Concerned Hanceville residents crowd five-member commission's first meeting

Benjamin Bullard, The Cullman Times, Ala.
Updated ·5 min read

Nov. 19—The new-look Cullman County Commission faced an immediate public test this week as the freshly inducted group assembled for the first time under its new five-member structure.

Ahead of its regular November meeting, the expanded commission fielded questions during a packed pre-meeting work session to explain the county's interest in pursuing options beyond next year's end of waste disposal contract at the Cullman County Landfill.

Local chatter both online, and on the ground, had spurred a motivated throng of Hanceville-area residents to show up at Wednesday's meeting with a list of questions about the county's interest in a recycling technology test site on private property, just east of the city near Mountain Grove Cemetery.

Landowner Thomas Barrett Lynn explained that the site isn't being discussed as a potential landfill location, and that he had instead been recruited by associate commissioner Garry Marchman to conduct uncompensated, voluntary testing at the property as the commission weighs whether recycling might factor into a future change in landfill operations.

The commission allayed residents' concern that a new landfill might one day locate in Hanceville, with Lynn explaining that the soil composition in the area isn't suited to the purpose and that the property — used only for testing — would never be granted regulatory approval for large-scale landfill use.

The county's current contract with landfill owner Cullman Environmental, Inc. is up for renewal next year, under a pricing structure that pegs future customer rate increases to changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI). With the CPI expected to rise, the commission, which operates rural trash collection through the Cullman County Sanitation Department, is assessing ways to secure waste disposal that minimize costs to both municipal government and to customers.

Whether that involves seeking a new local landfill site — said by Lynn only to be an option in the county's far northwest corner, thanks to soil and terrain attributes — or something else, it's a topic likely to arise again in the near future as the calendar swings toward 2023. The new five-member commission, composed of chairman Jeff Clemons and associates Marchman, Kerry Watson, Corey Freeman, and Kelly Duke, separately agreed to retain its current once-a-month meeting schedule for the coming calendar year.

In other business at its regular meeting, the commission:

* Approved a $20,000 payment to the City of Hanceville for its participation in cleaning and maintaining Mud Creek for the 2022 fiscal year. The fee represents an increase over previous annual payments of $15,000 under the joint arrangement.

* Approved an agreement with Byars Wright Insurance for county property and casualty coverage for the 2023 fiscal year, at a premium of $512,159. The coverage under the approved plan takes effect on Dec. 1 of this year.

* Ratified renewal of a permit through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to operate the borrow pit located at County Road 122, which is serves as a materials site for the county road department.

* Amended a contract with data analytics provider SambaSafety to include certifications for hazardous materials, in order to expedite records involving the use of county-operated vehicles that require a commercial driver's license.

* Agreed to allow the Cullman County Public Library to retain half the proceeds from the recent $8,700 sale of its old bookmobile, with the library to receive $4,350.

* Extended by two years the county's current lease agreement with the Cullman Electric Cooperative for use of the Bates Building, which the co-op uses to store materials related to its Sprout rural internet service.

* Authorized a $27,839.43 payment to ADS Security for upgrades to the courthouse's current door access system.

* Authorized coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick to sign a memo of understanding between the county and the Office of Emergency Preparedness of the Alabama Department of Public Health. The MOU will secure the county's use and maintenance, for a five-year period, of a mortuary cooler to be used in emergencies as a cadaver container in the event of a mass casualty event.

* Authorized Kilpatrick to separately apply for a $20,000 grant through the National Network of Public Health Institutes. If awarded, the grant would require no additional match from the county and would fund the purchase of cameras, laptops, tablets, and case management software for use by the coroner's office.

* Authorized

* Cullman Emergency Management Agency director Tim Sartin to apply for an Emergency Management Performance Grant grant for 2023.

* Approved an annual payment of $19,404.16 to Harris Local Government for use of its SmartFusion financial software at county offices.

* Authorized a $43,696 lease agreement with Enterprise Rent-A-Car for a 2022 Dodge Ram truck to be used by the appraisal and mapping department.

* Amended a previously-approved item from last month's regular commission meeting to remove a 2016 Ford F-250 from the surplus list and place the vehicle back in service.

* Approved a plat proposal for Fly South Campground Phase 1, a major RV subdivision consisting of 42 lots located along County Road 1196.

* Awarded a standing bid for traffic signage to Traffic Signs, Inc. and Vulcan, Inc., with as-needed purchases to be based on price, availability, and proximity.

* Awarded a standing bid for traffic striping to J.C. Cheek Contractors, Inc.

* Awarded a standing bid for corrugated plastic pipe to Bear Concrete Products Inc., ADCO Pipe & Supply LLC, and White Cap Construction Supply, with as-needed purchases to be based on price, availability, and proximity.

* Set the speed limit along County Road 1121 at 25 mph.

* Appointed Matt Smith to the board of the Community Action Partnership of North Alabama for a five-year term expiring in November of 2027.

* Added new associate commissioners Freeman and Duke to all county bank accounts.

* Approved the commission's regular meeting calendar for the 2023 calendar year. Excepting holidays, the commission will meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m., preceded by a public work session at 4 p.m. on the same day. All meetings will be held in the first-floor commission meeting room of the Cullman County Courthouse.