The Limestone County Commission approved an allocation of $600,000 from the county’s ARPA funds for mental health services. The commission unanimously voted provide the financial assistance to the Mental Health Center of North Central Alabama (MHCNCA) for the construction of a new mental health facility for children.

According to County Administrator Ellen Morell, the facility will be located on “existing MHCNCA property in Athens.” The plan is for a single-story facility with a professional office type occupancy with 3,500 to 4,500 square footage.

Look for a full story in The News Courier in next Wednesday’s edition.

The commission also made budget revisions due to the rise in fuel costs. “As y’all know, fuel costs and energy costs have skyrocketed. If we are going to provide a service, fuel cost is one of those things. We can’t help the control of that,” Chairman Collin Daly said.

The adjustments total $109,000 and include the following departments.

• Commission- $8,000

• Sheriff’s Office- $75,000

• Jail- $8,000

• Coroner- $2,000

• Animal Control- $4,800

• Council on Aging- $8,500

• Litter Patrol- $1,500

• District 1- $22,000

• District 2- $10,000

• District 3- $20,000

• District 4- $57,000

During the commission’s work session, the topic of recycling caused some tense moments. The commission discussed adding a Recycling Department and then hiring a recycling specialist at pay grade 17. The recent closing of the Limestone County Recycling Center has resulted in cries from some in the community to solve the problem.

“We don’t need to get into it too fast,” District 3 commissioner Jason Black said. “Let’s make sure we have all our ducks in a row or all our squirrels in a cage, or however you might want to put it; let’s don’t bite off more than we can chew because we don’t know what’s next.”

Black stressed that his opposition of creating a new department has nothing to do with his feelings on recycling. “It is nothing personal and has nothing to do with recycling. I’m all for recycling, but this is just something I think we need to chew a little bit. … We haven’t gotten the calls from the people yet who think this is a bad idea.”

“The only plan I can see us moving forward with is with the same amount of money that we have already been allocating. We own the trailers and vehicles sitting there,” Daly said. “My thought is, let’s start small and if it grows into more, it grows into more. If it doesn’t. … this is (the) best option I can come up with today.”

To give time to gather more numbers and information, the commission agreed to table the subject and discuss it further at the next meeting.

The commission also approved the following items of business.

Contracts, agreements and grants

• Enter into a service agreement with TriHaz Solutions to provide disposal of regulated medical waste.

Personnel, policy, and staffing actions

• Hire Mason Billions and Wayne Adomyetz as a temporary part time facilities and grounds workers, effective July 5, 2022, pending a drug screening.

• Transfer Erin Tyler from revenue clerk to appraisal clerk in the Revenue Commission’s office.

• Hire Elijah Walley as patrol deputy, effective July 5, 2022, pending a drug screening.

• Promote Rachel Hale from administrative clerk, grade 9, to tag title clerk, grade 10, in the License Commission’s office.

• Promote Audrey Kilpatrick from tag and tile clerk, grade 10, to senior tag and title clerk, grade 11, in the license Commission’s office.

• Amend staffing plan to remove one administrative clerk, grade 9, and add one help desk clerk, grade 9, under the License Commissioner.

• Approved job description for Help desk Clerk for the License Commission’s office.

• Transfer Shelly Posey from corrections officer to corrections corporal, effective July 5, 2022.

• Transfer Jimmy Flynt from part time school resource officer to part time courthouse security, effective July 5, 2022.

• Transfer Christian Frasier from deputy assigned to Investigations to investigator, effective July 5, 2022.

• Hire Onus Gunes as corrections officer effective July 5, 2022, pending a drug screening.

Engineer’s Report

• Final approval for Jones Spring Subdivision Phase 2, a major subdivision consisting of 32 lots in District 2 located north of Pepper Road on the west side of Jones Road.

• Preliminary approval for Southern Gayles Estates, a major subdivision consisting 33 lots in District 1 located on the south side of Bain Road approximately ½ mile west of Mooresville Road.

Other Business

• Remove 2006 Freightliner MZ 112 Lowboy Tractor in District 3 from inventory.

After concluding the business of the agenda, the commission convened in an executive action to discuss a personnel matter with no action taken following. The next meeting of the Limestone County Commission in Monday, July 18 at 9 a.m.