County gets good economic news

Marengo County Commissioners heard their share of good economic news Tuesday and took action on several financial items.

Last month Bob Young with the investment firm Frazer Lanier reported the county received an attractive A rating for investors. Because of that, the county was able to sell bonds for 1.86 percent interest for road work. The bonds will bring in $2.65 million, with an annual payment of $201,000, he said.

The Commission authorized the issuance of General Obligation Warrants for the road work, and Young said the closing would be Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Earning the A rating “says a lot about the way ya’ll are running the county,” said Young, and the rating saved anywhere from a quarter to a half percent in interest.

Whitfield Regional Hospital Administrator Doug Brewer made his first annual update on progress at the hospital after county voters passed the 4-mil property tax issue in December 2019. He listed all the equipment already purchased or planned, the construction projects underway and scheduled and the savings to the hospital.

The hospital has added 30 jobs and increased payroll by 21 percent over the past year and still was financially in the black for the past three consecutive months.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Brewer said the county’s support couldn’t have come at a better time.

“The team at the hospital never backed down” during the crisis, Brewer said. Even with 79 of its own employees contracting the virus, the hospital so far has treated 1,400 outpatients and 500 inpatients, with 100 of them on ventilators.

WRH has vaccinated 1,500 people and is set up to do more as soon as the state delivers the needed vaccine.

Commissioners voted to request the Alabama-Tombigbee Regional Commission to write a $300,000 CDBG-DV grant for the prevention, preparation and response to the coronavirus pandemic in the county. Since this is a non-competitive grant, the funds should come to Marengo County as soon as the grant is approved.

Norman Enterprises of Meridian, Miss., won the contract for replacing the roof on the county Detention Center with a bid of $216,000. Work is expected to begin in a month.

In other action, the Commission approved:

• Appointing Raynell Smith to the County Economic Development Authority.
• A liquor license for Price Package Store in Magnolia.
• Accepting a $10 bid for a surplus printer and $25 for a typewriter. Other surplus equipment will be disposed of.
• A budget amendment to add three accounts: hospital tax fund, 2021 General Obligation Warrants and 2021 county road improvements.
• Both the EMA and Tobacco Tax CD to be at Sweet Water State Bank at .35 for 12 months.