'Who's on First' Lee County?
Updated: Sep 7, 2022
April 11, 2022 Lee County Commission (LCC) Meeting began with Public Comments still CENSORED -- i.e., not broadcast on taxpayer provided audio/video feed nor put in the LCC public record. First to address the Commission was Kevin Humphries with respect to accessing his 112 acres on Lee Road 196 not maintained since 2005. Later in the meeting several roads were voted to be included in Lee County maintenance. Specifically Lee Roads 2222, 2223 and 2224.
Rudy McCumsey addressed the problems of not hearing citizens communications to keep in touch with other Lee Countians' concerns and what some think important enough to bring before commissioners to consider. No commissioner has made a Motion to return Public Comments into Public record as was done prior to "streamlining" the agenda promoted by District 3 Commissioner Gary D. Long. The last LCC meeting to broadcast and include Public Comments into the record was July 12, 2021. Since that date however, NO Public Comments are made available to be seen by the public, nor put into the record. Why hide what the Public say?
The National Work Zone Awareness Week Announcement was a last-minute addition to the Agenda. Probate Judge and Lee County Commission Chair Bill English made the point our Asst. County Road engineer [Patrick Harvill] would have been the one to die if it had been a Lee County Work Zone fatality instead of a neighboring county fatality several years ago. I assume Judge English was referring to the 'Position' that was held by the victim when struck.
Deputy Administrator Alice McCall (amccall@leeco.us or (334) 745-9767) added "Additional Invoices" to the Agenda without the Public being informed about nor able to view prior to the meeting. Of what citizens were permitted to see from the LCC Agenda (leeco.us/government/county_commission/agenda.php),
was another round of No Name Vendors, see below
3/17/2022 No Name Vendor Firearms Course Tuition $175.00 Sheriffs Office
3/9/2022 No Name Vendor Attendee registration for Sheriff Jones $334.75 Jail
3/2/2022 No Name Vendor Attendee Registration for Stanley Wilson $565.00 Sheriffs Office 2/23/2022 No Name Vendor Criminal Intelligence and Analysis course $595.00 SheriffsOffice
3/17/2022 No Name Vendor 10- pks Bosch 22CA windshield wipers $379.90 Sheriffs Office
--- Odd there are no names for the Vendors in these situations regarding purchases with the 'Blackbaud P-Card'. County Manager Holly Leverette is ultimately responsible for this of course.
4/6/2022 ALABAMA CORONERS ASSOCIATION 2022 Coroner Membership Dues/B Harris,Dsexton,Gmanning $300.00 Coroners Office
3/30/2022 ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY ADMS OF AL FY2022 Membership/HLeverette,AMcCall,NCyriac&WSwann $375.00 Commission Office
3/31/2022 GFOAA FY2022-2023 Dues/NCyriac,BSmith,BHoward&AMcCall $400.00 Commission Office (gfoaa.org)
4/6/2022 Jordan Wilder ACCA Class:Ethics of County Officals & Employees $130.07 Commission Office
--- Our LCC is using taxpayer funds to pay for Membership Dues, Association Fees, Administration Fees etc. This is insulting as many if not most if not all of these organizations seek to harvest wealth from the county taxpayer base. You are the Host in this system by the way.
3/31/2022 Point Private Investigators LLC Security for Smiths & AS/Home Insp & Courier Detail $5,600.00 Revenue Commissioner
--- Security detail for the Revenue Commissioner Oline Price. This has been an item on the Agenda for as long as I can recall, I do think it began around the Covid 19 government shutdown however. Every LCC Agenda meeting has invoices similar to this ever since.
4/4/2022 STIVERS FORD LINCOLN INC. 2-2022 Ford F-150 Pickup Trucks $64,928.00 Building Inspection
---Was this the best use of funds? Could an older less expensive model not have worked? I know of many, MANY roads that could use repairs with these funds Lee County Commission!
ACCA Liability Self-Insurance Fund General Liability/2022 Auto Liability/01/01/2022-01/01/2023 $1,500.00 Insurance
--- ACCA gets another slice of the Lee County tax cattle pie with this 'insurance'. This of course from an organization that is one of the most corrupt in the State. Look into ACCA and watch your property rights evaporate.
4/1/2022 AT & T Tower Dump on Murder Case #2203-0892 $70.00 Sheriffs Office
--- I have not seen this one before. After looking into this it appears to involve a cell tower owner capturing a certain timeframe of calls or service to recover for legal investigations.
3/31/2022 THE AUBURN VILLAGER LLC 2021 Delinquent Tax Notice $13,247.54 Revenue Commissioner
That last one is just sad. If you are unable to pay the taxes on your family property, the delinquent tax notice will be sent out. That increased cost will then be transferred onto the property owner in need of help and also the remaining property owners of Lee County.
The Commission provided no explanation for why a District 1 Representative on Lee County Planning Commission required replacement. Nor does the LCC provide a required resume for possible candidates to be considered. Are candidates being groomed or chauffeured into this new politburo? With the poorly attended LCC meetings and the absurd starting broadcast times (depending on how many BLOCKED Public Comments are being made by citizens) the LCC does not seem interested in casting a wide net for quality and diverse candidates. District 1 Commissioner Doug Cannon moved for Approval; newly appointed (previously on the Planning Commission) District 2 Commissioner Ross Morris seconded it. As is customary, it was adopted unanimously.
Commissioner Morris wished to be on both Commissions but was informed he couldn't 'serve' on both. Planning Commission District 2 seat was left vacant due to the installment by Governor Ivey of Morris to the County Commission District 2 seat, before the next general election. Morris moved to approve Ashley Aaron to the vacant District 2 Planning Commission seat, seconded by District 3 Commissioner Gary D. Long, once again unanimously installed by the LCC.
Approval of County Engineer Justin Hardee's 5% pay raise was passed via another 5-0 YAY vote with much praise and little facts or public access to evaluations. An engineer who submits fraudulent traffic studies which returned bonds for required road improvements to developers was not part of the discussion. It may be worthy of note, there's a disproportional number of Developers on our unrepresentative Lee County Commission. Citizens requested the engineer's bond due to flawed traffic studies and failure to adhere to Subdivision rules and County Access Management Policies. Chair (Probate Judge Bill English) could not provide the bond - apparently not competent enough to follow the State requirement for the Lee County Engineer to be bonded. Citizens further pressed anyone unbonded under these circumstances must be removed, which was also not followed but heralded by all Commissioners as more than worthy of a top tier raise. The most truthful statement made this meeting by Hardee was how Lee County is extremely blessed with our engineering staff, and how that makes Hardee look good.
Lee County Engineer Hardee then introduced approval of Magnolia Ridge II Subdivision for permanent maintenance. Lee Road 2222, Lee Road 2223, Lee Road 2224, for an estimated total of 0.473 miles to add to the County's road system. District 5 Lee County Commissioner Richard Lagrand moved to make a Motion to Approve Magnolia Ridge II Subdivision for permanent maintenance by the Lee County taxpayers. District 4 Commissioner Robert Ham (one of our many Developers on the LCC) seconded accepting Magnolia Ridge II Subdivision permanent maintenance. Does Commissioner Ham have interest in Magnolia Ridge II Subdivision? Commissioners transferred the burden of responsibility onto the taxpayers of Lee County, even if many will never travel down those roads. This is the same Commissioner Ham who asserted our traveling public would be safer driving on roads 2 feet shorter in width. Easy to image Commissioner Ham appreciates how 2 feet narrower roads benefits his Cost of Developing.
Also introduced for Approval by Engineer Justin Hardee;
* Speed Limit Reduction on Lee Road 123 - Justin Hardee (reduced to 25 MPH)
* Speed Limit Reduction on Lee Road 878 - Justin Hardee (reduced to 15 MPH)
Both passed unanimously as is customary.
Sheriff's Deputy William Lee McLeroy presented to the Commission a Special Events License Application for Greenawalt Hospitality LLC (D1). It was well noted Deputy McLeroy did a splendid job in Sheriff Jones' absence. It is unclear where Sheriff Jones was, he is customarily at the LCC meetings.
Lot Lease Renewal (Originally signed April 4, 2007 with two 5-year renewal options) for the Auburn Satellite Revenue Commission Office was addressed. Upon expiration of this final 5-year option, the Lease must be redrawn for further use of the property. The County does not own the land the building sits on and is therefore renting it with taxpayer funds. After investigation it appears the land leased is currently owned by
AUBURN CITY OF
144 TICHENOR AVE
AUBURN, AL 36830
Delta Pin:57340
Parcel No:43 09 05 21 1 000 012.003
Delta Pin:10579
Parcel No:43 09 05 21 1 000 012.000
Once again, the Motion to Approve was unanimous by the LCC.
Lee County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Rita Smith requested the LCC to re-establish the 'Exempt' (i.e. not eligible for overtime pay) status for the EMA Deputy Director position. During a classification change in a study of 2018-2019 the Deputy Director position was changed to Non-Exempt status. Former County Manager Roger Rendleman during that period apparently failed in his oversite role for the County. Roger Rendleman has since retired from the Lee County Manager position. He was shortly thereafter hired as a Retiree in Service in spite of this public servants record of failures of this sort. Commissioner Gary D. Long of District 3 seem to question Rita Smith as responsible for this obvious poor oversite from the County and Commission. Commissioner Long seemed adamant in his defense of Rendleman's sloppy oversite.
Soon after, Commissioners apparently forgot who was scripted to make the motion to approve Rita Smith's Reclassification of the Deputy Director Position request. Newly appointed District 2 Commissioner Ross Morris seconded a motion which was never made. In the confusion, District 4 Commissioner Robert Ham was suggested to have made the nonexistent motion. Eventually the LCC realized the Motion to approve was never made and District 4 Commissioner Robert Ham finally presented a motion for approval.
These actors could have rehearsed their roles better in the pre-game for this unanimous rubber stamping.
An Executive Session was scheduled with required attendance from
Robbie Hyde H.R. Attorney
Stan Martin Lee County Attorney.
Rendleman hired to investigate personnel issues. No mention of possible conflict of interest as past County Manager or other failures. Such as improper change orders, not understanding ballfields must be FLAT or require restrooms.
--- I am sure the current, potential or 'threatened' litigation the County is faced with creates a lucrative position for these two attorneys.
Until next we meet,
-M