Levy County Commissioners John Meeks, Mike Joyner, and Matt Brooks are sworn into office by retired County Judge Joe Smith.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County Commissioners Matt Brooks, John Meeks, and Mike Joyner were sworn into office by retired County Judge Joe Smith Tuesday and were commended for their public service in a challenging year.
Smith spoke of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a year of civil unrest, confusion and chaos, but he also cited the greatness of this country.
“You know what, through it all, I am convinced of this; I know of no other country where people will swim shark-infested waters, climb into the cargo hold of an airplane, cross desert sands or barbed wire fences just to get to the shores of these United States of America,” Smith said.
All three commissioners were re-elected without opposition and will serve four-year terms.
Smith said we are a privileged nation. He said the three commissioners give of their time, energy, and talents to make Levy County a better place to live, raise families, to work, and enjoy their lives.
“And so for each of you I want to you to know we appreciate you, so in the middle of the night when you are frustrated by some of the decisions you are going to have to make or actions you are going to have to take, know there are people in Levy County, the vast majority of us, who appreciate you and thank you for your willingness to give back to the county,” Smith said.
Questioning County Cares Act Housing Program
In contrast to Smith’s patriotic salute to the nation and praise of the three commissioners, Brenda Chamberlain of United Way of North Central Florida showered criticism on the board for the way its staff has handled applications for CARES Act rental housing relief.
Chamberlain said United Way of North Central Florida, lead agency for the North Central Florida Alliance for the Homeless and Hungry, also works with homeless service providers that try to prevent homelessness. United Way has found that the process being used by the county for administering CARES Act rental housing money doesn’t help applicants avoid eviction.
She said the county’s program appears to require the person seeking assistance to mail their application to Tallahassee. She said by the time the citizen gets a three-day notice, or a notice of hearing, it’s often too late to avoid eviction from their rental dwelling.
“There needs to be someone local that is appointed to help people fill out applications. At this point when someone calls the Board of County Commissioners office asking for information they’re told everything goes through Tallahassee,” Chamberlain said.
She said the issue has been brought to her attention a couple of times.
“There is no place that people can be told to go especially if people don’t have Wi-Fi, or they don’t have a printer to print up the application; or if they don’t even have a stamp to mail all the required documents to Tallahassee. Where are they supposed to go?” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain said the only agency she knows about that is trying to help these people at this point is the Tri-County Resource Center in Chiefland.
“It shouldn’t have to rely on non-profits. Something should be coming from the county as to how citizens are dealing with these problems,” she said.
The $240,000 of CARES Act housing funding was distributed to the county by the state. The money was allocated by Congress. It was intended to help people who had lost jobs or been sidelined by the COVID-19 Pandemic and were behind on their mortgage or rent.
Commissioners remained silent after she spoke.
Getting $5.8 Million from Cares Act
Commissioners approved a plan to accept $5.8 million of additional CARES Act funding through the Levy County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Emergency Management.
Originally the state was requiring the county to accept the money on a reimbursement basis, but through negotiations with the state, a deal was ultimately reached to give the county commission a $5.8 million lump sum through public safety and the sheriff’s office.
Jared Blanton, the clerk’s financial director and budget officer for the county commission, said the $5.8 million will be deposited in the county’s general operating reserves and can be spent for any purpose. It was allocated to replace money already spent by the county on COVID-19-related public safety and law enforcement functions.
Blanton said the money could be used to build a new 911 operations center. However, County Coordinator Wilbur Dean said the board hasn’t prioritized how the money will be spent. He said the board wants to wait to see how hard the county is going to be hit by revenue losses from the COVID-19 economic shutdown before deciding how to spend the money.
The county has already given away $1.9 million of CARES Act funding to businesses in Levy County that were forced by the state to close partially or entirely during the pandemic or were simply starved of revenue by the economic shutdown. The board has closed out the business portion of the CARES Act.
Reopening Animal Services on Saturdays
Levy County Commissioner Lilly Rooks, who oversees Levy County Animal Services announced that David Weatherford, director of the department, called her Monday night to say he was reopening Animal Services two Saturdays a month beginning Dec. 5.
Weatherford closed Animal Services on Saturdays when he lost two employees. He said he was too shorthanded to continue operating without full staffing. Rooks said an office assistant hired more than a month ago appears to be working out well. Weatherford is scheduling interviews for the vacant animal control officer position.
The county commission originally approved opening every Saturday for a trial period of at least six months, but two weeks after it agreed to the plan, Weatherford shut it down due to staffing shortages. Weatherford is expected to maintain statistics on Saturday activities at Animal Services including adoptions.
Opposes Closing Businesses
In the commissioner comments portion of the board meeting, Joyner said he doesn’t think small businesses can stand to be closed again for reasons related to COVID-19.
“I don’t think many small businesses in this county and surrounding counties could take another shutdown, I really don’t,” Joyner said. “I’m just asking the public and commissioners; we need to do everything we can to convince our government in Tallahassee that we don’t need to shut down. We might need to take better precautions. We might have to wear masks but I don’t think its right to make someone wear a mask if they don’t want to.”
Joyner added, “I’d rather wear a mask than have somebody shut these restaurants and small businesses down again. They don’t have the money to shut down. I just really think we all need to take a stand and I know this board stands for the public as much as anyone I have ever been around; I really think we need to be hard-headed and hard-hearted when it comes to shutting down these businesses.”
Encouraging Safe Family Gatherings
Commissioner John Meeks wished everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving and he said he wasn’t trying to make a political comment.
“I am not making a political statement and I am not trying to be smart about this or anything, but we don’t have a lot of freedom left in this country – that sounds pretty shallow compared to what other nations and other countries face every day; family, religion, and freedom are under attack in this country,” Meeks said.
“I encourage everyone to do what Commissioner Joyner said – be safe, be responsible, do the right thing, wash your hands; if you feel you are vulnerable or you ‘re around folks that are vulnerable, wear your mask. I’m not going to wear a mask and that’s my choice and if you don’t want to wear a mask that’s your choice; if you want to wear a mask, I don’t think any less of you for it, but this mess that we can’t gather for Thanksgiving, but thousands and thousands and thousands can gather in the street to protest and rally and do whatever they want is crap,” Meeks added.
“The same governor in Oregon who said you can’t gather with your family and says you will be fined and put in jail if you don’t wear a mask, presides over the state that just decriminalized methamphetamines and heroin. What does that say about the country we are living in? If you do not think we are under attack folks, you are mistaken. Again, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving but at the same time, I encourage you to enjoy that time with your family and be thankful for the gifts you have.”
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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting November 17, 2020; Posted November 17, 2020
