Voters will move to annex

By Staff
Jonathan Willis FCT Staff Writer
The Franklin County commission took the first step to change voting locations for some county residents at Monday morning's regular meeting.
The commission voted to pass a resolution that would move the voting location for some citizens from the county courthouse to the Elizabeth Lucas courthouse annex across the street.
Due to the large amount of traffic flowing in and out of the courthouse, especially on election days, the move would alleviate some of the problems facing voters, said probate judge Mike Green.
The action must now be approved by the Justice Department before the move can be made.
In other business, the commission voted to accept the resignations of former sheriff's deputies, Shannon Oliver and Joe Hargett, who both took jobs with the Russellville Police Department.
The commission also approved a bid of just more than $102,000 for the installation of a fiber optic network which will allow the county's departments to all be set up on one system.
The board also approved for the initial drilling of an embankment along county road 81 near the Cherry Hill community to reveal what is causing the mountainside to erode. The road passing through that area has been closed until the problem can be corrected.
According to county engineer David Palmer, there is no way of knowing how to fix the problem or how much it will cost until the drilling is completed.
In other action, the commission voted to move its current meeting times up by 30 minutes. Work sessions will now be held at 6 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding the next Monday's meeting, which will now begin at 9 a.m.