DG Market Coming to Sand Mountain and Railroad Work Begins

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The April 4th meeting of the Dade County Board of Commissioner was a relatively short, straightforward meeting covering minor business items and several small announcements.

The board reappointed Donna Street to the Historic Preservation Commission and approved a SPLOST purchase for the public works department (a side mower costing $22,500).

Cole Adkins of BCM Construction gave an update on the historic courthouse restoration. Earlier this year, the project was expected to be completed by the end of March, but a leak in the roof delayed progress, and several other items are still in progress.

Adkins reported that drywall work will resume once the roof is completed. (He anticipated completion of the roof on April 5th). The top floor is complete and the bottom is in progress. Crown molding is scheduled to arrive this month, and fire alarms will also be installed.

The proposed changes to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Ordinances were tabled until next month because Phillip Hartline (District 2 commissioner) was absent at this meeting and requested that it be tabled.

Melissa Bradford (District 4 commissioner) asked for the new ordinances to be posted online ahead of next month’s meeting so that all citizens can read the changes for themselves. They will be linked on the county’s Simbli board.

The board approved surplusing four items: a 2005 Challenger Tractor from the public works department, two Ford Explorers (a 2016 and a 2013) from the Dade County Sheriff’s Office, and a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado from the North Dade Fire Department.

The board approved the standard three-year update to the Dade County Public Transportation Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy. The full document outlining testing policies can be accessed on the county’s Simbli board.

During Citizens Participation, George Williams thanked first responders for their care during a recent health scare. Williams thanked Thomas Lyons, John Sharp, and Chad Hollander who responded when Williams was experiencing a heart attack.

Williams said, “I want people out in the audience to know that I really appreciate what they did for me personally. They’re out there every day to help us.” He also noted the impact SPLOST funds have on emergency services, and he thanked the commissioners for allocating resources to emergency services. In Williams’ words, “I don’t like taxes anymore than anyone else, but I think SPLOST money hurts us the least because we have a lot of travelers come through Dade County.”

John Huffman also spoke, noting that he had four issues to discuss. First, he explained that he wants all questions from citizens at commission meetings to be written down, documented, tracked, and published in some form where citizens can access previous questions from all years and see responses/results.

Second, he noted that since fiscal year 2011, there’s been a budget line item for “Public Safety Community Watch Program,” but no information is available about this line item and no updates have been made about the program.

Huffman said that the program has been allocated $108,700 to date. (Indeed, the FY23 budget shows an expense of $8,600 split between South Dade, West Brow, New Salem, and Sand Mountain community watch programs, and the same amount is budgeted for FY24.) At this point, Huffman had spoken for five minutes and Ted Rumley (county executive) cut him off.

The next day, the Sentinel asked Rumley about both of these questions. He explained that the county used to pay a court reporter to attend the meetings, but to save money, they now create the minutes afterward using the livestream. When citizens ask questions or bring up issues, he said, “If I can’t answer it, I’ll check with them the next morning.”

He explained that the community watch program started around 1980 when the sheriff’s office only had a few deputies. Because it is volunteer-based, no one is interested or available, Rumley said. It remains a line item in the budget to cover vehicle upkeep and gas, but the programs don’t use much of the funds, and the remaining rolls over to the next year.

Lamar Lowery (District 1 commissioner) then read the 911 report. Calls for March, which totaled 3,231, were as follows:

• EMS: 204
• Fire & Rescue: 265
• Law Enforcement: 2,762

Robert Goff (District 3 commissioner) mentioned two bills related to taxes that are on Governor Brian Kemp’s desk. One would increase the homestead exemption to $10,000, and the other would cap home value increases to three percent.

Goff also mentioned the mental health issues and the burden it puts on the jail, saying, “Our jail should not have to be our mental hospital, for any county.”

Bradford again noted that Tire Amnesty Day is coming up on May 11th, beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing into the early afternoon until people stop coming.

She also noted that citizens have asked about the rules and regulations for having food and drink at events. Bradford (and Goff, who has also received emails on the topic) explained that food servers/vendors must register with the health department 15 days before an event.

Rumley gave an update on the Dollar General coming to Sand Mountain at the 301/136 crossroads. It will be a DG Market, which offers a larger grocery selection than regular Dollar Generals.

He also reported that Norfolk Southern will be replacing rails throughout the county this spring and summer, requiring some railroad crossings to shut down for several days at a time. Rumley said that the county had to explain to Norfolk Southern that this would cause problems for residents whose only exit requires crossing the railroad. He said the railroad is working to figure out what to do.

Lastly, he mentioned ideas of how to use the old North Dade School building and property. One idea is to bring a dialysis center to the county and use part of the building to house it. Getting federal funds to convert the interior to a storm shelter is also a goal.