A commission service for a new brush truck was halted before it began Sept. 7.
Hilliard Volunteer Fire Department Asst. Chief Dallis Hunter and several firefighters waited in the parking lot at Hilliard Town Hall for Mayor Cris McConnell and council members to arrive for a photo and an official passing of the vehicle’s keys.
Town officials had planned to commission the new truck with the firefighters on hand before the night’s council meeting. Instead, the volunteers were toned out to assist with a downed power line. McConnell quickly handed the keys to Hunter, who then passed the keys to another volunteer before they drove away.
“Myself, the council members and the citizens appreciate the volunteers,” McConnell said at the council meeting’s start. “It’s not the truck that makes it successful – it’s the people in the truck.”
Turning to other town news, the council voted 4-0 to approve on first reading a tentative millage rate of .4960 for the 2017-18 budget.
Councilman Lee Pickett was absent.
The millage will generate $42,820 in revenue. The town’s total budget is $5,858,668. A final public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 26 at 7 p.m., pending the final budget hearing dates set for the Nassau County School Board and Nassau Board of County Commissioners.
If necessary, public hearing and special meeting dates of Sept. 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. have been set aside, according to the town’s schedule.
An ongoing issue was sidelined for another two weeks, as the council did not wish to set a precedent for water and sewer exemptions.
In July, landowner Harry Pickett requested an exemption for water and sewer service connections to the Town of Hilliard. He owns a 20-acre property near Kings Ferry Road that he had planned to subdivide and sell off portions to family and friends. His daughter-in-law Kristin and son Jesse Pickett asked the council again Sept. 7 to consider granting the exception.
Pickett said that his dad decided to “leave off” any plans for subdividing the property. Because Harry Pickett was out of town, the couple made the request on his behalf. The Picketts were recently displaced after their previous home quickly sold, leaving them and their three children to live temporarily in a former garage that’s less than 1,000 square feet.
On Aug. 3, the council asked Harry Pickett to consider entering a cost-share agreement to help offset some of the expense for water and sewer hookups as the property is subdivided. Since the request, Pickett had not made any overtures toward meeting with the council, so the issue remained unresolved.
“He’s not going to do anything with the property,” Jesse Pickett said Sept. 7. “He’s just going to give us the property as an inheritance.”
Councilman Jared Wollitz asked if the exemption could be granted without a deed. The couple had yet to complete the paperwork for the deed, which is necessary. He and Councilman Kenny Sims did not want to set a precedent for granting exemptions in hardship cases for any other residents.
After a lengthy discussion, the council considered the exemption and appeared ready to vote provided the deed was in Kristin and Jesse Pickett’s names, the property’s frontage was within 150 feet of Pineridge Road and that when water and sewer hookups became available, the property owners could connect to the town’s system.
Council President John Beasley said that he did not mind granting an exemption, but he didn’t want to grant one without having the property’s ownership switched to Kristin and Jesse Pickett.
Town Attorney Sherri L. Renner said the town council has compassion for the couple’s situation, but is bound to follow town code.
McConnell asked the council to table the item because with the absence of Councilman Lee Pickett, the vote could end in a tie, thereby causing the request to die. In that event, the item would be deemed dead. A year would have to pass before a councilmember could bring back the item for consideration. Frustrated and not wanting to wait another year, Kristin Pickett asked the council what they should do next.
Sims said he would rather speak with Harry Pickett and hear the information first-hand. The council voted
3-1 to table the item, with Beasley dissenting, saying he wanted to vote now.
The council plans to meet with Harry Pickett Sept. 18. The next regular council meeting is Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.
• A water main extension project at Henry Smith Road will begin soon. The project includes installing approximately 675 linear feet of 6-inch PVC water main, a fire hydrant and associated fittings to accommodate an existing 8-inch water main and one 2-inch waterline, according to information from the town. Of the six bids, the council approved the lowest at $57,067 from Underground Excavating, Inc. Advance Utilities and Septic, Inc., submitted the highest bid at $79,538.
• The council unanimously approved a security fence improvement project at the Hilliard Airpark. A Federal Aviation Administration grant will cover 90 percent of the $45,670 expense. A Florida Department of Transport-ation grant will cover the remainder.
McConnell questioned inspection and associated costs, totaling $30,969. Speaking for AECOM, a company associated with the project, was engineer William Prange. He said that the inspection process requires numerous checks along the way. When making a motion to approve the item, Councilman Jack Bailey asked that the inspection costs not exceed the proposed amount.
• Two employees are no longer with the Hilliard Parks and Recreation Department. The council accepted Child Watch attendant Destanee Chandler’s resignation effect Sept. 1. Fill-in Child Watch employee Loree Whiddon was terminated. The council voted 3-0. Beasley abstained. He did not disclose the reason for his abstention.