Clinton County Fiscal Court held another early morning call meeting Tuesday morning, May 26 with five of six members present.

The first item of business was a bill that had been left off of the claims and bills at last week’s regular meeting, a payment of $8,279.00 to Logan’s Heating and Cooling for a unit replacement in the County Clerk’s office.

There was some questions on the bill, as Magistrate Ricky Craig questioned the bid process, saying he was unaware that proposals for the work had been taken. Magistrate Mickey Riddle also asked about a component in the bid, a line set, which was not included in the bid.

Craig said he felt that since the proposals were close, a local company, two of which apparently made proposals, should have been given consideration since they pay local occupational taxes and the proposals were not that much different in price.

A motion to pay the Logan Heating and Cooling bill was made by Magistrate Johnny Russell and passed by a 3-2 vote with Magistrates Terry Buster and Hershell Key voting yes and Magistrates Craig and Riddle voting no. Magistrate Patty Guinn was absent for the meeting.

The court then dealt with making fifty percent payment toward the pool heating unit at the Wellness Center to Sun Pools of $92,790 for the Lochinvar boiler system. The motion to pay that was made by Magistrate Russell and passed 4-1 with Craig voting no.

Following the vote, an exchange ensued between Magistrate Riddle and some of the Wellness Center board members in attendance.

Riddle alleged that Haddix Gas and Electric, who had supplied propane for the Wellness Center before the new system was installed a few months ago, never received full payment and had to settle for less than what was agreed to be paid, inferring it was the Wellness Center’s board responsibility to pay the debt.

Roger Barber, a representative with the Wellness Center, said that a local couple had offered to pay off the propane bill earlier but Haddix had rejected the offer and compounded the interest owed on the debt. He further noted it was the contractors who did the work on the facility that had billed the county, not the Wellness Center board.

At one point Riddle said he wasn’t against the Wellness Center and noted its importance, but said he was not for giving money toward the facility and was against the way the board had done business.

Wellness Center board member Jesse Stockton then noted that the latest work, now being done on the pool heating system, was a loan that is being paid back.

Judge/Executive Richard Armstrong also said he had talked to (Weldon) Haddix himself and he hadn’t indicated to him that he (Haddix) was upset about the final pay-off agreement reached on the propane bill.

The judge then announced that the county has received a $135,000 recycling grant, in the form of a 75/25 match with the county’s share to be the building and labor. (More details on the grant will be published in a separate article next week.)

Finally, the court approved five fund transfers prior to adjourning the special meeting, with its regular meeting being scheduled for June 18 at 5 p.m.