The Wayne County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, May 17th, 2021. County Executive Jim Mangubat presided over the meeting. Commissioners in attendance were Herbert Brewer, Tom Mathis, Phillip Casteel, Vickie Petty, Stephen Pevahouse, Tim Prater, Kathryn Staggs, Sherrie Powers, Mary Lauren Garner, Tim Powell, David Martin, Katherine Reeves, and Rickey Kelley. Also in attendance were County Clerk Stan Horton and County Attorney Andy Yarbrough. Commissioner John McDonald was absent.
Commissioner Kelley first made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous commission meeting. Commissioner Martin seconded, and the minutes were approved. Commissioner Kelley then made a motion seconded by Commissioner Staggs to approve the minutes from the various committee meetings, and those minutes were approved as well.
County Clerk Horton presented the following to serve as notaries with approved bonds: Shermin Williams, Janet McClain, TeJa Alley Brewer, and Tyler M. Bayless. Commissioner Powell made a motion to approve, and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Pevahouse. The notaries were unanimously approved.
County Executive Mangubat then addressed the water update on the agenda. He stated that he had spoken with John Greer, who said that the matter should be resolved very soon. Mangubat said that was all he had the liberty to say at this time concerning the issue.
Next, Jeff Minatra came before the commission for an update on the Ag Center. At the previous meeting, the commission decided to reject the bid received for the project and to re-bid the project in June. Commissioner Casteel made a motion to wait until December to re-bid in hopes of a decrease in construction material prices. Commissioner Brewer seconded the motion, and the motion passed on roll call vote. Voting yes were Commissioners Casteel, Brewer, Mathis, Pevahouse, Prater, Petty, and Kelley. Voting no were Commissioners Garner, Powell, Powers, Martin, Staggs, and Reeves.
Tyler Taylor came before the commission next to give an update on the Collinwood Medical Building. He said that site plans have been submitted, and they are waiting for approval. Mr. Taylor also presented a financial report through March 31, 2021.
County Executive Mangubat next presented two resignations from the Wayne County Beer Board, Jackie Gobbell and Richard Lacher. He then presented two new members to serve on the Beer Board, Lydia Riley and Bronson Berry. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to approve Riley and Berry. Commissioner Pevahouse seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Budget amendments in the Sheriff’s Department were next on the agenda. County Executive Mangubat stated that the amendments presented involved no new money, just transferring funds from one line to another to set off expenditures. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to approve the budget amendments, and Commissioner Prater seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Departmental reports were next. Highway Superintendent Chuck Moser gave a report on his department including recent flood issues, road patching, and plans for two bridges, one located on Double Branches Road and one over Butler Creek on Hill Parkway.
The Sheriff’s Department report was presented in the commissioners’ packets. Sheriff Fisher was unable to attend the meeting due to the Frank Hughes High School graduation.
Lindsay Ross from the Solid Waste Department next gave a report on the mileage of the solid waste vehicles, and the collection of monies received through Solid Waste. She also told the commission that in the Solid Waste Board meeting, Commissioner Powell made a motion to reject all bids for hauling and disposal and to seek new bids. Commissioner Pevahouse seconded the motion, and the hauling and disposal was set to be re-bid at a later time in order to give other places a chance to submit bids. Commissioner Kelley made a motion for the full commission to reject all bids and re-bid at a later time. Commissioner Powell seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
Wayne County JECDB Director Rena Purdy then addressed the commission, questioning the postponing of the re-bid process. She stated that postponing the process could potentially result in the loss of grant monies and other funding from those who are willing to donate to help with the building of the pavilion. Commissioner Casteel made a motion to re-consider the bid process. Commissioner Brewer seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Commissioner Mathis then made a motion to re-bid the Ag Center project with bids to open on August 10th, 2021, and Commissioner Powers seconded the motion. The plan would be for construction to begin in the fall of 2021. The motion passed unanimously on roll call vote.
Commissioner Powers next made a motion stating that if any commission meeting is cancelled or modified 48 hours prior to the scheduled date, commissioners should be contacted by phone. Commissioner Petty seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Commissioner Mathis stated that in his opinion, the five-minute rule on speaking before the commission should not apply to any official who may address the commission, only to members of the general public who come before the commission.
With no further business on the agenda, Commissioner Kelley made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Garner seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned.
