County passes public comment policy

By Holly Roeder – Staff Writer

The Chester County Commission met Jan. 28, 2024, in regular session with 17 commissioners in attendance.
Mayor Barry Hutcherson noted the recent loss of Commissioner Johnny Garner and commended his dedication to serving his community.
Chester County Fire Chief David Harwell announced his resignation, to be effective June 30, 2024. Harwell said May 10 will be his 49th year in fire service for country and community. “It’s a privilege,” he said.
The commission unanimously approved the Public Comment Policy and the Chester County Public Comment Policy resolution. Mayor Hutcherson said it is preferable for those who know they would like to make a comment during a commission meeting to complete the form in advance as per the policy; however, exceptions may be made according to time allowance. Comment forms will be available through the mayor’s office and at commission meetings. Commissioner Ricky Hardy suggested the form be made available online.
Two roads were added to the Chester County road list. The commission voted to approve adding Holly Road (west end of town from Hwy 225 to Sunshine Road) and Woods Road (east end of town from Grove Springs to White Road) to the road list, to maintain as-is, and voted to approve an updated road list.
Ann Moore presented a new policy on behalf of the budget committee, giving Finance Director Gary Irwin the authority to approve purchase orders up to $1,000 for purchases which are not non-reoccurring or questionable, and for which the money is already in the purchasing department’s budget. Upon a vote, all were in agreement, and the motion carried.
Renee Phelps shared the Purchasing Committee’s recommendation to approve the E&T Contracting bid for renovation of the Public Safety Building for the Election Commission. The E&T bid for $49,829 was the only bid received. The commission approved the bid with a unanimous roll call vote.
The commission voted unanimously to approve E&T as the Ag/Fairgrounds project construction manager, per committee recommendation.
The commission approved the establishment of a Court Security Committee as per Tennessee Code Annotated 16-2-505 D2. The committee is to be composed of County Mayor Barry Hutcherson, District Attorney General Jody Pickens, Chester County Sheriff Blair Weaver, presiding judge of the judicial district and Chester County Court Clerk Justin Emerson.
A decision was approved by unanimous roll call vote to accept a bid by Millers Concrete in the amount of $74,866.20 to complete parking lot renovation for the Public Safety Building. According to Mayor Hutcherson, a contact at the state verified the project did not have to go to bid due to time constraints. The parking lot must be completed prior to elections. With approval, the work was to start the next day.
In discussion of the approval of the new Solid Waste Director hire Thomas Winbush at a pay rate of $70,000 per year, a motion was made by Jerry Emerson and seconded by Jerry King to approve. Winbush will receive training by former director Danny Benard at an hourly rate, on a temporary basis. A portion of the previous Solid Waste Director’s duties have been delegated to other personnel with expectation of pay adjustments comparable to duties. A call for Question by Bubba Edgin was seconded by Jerry Lowe; the motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. A roll call vote approved the original motion unanimously.
In other news, the board approved Department of Education budget amendments, quarterly reports and a resolution was passed approving OMNIA Partners Intergovernmental Purchasing Agreements. Other quarterly reports approved included those from the Highway Department, trustee, County General, Solid Waste, Chester County Library, Drug Fund and Debt Services, as well as Chester County budget amendments.

Chester County Public Comment Policy
This Public Comment Policy was passed at the Jan. 28, 2024 Chester County Commission meeting and is in effect for future commission meetings.

1. The agenda for any public meeting that includes actionable items will reserve one or more opportunities for public comment. This opportunity may consist of a single comment period for all actionable items or separate comment periods for each.
2. “Actionable items” are agenda items requiring a vote, except for procedural votes such as adopting minutes, determining necessity, or voting to adjourn. Reports and updates are not “actionable items” subject to public comment.
3. Public members will be allowed to comment on an actionable item before a vote on that item.
4. Public members may indicate their desire to comment by filling out a form for the meeting and submitting it at least one business day before the meeting to the Chester County Mayor’s Office. Failure to do so will result in the inability to comment publicly. Specific instructions will be provided in advance of each meeting.
5. Speakers are limited to two minutes per person. Comments may not yield time to each other to extend this period. Speakers will identify themselves at the beginning of their allotted time, including their affiliation. This is a requirement.
6. Comments shall be limited solely to actionable items on the agenda.
7. Speakers will respectfully conduct themselves and be removed if they engage in threatening or disruptive behavior.
8. The majority vote of the Chester County Commission may extend the opportunity for the public to comment.
9. If actionable items are presented in other business, before the Chester County Commission votes, the public will be allowed to comment; however, the number of comments will be at the discretion of the Chairman.