By Sherri Blevins
On April 12, 2022, the DeKalb County Commission honored six recent recipients of the prestigious Eagle Scout Award.
Boy Scout Master Irby Don Brown, who has trained over 100 Eagle Scouts, along with County Commissioner Terry Harris, presented each Eagle Scout with a resolution signed by the County Commissioners. This resolution commended the young Americans for their leadership abilities and their strong sense of duty, honor, and patriotism. Bryce Mayes, Cameron Haney, Hunter Sisk, Levi Dody, Parker Higgins, and Cole Garrett (Not Present) were honored. Several Commissioners praised Brown for his outstanding dedication to the Boy Scouts of America and, in particular, to his troops at Tenbroeck.
Road Superintendent Broyles updated the Commission on his department’s work on County Road 835 and other projects. He announced that work had begun on building a drainage plane at the area’s base. Broyles said that even though this step may take a while to complete, the rest of the project should fall together faster than the previous work. He added that all four patch trucks were busy on prep work for the approved resurfacing projects later this summer.
Superintendent Broyles did request the Commission grant his permission to purchase some much-needed equipment to replace equipment originally purchased in 1985 and 1993. Broyles explained that the recent auction of road department vehicles resulted in the highest profits so far. He asked to use part of the funds to buy three new 930M wheel loaders. The cost of one of the loaders is $231,411.00, and the additional two are $221,749.00 each. His request was approved.
Broyles also discussed the need for his department to purchase property to use as a shop site and meeting place for crews. Broyles said, “One thing that I wanted to do and we’ve been in the process of doing for the last several years is to have a piece of property for all four of our district groups to meet, where they will have room to park their extra equipment, vehicles, and stockpiles of materials, especially for emergencies.” A property near the Gilbert Crossroads has been chosen as a possible site for District II to meet. It has an existing shop building with a septic tank already available on the property. According to Broyles and the Commissioners, having another meeting place and storage site closer to work areas should speed up the work time and reduce travel time. The Commission approved the request and asked Commissioner Harris and Superintendent Broyles to gather information and provide a report.
County Engineer Luther brought several items to the Commissioner’s attention. First, he asked the Commission to approve an Emergency Declaration on County Road 24 Bridge due to drainage issues on the bridge. It is located on the west side between Crossville and Painter. Luther said if needed work is not completed quickly, they will likely lose the bridge. Also, the problem is causing the roadway to settle, making it hazardous. The request was approved.
The Commission also approved the following requests:
Hiring Jonathan Stiefel on a temporary base at the road department and transferring him to full-time status after he acquires his CDL Learner’s Permit
Accepted Lambert Incorporated proposal of $41,380 for the two Pipe Liner Proposal installations in District II and III, one on County Road 52 and the other on County Road 89 in Dogtown
Accepted the resignation of Katie Hamilton from the dispatch and approved Danielle Hamilton as full-time at the Sheriff’s Department
Approved hiring Candice Bearden, Daven Harris, Taylor McBrider, and William Watson at the DeKalb County Detention Center
Approved reappointing Paul Bryant, current Adamsburg Fire Department Board Chairman, for a second term ending in 2027
Approved Jason Cyrus’s appointment to the remainder of David Evett’s term ending March 1, 2025
Approved appointing Chip Kirby to the EDA Board to replace James Coker
Approved $65,000 to purchase a new sales tax software system
Approved travel requests from Leslie Ledbetter, Director of the DeKalb County Animal Adoption Center, to attend the Southern Veterinary conference in August.
The next meeting is on May 10, 2022.