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Longtime West Clarke Water board member booted from expanded board By Jim Cox The Clarke County Commission rejected reappointing a longtime board member of the West Clarke Water Authority and appointed another individual to the board instead. West Clarke, which serves areas around Coffeeville, agreed to expand its board from three to five members at the request of customers who have expressed dissatisfaction with the system's operations. Alex Lovette, a member of the board and its chairman, sent a letter to commissioners asking that they reappoint current board members Larry Jones and George Dunigan. In a separate letter he asked that Willie Parden and Gaines Carter be appointed as new board members. Commissioner Patricia DuBose, who represents the area, made a motion that Jones be reappointed to a term ending in 2013 and that Parden and Carter be appointed as requested, to terms ending in 2009 and 2011 respectively. However, she motioned that Brenda Moody be appointed to the seat now held by Dunigan, the term ending in 2011. Commissioners unanimously agreed to her recommendation. A citizens group had previously told commissioners that they wanted Lovette and Dunigan off the board. However, Lovette's term is not up and he continues to serve. Commissioners routinely appoint and reappoint water authority members at the request of existing boards. The debate over West Clarke, however, has caused them to review applicants more closely. While commissioners appoint water authority board members, they do not have any authority to remove them before the end of their terms. Commissioners also unanimously agreed to a recommendation from the Old Line Water Authority to reappoint Noah Rocker to that board. Rocker serves as board chairman. LP project County Engineer Sam Noble said that the Alabama Department of Transportation has authorized that bids be advertised for the second phase of the industrial access road leading to the new Louisiana Pacific plant site, crossovers and turn lanes at its intersection with Highway 43 in the Kelley Flat area. Bids are to be open May 2 and commissioners would approve the low bid at the May 8 meeting. State funds have been allocated for the project, as they were for the road leading to the plant site. In other engineering department business, Noble asked for and received permission to extend the completion dates for three NRCS projects. An NCRS emergency watershed protection project on the Evergreen Road will be bid out with bids being opened on May 22. Commissioners also agreed to let Noble sell old scrap iron and metal the county has accumulated for the best price he can get. Hampton Inn for T'ville? At Monday's work session, county attorney Bruce Wilson told commissioners that Thomasville businessman Harry Brooks wants to sell some of the property he bought from the county at the intersection of Highways 5 and 43 to a group of investors wanting to build a Hampton Inn motel. The county had sold the property to Brooks with the understanding that he would locate his business, Harry Brooks Chevrolet there. However, the Alabama Department of Transportation is considering a realignment of the Highways 5 and 43 intersection and Brooks has said it may not be feasible for him to use all of the property and he has asked that he be allowed to sell some of it. Provisions in the original deed contained some restrictions. Commissioners said Monday they had no problem with that, they just wanted to see the property developed. Tuesday, Wilson said the matter was still being worked on. District 4 Commissioner Joe Hunt started his nine-month term as commission chairman Tuesday, succeeding District 2 Commissioner Paul Bradford.
Bradford was at Monday's work session but was not at Tuesday's regular meeting.
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