CULLMAN — Cullman County has attached itself to an appeal to the Supreme Court of Alabama filed by two water utility entities the commission brought into existence in late April.

The appeal, which seeks to reverse a temporary injunction against the utilities issued by Circuit Judge Don Hardeman last month, was initially filed June 11 by the Governmental Utility Services Corporation of Cullman County (GUSC) and South Cumberland Cooperative District (SCCD).

The GUSC and SCCD, along with the county commission, are defendants in a civil suit filed May 7 by seven county residents seeking to dissolve the two boards, and to have the assets and billing-generated revenue of the Cullman County water department—which had been transferred to the SCCD on April 27—restored to county ownership and oversight. The injunction had delivered a momentary victory for the plaintiffs in the case, as it stripped the two entities of their deliberative and administrative powers pending a resolution of the lawsuit.

The decision to add the county commission to the appeal was approved at the commission’s regular meeting Thursday by the two associate commissioners—Doug Williams and Wayne Willingham—who formed the quorum needed to authorize the formation of the two water boards. As he had done at the April 27 meeting, commission chairman James Graves opposed his colleagues’ decision.

While the higher court has the power to reverse any decision made in circuit court, the suit—including the count alleging violations of the Alabama Open Meetings Act, which formed the basis for Judge Hardeman’s injunction order—can still proceed. The defendants have asked the state court to issue a stay on the injunction order, but the Supreme Court has not yet considered that request.



In other business at its Thursday meeting, the commission:

• Approved a contract for professional services to be provided by engineering firm Goodwyn Mills & Cawood for ongoing work at Cullman Regional Airport and Folsom Field.
• Declared surplus 12 vehicles from the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office fleet.
• Declared surplus three tractors, a truck, a dump truck, two mowers and two cutters used by the west side road department.
• Donated $1,000 to the White City Community Center.
• Re-appointed Diane Brown to the county Department of Human Resources board for a six-year term to expire in May 2016.
• Passed a resolution approving the county’s participation in the annual sales tax holiday, which will run from August 6-8.
• Reset the speed limits on County Roads 595, 596, 597 and 598—all in the Gilleyville subdivision—at 20 miles per hour.
• Approved minutes from the commission’s June 15 meeting, with associate commissioner Williams expressing Thursday, as he did at the last meeting, his belief that the minutes are not a full and accurate reflection of everything that is said during commission meetings. A series of charges to Marshall’s Tree Service, which Williams had questioned and withheld from payment at the previous meeting, were again omitted until Williams said he had completed his research into their validity.
• Authorized the chairman and county EMA director Phyllis Little to sign documents approving annual grant funding through an Emergency Management Performance Grant. The commission also approved a one-time $8,000 grant for the state department of public health for training conducted in Cullman County for the State Mortuary Operations Response Team.
• Approved a contract with Municipal Consultants, Inc. for preparatory work to install remotely-monitored water meters funded through a $2.9 million grant project.
• Agreed to extend an annual contract with Texaco Express Lube for routine service to county vehicles.
• Approved a request from residents in the Grandview voting district to redraw district lines so that voters within that boundary can again vote at the Grandview community center. Currently, residents must travel to the Cullman County Health Department to vote. A petition attached to the request must next be forwarded to the probate judge, and must meet the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Heard public comment from a number of residents in the Berlin area, all of whom addressed the commission with concerns about the quality of road work done in April along County Road 109, a heavily-used route that connects Ala. Highway 69 with County Road 222.

“I’m here to comment on the abortion called County Road 109,” said resident Bill Korwatch. “It’s worse now than when it had potholes. I understand we got a contractor from Mississippi to do that [work]...if they have not been paid yet, they should not be paid. And if they’ve been paid in full, they should be sued for the mess that they made...The only way to fix that road, in my opinion, is to blacktop it. It’s going to be extremely expensive, but you shouldn’t have to bother with it again for the next 20 or 30 years.”

Bert Jones of County Road 129 agreed, stating that the county should, at minimum, add a center stripe for safety. “I think, from a safety standpoint, at least, a center line needs to be applied to that road,” he said. “It’s extremely dangerous right now.”

Fellow CR 129 resident George Harris also spoke on the condition of the resurfaced road, adding, “...what they did there is worse than it was before. The road is already riddled with potholes and washboarding, and it is dangerous to traverse at night.”



The next commission meeting will be held at 10 a.m. July 14 in the commission meeting room of the Cullman County Courthouse.



* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 270.