2016-2020 Shelby County Commissioners take oath of office

The 2016-2020 Shelby County Commissioners took their official oaths of office Wednesday night prior to their first meeting of the term. 

During the Nov. 16 county commission meeting, all returning commissioners — Lindsey Allison, Elwyn Bearden, Tommy Edwards, Robbie Hayes, Rick Shepherd, Jon Parker and Mike Vest — took a collective oath. The newest commissioner, District 4 representative Ward Williams, took his oath of office as well.

"I'm excited to be here, and I look forward to working with you guys," Williams said. Throughout his campaign, Williams said he learned a lot about the county and its commission. "I really learned we are very fortunate people in Shelby County, and we have a lot of good things going. We've got a lot of great citizens, and I look forward to serving them," he said.

Prior to the ceremony, Shelby County Probate Judge Jim Fuhrmeister reminded everyone in attendance of the importance of local government. Despite the state of politics at a national level, he said, county and city officials are the ones that make themselves available. They are the individuals citizens can interact with in the grocery store, at weekend athletic events and around town. They are also the individuals who will give up their time to listen to the concerns and complaints of their fellow citizens, Fuhrmeister said. 

After taking their oaths, the commissioners sat down to conduct regular business. They approved the schedule of meetings for the 2016-2020 commission term, which will remain the same as the previous term. Meetings will be held the second Monday of the month at 8:30 a.m. and the fourth Monday of the month at 6 p.m. The only exception is that the second meeting in December 2016 will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 6 p.m.

The commission also approved committee and board appointments. Allison will chair the budget, finance and legal; planning and economic development; government liaison; and county contract services committees. Hayes and Shepherd will also serve on those committees. Beardon will chair the health and human resources; general services; and public safety, courts and election committees, and Edwards will also serve on those committees. Vest will chair the roads and transportation and the environmental and natural resources committees, and Jon Parker and Williams will also serve on those committees.

Also at the meeting:

• County Manager Alex Dudchock told the commission that AT&T plans to install new, high speed, fiber internet lines around Shelby County. "We're excited about this because it also helps with business retention and recruitment," Dudchock said, in addition to noting the benefit for citizens.
• Dudchock updated the county commission on the status of those injured in the Colonial Pipeline explosion from earlier in the month. Three individuals are still recovering from their injuries.
• The commission awarded bids for hard steel items and potassium permanganate.
• The commission approved an ALDOT contract regarding a bridge over Mill Creek at County Road 311. This is a standard contract, County Engineer Randy Cole said, and is an ATRIP project.
• Cole and Dudchock updated the commission on the Cahaba Beach Road project. Previous public involvement meetings were well attended, and the next meetings will not be held until between spring and summer, Cole said. There are five potential alignments for the project, Cole said, and each option has to be properly vetted.
• County Water Services Manager Michael Cain updated the commission on the state of the drought, which he said looks like it is getting worse. The county is currently selling water to the city of Birmingham to help support them. In the last billing cycle, they sold 86 million gallons of water through a few small connections, Cain said, and other larger connections should mean those numbers go up if drought connections stay the same. There is also a new connection at County Road 41 which is being installed, and that will back directly up to Highland Lakes.