V. Hugh Lewis II/Jefferson Jimplecute
The proposed Moon Lake Estates development hit another delay this week as Commissioners tabled a request by Eastern Marion County [EMC] water for 5,000 feet of easement to install a 6-inch water line.
Pct 4 Commissioner Charlie Treadwell said that since the plat for the subdivision has yet to be approved by the Court, approving an easement along an already narrow road, was premature.
“It has to come before the court to be approved,” said Treadwell. “But, this is Ralph’s project, so whatever he wants to do we’ll do. By rights when someone puts in a subdivision, they are supposed to come to court and ask permission. They’re doing all this before the plat is approved, so isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?”
Assistant County Attorney Bill Gleason, indicated it could be done either way, “This is getting close. The cart is almost inside the horse,” he said.
The existing right-of-way is 40 feet wide, so installation of the water line would have to be at the bottom of the existing ditch.
“Our first intent was to contact landowners on the west side of the road,” said EMC representative James Carter, “They said ‘No’, ‘Heck no’ and a little stronger language than that. Our attorney is now working on contacting the property owners on the east side of the road.”
The right-of-way includes the existing road, which is “barely 20 feet wide,” according to Pct 2 Commissioners Ralph Misenheimer.
If they put the waterline in the ditch will we need to widen that road?” said Pct 1 Commissioner J.R. Ashley.
“If they won’t give you a row for a waterline, they won’t give you one to widen the road,” said Treadwell.
Commissioners tabled the request until the next meeting to give time for Marion County Judge Leward LaFleur to discuss the matter with the county attorney and the developer.
The SCBA/SCUBA tank re-fill compressor will be relocated to the Mims VFD building in the near future after commissioners approved the request by Mims VFD.
According to the request, “the compressor has not been inspected or serviced since 2017,” and “the are housing the unit is slowly deteriorating. The room has mold and mildrew growing on the walls. This is not the atmosphere from which to draw room air for pressurizing a breathing tank.”
Mims VFD will pay for the costs to relocate and install the unit and setup 24/7 access by other VFDs. The department will not own the equipment, but have “stewardship” of it according to the request.
In other business, Commissioners approved a bid from Camco Elevator Inc, to replace the control board on the elevator in the courthouse for a 2021 budget year cost of $18,175, and a 2022 budget year cost of $54,525.
Commissioners also approved the settlement proposed in the Janssen Texas State-Wide Opioid Settlement Agreement, or County of Marion v Purdue Pharma L.P., et Al, and authorized County Attorney Angela Smoak to sign. The settlement will provide approximately $14,409 to the county, and provide the opportunity to apply for additional grants.
Lastly, Commissioners approved the revised Strategic Software Master Agreement for software for the Marion County Sheriff’s department. The revised agreement was required as the startup costs were lowed to $64,593 and annual subscription fee to $55,367.