(File shot of the Dade County Commission. District 2's Phillip Hartline (second from left) did not attend the Dec. 5 meeting. Others are, from left, Dist. 1's Lamar Lowery, Chairman Ted Rumley, Dist. 3's Robert Goff and Dist. 4's Allan Bradford.)
December does not seem, in these parts, anyway, much of a get-R-done month for local government. At the Dade County and Trenton City December meetings, last Thursday and this Monday, respectively, there was a sense that if R had not gotten done by this time, R could bloody wait until the new year.
One point in case was the much-anticipated recommendations of the ad hoc committee of citizens appointed by the Dade County commission to set up land-use rules for the county. County Attorney Robin Rogers, who is advising the committee, said it would have something to say within a couple of weeks but not just yet. Meanwhile, he recommended renewing the temporary moratorium on heavy industry permitting that the commission imposed to protect Dade in the interim. The commission duly renewed it for 90 days.
"I would say we’re getting close," said David Young, a member of the committee. He said the committee had in any case agreed to create a permanent zoning board. “One of the things we’ve got to figure out is whether that body will approve or disapprove the permit or just make a recommendation," said Young.
In fact, whether to heed the recommendations of the boards it creates to make them seems an abiding conundrum for the county commission, as witnessed in recent years by its acrobatic batting back and forth of issues with its Alcoholic Beverage Control, or so called "beer" board. Most recently, the county commission at its November meeting seemed poised to overturn an amendment approved days earlier by the beer board, one which would have loosened Dade's restrictive rules on where restaurants may serve distilled spirits.
That matter was left pending. Dade County Executive Chairman Ted Rumley recommended delaying action on the matter until the December meeting, when Sheriff Ray Cross could attend and weigh in. But at the Dec. 5 meeting, the sheriff did not attend, Commissioner Phillip Hartline, who had recommended the change in the first place, was in North Carolina for work and not present to bring it back up, and R did not get done.
On another pending matter, the county commission did pass an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) specifying how to divvy up the expected $16 million proceeds of the renewed SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) between the county and city of Trenton (roughly an 80/20 split) should voters choose to renew it in a 2020 referendum. The IGA has additional specifications about how SPLOST funds are to be channeled to the Dade County Water Authority and Industrial Development Authority.
But as for scheduling promised public meetings on SPLOST, to get voters' input on what they would like to see the special tax pay for, or perhaps to explain to them why they should vote to renew it at all, that will have to be a New Year's resolution because it was not an R that got crossed off the commission's 2019 list.
Questioned about that following the commission meeting, Rumley said there was plenty of time; the SPLOST referendum had been rescheduled from March until May. But rescheduling the referendum, though it was discussed in previous months, was not in fact approved at the December meeting and remains yet another undone R.
The county and city depend on SPLOST like oxygen. They use it for buying police cars, computers, fire engines, government buildings, lawn mowers, asphalt for the roads and playground equipment for the parks. They swear at regular intervals that if SPLOST went away they would have to raise the hated property tax, a measure about as popular with voters as herpes.
But sales taxes in general have seemed increasingly repugnant of late to Dade voters, who firmly--and twice--rejected an additional sales tax cent for transportation projects recently. That TSPLOST was nixed after the county commission announced, then never scheduled, public meetings about it. But if the 2020 SPLOST situation seems parallel to the observer, and urgent, the county government seems to have visions of sugar plums dancing, rather than the Jaws theme pounding, in its collective head. Dade public relations clerk Carey Anderson said SPLOST meetings would be scheduled "when we have the holidays behind us."
Before we leave the subject of SPLOST, The Planet did ask Rumley as well as Ms. Anderson about the status of a SPLOST project left unbegun from the current (2015) and previous (2009) SPLOSTs, Dade's proposed animal shelter. Same answer: R will be done in 2020. Meanwhile, Monda Wooten, the animal rescuer and city commissioner appointed to spearhead the project, said she'd been touring other counties' animal facilities to get ideas for Dade's.
One SPLOST matter left from November that was resolved at the December meeting was new equipment for Dade's volunteer fire departments. After sending Fire Chief Rodney Ross away for more information last month, this time the commission approved $41,788.34 for the gear. It also approved up to $20,000 for a new emergency vehicle, which will now go into the bidding process.
In other business, the commission approved appointments and reappointments to its various boards, agreed to reapply for its public transit grant, and renewed its agreement with the Lookout Mountain Public Defender's office for indigent legal defense. One news factoid from that discussion was that Jennifer Hartline, Dade's longtime public defender, has moved on and been replaced with Jason Fisher.
The commission heard, but did not bite on, a presentation from a health insurance entrepreneur who wanted to help Dade avoid paying FICA taxes on its employees by participating in a wellness program. "It took me about 3 months to figure it out, but it is legal,” said Dade County Clerk Don Townsend. He said it made him uneasy, though. “I don’t know that we’re ready for it,” said Townsend.
Chairman Rumley said he'd met with representative of Norfolk Southern and in two weeks or so "the biggest rail gang in years" would be in Dade, replacing every fourth tie of the railroad that bisects the county from east to west. “Try to be calm,” he said. "They’ll be here the better part of January and February.”
Rumley also said the expected interstate bridge-raising throughout the county will also begin in January, earlier than expected. Work should start Jan. 6 and relax on March 7, said the county boss. The work will start with Deerhead Cove Road in Rising Fawn and may involve lane closures.
The Dade County Commission meets at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. The next regularly scheduled meeting is Jan. 2.
The Trenton City Commission December meeting, which took place on Monday, Dec. 9, was even less eventful. SPLOST-wise, city commissioners approved $90,947,08 for two new city police cars as well as $1092 for informational mailers to be included with sewer bills for the next year.
They increased permissible sick hours to be accrued by city employees from 48 to 96 a year, with a maximum of 160 hours to be accumulated.
Streets Commissioner Monda Wooten said 8000 light bulbs had been replaced for the city's Christmas decorations but it had come out cheaper than replacing them. Police Commissioner Kirk Forshee said collected police fines for November had been $18,390 for a year-to-date total of $205,376.19,
He and Mayor Alex Case thanked all donors who had helped the Trenton PD amass goodies for its annual Silver Bells initiative for the town's elderly.
Mayor Case Alex noted this meeting signalled a changing of the guard in the
fire/utility commissioner slot: Jerry Henegar (left), who has announced his run for the Dist. 3 county commission seat next year, is stepping down after this month, and former
City Clerk Lucretia Houts (right) will take over in January after winning the November city election.
Henegar said he and and Ms. Houts had met with each other and city sewer boss Dewayne Moore about the upcoming extensive sewer improvements needed in Trenton.
The city commission meets at 6 p.m. the second Monday of each month at City Hall. The next regular meeting is Jan. 13.
