Commission assists witheconomic development
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Commissioner Daniel Robinson was appointed the new chairman at Monday’s meeting of the Butler County Commission. Robinson was nominated by Commissioner William Phillips to serve the next term of nine months and two weeks which rotates throughout the 4-year term of the commission.
Also leading the agenda was the approval of a resolution for the Butler County Industrial Development Authority for $500,000 to assist in bringing a technical support center of a large computer company to Butler County.
Phillips expressed some concern over the strain on the budget with the construction of the new jail also pending. &uot;I am not against industry. But I am against raising taxes,&uot; he said.
&uot;We have got to grow,&uot; said Commissioner Jesse McWilliams, who was the first to make a motion to accept the resolution. &uot;We need to get some jobs in Butler County in order to increase revenue.&uot;
&uot;We can’t afford not to bring jobs here,&uot; said Robinson.
&uot;I agree with Commissioner Phillips,&uot; said Chairman Gary Hanks. &uot;The (Greenville) council came back and said we don’t have the money, we can’t do it. We spent $40,000 to settle this court case concerning the jail and we are going to be forced to build a $2.5 million facility and we’ve already got $400,000 tied up in it. The governor is saying no taxes and I’m saying no taxes.&uot;
In other business, the commission also approved
the signing of a resolution for the community of Forest Home to send to the Postmaster General in an effort to save the town post office.
Chairman Gary Hanks informed the commission that BFI Waste Services was increasing their prices which equaled to about 37 cents a month for residents outside the city limits.
In the jail report, Hanks said the jail currently has 31 inmates, which was a decrease. However, Sheriff Diane Harris said that some of the Butler County inmates were currently in state facilities.
In the engineer’s report, County Engineer Dennis McCall told the commission that G. W. Norrell had submitted the lowest bid concerning the Garvee Bond Issue project and the first two bridges to be replaced would be on County Rd. 43 and County Rd. 45.
McCall also informed the commission that Joe Money Machinery had submitted the lowest bid for the patch machine and that the Low Water Crossing Bridge project was approximately one month away from being open to traffic.
The Commission also:
– appointed a personnel board for Butler County;
– appointed board members for Butler County Human Resources;
– tabled the issue of courthouse plumbing until further investigation could be conducted;
– awarded Charlie Brown the Kent property;
– approved the minutes of the July 9 meeting;
– announced bids for new fiscal year supplies would be opened on Sept. 5 at 11 a.m.;
– approved payment of the bills.