Madison County leaders have spent months trying to negotiate a deal with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to keep Watson Mill open as a “state park.” But county commissioners were hit with some contractual issues Feb. 27 that complicates plans.
The DNR decided last year to downgrade the park to an “outdoor recreational area,” which included shutting down the park’s office and laying off its staff, with park campers expected to register on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reservations are no longer taken for campers. And the park’s “group shelter” where numerous family reunions and other events were held has been closed.
The county has discussed contributing money to the maintenance of the park, roughly $26,000 a year. The aim of local commissioners is to keep the park office open from March through November so that people can make reservations to camp and use the group shelter. They’ve noted that people won’t travel long distances to use the shelter and campgrounds without a guarantee that the facilities will be available. The loss of traffic at the park will hurt the local economy, officials say.
But the state DNR isn’t ready to just hand over control of the group shelter to the county. Madison County attorney Mike Pruett reviewed a proposed contract from the DNR Monday that requires numerous documents that put the liability for the shelter on the county’s shoulders, not the state’s.
“There’s about three pages of all the different types of insurance certificates we have to provide DNR,” said Pruett, noting that the DNR contact requires workers’ compensation insurance, auto insurance, liability insurance and premises insurance.
Pruett also noted that the county asked the DNR for the opportunity to not renew the contract at the end of each year. The DNR countered by proposing that either side be able to back out of the contract with 60 days notice.
Commissioner Stanley Thomas wasn’t pleased with the DNR’s proposal.
“My recommendation would be to ask them to come back here and sit down at the table again and explain all this,” said Thomas. “They’re taking something away from our county and we’re trying to work with them. And now they’ve come up with all this stuff to make it hard to work with them. Sounds like to me, they’re kind of going back on their word. They were all for keeping it a state park and us being a participant. And now they get somebody to draw all this up and try to discourage us.”
Board members said the group shelter may not be feasible considering the state’s apparent requirements. Pruett noted that a 60-day contract cancellation is short notice, particularly considering that reservations for facilities could be made by citizens more than 60 days in advance.
Thomas suggested that the county seek the assistance of Sen. Frank Ginn in negotiating with the DNR over the park.
In other matters Monday, the board learned that the county received a total of $6,286 from items sold in Saturday’s county auction. Meanwhile, Sheriff Kip Thomas said Tuesday that his department brought in $26,805 from the auction.
Will Mauldin, Jerry Coutant and Lannae Johnson all spoke to the BOC about the push to improve childhood literacy by the Rotary Club and the Madison County Literacy Council. Mauldin noted that having a good career is rooted in the ability to read and communicate effectively.
The BOC heard from Lamar Hughston of Tumbling Creek Subdivision, who inquired about placing portable speed bumps in the subdivision. The board informed Hughston that speed bumps generally aren’t allowed on county roads due to maintenance issues.
The commissioners heard from Mark King who sought to have a stop sign placed on Sailors Road and to have the speed limit reduced from 35 mph to 25 mph. King said Sailors Road is a cut-through road. The board told King that the road department determined that there wasn’t enough traffic on the road to warrant the changes.
The board approved a 25 mph speed limit on Kellogg Drive.
The BOC heard from chairman Anthony Dove, who said that the municipalities in Madison County agreed not to change the allocations of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds from the previous arrangement. Dove said he was pleased with the cooperation shown between city leaders.
The group approved the promotion of Greg Kesler from an EMT-intermediate to a paramedic. Kesler recently completed his paramedic’s training.
