Commission to tackle light agenda on Monday
Published 4:07 pm Friday, December 8, 2017
Members of the Carter County Commission will tackle a light agenda when the governing body meets Monday evening.
Several times in recent years the County Commission has not scheduled a meeting during the month of December due to the Christmas holiday, but this year the group will meet to conduct business. The Commission typically meets on the third Monday of each month but decided to move the meeting up a week due to the holiday.
The agenda for Monday’s meeting is light, with no presentations scheduled and no resolutions to be considered by the group.
Several of the county’s committees canceled their meetings this month, but both the Budget Committee and Financial Management Committee met during the month and will be advancing items for consideration to the full Commission.
Earlier this month, members of the Financial Management Committee approved a lease agreement contract for the Carter County Sheriff’s Office for the leasing of vehicles to be used by the department’s undercover drug investigations.
Money to cover the lease agreement will come from the Sheriff’s Office’s drug fund. The Sheriff’s Office also presented the lease agreement to the Budget Committee, which approved the transfer of funds from the Sheriff’s Office drug fund to cover the leases.
The Budget Committee will also be presenting several funding recommendations to the full Commission.
The committee unanimously approved allocating $44,000 from the county’s fund balance to the County Park and Recreations budget. Those funds will be matched with $6,000 from the existing Parks and Recreation Budget to purchase 9.3 acres of land for the development of a community park.
Members also approved the transfer of funds to pay for architectural design work for two county projects — one to improve safety and security at the Carter County Courthouse and one for the construction of dog runs and kennels at the Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter. Reedy & Sykes is the architectural firm the county is working with on both projects.
Design work for the courthouse security project will cost $8,000. Money to cover that expense will come from the Litigation Fund. Once the design work is complete, Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey said the county can put the project out to bid. The final cost for the project will not be known until the bids are received, Humphrey said.
Design work for the project at the animal shelter was billed at the cost of $14,860. Money to cover that expense will come from the “Snoopy Fund.” Once design work is completed, the project will proceed with construction being paid for by the endowment from the DeLawder Estate.
The Budget Committee also approved an allocation of $6,714 to cover the costs of repairs to fencing and the demolition of a fishing pier at the Roan Mountain Community Park. Both the fence and the pier were damaged during the October flooding that struck Roan Mountain.
All of those measures approved by the Budget and Financial Management Committees will now be presented to the full Commission for final approval.
Members of the Commission will also appoint an individual to represent the County with the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce. The County previously resigned its membership in the Chamber but has since rejoined and a new representative must be appointed.
The Carter County Commission will meet on Monday, Dec. 11, at 6 p.m. in the courtroom located on the second floor of the Carter County Courthouse.
Before the Commission meeting, Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey will host a ceremony to present the “Home Town Heroes” awards honoring local residents for their accomplishments and service to the community. The Hometown Heroes presentation will be at 5 p.m. in the courtroom.