by Kathy Foster
Washington County commissioners presented checks to the recreation programs in Chipley, Vernon, Wausau and Ebro at Thursday’s BOCC meeting and to the City of Caryville for roof repair at their community center. Stating they were proud to help support the recreation programs that play an important role in the local communities, commissioners pointed out that Caryville does not currently have a recreation program so the decision was made to help fund the needed roof repair at their community center.
The City of Chipley was represented by Tommy Sasser The City of Ebro was represented by David Evans
The Town of Vernon was represented by Tina Sloan The Town of Caryville was represented by Becky Pate
Dealing with items on their consent agenda, commissioners took the following action:
* Approved an agreement with the Town of Wausau that Washington County be allowed the Possum Palace to be utilized by the County as a Community Staging Area in the event of an emergency.
* Approved an agreement with Gulf Power regarding lighting at Sunny Hills.
*Approved an easement for Anderson Columbia regarding construction of a stormwater pond as part of the SR 77 improvement project.
Commissioners also handled the following regular agenda items at Thursday’s meeting:
*Approved a Special Exception Application for a Used Vehicle Sales location.
*Approved the appointment of Aaron Miller to the Washington County Tourist Development Board.
* Approved application for a Division of Forestry 50/50 grant to purchase radios for the Sunny Hills Volunteer Fire Department.
*Approved a detour for the Douglas Ferry Road for road work.
* Approved a change of hours for operation at the Sunny Hills Library. Beginning in February the library will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Commissioners said they hope to see residents use the facility on a regular basis. Commissioners noted the MSBU in Sunny Hills will help fund the operation of the library.
* Approved an agreement that will allow the non-profit Big Bend 120 days to locate funds for the purchase and expansion of the county-owned building across from the County Annex on South Boulevard in Chipley. The County has been negotiating with the non-profit agency for several months and said this commitment will allow Big Bend to deal with lenders on a more formal basis. Big Bend would like to purchase the building for $100,000 to $200,000 and then expand the square footage. Big Bend CEO Mike Watkins estimated the final worth of the building would be around $1 million when the work is completed. He also said the expansion would bring more jobs to the county. Commissioners indicated the issue will be readdressed at their May 2018 Workshop.
*Voted to use the firm of Perry & Young as the County’s attorneys dealing with possible opioid litigation.
* Approved submitting Brickyard Road for resurfacing under the SCRAP program.
* Approved submitting a portion of the Greenhead Road for work under the SCOP program.
*Approved submitting Hutcheson Road for work under the County Incentive Grant Program (CIGP).
*Approved sending several pieces of surplus equipment to auction in mid-February.
*Were informed work is continuing on work re-milling county roads and the Public Works Department and county residents are seeing good results.
*Approved the sale of several pieces of equipment from the Caryville Volunteer Fire Department as surplus.
*Set Hazardous Waste Amnesty Day in Washington County for March 17-24. This will only be for households, not businesses.
The Town of Wausau was represented by Margaret Riley
The City of Vernon was represented by Tina Sloan