Bedford joins code enforcement agreement with Trimble County, Milton

Bedford City Commission last Tuesday authorized Mayor Joe Robinson to sign an interlocal agreement with Trimble County pertaining to code enforcement regarding nuisance, litter and rubbish.

Judge-Executive John Ogburn and interlocal agreement attorney Stacy Ginn attended the meeting to further explain the agreement and to answer any lingering questions. Ogburn said Milton had authorized Mayor Denny Jackson to sign the same partnership on behalf of Milton and that having Bedford, Milton and the county operating under the same enforcement code should bring resolution to violations more quickly than exists under the current code enforcement structure.

At its meeting on Friday, March 22, Trimble County Fiscal Court will also vote on adopting the agreement. “This agreement will have far reaching positive implications for the county,” said Ogburn. “We plan to have a town hall setting to get people acquainted with the agreement as well as press releases and other information available for city/county residents.”

Composition of the administering board, fee structure for violations, penalties, appeals and other details will be further explained prior to the code taking effect.

In other business, the commission voted to explore the purchase of a new or used service/plow truck. The current truck is a 2005 model with more than 210,000 miles. Jimmy Hoskins, operations manager, said the truck “is patched all it can be.”

Vehicles under state contracts are being explored which are at least one ton and 4-wheel drive with utility box and crane.

Robinson also reported that roof repairs to the Morgan Community Center necessitated by a recent storm are nearing completion. After lengthy early discussions with the insurance company, it appeared that the repairs would not be covered. However, Robinson said the insurance company finally agreed to cover the repairs in the amount of $122,340. Since inspections indicated the entire roof was not to code when originally installed, the entire roof will need to be replaced and brought up to code.

Meanwhile, Shannon Hoskins, contracted to clean up various annexation issues which were not completed in the 1984 annexation process, reported on additional properties being brought into the city as well as two properties requiring completed paperwork to show their actual annexation previously.

She noted that 15.256 acres are being annexed west of U.S. Highway 42 and due west of Equity Lane contiguous to the present city limits. Five properties, two of which just needed documentation to complete their annexation, are in the group most recently being brought into the city. All the owners involved have given written consent to the annexation.

The next meeting of Bedford Commission is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16.