VAIDEN — Voters in North Carrollton will cast their ballots at City Hall rather than the Fire Department.
Circuit Clerk Durward Stanton told Carroll County Supervisors Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the change of polling locations.
There will be a runoff on June 22 in the Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District seat between teacher Richard Cook and retired police officer Bill Marcy. They are vying to take on incumbent Democrat Bennie Thompson in the general election.
Stanton predicted another low vote. “We have to have all polling places open, though we will do the minimum the law allows, just three workers per precinct,” he said.
The first Republican primary brought out only 275 voters in Carroll County and cost the county about $44 per vote because “training was a big chunk,” Stanton said. “This next one won’t be as much expense.”
Getting county residents to clean up their property came up again, and board Presi-dent Honey Ashmore asked if there were any relevant county ordinances. Chancery Clerk Stanley “Sugar” Mul-lins said there are not but the sheriff will take a strongly worded letter to an offending property owner asking him to clean up his property.
Supervisor Marvin Coward said the Edward Miller property on Galey Road in his district is extremely messy and people have complained. “He’s been pulling stuff out of a school bus and putting it on the ground. That’s a pretty nice neighborhood, and people don’t like it,” Coward said.
Board Attorney Jim Burgoon told the supervisors that they can take Miller or any offending property owner to chancery court if he refuses to clean up the property.
Vaiden Mayor Melvin Hawthorne asked for the board’s opinion as to whether it would be feasible for the town of Vaiden to begin collecting its own garbage. Garbage collection for the town is now handled by a private company.
Supervisor Terry Herbert told Hawthorne the garbage-collecting business is a difficulty “you don’t want to get into unless you have to.” A couple of years ago, Carroll County turned back its garbage collection business to a private contractor after tiring of the headaches of handling the service itself.
Hawthorne said he would like to bring the job back to the town.
“You can maybe pick it up cheaper,” Herbert advised, “but unless you want somebody calling you at night that their garbage didn’t get picked up, you’ll keep what you have. I made up my mind one Friday night at 7 when I was sticking my head in a garbage can because a lady said she wanted her garbage dumped that this is not why I ran for supervisor.”
Mullins said he would ask Joe McRaney of the North Central Planning and Development District to come and talk with Hawthorne about the cost involved in picking up garbage for the 350 households in Vaiden.
Mullins asked the board whether or not the county can refuse to sell a tag for a vehicle when garbage fees are not paid. He told the group that Randy and Debbie Holt had transferred a vehicle to their son’s name and still owed $200 in garbage fees.
Supervisor James “Bobby” Cobbins said that both the mother and son had serious health problems and he didn’t think the tag should be held. Cobbins made a motion to let the son purchase the tag, and the board voted to do so, with Coward voting no.
The supervisors are still waiting for an opinion from the state Attorney General’s Office as to whether the county can bill for the garbage fees when property taxes are billed and allot partial payments proportionately. Neal has been instructed by the board to put together a list of property owners with sanitation bills that are unpaid. Unpaid garbage fees have cost Carroll County an estimated $500,000 since 1992.
Neal also told the board that the county will have to do new section mapping in 2014, and that he hopes the board might put aside money that won’t be paid to him in salary for the next year and a half to help defer the cost of converting the mapping process to digital form. Neal officially took retirement at the end of last month but will continue to work full time at a reduced pay until his term expires in January 2012.
“The old equipment is out of date, and parts are not available for some of it,” Neal said.
“The new method will cost a lot to acquire, but it can be used by all the agencies — 911, sheriff, fire, water and sewer. It will give houses’ locations, everything,” he said.
Neal said he will ask someone from the State Auditor’s Office to come and give a presentation to the board and other agencies about how the process works, if the board agrees.
