BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
MADISON COUNTY, FLORIDA
COURTHOUSE ANNEX
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018
9:00 A.M.
The Board of County Commissioners of Madison County, Florida met this day in
regular session with the following members present: Alston Kelley (District 1), Wayne
Vickers (District 2), Ronnie Moore (District 3), Alfred Martin (District 4) and Rick Davis
(District 5). Also present were County Attorney George T. Reeves, County Coordinator
Brian Kauffman, and Clerk Billy Washington.
The Chairman, Honorable Wayne Vickers, called the meeting to order at 9:00
a.m. and conducted roll call.
Commissioner Moore requested that an item be added to the agenda as New
Business Item #4. This item would be discussion and possible action concerning
waiving permit fees for a “burned-out” county resident. Commissioner Moore then
presented a motion to adopt the agenda with the added item. Commissioner Martin
seconded the motion and the board voted unanimously (5-0) to adopt the agenda.
Commissioner Moore presented a motion to approve the minutes of the meeting
held December 27, 2017 as presented. Commissioner Kelley seconded the motion and
the board voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the minutes.
Three citizens signed in to present petitions from the public. The first to speak
was Ms. Tina Johnson. Ms. Johnson wanted to express concerns over the Supervisor
of Elections Tommy Hardee. She stated that she understood that it was outside the
power of the board to remove a constitutional officer. She believes the board should,
however, draft a letter condemning the actions of the Supervisor of Elections. It is her
understanding that the board would sign such a letter if it were drafted. She also stated
that she has been a resident of Madison County for 22 years and has seen nothing but
disappointment.
The second petitioner was Mr. Donnell Davis from Community
Awareness Committee. He stated that at the December 27th meeting the
commissioners were under the impression that Mr. Hardee had paid back all monies
and had stated as much. He read a letter that he had received from Mr. Cary Hardee III
of the Hardee Law Firm addressing some of the concerns Mr. Davis presented during
the December 27th meeting. The letter also had enclosed photocopied receipts
showing the deposits of the money Supervisor of Elections Hardee had paid back. Mr.
Davis stated that one of the deposits was dated December 28, 2017. He stated that this
was the day after the last meeting. Mr. Davis feels the board should make a formal
recommendation to Governor Scott’s office requesting a complete investigation. He
presented to the board a letter drafted by the Community Awareness Committee asking
for a complete investigation for the board to sign and send to the governor’s office. Mr.
Davis also thought that the board should have done more investigation into the
repayment of money. Mr. Davis also thought that the sheriff’s office should have
investigated the allegations. Sheriff Ben Stewart asked to be recognized to respond to
Mr. Davis. Sheriff Stewart explained that his office would refer a complaint against a
constitutional officer to executive investigations of the FDLE. He has called the office of
the general council of the governor and has been informed that the compliant has been
received and is being looked into.
Commissioner Martin presented a motion to amend the agenda to include discussion and possible action concerning drafting a letter concerning the Supervisor of Elections. Commissioner Kelley seconded the motion and
the board voted unanimously (5-0) to amend the agenda. Commissioner Martin then
made a motion to direct staff to draft a letter requesting a full investigation into the issue
concerning the Supervisor of Elections on county letterhead. Commissioner Kelley
seconded the motion. Commissioner Davis commented that whatever needs to be
done concerning an investigation should be done quickly. Commissioner Moore stated
that he believes issues like this place a stain on elected officials. County Coordinator
Brian Kauffman inquired as to whether the board wanted to use the language from the
Community Awareness Committee letter or other things. Attorney Reeves suggested
drafting a letter asking for expedited investigation into the matter and include copies of
the audit letter, Supervisor Hardee’s letter and the letter to Mr. Davis showing the
deposits. The board voted unanimously (5-0) to direct the drafting of the letter. Mr.
Kauffman stated that his office had also been in touch with the governor’s general
council office and had received the same information as the sheriff. The third petitioner
was Ms. Lisa Leary. She asked if the actions of the Supervisor of Elections constituted
embezzlement. Attorney Reeves explained that charges, if any, would be determined
by the State Attorney’s office.
Under Old Business Item #1, Solid Waste Coordinator Jerome Wyche presented
a proposal for expanded services at three collection sites and scheduling changes for
certain other collection sites. He explained that this expanded hours and scheduling
changes would be a benefit to citizens. The changes were enabled due to the increase
in the special assessment for solid waste. Commissioner Martin presented a motion to
approve the scheduling and expanded service changes as presented. Commissioner
Kelley seconded the motion and the board voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the
changes.
Commissioner Davis remarked on the amount of litter that he has noticed along
the county and state rights of way. He asked Mr. Kauffman if he could contact the
company responsible for the right of way maintenance and speak with them concerning
trash. Commissioner Davis asked Mr. Wyche about the progress on the inmate squad
from Madison Correctional Institute. Mr. Wyche explained the Warden Collins has
made the request, but is waiting on legislative approval for the officer position.
Chairman Vickers then moved to New Business Item #4. Commissioner Moore
presented a request from a constituent in his district that recently suffered a house fire.
The resident was requesting the county to waive fees associated with the placement of
a mobile home to replace the burned structure. Madison Building Official Rick
Anderson stated that the fees in question were for the electrical permit and the set-up
fee, totaling $330. Commissioner Moore presented a motion to waive the fees.
Commissioner Martin seconded the motion and the board voted unanimously (5-0) to
waive the fees.
Under Public Works Item #1, Road Department Coordinator Lonnie Thigpen
presented the board with Resolution 2018-01-10. This resolution authorizes and
approves the execution of a contract with Bancorpsouth Equipment Finance for the
leasing of grading equipment. Mr. Thigpen also presented a bid summary spreadsheet
outlining the bids received from Beard Equipment and Ring Power for the equipment.
Based on the bids received, Mr. Thigpen recommended accepting the bid from Beard
Equipment in the amount of $93,200 per machine for the leasing of two motorgraders.
This bid included a guaranteed buyback amount of $115,200 per machine.
Commissioner Moore presented a motion to accept the bid from Beard Equipment.
Commissioner Kelley seconded the motion. Mr. Thigpen then presented to the board
bids for a third machine with a sloper blade. These bids came from Beard Equipment
and Ring Power. He explained that the machine currently utilized was a John Deere
model. Due to this, Beard Equipment, the John Deere dealer, could utilize the used
sloper blade on the new grader to help keep the cost lower. Beard Equipment could
also offered multi-unit pricing to further reduce costs. Mr. Thigpen’s recommendation
was to accept the bid for the third machine from Beard Equipment in the amount of
$123,508 for the lease. There being a motion and second already presented for the first
two pieces of equipment, Commissioner Vickers called for the vote. The board voted
unanimously (5-0) to accept the bid from Beard Equipment and authorize Resolution
No. 2018-01-10. Commissioner Martin then presented a motion to accept the bid for
the third machine from Beard Equipment. Commissioner Davis seconded the motion
and the board voted unanimously (5-0) to accept the bid.
Under New Business Item #1, Mr. Kauffman presented the proposed changes to
the County Personnel Policy Manual. Some of the highlights of the changes involved
social media, reporting loss of driver licenses, injunctions, etc., removal of employee
classification system, outlining hierarchy of duties, state of emergency policy, and
reduction in workforce (“layoff”) policy. There was discussion as to whether these
changes would change the duties, authority, and role of the County Coordinator.
Commissioner Kelley asked if Mr. Kauffman’s role currently is any different from his
predecessor. Mr. Reeves explained the evolution of the position from the time Mr.
Cherry, the predecessor, began until his retirement. He explained that Mr. Kauffman’s
role is the same as Mr. Cherry’s at the time of his retirement. Commissioner Kelley felt
that the policy clearly delineated the management structure and asked if Mr. Kauffman’s
title should not be changed to County Administrator. Commissioner Martin noted that in
the past a committee has been established to review proposed changes and offer
opinions. He would like a committee have a review, make recommendations, and bring
back to the board for approval. Commissioner Moore remarked that policy revisions like
this are within the power of the County Coordinator. Commissioner Davis also
commented that he would like to see the change to County Administrator from County
Coordinator. He also noted that there only existed about 8 or 9 pages of changes, but
would not be opposed to having a committee review. Various department heads
expressed their concerns and their willingness to abide by the board’s decision.
Commissioner Moore presented a motion to table any further discussion or action until
the next regular meeting. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion and the board
voted unanimously (5-0) to table this item.
At this time, Chairman Vickers recognized a citizen, Inez Bennett, to speak. She
inquired as to why Madison County did not qualify for federal reimbursement after
Hurricane Irma. Emergency Management Director Alan Whigham explained the
process for requesting assistance. He explained the difference between public
assistance and individual assistance. Madison County did qualify for reimbursement for
public assistance, but did not meet the threshold for reimbursement for individual
assistance.
Chairman Vickers then placing the meeting into a short recess at 10:50 a.m.
Chairman Vickers called the meeting back into order at 11:50 a.m. He moved
the board to New Business Item #3. Robin Riley from Brown & Brown PRIA presented
an update concerning the county’s health insurance program. She also outlined some
of the wellness programs offered through the county’s provider. Ms. Riley also
mentioned that the insurance committee discussed ways to encourage participation in
the wellness programs. The committee recommended granting 4 hours of
administrative leave for employees that attended a wellness visit with their physician.
Commissioner Kelley presented a motion to grant 4 hours of administrative leave for
employees that attended a wellness visit with their physician. Commissioner Moore
seconded the motion and the board voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the motion.
Under New Business Item #2, Clerk Washington presented a revised purchase
order policy for approval. He noted that the last revision to the policy was performed in
1999 and that the current policy really just needed to be updated. According to Clerk
Washington the biggest change in the policy was increasing the maximum threshold for
purchases requiring only department head approval. The proposed increase was from
$500 to $1500. He noted that other changes were non-substantive in nature.
Commissioner Davis presented a motion to approve the revised policy as presented.
Commissioner Moore seconded the motion and the board voted unanimously (5-0) to
approve the revised policy.
Mr. Kauffman introduced the Fire Coordinator Chris Williams to the board. Mr.
Williams outlined his goals for the volunteer fire departments. These included updating
documentation for volunteers, stations, etc., obtaining grants, and recruitment and
training. Mr. Kauffman also announced the upcoming retirement of County Planner
Jeanne Bass on March 30, 2018. He also said that he had spoken with the property
owner at the Lee Airport about issues concerning access to the runway. He stated that
some fencing and gate repairs would need to be done to rectify the problems.
There being no further business, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 12:07
p.m.
Board of County Commissioners
Madison County, Florida
By: ______________________
Wayne Vickers, Chairman
ATTEST:
____________________________________
William D. Washington,
Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners
