Rumley And Goff’s Final Commission Meeting, Three Citizens Speak

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The Dec. 5 meeting of the Dade County Board of Commissioners was the final meeting for Ted Rumley (county executive) and Robert Goff (District Three commissioner).

Kicking off the meeting, the board reappointed Donny Williams to the Board of Assessors, Leisa Cagle and Seth Houts to the Industrial Development Authority, Evan Stone to the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, and Buford Stephens to the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council board.

Phillip Hartline (District Two commissioner) asked if it was possible to postpone the reappointments until next month so that incoming commissioners could have a say. Robin Rogers (county attorney) said that because the terms of these reappointed members begin on Jan. 1, 2025, they needed to be appointed this month.

While the agenda listed these five reappointments with names, it listed an appointment to the Dade County Water and Sewer Authority for the Lookout Mountain district but did not include a name. Daniel Glecier’s current term will end on Dec. 31.

Melissa Bradford (District Four commissioner) was absent from the meeting due to sickness. Rumley said Bradford had not yet found someone to serve, but she had talked to several people. Rumley asked Rogers what date the seat needs to be filled by. Seeming to contrast his statement just a few minutes earlier, Rogers said the local act doesn’t require that it be done immediately and did not list a date. However, the document on the online agenda lists Jan. 1, 2025, as the start of the next term, just like the other five reappointments.

The following day, Bradford told the Sentinel that she had not yet talked with Glecier, but she said Glecier is being considered for reappointment. The Sentinel attempted to contact Glecier but has not heard back yet as of press time.

The commission approved a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) expenditure for the public works department. The expense totaled $84,519.78 for a skid steer, a compact truck loader, and two excavators.

Work on the historic courthouse continues. Rumley asked if a ribbon cutting could happen before the start of 2025, and Cole Adkins with Blevins Construction Management said he believes that is possible.

The commission heard from Rogers about procedures required to change the time frame to fill vacancies on the commission from 15 days to 45 days. Rogers explained that he is not sure if the home rule allows this change to be made locally because the commission cannot change the process for filling vacancies. He suggested checking with the state to see whether changing the time frame is considered changing the process or whether it can be changed under the home rule.

At the start of the regular meeting, Rumley noted that William Pullen (District One commissioner), Bob Woods (District Three commissioner-elect), and Don Townsend (county executive-elect) were at mandatory training and therefore absent from the meeting.

During Citizens Participation, a woman who spoke at this year’s third millage rate hearing (see the Aug. 28 Sentinel) returned to speak about an incident in 2020. She explained that she and her family live in a remote area of Dade County that can only be accessed by driving through Tennessee or Alabama.

Explaining that some people moved into one of the houses in the neighborhood to start a retreat for neglected children, she said, “After arriving home around midnight, we discovered roughly ten young people wandering around the neighborhood in the dark in the rain.” This concerned the family, especially because it would take the Dade County Sheriff’s Office a long time to reach their property.

Therefore, the family put up a gate. She said, “The county clerk, Mr. Townsend, explained that we could put up as many gates as we would like as long as they weren’t locked and us not give the neighbor a key.” The family chained but did not lock the gate, but the neighbor was unhappy.

She said they were told by Billy Massengale (director of public works) and a DCSO deputy that they must remove the gate “because in 2007, before we were the owners of the property, the county acquired the driveway on a handshake and paved it.”

She said the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) map does not list this road as a county road. Indeed, the map of Dade on GDOT’s website shows that the county road does not reach the family’s property.

She said that after asking Rumley for proof that the county owned the portion of land and road in question, she was redirected to Rogers. The family has still not been provided with proof of county ownership.

They kept the gate and were arrested by the DCSO and sued by the Dade County Commission. She said her family’s attorney filed for a motion of discovery but “that case is still pending four years later.”

Rumley attested that it is a county road and the GDOT map is outdated. He said the case with the family went to the superior court and was overruled.

Cliff Auman then spoke, first thanking Rumley and Goff for their years of service before saying, “For the last several years, a person has came and created chaos in these meetings.”

Citing the John Huffman bag of pennies story, Auman said, “Our county executive came in and gave him cash out of his pocket on something that the county doesn’t even have a refund policy on…The reason deputies were here that day is because he came in early in the morning very belligerent, yelling, unprofessional, uncalled for.”

He concluded, “There’s a way we should conduct ourselves in society. I believe when someone addresses our commission, brings an issue before our commission, be constructive, be positive, offer a solution, work toward a common goal rather than spending day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year convincing people how awful other human beings are.”

Monda Wooten also thanked Rumley and Goff, noting the years she’s worked with them on various projects. While she hasn’t always agreed with them, Wooten said, “In politics, I feel like if you can agree about 75 percent of the time, you need to support them 100 percent of the time…I know your intentions have always been good.”

Goff reminisced about his time on the commission, saying he is thankful for this experience and mentioning several notable projects.

Rumley seconded Goff’s sentiments before getting into his report. He said problems with the railroad continue. While not entirely clear, it seemed that Rumley was referencing the crews working on replacing railroad ties which has led to some blocked crossings. He said the work is nearly done.

Rumley noted that Massengale met with engineers about having railroad crossing arms added to the Morgan Road/Highway 11 crossing. Massengale reported that the study by the engineers will take at least a year to complete.

Rumley then noted that several people have been building subdivisions and have called the county about permitting. He said that while the county doesn’t have many rules, the state does have guidelines that builders aren’t always aware of. He noted the importance of perc tests and said, “If you’re thinking about developing land, all you have to do is come in here and we’ll guide you through it.”

Lastly, he said the Squirrel Town Creek bridge work should be picking up in January.