Candidates Speak at Forum

There were about 25 members of the public at the old Hillsboro School House last Thursday for a community forum for candidates vying for District 3 Board of Commissioners (BOC) seat.

Incumbent Gene Trammell was present along with challenger Ross Hays. Of those 25 persons in attendance, only two of those signed up to ask the candidates questions, although many in attendance, voiced opinions of their own.

For introductions Mr. Trammell started stating that “I just completed my first term. I am a retired 21 year school superintendent, prior to that I was a vocational Ag teacher and even earlier than that, I was in the dairy business for 13-14 years.”

Mr. Hays began by saying, “I care about y’all. I believe that we need more ‘folks’ voices heard. I believe that the BOC does some good stuff. There is also some things done that I disagree with.” He also stated that he was from Turtle Cove when prompted from an audience member.

Of the requests to ask questions, Andrew Boyd asked Mr. Trammell “I see articles in the newspaper and hear buzz about growth. My question is who is looking for growth?”

Mr. Trammel responded by stating, “A majority of people in Jasper County like the rural environment – the country flavor. But growth can be done properly. I would like to see industrial growth.” Mr. Trammell then stated that every home provides $1 in tax revenue to $3 in costs for services. Industries generate $2 for every $1 in costs for services. He also stressed that he was interested, primarily in “green industry,” as in “industry that fits our folks.” These industries, he said, have no waste and employ our people.

He said that he is in favor of improving the quality of life for the people in the county and is an advocate for those things such as recreation and the public library.

Mr. Hays replied by saying, “I don’t want industrial growth. When I think of industrial growth I think of steel mills. I am in favor of small businesses. I work in a small business, I see what good a small business in this community does. I think of my co-workers more as family than of actual co-workers.” “And I don’t mind having to go out of town for things. I don’t want a Walmart in Jasper County I like it just the way it is.” He concluded by saying that he believes that the county should maintain and preserve the Jasper County that “we have.”

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Mr. Trammell retorted with “No growth equals no jobs. Costs continue to increase and we’re going to have to change somewhat to absorb those costs. We’ve cut the budget – but citizens want services. I believe that change – it’s inevitable, and if we guide it and plan for that change that we can preserve what people love about the county.”

There was some discussion amongst the audience and the candidates chimed in, as to road conditions. Mr. Trammell stated that District 3 has 43 percent of the roads in Jasper County. He also stated that it costs $350,000-$500,000 a mile to pave those roads. “We received just over $700,000 this year from the state.

Mr. Trammell stated that there were more roads than money to repair them and that the BOC had been triple surfacing some, using LMIG money on others and “doing the best we can with what we have. It’s not the best, but it’s what we can afford.”

Preston Wynens asked about putting down soil instead of rock on the roads. He said that he knows that it has worked well in Jones County.

Mr. Hays stated, “We’re not maintaining what we have now. I’ve been riding roads over the last few days, a lot of them, and the public works are good people, but I drove the triple surfaced roads and they’re not good. There are still pot holes. How are we going to sustain growth and maintain what we have?”

After a few minutes, Mr. Boyd asked about the math for roads. He asked/asserted that “we will never catch up,” on road repairs and paving based on the number of roads and the cost to maintain them.

A random attendee asked the question, “Is the autopen for signing checks acceptable?”

Mr. Hays replied that he didn’t want a machine to sign the county’s checks. He said, “I need to see what’s going on. I know that checks sent out have been done so prior to approval at the commission meetings.

Mr. Trammell informed the audience that there was a process in place that included the CFO and invoices are reviewed by the department head and if need be, Mike [Benton], the county manager.

Mr. Hays stated that “it’s not the county employee’s job to do the county’s business.”

There was some discussion and an impromptu comment from Ken Tillman to Mr. Trammell, as to having five commissioners, surely they could sign checks. Mr. Trammell informed a comment/question from another citizen as to how many invoices the BOC may have a month for which he replied 1,000-2,000.

Mary Patrick stated that the county was buying a crack sealer for the roads, but Public Works had no supervision, and asked who can use it? Mr. Trammell advised that even he could use a crack sealer.

Mr. Trammell followed up by saying, “The room for improvement is the biggest room in the house. None of us are doing our best. Yes there are better things that we can be doing, but we’re doing the best that we can with what we have.”

There were comments as to the citizen’s comments being at the end of the meetings. Someone asked if those running would push for comments to be moved.

Mr. Hays said that, “this was a rough subject and I don’t care for comments at the end of meetings.” He stated that he wanted 10 minutes after each business item for discussion and presentation (two minutes per person). He stated that “this is a simple courtesy to let the people paying taxes inform the BOC of what they want.”

“I am only one of five,” Mr. Trammell stated. “We have found that having the comments at the end works best. We encourage the people to come to us with any issues that they are having. They usually do so at least three days before the meeting. If you let 10 people talk, there will be 11 ways to resolve the issue. When do you have time to evaluate?”

After this there was much discussion about the BOC signing non-disclosure agreements. Mr. Hays said that he would not sign one unless there was a law that stated he must. Mr. Trammell said that at times you can’t avoid signing one. Mr. Trammell explained that companies today will not do business with the county unless an agreement is signed.

Mr. Trammell explained that there are some industries that do not want publicity when looking to relocate as they may not have decided or told the current location that they were moving. He also explained that there was one instance where a company wanted to bring a process here with a pending patent. He stated that a non-disclosure agreement was signed that pertained to the patent. He also noted that a non-disclosure was just to get it through to voting time. He said that it will still be voted on in a meeting before final approval. “You’re not going to see a time without non-disclosure agreements,” Mr. Trammell ended.