The Madison County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 6 approved a slate of administrative and land‑use items including subdivision plats, board appointments, an updated floodplain ordinance and county participation in a national opioid settlement.

Board members voted to accept revised plats and preliminary plans for two subdivisions — a 10‑lot Crossroads Subdivision along existing county roads and a large preliminary layout for the Woodgate project — and to approve final plat steps where noted. The board also approved appointments to several local boards and a professional‑services contract for work on the county’s historic courthouse project.

The board adopted a revised floodplain ordinance to incorporate updated federal requirements from FEMA, and authorized the county administrator to sign documents enabling Madison County to participate in a Target opioid settlement expected to bring the county roughly $15,000; county counsel said about 85% of settlement funds must be used for opioid‑mitigation programs. The board also approved routine budget amendments, claims and payroll dockets.

Votes at a glance

- Crossroads Subdivision (preliminary and final plats): motions to approve carried. (County engineer presentation.)
- Woodgate Subdivision (preliminary plat; 379 lots on approximately 165–255 acres as presented): board voted to acknowledge the updated preliminary plan and related tweaks to internal road layout; motion passed after discussion about traffic and lot mix. (Developer presentation by Nick Galette.)
- FEMA/floodplain ordinance update: motion to adopt updated ordinance reflecting federal regulatory changes; approved.
- Opioid settlement participation (Target multidistrict litigation): motion to authorize the county administrator to sign settlement participation documents; approved. County attorney said the county’s expected share is roughly $15,000, with most funds restricted to addiction‑mitigation efforts.
- Appointments: replacement of Emma Strickland by LaVetta (Levetta) Strickland to the Madison County Nursing Home Board; Ernest Odom appointed to West Madison Utility Board; motions passed.
- Historic courthouse professional services: contract approvals for the Holloman Group and Lucket Communications to provide architectural and communications services for courthouse redevelopment; board approved and formed a small oversight committee of two supervisors to work with the group.
- Tax assessment increases (two parcels): public hearings were closed and increases approved for parcels identified in the meeting (Charles C. Jackson parcel and Ginger & David Coleman parcel); motions carried after no public comment.
- Rezoning and public‑hearing scheduling: Yandle Shell LLC rezoning set for Feb. 3, 2025; an appeal hearing (Sam Hillary Livingston) set for April 7, 2025; Makita industrial rezoning public hearing set for Feb. 3, 2025; motions carried.
- Mobile‑home hardship (Temple Stephenson, Catlett Road): board voted to table the hardship request for two weeks for further research.
- Canton Academy request to receive surplus flagpole: approved with amendment to offset county labor costs to remove the pole.
- Jail housing rates: the sheriff proposed raising municipal inmate rates from $22 to $25 per day and outside‑agency rates from $45 to $50; the board approved sending notices with an effective date of Sept. 1 to give municipalities time to budget.
- Consent items, budget amendments, claims and payroll dockets: motions to approve carried.

What the votes mean

County counsel told the board that settlement funds from the opioid litigation must be earmarked largely for addiction mitigation. The floodplain ordinance adoption updates county code to match federal FEMA requirements, a prerequisite for continued participation in federal flood‑insurance and emergency programs. The approvals for plats and preliminary layouts allow developers to move to engineering and permitting steps, though project phasing and off‑site road work remain subject to engineering and right‑of‑way negotiations.

Next steps

Several items require follow‑up: engineering and right‑of‑way coordination for Yandell Road/Andale Road frontage for Woodgate; county staff said they will post timelines and status updates for road projects online. Rezoning and appeal hearings were scheduled; notices and signs are to be posted ahead of those dates per county planning rules. The county administrator was authorized to sign opioid‑settlement paperwork as presented to the board.

Ending

The board set its next regular meeting for Jan. 21, 2025, and said it would bring several detailed project updates and engineer timelines to that and subsequent meetings.