Monday’s Butler County Commission meeting was the last of the current administration. Because of this the commission took the time to reflect on some of the accomplishments of the last term.

Assistant county engineer John Mark Davis put together a presentation to outline some of the major hurdles the commission has made. Davis said there were five major areas the commission has excelled.

&uot;There have been five major accomplishments of the current administration,&uot; said Davis. &uot;There was the GARVEE Bond Bridge Replacement Project, Annual Federal Aid Funds Projects, CDBG Projects, Industrial Development Projects and work on the Pettibone Property.&uot;

The current administration was able to get all of this work done to make Butler County safe. At the same time they were able to save a tremendous amount of money.

The GARVEE Bond Projects were done at a cost of $2,468,000 with the county paying nothing in matching funds. Federal Aid Projects were completed at a cost of $2.4 million with the county paying only $363,440. The 2000 CDBG Projects were done at a cost of $500,000 with only $7,000 in matching funds. Industrial Development Projects cost $350,000 with zero matching funds.

All in all the current administration got $5.6 million worth of work done with an investment to them of only $370,4440 and $67,000 in kind.

The commission also gave an update on the county in regard to Hurricane Ivan. Davis went through the different types of damage and the cost to the county.

&uot;We are going to have three different types of damage,&uot; said Davis. &uot;We have five road sites that were damaged that will probably cost about $50,000. There is also a lot of sign damage. Countywide it will probably cost about $60,000. There is also debris cleanup. Early estimated on that were around $800,000.&uot;

As far as roads are concerned it looks as if federal help may be on the way. Davis said this would allow the county to pull their crews from the paved roads and concentrate on other areas in need.

&uot;It looks like contractors are going to do the rest of the paved roads,&uot; said Davis. &uot;When that happens we will pull our crews from the paved roads. All our crews will be working on the dirt roads.&uot;

Throughout the aftermath of Ivan the county has labored to make sure citizens could get where they needed to be. Commission Chairman Jesse McWilliams said he has received a lot of positive feedback on this.

&uot;I have gotten a lot of great comments about what happened during the storm,&uot; said McWilliams. &uot;These men have been out working when a lot of people couldn’t get out. We owe them a great debt of gratitude for the job they do. They have done the best they could under some very tough circumstances.&uot;

Commissioner Frank Hickman said under these trying times we have seen what the community is made of.

&uot;When you have a disaster like we have had there are opportunities for the good to come out in people and for the bad to come out,&uot; said Hickman. &uot;I think this disaster let us see the goodness of this community and the willingness of our neighbors to get out and help each other. It is a silver lining in what occurred to know that you live in a community of people who care. I tells you that Butler County and Greenville is a wonderful place to live.&uot;

While recognizing all the other areas of the county the commission also thanked the office staff for their hard work. McWilliams said the office staff made things run very smoothly for the county.

&uot;They are our backbone and they do an excellent job,&uot; said McWilliams. &uot;It has been very enjoyable working with them and they make our job a whole lot easier. We can’t say enough about the job they do for us and the 22,000 citizens of Butler County.&uot;

During the business portion of their meeting the commission:

n Approved a long-term subsidy contract with Montgomery County DYS.

n Approved the housing prisoner contracts with the cities of Greenville, Georgiana and McKenzie.

n Approved a motion to aid the Center Hill Voting House.

n Named Poole and Poole as the county’s new legal representation for the fiscal year.

The county also set the holidays for the coming year.

n Veteran’s Day will be Thursday Nov. 11

n Thanksgiving will be Thursday Nov. 25 and 26.

n Christmas holidays will be Friday Dec. 24 and Monday Dec. 27.

n New Years will be Monday Jan. 3.

n Martin Luther King Day will be observed Monday Jan. 17.

n Memorial Day will be Monday May 30.

n Independence Day will be Monday July, 4.

n Labor Day will be Monday Sept. 5.

Road Department holidays will be slightly different. The Road Departments Christmas holiday will be Monday Dec. 27.

The commission will next meet on Tuesday Nov. 9 at 10 a.m.