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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The Shelby County Commission held its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, April 28 at 6 p.m., where along with approving a slate of bids, recognized the achievements of the University of Montevallo’s bass fishing team.

Commissioners approved multiple bid awards for county departments, including:

• A UTV compact utility vehicle purchase from Ovr Flow Industries, LLC for $14,200
• Printing and distribution of the county’s Consumer Confidence Report by Maridan Corporation
• Property tax print and mail services by Divcodata
• Heavy equipment AC maintenance and repair services by Mobile Equipment & Air Conditioning, LLC, which offered the lowest hourly technician rate at $110

The commission also adopted an amendment to the fiscal year 2025 budget, allocating an additional $360,000 in sales tax revenue beyond original projections. Of that amount, $240,000 will fund eight new jail deputy positions and $120,000 will cover additional protective equipment for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

The commission also voted to support the Forever Wild Land Trust’s potential purchase of 902 acres owned by EBSCO Industries in a move to expand public recreation space. If the land is nominated and appraised, Shelby County has pledged to contribute 25 percent of the purchase cost, to be reimbursed annually through lodging tax revenue.

Chad Scroggins, the county manager of Shelby County, explained why the lodging tax is being utilized in this scenario.

“The reason we do a lodging tax is so that it’s not competing with all of the other interests in the general fund,” Scroggins said. “If we incentivize this to happen, what ends up happening is the property values in this area go up, and we recoup all of that money and value from property taxes.”

County water system policies were also updated during the meeting, with the commission establishing a $75 non-refundable inspection fee for property owners unable to enter a standard Water User Agreement.

After John Wright was reappointed to the Shelby County Board of Human Resources, the commission recognized UM’s bass fishing team. The team was honored following their national championship victory at the Major League Fishing’s Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship in April. The team also earned its fourth consecutive Bass Pro Shops School of the Year title in May 2024 and will compete for a fifth later this month in South Carolina.

William Crawford, the director of the Outdoor Scholars program and head fishing coach at UM, addressed the council and thanked them for their support.

“(We’re) very grateful for all of the support that you guys have provided to the university,” Crawford said. “We have students from all over the country, 19 different states are represented in our program.”

The meeting concluded by Scroggins recapping the recent Shelby County Senior Picnic, saying the event was a huge success and that the county is receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback.

“We have a really good time doing it,” Scroggins said. “It is a lot of fun, and we had a lot of seniors come out for it.”

For more information on the Shelby County Commission, visit Shelbyal.com/93/County-Commission.