FAYETTEVILLE — A Washington County justice of the peace asked the Quorum Court examine the operation of a red dirt pit southeast of Brentwood used by the Road Department.
Sue Madison, justice of the peace for District 12 in southeast Fayetteville, asked the County Services Committee investigate the dirt pit operation. Madison sent an email with questions about the dirt pit to all 15 justices of the peace and County Judge Joseph Wood, and to Brian Lester, the county attorney, and members of Woods staff.
Madison announced her request during Thursday’s meeting of the Finance & Budget Committee.
“There is evidence of inappropriate use of County resources at this pit as well as activity beyond the scope of the DEQ permit,” Madison said in her email.
Madison and other justices of the peace raised questions about the dirt pit operation at the Sept. 17 meeting of the Quorum Court. Madison said she had been contacted by a resident and went to the site herself. Madison said she found a large earthen dam had been built across a deep ravine on the property and she asked the state Department of Environmental Quality to inspect the site and determine if the operation was in compliance with the permit issued by the state.
Madison said Thursday she hasn’t heard from the ADEQ and she thought the Quorum Court needed to look into the operation as well.
She said she has questions about work done on the property, including building a road and the dam and whether the county installed culverts, tiles or did any cement work at the county’s expense that would benefit the property owners.
She said she also wanted to know about county equipment being left at the site and if the property owner was allowed to use the equipment.
Madison also asked about the amount of dirt hauled from the site, the locations the dirt was taken to and what it cost the county.
Madison also asked if similar situations have occurred on other Road Department projects. She asked for information about county dump trucks and other equipment, including drones. She also asked for information about the balance in the Road Department’s reserve going back to Jan. 1, 2017. She also asked if the county has contracts for paving roads not under county jurisdiction and for details of any such contracts.
“I continue to hear from constituents about this,” Madison said after the meeting. “I really think we’re doing business in a very cavalier manner.”
Andrea Jenkins, justice of the peace for District 10, which includes Farmington, is chairwoman of the County Services Committee. Jenkins said she will study Madison’s requests and will likely call a committee meeting to discuss the questions.
“There are a lot of questions, and they’re good questions,” Jenkins said. “I feel it’s important that we look into the operation of the dirt pit and get some answers.”
The committee took no action on the 2021 budget Thursday. A proposed ordinance setting out the process for adopting the budget was tabled after Sam Duncan, justice of the peace for District 7 in western Fayetteville, said more work was needed on the proposal. Duncan said his intention is to set aside money for the county reserve and then budget the remainder by allotting set percentages to the different elected officials and departments. The Finance & Budget Committee will resume consideration of the ordinance when the panel meets Sept. 29.
Several justices of the peace said they need to hear from elected officials before they endorse the proposed budget controls.
“I won’t be prepared to approve anything that’s drawn up until I hear from each of the elected officials that it’s going to be something they can operate with,” Butch Pond, justice of the peace for District 15 in eastern Washington County, said during the discussion.
County budget meeting
Washington County’s justices of the peace will continue their discussion of the 2012 budget when the Finance & Budget Committee meets at 6 p.m. Set. 29. The meeting will be held with justices of the peace and members of the public having the option to attend in person at the courthouse or by using the Zoom remote meeting technology.
Source: Washington County
Tom Sissom can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWATom.