Messenger Staff

A developer wants to build seven lots on phase one of the modular house subdivision in Pike County.

Robert Sellers of Cairo, Ga., met with Pike County commissioners Monday about his proposed subdivision, which would be located south of Livingston Crossroads on County Road 26.

"I hope that the subdivision will be a success," Sellers said. "I have been contacted by people from Wal-Mart Distribution Center looking for affordable, upscale housing for their employees that is close to the center. The subdivision is located about 6.8 miles from the entrance to the distribution center."

Sellers said the subdivision would be comprised of modular homes, which are different than manufactured houses and mobile homes. Both those types of houses start to look bad after a certain amount of time, but the modular homes stay fresher, he said.

Sellers said residents would have to have good credit and met USDA requirements for housing to qualify for the subdivision lots.

In addition, he said several convenants would apply to the subdivision:

· No automobile can be parked in a yard for more than 48 hours;

· No truck containing more than six wheels can park on the subdivision streets.

· Residents cannot have more than three pets, and those cannot include farm animals such as chickens, livestock or hogs.

· Lot owners cannot raise any pets for a profit.

· Residents must pay for town garbage collection, which is required.

He already has approval from the City of Banks, which will provide water service. According to Commissioner Willie Thomas, South Alabama Electric Cooperative will probably furnish the electricity for the subdivision since they furnish most of the electricity in Troy.

The commissioners decided to have the county engineer look over the proposed subdivision layout and if everything meets the county’s regulations for subdivisions then Sellers will have to submit it to the commission for their approval.

"Anytime we have an opportunity for businesses to come in," Commissioner Willie Thomas said, "it is progress, which brings more revenue and more home owners."

In other business, the commission:

· Discussed the possibility of moving the Juvenile Probation Office to a new, bigger location. Pat Smith, who works in the office, told commissioners that probation officers now have to share offices, which allows for no confidentiality. Commissioners said they must review the buildings and clear up some problems involving a lease of the current building and other financial concerns before deciding whether to move the office.

·

Heard a request from Charter Communications for a 5 percent franchise revenue agreement with the county. Charter took over AT&T Cable users in June 2001 and has approximately 100 customers in the Pike County area. The agreement could generate an additional $2,000 to $2,500 for the county each year. Commissioners said they needed more information before deciding if the agreement is fair to county residents.

· Declared three vehicles in the Pike County Solid Waste Office as surplus, so they can be sold.

· Declared three trucks in the engineer’s office surplus, so they can be sold. Sealed bids on the vehicles will be accepted at 2:30 p.m. April 3. Bids for new trucks to be purchased will be accepted at 2 p.m. April 3.

· Decided that the county commission and the engineer will attend two conferences, 2002 NACo Annual Convention held in New Orleans on July 12-16 and 2002 ACCA Annual Conference held in Orange Beach on May 22-23.

· Decided not to renew Pike County Courthouse pay phone contract with Bell South, which the county was paying $58 per month for and it was not being used that much except maybe by the security guards because most people have cell phones now and do not need a pay phone.

· Declared Monday, April 22- Confederate Memorial Day- a paid holiday for county employees.

· Agreed to have the warning sirens fixed as soon as possible by Allcom of Birmingham.

In closing comments, Commissioner Willie Thomas suggested removing the dead magnolia tree from the county courthouse lawn and putting up a fence around the building in order to prevent people from walking on the grass and throwing cigarette butts on the lawn.

Commissioner Charlie Harris also warned the Pike County Commission to not exclude him from any meetings in the future because it is discriminating against him and that any future meetings that he is excluded from will be cause for a lawsuit. Commissioner Harris was excluded from a county employee achievement board meeting even after he called and said that he would be absent for the scheduled meeting. The commission usually reschedules meetings if one party cannot attend but would like to.

The commission agreed to reschedule the employee achievement meeting when every one of the commissioners on the board could be present.