Welcome to District 4!

Below is a statement from the Elmore County EMA:

As of 9:23 A.M. Monday, March 26, 2018

Be advised that Mercer Road, from Harris Road to Meadowview Drive, will be closed today until 4:00 p.m. due to road work, according to the Elmore County Highway Department.

We will keep you updated of any changes as we know of them through our website:  www.elmorecoema.com

This is the work session agenda for the Commission meeting 3-26-18.
The Elmore County Commission meets on the 2nd Floor of the Elmore County Courthouse, downtown Wetumpka. 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

Below is a message from Elmore County Emergency Management Agency:

The following locations in Elmore County are open as Safer Places due to the threat of severe weather.  For additional information on our Safer Places Program and to view the map of Safer Place locations, you may visit our website at www.elmorecoema.com.

Coosada:

Coosada Town Hall — 5800 Coosada Road, Coosada, AL  36020  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Deatsville:

Shoal Creek Baptist Church — 13214 Holtville Road, Deatsville, AL  36022   OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Deatsville Fire Department — 6930 HWY 143, Deatsville, AL  36022  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Eclectic:

Town of Eclectic Courtroom — 148 Main Street, Eclectic, AL  36024  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Elmore:

Town of Elmore — 1245 AL HWY 143, Elmore, AL  36025  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Town of Elmore Fire Station 2 –393 Baltzer Road, Elmore, AL  36025  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Town of Elmore –  Penny Parkway — 212 Penny Parkway, Elmore, AL  36025  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Millbrook:

Millbrook Baptist Church — 3431 Browns Road, Millbrook, AL  36054  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Tallassee:

City of Tallassee – Storm Shelter — 3 Freeman Hall, Tallassee, AL  36078  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Wetumpka:

Elmore County Courthouse — 100 E. Commerce Street, Wetumpka, AL  36092  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

First Presbyterian Church — 100 W Bridge Street, Wetumpka, AL  36092  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Redland Baptist Church — 1266 Dozier Road, Wetumpka, AL  36093  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

St. James Family Worship — 1005 Nobles Road, Wetumpka, AL  36092  OPEN:  Noon to Midnight

Stay safe.

Bart

A video recording of each County Commission meeting is posted the day after the meeting takes place. We understand these video recordings can be long at times and involve many details because it’s an actual recording of the entire meeting.

We want to make it easier for citizens to have a brief overview of what takes place at the Commission meetings and in order to do this, at the conclusion of each meeting, a short video will be produced that will give a brief overview of the topics discussed and actions taken at that meeting.  We will try to keep the meeting overview videos very brief and hope this will be another way we can communicate with citizens.

This link will take you to the first video that was produced after last nights meeting.

Bart

The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is made up of elected officials from County and City governments along with other representatives from across the river region. The purpose of the MPO is to have a cooperative and comprehensive transportation plan for the metropolitan area.  The voting members of the MPO are supported by two advisory committees the Technical Advisory Committee and Citizen Advisory Committee.

Currently Elmore County has two vacant positions on the Citizen Advisory Committee. Committee members will be asked to attend a meeting every other month and will be providing input on proposed projects and transportation plans within the MPO area.

If you live in Elmore County and are interested in serving on this Citizen Advisory Committee, please contact me or the County Commission office if you would like to serve on this committee.

Bart

This is the work session agenda for the Commission meeting 3-12 -18.
The Elmore County Commission meets on the 2nd Floor of the Elmore County Courthouse, downtown Wetumpka. 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

Reminder: Monthly Countywide Cleanup is Today,  Saturday  3-10-18

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

Monthly Countywide cleanup day is this Saturday,  3-10-18

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

There are many things we use in the course of our daily lives that we take for granted. I recently discovered how my normal life has become dependent upon internet access when the wireless network malfunctioned at our home. This was an inconvenience for me, but for those people who have no internet connection at all it adversely affects their lives in multiple ways.

Deployment of broadband infrastructure in those areas that have no access has become more important than ever. You would think that the lack of access is isolated only to the most rural parts of Elmore County but that is not the case. Many people live in or near densely populated areas of the county, but in order to have access it would require lines to be extended.

This link will take you to a map ( https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/#/ ) on the FCC website where providers are reporting the availability of internet access, the number of providers in an area and available internet speeds along with other information. Be aware these maps  are generated from data submitted by providers  and is shown based on the 2010 Census Blocks so providers may not have service to all addresses within the census block that they provide service.

As a side note, what is a census block? Census blocks are created from data collected when a census is performed every ten years and is how the population data is broken down into smaller identifiable areas within a larger area (*sample census block map below).

The maps on this FCC site are very interesting to see which areas of Elmore County have broadband access and those that do not and at what connection speeds. What is also interesting is to see the broadband access availability in nearby counties that providers are reporting.

Cable operators have expressed their inability to extend lines in Elmore County if that investment in infrastructure doesn’t result in a positive financial return. That fact is understandable because they are in business to report a profit. One option is for a citizen to pay to have the line extended in order to gain access but unfortunately that is cost prohibitive in most situations.  However, there are provisions in Section 706 of the Telecommunication Act of 1996** where the FCC can work to encourage deployment and remove barriers presently preventing deployment of broadband infrastructure if the FCC determines broadband is not being deployed in a timely fashion.  We hope the current administration in Washington will continue to work on removing any barriers identified and encourage both public and private investment in the deployment of needed broadband infrastructure.

I feel this lack of broadband infrastructure will eventually be resolved by private investment using the most advanced technology available.

Bart

* Source –  Census Bureau (census.gov)

** Source –  Federal Communications Commission (fcc.gov)

This is the work session agenda for the Commission meeting 2-26-18.
The Elmore County Commission meets on the 2nd Floor of the Elmore County Courthouse, downtown Wetumpka. 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