By Fred Guarino
The Lowndes Signal

The Lowndes County Commission voted to take complete possession of the Hayneville Plaza Monday and received a $50,000 donation from Daehan Solution Alabama.

On the heels of termination of the South Central Alabama Broadband Project grant to Trillion Communications Corporation, the commission voted Monday to take possession of the Hayneville Plaza where the South Central Alabama Broadband Commission SCABC has it office and collects rent.

“Possession of the building means we need all the keys and take complete possession of it,” Commissioner Dickson Farrior said.

Farrior moved first that a letter be written to tenants of the Hayneville Plaza requesting payment of past due rent, which passed unanimously.

He then moved that the county “take immediate possession” of the Hayneville Plaza, including the keys to the building, as well as to request the SCABC to return any rent collected and an accounting of the rent collected to be placed into an escrow account “until further developments.”

That second motion passed with SCABC Chairman Charlie King Jr., who also serves on the Lowndes County Commission, abstained.

King declined to comment following Monday’s meeting.

“The broadband project has been terminated, so there is no income to SCABC,” Farrior said. “And that money (rent) needs to be coming to the county to make the payment on that building (Hayneville Plaza).”

The Lowndes County Commission purchased the Hayneville Plaza with a $3.5 million bond issue for use in connection with the broadband project.

In other business, Yong-Kee Chun, president of Daehan Solution Alabama LLC in Hope Hull presented a $50,000 check to the Lowndes County Commission as a corporate friend.

Chun said as Daehan does business in Lowndes County, “I’d like to do something good for the county.”

He said since 2003, his company has enjoyed good cooperation and support from Lowndes County. He said last year he heard the county suffered financial difficulty and decided to make a donation to especially support the Sheriff’s Office.

“So, this year, as I promised last year, I brought another $50,000 donation,” he said.

“We most certainly appreciate all that you have done and actually locating your company here in Lowndes County, as well,” Commission Chairman Robert Harris said.

He also thanked Chun for helping the county to reach goals during the times the county needed it most. “And we will continue to have the best working relationship that we can,” Harris said. “And anything that we can do to further assist you at Daehan we will most certainly do that, as well, because you have been a good community neighbor with us.”

County Engineer David Butts reported that W.S. Newell of Montgomery submitted the low bid for work on Lowndes County Road 37 called “the slide” near Fort Deposit and that Wiregrass Construction of Montgomery submitted the low bid for the Lowndes County Road 54 ATRIP (Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program) project.

Harris said SABIC Innovative Plastics will provide the matching funds for the ATRIP project.

Butts pointed out that while Lowndes County Road 37 is closed for repair, school buses might need to use Bishop Bottom Road, which he said he would check for needed repairs.

He did not know when the road will need to be closed at this time.

Harris requested that the speed limit on dirt roads where there have been speeding complaints in his district be posted including Henderson Landing, Robinson Switch Road, Newport Landing. Lake Berry Road, Y.C. Nichols Road, River Road and Tawassee Pointe.

The commission voted unanimously to seek rights-of-way for a possible Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) grant project.

Commissioners voted unanimously to give the engineer authority to stop work on water projects at the intersections of County Road 9 and Lyon Road and Collirene Cutoff Road and Rudolph Road if damaged roads are not repaired by the contractor.

The commission voted to have County Attorney Hank Sanders to draft a policy regarding the placement of materials at county offices and approved a policy to hold the county harmless for any county-owned facility it allows anyone to rent.