County commissioners discuss landfill, parks, and budget

White County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Aug. 21 to establish a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit on Swamp Road between Burgess Falls Road and Purvin Lollar Road.

The board also resolved to declare 11 vehicles and a camera system as surplus property to be sold at auction. In response to Gov. Bill Lee’s Special Session of the State Legislature, the board passed a resolution requesting the General Assembly preserve Tennesseans’ right to bear arms. Several neighboring counties already passed similar resolutions. Becky Golden (District 3) was the only commissioner absent from the meeting.

The next order of business for the board was to vote on amendments to the Fiscal Year General Fund. The resolution included six different sections of appropriations which were initially packaged together for passage. Commissioners T.K. Austin (District 2) and Derrick Hutchings (District 6) had questions about section four which appropriated funding for installing a security fence at the White County Justice Center around the sheriff’s office parking area. Austin made a motion to remove the section from the group for a separate vote, but the motion was voted down seven to six. A second motion to treat each section as a separate line-item vote passed unanimously. Each section passed unanimously except section four, which commissioners Austin and Hutchings voted against. The board then passed resolutions to amend the fiscal year School Fund and Capital Projects.

The board appointed Carrie Mullins and Mark McKee as judicial commissioners for one year. The board also approved 10 Notary Public applications: Melissa Luna, Chasity Wilson, Tonia Wilson, Kaitlin Jennings, Earl Jones Jr., Alyssa Beltz, Kristina Lewis, Sierra Jones, Kristy Wilson, and Elizabeth McDonald.

In old business, County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson explained he had no update on the new state park being established at Virgin Falls. He did state he believed it would be a multi-year project. Robinson also addressed the status of the county landfill. He explained the Request for Proposals (RFP) would be presented to the Solid Waste Committee next month, and the county could approve a sale or lease of the landfill as early as October. T.K. Austin brought a motion from the floor to approve the RFP now instead of waiting another month. The motion passed eight to four, with David Cranford (District 2) not voting. Commissioners voting against were Chris Brewington (District 1), Larry Daniels (District 7), Roger Mason (District 6), and Thomas Margeson (District 5).

Two members of the community spoke. The first individual was concerned about the way the county is handling recyclables. The board and county executive encouraged him and anyone concerned about landfill issues to attend the Solid Waste Committee meeting, in September. Another individual inquired about the status of naming a county park after White County native and football coach David Culley. Culley played basketball, baseball, and football for White County High School and was the first African-American quarterback for Vanderbilt University before becoming a college coach and eventually coaching in the NFL. County Executive Robinson said the board had previously approved the action, and the issue was added to the agenda for the committee meetings, in September, for further action.