Repairs of county buildings head up Quorum Court meeting Monday night

J.C. Carter, chairman of the Building and Repair Committee, which met on the subject Sept.17, presented the justices a list of repairs the committee had decided were necessary. The list not only included the Poinsett Courthouse, but the Human Services Building at 110 East St. and the Extension Office at 302 North Main.

Carter said the amount of repairs needed surprised him and he even joked that some of the chairs used in the courthouse "came over on the Mayflower."

In the courtroom alone, the list said repairs needed to be made regarding: the air conditioning, ceiling tile, jury room furniture, bathroom facilities, witness room seating can carpet.

Other areas in the three buildings were found to be just as much in need of various repairs.

Carter said one of biggest needs was the air conditioning.

"They had to cancel court one day because of the heat inhere," he said.

"We've talked about getting someone to do nothing but maintenance work," said Poinsett County Judge Charles Nix. "Often we have more repairs that need to be done than we can get to. We need to work on it a little at a time and in three or four years we will have made a good dent in it. Right now, though, we need the air conditioning. If we do anything this year, we need to replace it."

Nix then mentioned various ways the general repairs could be done including inmates from the county jail who possessed such skills and who qualified for such duty, as well as juveniles from Harrisburg's Youth Services program.

He also said he could look into obtaining a GIF grant.

Employee bonuses

The Finance Committee met just prior to the regular meeting and decided to propose that the county pay bonuses to it's employee's this year. Due to the economy, the County was unable to pay these bonuses last year, but because of a $23,000 general distribution, the committee decided these funds along with $16,500 from the county itself could provide the necessary funding to give a bonus.

The bonus would be paid on the Dec. 10 paycheck and would be allotted as follows: $600 for salaried employees, $300 for part time employees, and then prorated bonuses in the amount of $50 or $25 per month for full or part time employees, respectively, base on time of service.

The measure was passed unanimously.

The Modern News

An ordinance, sponsored by Johnny Johnson of Trumann, was presented to allow the Modern News of Harrisburg to be included in business dealing with the county.

The ordinance came about due to the interest Judge Nix holds in the newspaper and to help eliminate any chance of conflict of interest.

"We've done this in the past when a county employee has an interest in a company which does business with the county," said Nix.

The county lists notices in the Modern News and the Democrat Tribune

"We have two papers in the county, and we divide it up," added Nix.

Points of the ordinance are that the low bidder will be selected in a bid situation. In a non-bid situation, however, the purchasing official or his/her designated representative will shop of the lowest price and will document all information.

To make sure each of these and other measures of the ordinance are maintained, there will be a detailed report made to the Court every three moths.

In other action the court approved the minutes and financial reports.