The Coffee County commission named a new vice chairman, road superintendent, and assistant road superintendent at Monday’s regular commission meeting, among other items of business.
District 1 commissioner Oscar Paulk had been the commission’s vice chairman. His sudden passing in June left a vacancy for that position. Monday, the commission named AJ Dovers as new vice chair. Commissioners approved him unanimously.
Next week, road superintendent Wendell Troupe is retiring after 53 years with the county. Commissioners named a new road superintendent effective upon Troupe’s retirement. The commission named current assistant road superintendent Buddy Jordan as Troupe’s replacement. With the assistant road superintendent position open, commissioners appointed Arthur Jackson, who has been with the county for 37 years, to fill that vacancy. “Wendell probably gets more calls than I do. You’ve been a good friend, Mr. Troupe, even way before I served on this commission. We thank you for your dedicated service. We sure do,” said commission chair Johnny Wayne Jowers.
In other news, commissioners:
- Approved a change order for the 2024 LMIG projects. The change increases the project price tag $74,017.72 and adds roads in Nicholls.
- Approved mid-year budget amendments. The amendment for the general fund would increase expenditures by $400,000 with a corresponding increase in revenue of $400,000. On the special insurance premium tax fund, there is an increase in expenditures by $367,000 and an increase in revenue of $67,000 with a reduction in fund balance of $300,000 for a total of $367,000. The 911 fund sees an increase of the expenditure budget by $80,000 and a corresponding reduction of fund balance by $80,000.
- The county maintained road list. Currently, the county has 585.2 miles of dirt roads and 433.75 miles of paved roads. “This is important because we get our DOT funding based on road miles so we’ve got to have a good list of that for the DOT,” said county administrator Wesley Vickers.
- An agreement between the county and the DOT related to the Bud Hutcheson/Chaney Road project. The total price of that project is $4,099,251.
- The county heard the first reading of a rezoning ordinance from Joel Scholten, who would like to rezone 2.56 acres on MJ McClelland Road from R2, Residential to AG, Agriculture, for the purpose of putting a mobile home on the property. The county will hold the second reading and vote on the request next month.
Satilla Riverkeeper Shannon Gregory appeared before the commission and announced that Monday night, there will be a meeting in Waycross at 6 p.m. in the Waycross Auditorium to discuss the proposed 60-house commercial poultry farm under construction in Coffee County. The meeting will discuss potential damage the houses may do to the Satilla River, said Gregory.