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By Shelby Mathis

Members of the Lowndes County Commission met for the board’s first monthly meeting on Dec. 11 where several county projects were discussed.

Commissioner Joseph Barganier said one such project was the relocation of the Organized Community Action Program (OCAP), which is a private, non-profit, community-based agency dedicated to improving the quality of life for low-income populations.

“We authorized the Chairman (Charlie Kind Jr.) to sign a lease for OCAP,” Barganier said. “They’re going to rent the old Town Hall building in Hayneville.”

According to King, after OCAP has moved into their new location, their former location will either be subjected to demolition or repurposing, but no final decision has been made thus far.

Roadway concerns were also a topic of discussion during the meeting as commissioners approved a motion set in place by Barganier to attempt to move forward with gaining new caution lights in the area.

“I made a motion to get the County Attorney to write a letter to the State to get caution lights at the intersection of 26 and 97, and also 4 and 62,” Barganier stated. “That motion passed. We’ve been trying to get something done for months and months, and the state is way behind. We’ve got to do something.”

Another roadway on the docket was Juliantown Road, which is currently under construction.

“We got a company to grind the road completely up, then mix concrete and set it back up,” Barganier said. “We’re going to slab over it.”

King said there have been some delays in construction due to recent weather conditions, but assured residents that the road will be resurfaced as soon as nature allows.

“The contractor finished his part of the work, and now the county has to start paving it,” King expressed. “We couldn’t because of the weather. It has to be 45 degrees or above the night before for the asphalt to stick, so we had to pull off and wait for some warmer days to be able to finish paving that road.”

Commissioners also conversed about a prospective ammunition company interested in setting up shop within the county. Negotiations are currently underway to bring the project to fruition as commissioners await further documentation from the company.

The second monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Commission, which would have fallen on Dec. 25, has been canceled and meetings will resume on Jan. 8 at 10 a.m. Members of the public are welcome and encouraged to attend.