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[FONT="]By LEAH STRATMANN
[/FONT] [FONT="]Near the end of what had been a routine and uneventful monthly meeting of the South Walton County Mosquito Control Board (SWMCD), commissioner Bob Hudson made a motion to dismiss director Stephen Sickerman from his post, effective immediately. Chairman Jim Crawford seconded the motion. There was no discussion and when the vote was taken, Crawford and Hudson voted yes, with John Magee voting no.[/FONT]
[FONT="] In a conversation after the meeting, Hudson said, “I have worked with Stephen over the years and I think my role as a commissioner is to have a person as a director who can lead. It is my feeling he is not the right person. We gave him a 60-day salary and benefit package. This was a decision I made after three years. I talked with him a great deal over those years. He had never been a director before; he had been more of a technical person and the hoped-for leadership skills did not develop.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “We have to move the district forward. We have to notify the Department of Agriculture and that will be done by June 22. This will begin a process of selection to fill the position. We have split the day-to-day operations between two people and in the meantime there will be no change in service. It is my hope there will be an increase in service. We have an assistant director who can assume on the operations side while the office manager will cover management duties. It’s what I would call how we go forward,” he concluded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Commissioner Magee said, “I did not anticipate it at all. I voted against it because I had no valid reason to terminate him. It is hard to hire a director because they have to have a certain amount of credentials. The Department of Agriculture allows commissioners to move forward to fill the position and usually give the commissioners 90 days. If the position isn’t filled, the state can come in with an appointed director,” he said.[/FONT]
[FONT="] In regular business the commissioners voted unanimously to give every full- time employee a 3-percent pay adjustment.[/FONT]
[FONT="] The commissioners and employees are also still looking into options available for buying GPS units for all the spray trucks.[/FONT]
[FONT="] A budget amendment was made to move $45,000 from the contingency funds to capital outlay and to consider trading in some older equipment to pay for a new excavator, which is old and in constant need of repairs.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Engineer Scott Jenkins reported the county has changed the specs for modifying the culvert on 13th Street. Originally the county planned to provide 12-inch pipe, but determined that size pipe would not be adequate for the job and will instead provide 24-inch pipe to try and stop the overflow. [/FONT]
[FONT="] The next meeting of SWMCD will be July 21 at 9:30 a.m.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]By LEAH STRATMANN
[/FONT] [FONT="]Near the end of what had been a routine and uneventful monthly meeting of the South Walton County Mosquito Control Board (SWMCD), commissioner Bob Hudson made a motion to dismiss director Stephen Sickerman from his post, effective immediately. Chairman Jim Crawford seconded the motion. There was no discussion and when the vote was taken, Crawford and Hudson voted yes, with John Magee voting no.[/FONT]
[FONT="] In a conversation after the meeting, Hudson said, “I have worked with Stephen over the years and I think my role as a commissioner is to have a person as a director who can lead. It is my feeling he is not the right person. We gave him a 60-day salary and benefit package. This was a decision I made after three years. I talked with him a great deal over those years. He had never been a director before; he had been more of a technical person and the hoped-for leadership skills did not develop.[/FONT]
[FONT="] “We have to move the district forward. We have to notify the Department of Agriculture and that will be done by June 22. This will begin a process of selection to fill the position. We have split the day-to-day operations between two people and in the meantime there will be no change in service. It is my hope there will be an increase in service. We have an assistant director who can assume on the operations side while the office manager will cover management duties. It’s what I would call how we go forward,” he concluded.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Commissioner Magee said, “I did not anticipate it at all. I voted against it because I had no valid reason to terminate him. It is hard to hire a director because they have to have a certain amount of credentials. The Department of Agriculture allows commissioners to move forward to fill the position and usually give the commissioners 90 days. If the position isn’t filled, the state can come in with an appointed director,” he said.[/FONT]
[FONT="] In regular business the commissioners voted unanimously to give every full- time employee a 3-percent pay adjustment.[/FONT]
[FONT="] The commissioners and employees are also still looking into options available for buying GPS units for all the spray trucks.[/FONT]
[FONT="] A budget amendment was made to move $45,000 from the contingency funds to capital outlay and to consider trading in some older equipment to pay for a new excavator, which is old and in constant need of repairs.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Engineer Scott Jenkins reported the county has changed the specs for modifying the culvert on 13th Street. Originally the county planned to provide 12-inch pipe, but determined that size pipe would not be adequate for the job and will instead provide 24-inch pipe to try and stop the overflow. [/FONT]
[FONT="] The next meeting of SWMCD will be July 21 at 9:30 a.m.[/FONT]