Month: September 2017

Millbrook went all out tonight to celebrate its 40th birthday held at the Alabama Wildlife Federation . 

I saw many great friends, enjoyed some good food and even saw my long-time friend and first mayor of Millbrook Gene Jones.

Great job Mayor Kelley, City Council, Staff , Volunteers and Sponsors for putting on such a great event,
Bart

It was not too long ago that access to high-speed internet was merely a convenience, but in today’s society that has changed. Now the lack of access could adversely impact the efficient operation of business or lessen one’s quality of life and is now more of a necessity.

The education of our children builds the next generation of workers, leaders and business owners, and the successful education of these young people, and our adults as well, is largely dependent on having access to technology. Internet access is also the backbone of keeping existing businesses and recruiting new industry in an ever changing high-tech world. Limited access to these types of services, like in some areas of Elmore County, adversely affects not only businesses but also its residences.

In order to increase the accessibility of broadband in Elmore County, an investment of private dollars in the countywide infrastructure must be made. Investment in the expansion of broadband access in Elmore County has not kept up with the growth we have seen in Elmore County over the recent years, and it has not kept up with the need we all now have for Broadband in our everyday lives.

The Elmore County Commission recognizes that there is a large portion of under-served residents in our county with regards to high speed access.  Since this past May, in my capacity as the point of contact for economic development issues for the county commission, I have been working closely with the Elmore County Economic Development Authority (ECEDA) to actively promote business opportunities in Elmore County.  ECEDA is approaching this matter just as they would any economic development effort and are engaging cable/high speed internet providers making them aware of the investment opportunities present in Elmore County.

We are confident investment in infrastructure to increase broadband access will be made in the near future. We are also working toward putting a long-term plan together where public grant dollars or private investment dollars can be used to increase access. Good things are surely to come from these efforts as we all work towards improving Elmore County.

Bart Mercer

The Elmore County Commission has released the below statement concerning our County Administrator Grace McDuffie announcing her retirement October 31, 2017.

Grace has been very helpful over the last 9 months in my efforts to learn all I could about the our county commission and the budget we manage.

I appreciate her service to the county and wish her all the best.

Bart

Millbrook will be celebrating its 40th Birthday this Friday  September 29th at the Alabama Wildlife Federation pavilion.
There will be activities for the children, live music, food for sale and a huge fireworks show.
Tickets can be purchased at the Millbrook City Hall, on the city’s website http://www.cityofmillbrook.org/  or at the Millbrook Chamber of Commerce office. The cost is $20.00 per adult and ages 15 and under are free with adult.
Gates open at 4:30, the event starts at 5:00 and live music starts at 6:00.
This will be a great community event!
Bart

This is the work session agenda for the Commission meeting 9-25-17.
The Elmore County Commission meets on the 2nd Floor of the Elmore County Courthouse. Work Session starts at 5:00 p.m. and Commission meeting soon after normally about 6:00 p.m.

If you want to share a thought or have a question on any item please let me know.

Bart

Being from a family that has been in the construction/site prep business for over 50 years, I have seen many ways the Commissions highway department is attempting to closely operate like a business.

One of these efforts can be seen below where it explains how a material is being tested  that would aide in prolonging the life of one of the most costly assets taxpayers dollars are spent on and that is asphalt for our county roads.

Taking care of what you have and operating efficiently are basic business principals. Just because Elmore County is funded by taxpayer dollars does not mean it can’t operate on  basic business principles just as many of my fellow business owners use to operate their businesses on each day.  

Please read below about one of these efforts where a Fog Seal is being testing in an attempt to prolong the use of our roads……….

More thoughts to come about my observations over the last 9 months of how our county operates and where we could work towards operating  based on proven business principles that would benefit everyone.

Bart..

The Elmore County Highway Department has been proactive in seeking out pavement preservation techniques that can effectively extend the life of our paved roads while stretching the tax dollars that have been entrusted to the County Commission to be managed.

One of these techniques is a fog seal. This week three roads had a fog seal applied by county forces. Castaway Island Rd, Pecan Grove Rd and one of the westbound lanes of Cobb’s Ford Rd were treated with an emulsified liquid asphalt. These roads have varying traffic volumes and will serve as test sites to determine the best uses for this tool on our roads.
At a cost of less than $0.20 per square yard, fog seals are markedly less expensive that other techniques that range from $2-$8 per square yard. Monitoring of the performance of these fog seals will help determine how the county utilizes this tool to extend the life of our paved roads and maximize the return of our citizens tax dollars.

Any questions related to fog seals or other preservation techniques being utilized by Elmore County should be referred to the Elmore County Engineer, Richie Beyer, at wrbechd@elmoreco.org or at 334-567-1162

Alabama Representative Reed Ingram was on the campus of Stanhope Elmore this week  to present Coach Brian Bradford and Coach Karen Naquin a check supporting the football and cheer programs.

Rep Ingram has provided donations totaling $9500 over the  last two school years that has assisted the football program and cheer squads.

Pictured with Rep Ingram  in the bottom picture are ( left to right) Richard Dennis, Elmore Co Supt, Coach Bradford, Coach Naquin, and County Commissioner Bart Mercer.

I attended this event  along with Supt Dennis in order to personally thank Rep Ingram for his support of the Elmore County School system.

Reminder: County wide cleanup day is today

Trucks will be at the locations below from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The pick-up sites are for residents to bring amounts of trash larger than the normal residential trash container will accommodate.
Limbs smaller than four feet and no more than six inches in diameter will be accepted but it is not designed to accept trash or clean-up debris from contractors. Items such as batteries, appliances, oils and gases, paints or thinners will not be accepted.

These are the pick-up sites for this Saturday:
Town of Elmore – Town Hall
Holtville High School
Elmore County Judicial Complex
CEWSA – Redland Facility
Emerald Mountain Equestrian Center
Kent – Old Highway Department

Any question please let me know.
Bart

County wide cleanup day is this Saturday September 23rd

Trucks will be at the locations below from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The pick-up sites are for residents to bring amounts of trash larger than the normal residential trash container will accommodate.
Limbs smaller than four feet and no more than six inches in diameter will be accepted but it is not designed to accept trash or clean-up debris from contractors. Items such as batteries, appliances, oils and gases, paints or thinners will not be accepted.

These are the pick-up sites for this Saturday:
Town of Elmore – Town Hall
Holtville High School
Elmore County Judicial Complex
CEWSA – Redland Facility
Emerald Mountain Equestrian Center
Kent – Old Highway Department

Any question please let me know.

Bart

Millbrook will be celebrating its 40th Birthday Friday  September 29th at the Alabama Wildlife Federation pavilion.

There will be activities for the children, live music, food for sale and a huge fireworks show.

Tickets can be purchased at the Millbrook City Hall, on the city’s website http://www.cityofmillbrook.org/  or at the Millbrook Chamber of Commerce office. The cost is $20.00 per adult and ages 15 and under are free with adult.

Gates open at 4:30, the event starts at 5:00 and live music starts at 6:00.

This will be a great community event!

Bart