtroom.
Other courthouse meetings are as follows: October 3 ‒ Jail Committee at 6 p.m., October 16 ‒ Records Management at 3 p.m., October 22 ‒ Budget Meeting at 6p.m., and October 28 ‒ County Commission at 7 p.m.
Apparently the majority of county commissioners do not want property that the county is purchasing to be independently appraised. Proposals to appraise the properties under consideration for two community centers were both defeated.
Work on the new middle school continues to progress. Scott Gibson of Cumberland Securities outlined the plan for issuing the bonds to finance the construction. So far, the Union County Board of Education has been paying the bills from its $15M of initial investment. On a motion by Sidney Jessee and a second by Cheryl Walker, commissioners voted to proceed with issuing the bonds. Commissioners Cox, Conner-Murphy, Cooke and Beeler voted against the motion. The plan is to keep the wheel tax at $50 and add motorcycles. The first bond payment would be due in June of 2025 and the capital improvement plan that would be built by interest on the payment is included.
Building permit fees were another hot topic with two failed proposals. But the commissioners voted to continue the Tax Relief and the Tax Freeze for seniors who meet income thresholds. The commissioners also released the Damon Seal property for consideration as a jail site so Seal could move forward with his plans for development. Mayor Bailey announced that Raymond Buckner had notified his office of seven acres on John Deere Drive to sell for $435K.
The last action of commissioners was to retitle the support workers of the Drug Recovery Court so it would align with the state grant. Mayor Bailey and Commissioner Sidney Jessee held on to their leadership roles as chairman and vice-chairman respectively.
The next commission meeting is October 28 at 7 p.m. in the large courtroom.