The Limestone County Commission heard complaints from several concerned residents in the past few weeks about issues with the Athens-Limestone County Public Library Board. Tuesday, June 4, they made steps to resolve those issues.
The commission voted unanimously to approve a resolution that will allow for the creation of a joint library board with the city. The goal of the commission is to have at least two of the five board members be appointed by the county.
With the approved resolution, the commission has set Oct. 1, as the deadline to reach a finalized agreement with the city for the joint board, before the start of the new fiscal year.
Commission Chairman Collin Daly talked to The News Courier after the vote on Tuesday, explaining the significance of having adequate representation on the board after years of no county appointees.
“We want to take applications for board members, we want to vet who we put on the board, and we want to have a diverse board that has good representation for everybody,” Daly said. “We just don’t want to rush into anything, we want to make sure we get this right.”
Daly mentioned that the commission has worked with the city of Athens throughout the resolution process, and the two entities’ attorneys played major roles in helping to come up with the approved resolution.
“This gives way for us to work together in decisions with the library and ensures that we will have two board appointments,” Daly said. “Ultimately, this is what our citizens have asked for from the start and that’s what we are moving forward with.”
According to Daly, the county and the city still have a lot of logistics to deal with before an agreement is reached, but the finalized agreement is still expected to be reached.
In other business the commission:
— Approved claims, from May 17-22, totaling $4,358,608.35.
— Approved an agreement with Diversified Computer Systems for the development of a work order and project management software for mobile applications.
— Approved motion to seek congressional direct funding of $1.5 million, with a 20 percent local match, for the design and planning of improvements on local roads.
— Approved county budget revisions.
— Awarded bid for the sheriff’s office’s uniforms.
— Approved the hire of Marlene Moore, Journi Satterfield, Jonathan Hinton and Carson Padgett as corrections officers, pending a drug screening.
— Approved the transfer of James Massey Tolen from a communications officer to a property and evidence technician.
— Approved various merit increases for county employees.
— Approved the preliminary approval of the Davis Preserve Phase Two subdivision in District 2 on the south side of Nick Davis Road.
— Approved the move of a polling location from the Lamb of God Lutheran Church to James Clemens High School.