Park resident has new home

The man who has long spent days and some nights in Madison Memorial Park in Danielsville has a new home.

County commission chairman Anthony Dove gave an update on Tommy Williams at the BOC’s Monday meeting.

Dove said Williams’ niece was contacted by Donna Sisk, county human resource director. He said the niece thought Williams was staying with his brother, but he had not been staying with him.

Dove said the niece and her brother used to live with Williams.

“They had lived with Mr. Tommy,” said Dove. “Their daddy was his caretaker. He took care of Tommy.”

But the man died. And Williams had no clear care. Dove said the man’s niece and nephew were troubled by his condition when they saw him in the park.

“When they came by they were horrified; they went out and saw him in the park,” said Dove. “She (the niece) said she had a place for him, a big house and 10 acres of land. All she wanted was for him to be warm at night and cool in the summer…She thought that was what her daddy would have wanted.”

Dove said Williams asked his niece if she had a dog. And when she said “yes,” he agreed to go with her.

The chairman said the niece has reported that things are going well. And he praised the Madison County community for working to find help for Williams.

“We put a puzzle together and were able to solve a problem that I thought couldn’t be solved with the help of these family members who cared for their uncle,” said Dove.

Later in the meeting, the BOC talked about setting hours that people will be allowed to stay at Madison Memorial Park. They agreed that the park hours should be in line with the noise ordinance at the park, which are daylight to 10 p.m. on weekdays and daylight to 11 p.m. on weekends. People holding special events won’t be included in the restrictions.

In other matters Monday, the board approved a request by Robert Fields for M.E. Baker to rezone 2.45 acres of his 21.13 acres on Hwy. 29 from A-1 to A-2 to combine with the adjoining property.

The group approved a request by Roger and Larry Kirk to rezone 30.9 acres from A-1 to A-2 to combine with an adjoining property on James Springs Road.

The board approved requests by Sara and Joe Hobbs of Broad River Properties to rezone a one-acre parcel from A-2 to R-1 and and a .5 acre parcel from a 74-acre tract from A-1 to R-1.

The BOC approved several zoning policy changes Monday, including allowing respite care homes in agricultural areas to be approved through conditional use permits. The board agreed to have five percent of new parking lots in the county designated as green space. Planning chairman Wayne Douglas said developers will be given significant leeway on how they incorporate that five percent into their lots. The group also agreed to require two public hearings — one before the planning board and one before the BOC — for all area and use variance requests.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business, the board agreed to have 25 mph signs posted in the city limits of Hull on Glenn Carrie Road. The group also gave the thumbs up to 25 mph signs on Van Manley Road and Williams Wilson Road. Commissioner Pete Bond said he expects the county will need to do some work on Brewer Phillips Road off Hwy. 98 since the new soccer complex on that road is set to open soon. Commissioner Mike Youngblood said he is still working to get a traffic light in front of Ingles.

The board approved a resolution from the Madison County Pilot Club recognizing March 11-17 as “Brain Awareness Week.”

The board opened the meeting with a moment of silence to remember George Ott, stepson of Magistrate Judge Harry Rice, who passed away last week.