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Drew County Judge Jessie Griffin called the April meeting of the Drew County Quorum Court to order at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 14. After the roll was called it was found that all of the Justices of the Peace were present except for Orlando Jones. Justice Zach Hill gave an invocation and all present recited the Pledge Of Allegiance. The members of the court then voted to approve the April meeting’s agenda and the minutes from the March meeting.
The Treasurer’s Report was then given by County Treasurer Charlie Searcy. Searcy reported that County General currently has a balance of negative $1,085,000. The total funds that affect County General have a balance of negative $533.305. Some add-back funds have been collected which makes the net difference negative $685,000 compared to negative $235,000 at the same time last year. The Quarter Cent Sales Tax fund has a balance of $6.6 million versus $5.6 million last year. The county’s General Excess fund has a balance of $1.3 million.
Judge Griffin asked the court to approve increasing the spending limit on the Road Department’s credit card. The current limit is $2,000 which was set by the county whenever the card was issued. Judge Griffin asked that the limit be increased to $5,000 to allow the county to buy parts without maxing the card out with one purchase. The court approved the request.
County Tax Collector Tonya Loveless asked the court for approval to move $5,000 from her Automation Fund into another fund to finish the floor repairs in her office. The court approved the request and will present the appropriation ordinance at the next meeting.
An update was given on Rough & Ready Cemetery. Nothing has really happened since the last meeting, but there are plans in the works to restore the cemetery which is on the National Historic Registry, and is located at the site of the original Drew County seat.
Sheriff Tim Nichols reported that there is no new news on the proposed detention center. The only progress has been discussing how much needed to be financed and where to obtain said funds.
The court passed a resolution authorizing the ongoing maintenance and operational support of the health department through grants that the county will apply for.
The court passed an ordinance that would repeal Ordinance 2017-14 regarding the levy of a volunteer tax supporting the county’s efforts to manage the population of domestic pets and stray animals. All funds collected for this year will still be paid out, but will no longer be an option in 2026.
The court also approved an ordinance that would replace the numerous Solid Waste ordinances with one uniform and concise ordinance. All parties involved with drafting the new ordinance were in agreement that the multiple ordinances were confusing and burdensome.
The ordinance will come with some changes. Drew County residential customers will see no changes, but commercial customers will see a rate increase. Commercial customers will pay a weekly fee of $125 for one collection, and there will be a $62.50 charge for each additional collection.
The ordinance also establishes that the owner of a property is responsible for making sure that the solid waste fees are paid at their properties. If they have tenants, solid waste fees can be added to the rent, but at the end of the day, the property owner is responsible for the bill.
The court passed an emergency ordinance to increase landfill fees. Moving forward, the landfill fees will increase to $65 per ton of solid waste if delivered by Drew County commercial firms and operators. Non-county citizens and commercial customers will pay $80 per ton. Drew County residents dumping residential waste will not see an increase in fees. There will also be a 10 percent late fee on any fees not paid on time.
In the final piece of business, Judge Griffin and the Justices spent 35 minutes discussing whether or not the county should spend nearly $350,000 on an Impaktor 250 for the landfill. The machine would take anything from concrete, tires, lumber, and mattresses and chip them up into small pieces. This would potentially increase the longevity of the landfill by taking up less space in the cells.
No decision was made on whether to purchase the machine or not, as the majority of the Justices didn’t feel like the investment was justified by the small return that the county would see. More information will be gathered and presented to the court at a future meeting.
With no further business on the agenda, the Drew County Quorum Court adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
