Lowndes County supervisors appointed three members to the Golden Triangle Development LINK Executive Committee during their meeting Monday.
County Administrator Ralph Billingsley said the county received applications from three people — Rob Graham, Moak Griffin and Earl Weeks. Supervisors unanimously approved all three.
Graham is President of GoBox, a portable storage and waste management company based out of Columbus. Griffin is president and CEO of BankFirst in Columbus. Weeks recently retired as executive director of the Columbus Housing Authority.
Each of the LINK’s three member counties — Clay, Oktibehha and Lowndes — appoint four members to the committee as part of a renewed, three-year contract each county signed with the LINK for economic development services. Each county gives the LINK $350,000 a year for the services.
Previously, that number had been $330,000. Lowndes County, who had been paying $220,000 a year with the remaining $110,000 coming from the city of Columbus, agreed to pay half of the additional $20,000 if the city would pay the other half. In exchange for doing so, supervisors handed over one of their four board appointments to the city.
Columbus councilmen will decide their appointment when they meet next week.
Grant gets netbooks for community center
Crawford Community Center will soon have 10 new netbook computers.
District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith notified board members that the Columbus Lowndes Recreation Authority was awarded $8,876 in grant funding from Toyota to purchase and install the computers. CLRA Programs Director Greg Lewis said should the grant program allow CLRA to re-apply for more funding next year, he plans to do so in an effort to provide computers for the other seven community centers in Lowndes County.
The Greater Columbus Learning Center would provide software and instruction that would be used to help teach senior citizens how to use the computers, Lewis said.
In other business, the board:
■ Approved utility permits for AT&T on Isaac Drive, Prairie Land Water Association on Old West Point Road, East Lowndes Water Association on Neilson Road and Caledonia Natural Gas on Gatlin Road;
■ Authorized paying a resident $243.06 regarding a claim against the county for vehicle damage on Nashville Ferry Road due to a pothole; and
■ Renewed its partnership with property and casualty insurance provider Galloway-Chandler-McKinney for $370,137.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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