VAIDEN — Carroll County’s new communications equipment should be fully operational by the first part of July.
That’s what Volunteer Fire Department Coordinator Scott Montgomery told the Board of Supervisors at its meeting this week.
The $148,000 upgrade will cover the Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department and road crews. The digital system, according to Montgomery, will allow them to be in contract even within the more remote areas of the county.
Plans are to declare the old equipment as surplus and sell it, with the proceeds going to the Fire Department.
Brandon Smith, warden of the Carroll-Montgomery County Regional Correctional Facility, updated the board on the proposed installation of energy-efficient LED lighting at the facility.
Officials are contemplating whether to hire a company to do all the work in changing out the regional jail’s 556 light fixtures, or whether to just buy the ballasts and bulbs and let the inmates handle the labor.
Smith had three bids for the materials, with the low of $15,945 coming from Jones Electric of Greenwood.
Beat 4 Supervisor Claude Fluker asked Smith if he felt comfortable with inmates doing the work. The warden said there are several inmates who are electricians who would be able to do the work with supervision.
Smith was asked to get a quote from Jones Electric on a turn-key job, including installation, before a final decision is made.
Sheriff Clint Walker has estimated that the change could save as much as $30,000 a year in utility costs.
The board also heard a report from Carroll County Development Chairman George Johnson on the recreational park in North Carrollton.
Johnson said that park director Art Hicks, with help from inmates from the regional jail and volunteers, was getting signs repaired or replaced and cleaning up the grounds.
Johnson said that “before I retire and go home and get on my tractor,” he would like to get a pavillion built at the park and a Bonnie Wiggins Day established to honor the memory of a Carroll County resident who was instrumental in the park’s creation. Johnson said he would also like to see senior citizens centers created on both ends of the county.
When board President Rickie Corley asked from where the money would come for these projects, Johnson replied, “Get on it and see if you can find some.”
The problem of illegal rubbish dumps was briefly discussed. Corley said that it is a big problem in his Beat 5. No formal action was taken, but Beat 1 Supervisor Jim Neill will make inquiries with surrounding counties about how they address the problem.
The board also accepted a bid of $1,019 from Data Systems to update the computer system in the Sanitation Department.
