Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
The Autauga County Commission met for their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday evening, where tensions were still there but not as elevated as last meeting.
The Commission approved the water and conservation grant application for the Pine Level Park in a 4-1 vote, with Larry Stoudemire voting against.
Stoudemire made it known he is not against the park and grateful for the opportunity to the community to receive a park. However, Stoudemire stated he had no problem with the grant, but that, “I have a problem with the way this was set up.”
District Attorney Kyle Shirley and chairman Jay Thompson both stated that the commission had an opportunity to receive more grant money, by amending the application from 2019.
Shirley stated this is possible to do as the grant has been approved but has not been completed.
“I’m all about parks and things for the kids. That’s my number one goal. I deal with kids every day. I’m not against the park situation. But I’m just against the way things are being done. Now my constituents will be calling me, and I feel like we should try and do things fair and right,” Stoudemire said towards the end of the meeting.
In other business, the commission nominated Commissioner Rusty Jacksland as a representative to the Association of County Commissions of Alabama or ACAA Legislative Committee.
The commission also learned that a settlement was reached regarding an opioid settlement with Kroger. Shirley explained that the County is essentially piggy-backing on the state’s claim, and that the state has come to a settlement with Kroger.
“The way that this opioid case is going, this was called multi district litigation. There has been a bunch of lawsuits that have all been consolidated into one federal court. That claim will be essentially parceled out to all the cities and counties that are participating. They’ve got metrics and it goes through what’s called a settlement administrator,” Shirley said.
The amount of the settlement was not known at the time of the meeting.
In other business, Stoudemire was on the agenda and made a motion to talk about the ongoing issues with the Autauga Metro Jail. Jacksland seconded the motion.
Scott Kramer, the county treasurer and administrator, confirmed that there is an RFP out, a request for proposal. This means the commission is looking for contractors for the services needed.
Kramer confirmed that they will receive quotes next Tuesday.
Autauga County Sheriff Mark Harrel was present and addressed the commission Tuesday evening where he noted former President Trump’s assassination attempt, the murder of one individual and the injuries of others from the attempt.
“This attempt was an absolute failure by all law enforcement that was involved in the planning of this event in Butler, Pennsylvania. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, an attempt to assassination of a political figure is absolutely disgusting and does not have a place in our society as Americans. With proper training and manpower for law enforcement, even here in a tall county, this should never happen anywhere. God bless our country,” Harrell said.
Chairman Jay Thompson went on to thank Harrell and other law enforcement and first responders at the end of the meeting.
In other business, the commission approved to hire Stephen Bland as the chief mapper and GIS administrator for the revenue mapping and appraisal department to replace Connie Scott in their retirement.
“Steve has been the guy that I think every time I pick the phone up at the time, we’re going to be answering the phone and is trying to help or go do whatever needed to be done on or off the clock, and I appreciate the dedication,” Thompson said.
Lastly, the commission also approved entering into an agreement with Strategic Payment Services. Vendors will soon have the option to pay with a virtual card technology program instead of having to mail in payments. Vendors have to also agree to it, Kramer confirmed. Shirley explained that this will also save on administration and costs.
Right now, that rebate is projected for about $15,000 for the year, Kramer confirmed. However, Kramer anticipates that it could be more as more vendors come on board.
In closing comments Commissioner Bill Tatum thanked Harrell and his team for keeping Autauga County safe, and Thompson thanked ADECA for their participation in grant money for Autauga County.
“I appreciate the opportunity to be able to work with them. I appreciate them working with us,” Thompson said.
