Etowah County Commission welcomes new chairman
The annual passing of the gavel and a look back at an eventful and successful year were the highlights of the Etowah County Commission's first meeting of 2024.
Craig Inzer Jr. turned the chairmanship of the county's governing body over to Tim Ramsey on Tuesday and reaped praise for what took place in 2023 under his leadership, while stressing that it was no one-person show.
“It's everybody up here working together,” he said, as he received a plaque with a resolution from the commission that commemorated his chairmanship from Shane Ellison, the county's chief administrative officer.
The highlights:
• The county's largest general fund budget ever, $27 million;
• Significant raises to county employees, increasing the starting pay for the lowest-grade positions, absorbing a health insurance increase and buying back up to 60 hours of leave per employee;
• Rebranding the county's mega-site to the Northeast Alabama Regional Mega-Site to make it easier to locate and promote;
• Also for the mega-site, receiving Growing Alabama funds from Norfolk Southern Railroad to construct a half-million gallon water tank, approving construction of a water main from Rainbow City, receiving easements from Alabama Power for a power transmission facility to connect a new substation, approving an access agreement with Comcast for fiber internet and voting to apply for $4.6 million in funding from the Alabama Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy, or SEEDS Act;
• Commitments to the Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Training Skills Center at Gadsden State Community College;
• Completion of the $2.181 million Rebuild Alabama plan for Fiscal Year 2023;
• Cost sharing agreements for roadways in various municipalities;
• $700,000 increase in the county's road budget (half of that from the property tax late fee) and the retirement of a road construction bond;
• Purchase of the old Pollock Motors property at 905 Forrest Ave. for warehousing for the sheriff's department and other potential county uses;
• Housing agreements with Gadsden and other county municipalities, as well as other collaborative agreements with municipalities and the three local school systems;
• Relocation of the local driver's license office to the courthouse.
Inzer thanked Ellison, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Dollar and the county staff for their efforts.
“It doesn't just happen with one person,” he said. “It takes four people to have a meeting and then you've got to get four votes. We get together and we make things happen.”
Inzer said it's easy to get caught up in “go, go, go” and not think about all that's being accomplished.
“There are a lot of things on that list that are one-time things, and a lot that are ongoing,” he said. “We're working hard on the mega-site. It's been a great year.”
Ramsey thanked Inzer for his efforts, adding, “The strides we've made this year have been noticeable. And the partnerships we've built, and it's not just been this group that wants this mega-site to take off.”
Ramsey said Alabama needs NEAR, and as such there has been movement on the state level.
“These things do take years and years to develop,” he said, “and I'm hoping that this year is the year that we actually land something out there and it starts that building process.”
Ramsey said 2023 had been a “great year of blessings” for the county and reiterated that it took a joint effort from all concerned.
As for 2024, he said, “Just keep things rolling, that's my agenda right there.”
The commission on Tuesday voted to vacate, or close, a portion of Shelton Circle, a dead-end road off Lake Mary Louise Road in the Lay Springs community, after a public hearing in which no one spoke for or against the move that was requested by adjoining property owners.
It also approved the Rebuild Alabama report for Fiscal Year 2023. County Engineer Robert Nail noted that all projects were completed and paid, and that an out-of-area bidder provided significant savings for work on Appalachian Road. He said county officials were pleased with that bidder's work.
The projects addressed 27 miles of roadways and involved paving, patchwork, tar and gravel and striping.
Ramsey said the report shows the program is working. “We're doing more than we've ever done, and that's hopeful. Y'all know I'm the 'road commissioner,' always fussing about the road budget, this is positive and I appreciate it.”
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: New chairman takes reins at Etowah County Commission
