Howard Rhodes told the Limestone County Commission he is “happy to be here.”

Rhodes said he and his wife moved here from Oxford in Calhoun County and he wants to learn more about local county government so he can be as involved as he was in his home county.

“I have been surprised by the Fiddlers Convention and all the courthouse square entertainment. But I don’t understand all about county government, such as what is the relationship with the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority,” he said. “How does that work?”

The water authority is not under county government rule, but organized as an independent authority in the 1980s. However, the County Commission does appoint members to the authority.

Commission Chairman David Seibert said it was good to hear someone show up at a meeting offering compliments rather than complaints.

“I appreciate your comments,” Seibert told Rhodes. “We support the activities in town both financially and in spirit. For instance, we appropriated $10,000 for the Storytelling Festival and we will be putting up a Christmas tree on the courthouse lawn.”

Seibert said the tree would be lighted at 5 p.m. Dec. 3 to coincide with the Christmas Parade.

Other business

In other business, the Commission approved:

• Changing the Nov. 11 work session to Nov. 12 because of Veterans Day;

• A grant application by the Athens-Limestone Public Library board for $50,000, of which the county will pay $15,000 in matching funds;

• Amending a memorandum of understanding between the Mental Health Center and the Community Corrections Center;

• Awarding bids for jail demolition to MC Contracting for $166,330; and work on the Elk River Mills Bridge to Gulf Coast Contracting for $215,250. District 4 Commissioner Bill Daws said the work involves repairs to underneath the bridge and work should get started in about two weeks.