By Michelle Key
Editor
During the Aug. 13 meeting of the Lee County Commission, county residents Terry Lamb and Rob Young addressed the commission concerning Lee Road 79. Lamb questioned the commission on whether or not the county had relinquished authority of the road to a neighboring land owner Jim Cook. The road crosses through Cook’s property into the property owned by the Lambs. Lamb explained that this was disclosed to her in the course of preparations to sell, cut and remove timber from her property. County maintenance stops before reaching Lamb’s property. Lamb explained to the commission that they have been told that they are not allowed to improve the road on Cook’s property. These improvements are needed in order for the timber company to be able to access the land and remove the timber.
Judge Bill English responded that Lee County has never owned that road.
“We have what is called a prescriptive right-of-way. It has been more than 30 years since the county has worked the portion of the road in question,” English said.
Young addressed the commission regarding this matter as well stating that he does not want to see the road abandoned because he too will have timber that will need to be removed in the future. During the discussion, Robert Ham, Commissioner of District 4, requested that Justin Hardee, Lee County Engineer, work up estimates of costs to maintain the road past the 1.168 miles of dirt road currently maintained.
The commission also received an update on the Animal Control Citizen’s Advisory Panel. Dr. Elizabeth Yorke made a recommendation that the county’s animal control department a undergo a “Target ZERO” assessment. She explained that the assessment is free, non-binding and provides recommended strategies to decrease shelter intake and increase live release rates to achieve a 90 plus percent shelter save rate. Commissioner Shelia Eckman put forth a motion for the county to apply for this assessment but there was no second of that motion. Further discussion showed that the majority of commissioners felt like they needed to understand the program before applying for the free assessment. Yorke asked that all the commissioners look at the TargetZero website before the next meeting.
Yorke also asked more detailed quarterly reports be provided from animal control on the specific intake and outcome data and she also requested that yearly basic outcome data be posted on the animal control website.
In other business, the commission:
• approved claims and procurement card transactions from July
• heard the first reading of two positions on the Lee County Youth Development Board. Dianne Carlton of Opelika and Richard Key II of Smiths Station submitted citizen interest forms for the LCYD board.
• approved a federal aid agreement for Lee Road 11
• approved a preliminary plat approval for Deerfield Oaks Subdivision
• approved a maintenance acceptance for The Villages at Beauregard Subdivision
• approved a FY2017-18 Highway Reference Guide
• approved the job re-classification for traffic control technician
• gave a report on the recent trip to Washington D.C.
• received a report from Kathy Carson from the Emergency Management Agency regarding the LeeCo Alerts System. Carson urges all citizens to sign up for alerts by visiting the EMA website and accessing the link at: www.leecoema.com
After the regular session, the commission held a budget work session.
The Lee County Commission meet on the second and last Mondays of each month at the Lee County Courthouse.
For more information, visit www.leeco.us.