Speed bumps wanted on Marcon Farm Road

A citizen, who lives on Marcon Farm Road in Marshall County, appeared before the Board of Supervisors to request speed bumps at the March 3 meeting.

“These groups speeding are going to oppose it,” he told supervisors at the March 3 meeting of the board.

He said the speed limit is 25 miles per hour, but he has clocked vehicles going from 54 to 58 mph. He proposed putting speed bumps on either end of his property.

People leave work before daylight speeding down the roads and come home after dark speeding, he said.

He has five horses, there is an autistic child in the neighborhood and other homeowners keep horses as well.

“We need to stop these guys going through there so fast,” he said.

District 1 supervisor Charles Terry said the citizen may need to get a petition.

“I had an issue and put speed bumps a year ago on Bailey Place and got kickback,” Terry said. “Can you get community signatures and say they all want this?”

Terry said the area is located in District 1, District 2 and District 3.

“It would be inside a subdivision,” Terry said. “I want time to get a response from residents.” The citizen said his horses had gotten out in the road and a Head Start bus came along driving 40 miles an hour. A person came along and tried to get the horses back in and almost got hurt.

“I talked to some of them and they said. `I'll slow down when I feel like it,' “ he said.

“It's a county-wide problem,” said District 2 supervisor Johnny Walker. “All we can do is research it.” District 5 supervisor Ronnie O'Neil Bennett said he had some speed bumps put down in his district.

“I got hammered,” he said. “Can you put them on a through road?” “What if somebody is not from around here, hits a speed bump and has a wreck?” Walker asked. “You want to sympathize with people like that. You can't put speed bumps all over the county.” David Johnson, zoning administrator, reported a property on Skating Rink Road had been cleaned up.

He is getting quotes for software that can be used to track all zoning permits and documents. He has consulted with nearby counties to see what type of software products they are using.

“It's user friendly and a move in the right direction for the office,” he said.

The software will enable users to look at county roads and parcels.

“One (thing), you learn how to use it, we are real close, and it's a good step in the right direction,” he said.

Johnson took the National Flood Insurance Program certification course and passed the exam.

He said he sees a lot of things that need to be altered in the zoning office.

“They don't mess around with floodplains,” he said. “They have hired new directors for each district and will come and audit us. It all comes down to money. If you don't comply you can't get emergency money.”

Zinn praised the recognition given the two school districts, Holly Springs for its “A” rating and Marshall County for its “B” rating. Both districts were recognized at a recent joint meeting of the school boards and supervisors at the Industrial Development Office.

Some issues with the courthouse were discussed, including the settling of the steps on the south side and rotting wood on the eve of the north side.

Simpson Stroupe said he wants the ground to dry before getting a man lift on the courthouse lawn, which could damage the sprinkler system and mess up the grass.

Nicole Phelps asked how her office will operate if the county goes under the courthouse to raise a sagging floor.

Walker said the floor joists could be raised with a ram jack.

Phelps said most of the sagging floor is across the hall.

Stroupe said the floor joists are damaged. They are made of pocket joints and the mortar in supports under the floor has turned to sand.

“It has been close to the ground so long and were handmade beams. It's just old,” Stroupe said. “I'd like to jack it up but with all that weight on it. I tried to get an architectural engineer to look at it.”