Houston County Commission approves reappointments, surveys and budget tweaks; discusses Cottonwood property repairs
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Summary
The commission approved reappointments to the Council on Aging, authorized a $28,440 survey for a proposed jail site, passed a $25,000 budget amendment for sanitation building repairs, and added a request for the Water Authority to clear a corridor for a 16-inch waterline; commissioners also debated temporarily accepting Cottonwood sports property to allow renovations.
Houston County commissioners handled routine appointments and several funding and infrastructure requests at Monday's meeting, approving a set of motions and discussing a path forward for repairs to a Cottonwood youth-sports property.
The commission unanimously reappointed Donna West, Gwen Malloy and Brandon Shoop to the Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging. The body then approved a resolution to extend a temporary polling-place change for the Cottonwood community.
A $28,440 request from the jail pods addition fund was approved to pay Northstar Engineering for boundary, topographic and right-of-way surveys on the proposed jail property. Commissioners asked for and received a rough cost breakdown during discussion; the transcript records line items summing to the $28,440 total but includes a number that appears garbled in the record and is noted below.
The commission also approved a $25,000 budget amendment for renovation improvements to the sanitation building department building. Later in the meeting the chair requested unanimous consent to add an agenda item asking the Houston County Water Authority to assist in clearing along Stateline Road for installation of a 16-inch waterline; the addition and the substantive request were both approved.
In a longer discussion item, commissioners and legal counsel reviewed a proposal for the county to accept temporary ownership of a Cottonwood sports property so renovations can proceed. Officials said the town's insurance would likely not accept the property in its current, dilapidated condition; bond and tax-exempt financing rules were discussed as constraints, and lodging-tax funds previously set aside (the chair referenced roughly $506,000 available) were identified as the likely funding source for the work. Legal counsel described options and limits tied to tax-exempt bond requirements and 501(c)(3) status for recipients. Commissioners emphasized the county would not keep the property permanently and that the town would be expected to assume ownership once improvements are complete and the property is brought up to code.
Staff also reported road work: Rice Road repairs are complete and work will begin soon on Judge Loathe, East Cook and Old Webb; several roads were listed as closed for the work.