Charter Review Commission up and running despite County being homeless
Columbia County, FL (Posted July 15, 2011 07:20 am)
The CRC meets for its first meeting at the School Bd
Admin Bldg. The County Commission is seated to the left
of Chairman DuPree (the one with the hat) and the CRC is
to the right.
Last night the organization meeting of the Columbia
County Charter Review Commission went off without a
hitch -- almost. Homeless after all these years,
Columbia County does not have a meeting room to call its
own. It wanders from City Hall, to the School Board
Administration building, to the Lakeshore Hospital
Authority, to the Ag Extension Office or to the library
-- sometimes not being able to find any meeting place at
all.
Last night was not an exception when County Commission Chairman Jody DuPree announced at the CRC's organization meeting, "We're gonna have to have a Charter Review Commission meeting location. As of, when I had a conversation this afternoon, we haven't located a location to hold various meetings at... We have to look for a spot. We haven't been able to find a place to locate, to hold the next meeting at."
The CRC selected David Rountree to be the chairman and Betty Lane to be the vice chair.
After the meeting, County Manager Dale Williams said he would look into using the Mason City Community Center as the primary location for the CRC, as it is centrally located.
Lifelong resident and community leader Glynell Presley suggested the Mason City Community Center as the prime location for CRC meetings. Mr. Presley told the Observer, "Mason City is about as centrally located as you can get in the County. Holding these important meetings there would give all the residents of the County an equal chance to come and participate.
