New Agenda Format, Voting Issued Address at End-of-Month BOS Meeting

Courtsey of WRBE, "Your Hometown Radio"
Several items were addressed at the George County Board of Supervisors' end-of-the-month meeting on Monday with Supervisors Larry Havard and Lit Eubanks absent.
The Supervisors began by approving items listed on the consent agenda, which included claims dockets, board minutes, tax roll changes and employee travel; which was followed by a brief executive session with Chancery Judges Jaye Bradley and Randy Pierce.
Election Commissioner Connie Lancaster requested the supervisors consider the newly approved pay increase for local poll workers, which could increase as much as an additional $50 per day. Lancaster told the supervisors that getting enough poll workers for elections was the hardest part of the election commissioners job. She said many of the older citizens were willing to volunteer but they could not lift the heavy voting machines and most did not understand the new technology and paper work well enough to be considered. The supervisors took the request under advisement until the July 2 meeting.
Clem Parker, who is the Democrat Party Vice-Chairman for George County, asked the board about handicap accessibility at all the voting precients in the county. Parker said he was there on behalf of the Democrat Party and would have to give them a report. He reminded the board that state and federal laws had been pasted to insure all precients were handicap accessible.
Board President Kelly Wright told Parker that they were well aware of the laws and trying to comply, but to bring each precient up to code would cost “several hundred thousand dollars and the county simply does not have it.,” Wright said. He explained that the county had applied for state funding to bring the buildings up to code, but only received a small amount of state funding. “It was not even enough to complete one,” Wright said. He told Parker that other grants had also been applied for and denied.
Wright and Supervisor Henry Cochran assured Parker that any elderly or handicap person in the county wishing to vote would be able to do so. “We will see to it that they are able to vote,” Cochran said.
Any one handicap or elderly, who can not get to their set precients to vote, needs to contact the Circuit Clerks office or one of the Supervisors prior to election day for arrangements to be made.
Concerned citizen Bill Sheffield addressed the board with wash-out and flooding problems on his property, located on Brannon Road in Dist. 1. Sheffield said he had tried to addressed the problem with the road workers and the foreman on site, and had also spoken to his his supervisor, Lit Eubanks about the problem. Wright told Sheffield that the Board would need to get with Eubanks on the matter.
Emergency Management Coordinator Lorraine Howell reported an increase in insurance from an estimated $32,000 to an estimated $37,000 due to the increase in trucks and equipment, which were obtained through grants.
Three AT&T permits were approved, Bids were opened and taken under advisement for the expansion of Shipman Volunteer Fire Department, two subcontract request were approved in Districts 2 and 5; and the final approval for Green Field Subdivision in District 2 was approved.
Economic Development Coordinator Sue Wright told the Supervisors that George County Industrial Park was seriously being considered by a large manufacturing business but the county had several steps they needed to take before a decision was made. Wright suggested a meeting with the supervisors and with County Engineer Bob Diamond and a meeting was set.
Next Board Meeting is set for Monday, July 2 @ 9:00 a.m.