Decatur County commissioner Oliver Sellers made a motion at the county commission meeting Tuesday to allow the City of Bainbridge to continue using the county’s landfill.
“I do not think the cut off of the landfill use was approved by the board, and I would like to invite anyone who wants to use the landfill to come on down,” Sellers said.
The motion did not pass. Commissioner Russell Smith and Sellers were the only two who voted yes.
The motion comes after Decatur County Administrator Gary Breedlove sent an email last Wednesday morning to Bainbridge City Manager Chris Hobby declaring the suspended use of the landfill by the city. Last Tuesday, Bainbridge City Council voted to accept a low bid from Waste Management to dispose of the city’s solid waste in Campbellton, Fla.
“I have been directed by the Board of Commissioners, individually and collectively,” to suspended your use of the Decatur County Regional Landfill immediately,” Breedlove wrote.
Smith noted he was not aware of the open records request sent by Decatur County Board of Commissioners to the City of Bainbridge requesting records pertaining to Chris Hobby’s utility bill payments.
When asked who approves the open record requests, Decatur County attorney Brown Moseley said he sends them at the direction of the board.
“Well I certainly didn’t know about it,” Smith said. “It saddens me to see the relationship between the city and the county. We should work together.”
County Commissioner Frank Loeffler said he believed if they cannot improve the relationship between the two bodies, then he was supportive of a consolidation of the City of Bainbridge and Decatur County.
“We can’t continue the way it is,” Loeffler said. “If we can’t do that, then let’s figure out how we can consolidate the two governments and get it done that way.”
City of Bainbridge Mayor Edward Reynolds sent the Board of Commissioners an email asking for them to agree to a meeting with the city council next Tuesday at Memorial Hospital to “discuss items of mutual interest,” the email said. Reynolds’ email suggested that only elected officials attend the meeting.