County Commission

The Fayette County Commission held a very brief meeting on June 13 at the Fayette County Courthouse. Commissioner Brad Cox and Commissioner John Underwood were absent from the meeting, with all other commissioners present. Commissioner Barry Corkren made a motion to allow the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department to be added to the “Brinks supports first responders donation program wait list.”

Fayette County Administrator Brooke Nichols-Slatton was named the 2022 John Ray Gordon County Administrator of the Year by the Association of County Administrators of Alabama (ACAA) in recognition of her service to her profession. Nichols-Slatton was selected by a committee of her peers from around the state to receive the ACAA’s highest honor at its annual conference in May.

Former Fayette County Commissioner Ray Clark passed away on Wednesday, May 11 at the age of 81. Clark was well-known throughout the area for  being a successful businessman, having owned and operated logging and trucking businesses for years. In 1989, Clark received the prestigious honor of being named the “Alabama Logger of the Year.”

The Fayette County Commission announced the issuance of a resolution commemorating the retirement of Margaret Brown from the Fayette County Soil and Conservation office during its May 9 meeting. All of the commissioners were present for the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, Commission Chairman Mike Freeman called Brown to the front of the room as he read aloud a resolution from the Fayette County Commission, congratulating Brown for her 39 years of dedicated service to the Soil and Conservation district office.

The Fayette County Commission voted during its April 11 meeting to purchase more road equipment with funds provided through the COVID American Rescue Act funds. All commissioners were present for the meeting.

The Fayette County Commission held its Feb. 28 regularly scheduled meeting at the Newtonville Community Center. Commissioner Barry Corkren was absent, with all other commissioners present for the meeting. There were 32 people present for the meeting, and the commissioners thanked everyone for their attendance.

The Fayette County Commission voted unanimously during its Feb. 14 meeting to use some of its American Rescue Act (COVID) funds to purchase road equipment. All commissioners were present for the meeting. Commission Chairman Mile Freeman told the commission that new guidance concerning the expenditure of funds from the American Rescue Act appears to allow counties to spend some of the funds for the purchase of new road equipment, with some stipulations.

The Fayette County Commission voted during a special-called emergency meeting on Friday, Jan. 28 to purchase three new dump trucks off of the state bid list. Councilman Brad Cox and Councilman Wesley Jacobs were absent from the meeting, with all of the other commissioners present. Commission Chairman Mike Freeman explained that the reason for the emergency meeting is the availability of the trucks from the state bid list. He said that only 100 total trucks are available, and many of those trucks have already been reserved by other agencies.

The Fayette County Commission voted to lease the former Fayette Recycling Center during its Jan. 10 meeting. Commissioner Wesley Jacobs was absent from the meeting, and Commissioner Robert Townley was also not present due to the death of his father-in-law. Commission Chairman Mike Freeman told the commissioners that a sub-contractor from Texas has expressed an interest in leasing the former recycling center. The building has been vacant for several months, and recently had some minor repairs completed to make the building suitable for lease.

The Fayette County Commission held its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Dec. 13. All commissioners were present for the meeting. Tom Wisemiller, President and CEO of the Northwest Alabama Economic Alliance (C3) addressed the commission at the start of the meeting. Wisemiller said that there are currently several expansions and new projects being developed in the three-county area (Fayette, Marion and Lamar counties).