Alternative School move OK'd by committee
HUNTSVILLE — County Commission’s Building & Grounds Committee has given tentative approval for a new location for the Scott County School System’s Alternative School.
That action, at the request of Director of Schools Sharon Wilson, came Monday night as the Commissioners met in their regular monthly work session.
Space in the building which houses Scott County Juvenile Detention Center and formerly utilized by the East Tennessee Human Resources Agency (ETHRA) was approved as the site for the Alternative School, pending verification that General Sessions Judge Jamie Cotton’s office no longer has any use for the space.
Wilson explained that state law mandates that school districts provide an alternative school for students in grades 7-12 who are expelled from regular classroom activities due to behavioral problems or violation of zero tolerance measures.
Until a couple of years ago, she said, the school was held in what is now known as the Technology Center, but was moved when the State Fire Marshal’s Office ordered upwards of $8,000 in modifications to bring the building up to code to have students in it.
Since that time, Wilson said, Alternative School classes have been held at Robbins and underneath Highlander Stadium at Scott High, while school officials looked for a more permanent location.
She told the committee that she had contacted Judge Cotton who informed her that the space was no longer needed.
Commissioner Alan Reed asked whether or not that would be a good environment since the Juvenile Detention Center is next door, but Wilson said she did not think that would be a major concern.
The Alternative School is headed up by lead teacher Joe Robbins, half-time teacher Jim McCarroll. as well as a full-time teacher assistant, Wilson said. She added that there are, on average, 10 to 12 high school students in Alternative School at any given time during the school year and, occasionally, one or two from the middle school grades.
In other business Monday evening, the committee discussed at length a request by the family of the late Scott County Deputy John-John Yancey, who died in the line of duty, be honored with a monument outside the Scott County Justice Center.
Two years ago the committee voted to appropriate $1,200 to install a plaque honoring Yancey inside the facility, but the family has since notified County Mayor Rick Keeton that a monument outside the facility was preferred.
The monument under consideration is estimated to cost around $2,265 — a fee which Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay offered to pay out of the Sheriff’s Office Drug Fund. County Attorney John Beaty said he did not think there was a problem with that, but wanted to research the law before any action was taken.
A few commissioners indicated that if a permanent monument was erected on the grounds of the Justice Center it should be dedicated to the memory of all the county’s fallen officers — past and future —and not just one, whereas wall plaques inside the facility could be hung for recognition of specific individuals.
No action was taken on the proposals at Monday’s meeting and the discussion will continue at the July work session and, if necessary, at the regular monthly commission meeting in July.
In response to a question posed by Commissioner Reed, Mayor Keeton said that he planned on calling a special work session to discuss how to fund the Robbins and Burchfield school construction projects and, if necessary, call a special meeting to act on it before the 60-day period following the bid opening expires.
The financial needs of the Oneida School System, while not finalized, will also be included in the discussion and/or action of the committee and the full commission, Mayor Keeton added.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE
In the first order of business, Commissioner Cross made a motion to establish a Complete Count Committee in advance of the 2010 Census. Mayor Keeton announced that he would offer resolutions for new appointments to the Joint Economic Board and Executive Committee, and the Financial Committee, in the June meeting and reminded the commissioners that they will be asked to act on filling the vacancy on the School Board at that meeting, as well.
The mayor also said he would be recommending an addition to the county’s road list — Artumus Trail, a 9/10-mile paved roadway off the Silcox Ford Rd.
Following a recommendation by Road Supt. Dick Sexton, the Intergovernmental Committee gave him the authority to spend up to $5,000 from the County General Fund to purchase a surplus 1998 model four-door dump truck for use in the county’s roadway litter pick up program.
Sexton informed the committee that the State Department of Transportation had notified his office that two such trucks were available from the state surplus yard in Nashville, but that a decision would have to be made quickly if the county was to acquire one of the vehicles.
Supt. Sexton also informed the committee that it would cost around $30,000 to construct a 1.9 mile roadway to the Terry Cemetery, following the National Park Service’s closure of the old county road to the cemetery.
“We will have to come up with another way . . . I don’t have the money,” Sexton stated.
Mayor Keeton informed the committee that a special training session for the recently reactivated Scott County Urban Growth Committee has been set for June 16 and would be a working luncheon meeting with County Technical Advisory Service (C-TAS) providing the training.
The mayor also said that he would be offering a series of resolutions at the June commission meeting concerning applications for several 100% federally funded grants, including a $50,000 two-year grant for a counselor in the Scott County Drug Court; $97,000 to install crime-fighting equipment police cruisers for the county, Oneida Police Dept. and Winfield Police Dept.; and a $13,597 “50/50“ matching grant to acquire bulletproof vests for law enforcement personnel.
Mayor Keeton said he had already submitted a “formula grant” application for two police cruisers for the Sheriff’s Department, as the deadline for applications was in May.
Commissioner Willie Boyatt urged that caution be taken to prevent seeking federal grant funds which would require the county to fund after a one- or two-year period.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
The committee met with a delegation of several women representing the Scott County Senior Citizens Center in Oneida, who were present to appeal for county funds to get through the budget year.
Mayor Keeton issued a reminder to commissioners of the upcoming dedication of a monument in recognition of Revolutionary War soldier and early Scott County pioneer Dennis Trammell, an event set for the Houk Trammell cemetery in Winfield on June 20th.
The committee voted 5-1 to support a resolution prohibiting handguns in local parks in the event that the Tennessee General Assembly overrides the veto of Gov. Bredeson.
EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE
Acting on a request by Scott County Ambulance Service Director Jim Reed, the committee gave him the authority to work with County Finance Director Keith Jeffers to develop specifications and advertise for bids on a new ambulance.
The committee also heard from Sheriff Lay, who asked the commissioners to purchase three used police cruisers (instead of new vehicles) in the new budget year beginning July 1, to keep the vehicle rotation schedule going despite the current economic situation.
Sheriff Lay also asked the committee to consider doing away with the “ready-made meals” at the jail, and allow his department to establish its own kitchen and cook its own meals.
The sheriff also asked the committee to consider installing video cameras in all police cruisers as a crime-solving and liability reduction measure for his department.
While all three requests were discussed, no action was taken by the committee.
At meeting’s end, Mayor Keeton announced that he had just learned from Congressman Lincoln Davis’ office that special grant funds for fire department construction funds were now available, and that local departments in need should obtain grant applications for a share of the $210,000 million which will be spent nationwide.