Although the Escambia County (Ala.) Commission did not reinstate its state of emergency, the commission did approve a resolution Monday that gives the commission chairman, vice chairman and clerk the authority to conduct county business in the event a quorum of commissioners cannot meet.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread, the commission met in person on March 17 and passed the emergency declaration allowing Chairman Karean Reynolds, Vice Chairman Brandon Smith and Clerk-Administrator Tony Sanks to act on the behalf of the entire commission.
On June 8, the commission met in person for the first time since the March 17 meeting and voted to rescind the emergency order.
With Commissioner David Stokes recently having surgery and announcing he will be resigning effective Aug. 1, the commission passed a resolution Monday that will allow the three to make decisions and sign documents on behalf of the commission in the event a quorum can't be obtained.
It was noted that as long as a quorum of at least three of the five commissioners can be met, decisions will be made by the entire board.
In other business Monday, the commission:
- Approved a resolution to allow the city of Brewton to apply for a Community Development Block Grant to make improvements to the Ridge Road water system, which is now owned by the city.
Paul Darnell, with Southern Engineering Solutions, said since the water system is in the county, the grant application has to come from the county. He said the county will not be spending any money. If approved, the city would receive a $350,000 grant and add a $100,000 match.
- Voted to set the speed limit on Cooper Cemetery Road at 15 mph. Commissioner Scottie Stewart said residents on that road had requested the lower speed limit.
-Voted to vacate an unnamed street off of Hume Avenue. During a public hearing prior to the vote, County Engineer Bill Bridges said no road is there now, the right-of-way for the road is owned by the county. With no opposition voiced at the public hearing, the commission voted to abandon the road.
- Voted to reappoint Andrew Walton, Carol Fountain and Maggie Silbernagel to the Escambia County Department of Human Resources board.
- Voted to increase the speed limit on Appleton Road from Georgia Lane to the Conecuh County line from 40 mph to 45 mph. The speed limit from Georgia Lane to the Brewton city limits will remain at 40 mph.
“Forty-five is fine, but they go 80,” said Commissioner Stokes.
Julie Solomon approached the commission about a week ago during an administrative workshop requesting the speed limit change claiming a lot of speeding tickets were being written and felt 40 mph was too slow.
Sheriff Heath Jackson said that his department doesn't set speed limits but it does enforce the law.
Solomon said the speed limit was once 55 mph and it was lowered to 50 mph and then 40 mph.
- Was informed by Sanks that the state has provided extra funding for poll workers for the 2020 election cycle. He said poll workers would receive an extra $25 for this past Tuesday's runoff and for the November General Election. The additional money gives poll workers $150 and the returning officer $175.
