Report to Board of County Commissioners
November 2, 2010
1- Board action to approve a contract time extension till June 30, 2011 for the purpose of
giving DOT time to finish their Ochlockonee Bridge project and for the county to extend
and repair the floating dock at the Ochlockonee Boat Ramp.
2- Inform Board that DOT Traffic Operations is evaluating the intersection of SR 65 and
US 98 for improvements. I am waiting that report.
3- Inform Board that DOT has requested the county move the Stop Bar on Woodill Road
forward by 15 feet to assist in visibility at Woodill Road/US98 intersection. I am waiting
for C.W. Roberts to tell me when they can move the Stop Bar as they installed it when
Woodill was recently paved.
I have also informed DOT that moving the Stop Bar is not going to solve the
visibility problem. Transfield Services agrees there continues to be a visibility issue.
Commissioner Putnal described the situation at the last meeting as vehicles trying to turn
east onto US 98 are travelling down the shoulder of the road of the west bound lane till
they get far enough away from the curve they can see back to make sure no traffic is
approaching. I repeated the message to DOT that vehicles are driving down the shoulder
of US 98 the wrong way because they can not see to turn left at the intersection.
4- Inform Board that I have spoken to Ms. Pat McWhinnie, 911 Coordinator, and Sheriff
Shiver regarding the response being given when people call 911 from a cell phone. The
reason for the problem is not with the Sheriff’s Office, or with 911. The problem is with
some of the cell phone providers in the area. According to Ms. McWhinnie, there has
been a lot of merging and selling of wireless providers in the area and some have not
upgraded their systems to take into account 911 calls from cell phones. These companies
without the upgraded relay system turn a 911 call into a hard line going to the Sheriff’s
Office dispatch. The hard line going to Franklin Co. Sheriff dispatch is 670-8500. That
line is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The dispatcher sees the call as
an 8500 phone call and answers it appropriately, “Franklin Co. Sheriff’s Office.” The
dispatcher has no way of knowing that the call originated as a 911 call on a cell phone
because it is the cell phone company equipment that is turning a 911 call into a hard line
670-8500 call.
Anyone getting this problem should not hang up, but should continue to explain
the emergency because it is the same dispatcher at the Sheriff’s Office answering the 911
line and the 8500 line. Mr. Shuler and I have both advised Ms. McWhinnie and the
Sheriff that we support and encourage them to inform the state 911 coordinator of this
situation to see if the state can put pressure on the cell phone companies to correct the
problem at their end. According to Ms. McWhinnie, “If you have wireless with Nextel at
this time you will get a hard line when you dial 911. I have called Fairpoint and we
working to get Sprint (the new owner of Nextell) to change the way Nextel customers
route their calls.
If you have a cell phone you should check with your provider and see where your
911 call will be directed to.”
5- Inform Board that the Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services will be holding a
public hearing here in the Annex on Tuesday, Nov. 23, from 3 to 5 PM to take input on a
sanitation survey of shellfish harvesting areas. To quote from the Public Notice, “Recall
that a workshop for industry members was held June 1, 2010, at the Franklin County
Courthouse Annex by the Division of Aquaculture where we discussed Apalachicola’s
routine sanitary survey. This is a regular process conducted at least once every 12 years
for every shellfish harvest area. Closure frequencies are expected to slightly decrease
for shellfish harvesting areas undergoing these proposed management changes, which is
a positive outcome. Your participation at this upcoming hearing is both appreciated and
encouraged.”
6- Board action to amend the DACS contract for $10,000 to complete the Eastpoint
Pavilion project currently under construction on Patton Drive. Health Galloway is
constructing the open pavilion. Construction should be complete in 60 days.
7- Inform the Board the DACS contract for $112,000 to provide the county with re-
shelling funds will be presented at the Nov. 16 Board meeting. This contract will
provide the Board with the funds for re-shelling through June 30, 2011 so the Board has
flexibility when to initiate the program. DACS is still waiting for a resolution of the
issue of whether the Franklin Seafood Task Force will continue in effect or whether the
members want to disband or re-organize. Mr. Bill Mahan has been assisting in trying to
figure out what the members want to do and will report on this at a later date. The Task
Force is a legitimate 501(c) 3 recognized by the IRS so as long as the Task Force remains
someone has to be responsible for reporting to the IRS
8- Inform the Board that I have contacted Colonel Louis Roberson on behalf of
Commissioner Putnal regarding the FWC changing the use at Butcher Pen Landing which
is a small landing just south of Gardner’s Landing which is off SR 65. The FWC is
concerned with erosion of the shoreline by boats launching in an area where there is no
boat ramp. They want to restrict the use to kayaks and canoes and this is causing a major
problem for the hunters who have traditionally launched small boats at Butcher Pen. I
spoke to Colonel Roberson Monday afternoon. The FWC is evaluating the possibility of
putting in a small primitive boat ramp. They will let me know something after Nov. 9.
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