Welcome to District 4!

Today media outlets are communicating on a regular basis information related to Irma and how it will affect a wide area of people across the southeast.
I, along with many other agency representatives and elected officials, attended a briefing hosted by the National Weather Service this afternoon and this is how I understand it will, in general, affect Elmore County. I have also included other information as well.
We have seen wind speeds increase today and are gusting in some areas of Elmore county. It is forecast that sustained wind speeds will start to increase Monday morning and by Monday afternoon we should start seeing the first of the 20-40 mph sustained winds. 

Monday evening Elmore county will start feeling the effects of sustained winds speeds of 30-35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph and will remain forceful until early Tuesday morning. 

It is forecast our area will receive 2-4″ of rain during the time this storm travels through our area starting Monday morning.

Impacts we can expect are down trees and power lines 
If your power goes out call Alabama Power or Central Alabama Electric, whichever company services your area. If there is a power line down, call 911 to report this hazardous condition. 
The county highway department started last week positioning response equipment that might be needed and will be positioning additional equipment around the county Monday morning.

At this point there is a lower potential for tornadoes for those in ELCO than our neighbors to the east of us.
Currently 17 Safer Places locations are open in Elmore County. These are not FEMA approved sites but are safer places of refuge where people can go. To find these sites go to www.elmorecoema.com .  Anything you need to sustain yourself while at these sites should be brought with you. Meals and comfort  items will not be provided at these sites. 
The Elmore County Emergency Operations Center will be at an activation Level 2 early Monday morning where this storm and its impact on out area will be monitored by Elmore county EMA personal along with responding agencies representatives. 

We appreciate all of our local responding agencies that are prepared to serve our citizens when needed and especially our volunteer fire departments in the county for being such a vital part of this effort.

Be very aware of the weather conditions as they can change quickly.

Bart

Below is a link to a statement from the Elmore County Commission related to the preparations being made for Irma impacting our area.

There is another conference call with the National Weather Service scheduled for this afternoon and we are hoping to  be informed the storm is diminishing in strength as it moves north.

Bart

Link:

Statement from Elmore County Commission

I am at the Elmore County emergency operations center with many agencies that would respond to any possible impacts the remnants of Irma could have on Elmore county.  The National Weather Service is hosting a conference call to brief the counties on the expected weather conditions. 

Elmore County will be well positioned to respond if needed thanks to great planning by our county EMA, assistance by our volunteer fire departments and many other local agencies that would respond.

I will share my thoughts on what we should expect when this system rolls through later today.

Please be aware of the current weather forecast.

Bart

Just left the Millbrook Men’s Club Annual Labor Day BBQ and they still had plenty of BBQ to sell.

They are located at the Village Green Park area across from the softball fields and they normally sell out.

I appreciate what this groups does to help serve our community.

Bart

As a part of ALDOTs improvement project at the AL 14 and AL 143 intersection, the two sets of traffic signals are being replaced and upgraded.
Today the new signal at the intersection of Jackson St and AL 14 was put into operation. Shortly after being put into service, a component malfunctioned and caused traffic to be delayed.
In communications with ALDOT personnel this afternoon, the signal has been taken out of service until the issue can be resolved.
Thanks to all for your patience as ALDOT completes this very important project for our county!
Bart

A portion of this week I spent attending the Alabama Association of County Commissioners conference.  Attendance at these type events enable your commission to stay up-to-date on issues that are of vital importance to you, our citizens. 

Today I received certification for the training I have completed through the Commissioner Education and Graduate Programs administered by Auburn University.

Later this afternoon I am attending the first meeting of the ACCA Leglislative Committee I was recently appointed to by my fellow commissioners to represent Elmore county.

This is the media release we sent out earlier today.

I made a commitment when I was appointed in 2016 that I would be on the 2018 ballot if serving as commissioner didn’t have an adverse effect on my family or our business.  I also wanted to make sure I could make a difference for the county as a commissioner.  Over the past 8 months I have used these two objectives as a litmus test to determine my future plans.  After prayerful consideration I have made a decision.  Please see the attached video for that decision.

We all know the lack of Broadband access to some areas in Elmore County is a real problem. I normally try to read at night before bed and my internet speed  is so slow at home that I get frustrated so I  have started making sure I have something in “Print” nearby. But, at least I have access to broadband because many in our county do not.

I have been working closely with ECEDA in an effort to make sure other Broadband providers know Elmore County is a great place to consider for investment, much like is done with companies in other industries. The business model of a company that provides  broadband access is like any other private business, their investment must result in profit in order to stay in business. Yes, the County does enter into a Franchising agreement but basically all that does is charge a private company a percentage of their revenue for using public land (R.O.W) to install their lines. The provisions set in the franchising agreement are overwhelmingly determined by the Federal Cable Act and not your county commission.

I have posted a copy of a Wetumpka Herald article where I discussed this at a commission meeting in great detail.

With that said, I wanted to share that our efforts are starting to get the attention of other broadband providers. Conversations about the issue are taking place with other broadband providers and we have had a company talk with the Commission this week. The name of the company is Mobilitie and as it has been explained to us, they capture a  commercial grade wireless data signal with a satellite and transmit it to their pole mounted antenna and rebroadcast the wireless data signal about 1-2 miles out. I have asked the Mobilitie representative to meet with myself and an ECEDA representative very soon to find out more about what they do.

I will update you as I know something.

Bart

At the County Commission meeting last night I was honored to be selected by my fellow Commissioners to serve as the representative for Elmore County to the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama (ACCA) Legislative Committee.
The ACCA serves as a technical, legal and policy resource for each county in Alabama.

 This Committee will work with members of the state legislature as well as Gov Kay Ivey and her administration to affect change and guide policy that affects Elmore County.

I appreciate this opportunity in my effort to serve Elmore County and its citizens.

Bart