Commissioners Hear Abourt Road Recycling

The Jasper County Commissioners, minus Chairman Gene Trammell who was absent, heard a presentation Monday from Joe Vail of The Miller Group about road reclamation. He said his company is the leader in the industry for pavement recycling.

He gave examples of options to take care of roads, and pointed out that you need to take care of your best roads to get the most out of your roads program. For example, you fix little problems before they become big problems. He talked about a process his company offers that will create a road with a 20 years lifespan for less money than typical resurfacing.

Commissioners mentioned that the county has many roads which are well past the little problem state, with many roads in need of total resurfacing and a limited county budget.

After the work session during which the presentation was made, during the regular meeting, commissioners talked about roads to consider for the state LMIG resurfacing program. The county engineer was expected at the meeting and wasn’t there.

County Manager Karen Degges said she would get in touch with him and see if he was going to be able to look at the roads on the list to set priority and she will begin the process to create a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new county engineer. She also said the landfill engineering firm could probably look at the roads in question quickly if the county road engineer, Mark Whitley, cannot.

One of the other topics of concern at the meeting was appointments to the Alcovy Shores Water & Sewerage Authority. Members of that authority expressed concern that the county was going to name members to their board, and there are no openings. After some discussion, it was clear the people serving, although not officially reappointed in 2011, could continue to serve their four year terms.

However, Juanita Gazaway, system operator, has resigned from the board of the authority. They named Marian (Ruth) Wimberley to the authority, at the recommendation of the authority.

Commissioners also met, and approved, the new ag agent for the county—Trey Gafnea who will begin work here October 1. The county has been without an ag agent for about 18 months.

Board members again tabled appointment of a member to the Department of Family and Children Services Board as no one has volunteered to serve on the board that meets quarterly.

Bids to redo the roof at fire station No. 1, Jackson Lake, came in too high, so that will be re-bid with different materials.

Commissioners asked the county attorney to again look at a contract with Comcast which could change phone and internet providers for the county.