A short list of routine reports and appointments made for a near record-setting regular meeting for the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners last Thursday as only nine minutes passed from gavel to gavel.

Commissioners Divenski Lee, Ed Geddings, John Howard, and Chairman Sam Moore were in attendance at the 2 p.m. meeting as were County Administrator David Tyler and a small number of visitors. A few additional visitors arrived late and missed everything except the motion to adjourn. Commissioner Jerry Stover and County Attorney Charles LeGette were both out of town and unable to attend.

Routine appointments made by the commissioners included the reappointment of David Garrard to the Health Department board; the appointments of Randi Barry for a four-year term, Danny Cosby for a four-year term, and Dr. David Kirk for a one-year term on the Wills Memorial Hospital Authority; and the appointment of Lee as the commission’s representative on the Washington-Wilkes Parks and Recreation board.

The commissioners unanimously adopted a Unified Development Authority resolution which, according to Tyler, is a restatement of a resolution already in place. It allows Moore and Washington City Administrator Mike Eskew to continue in their positions as voting members of the Authority.

Moore reported that the petition to issue temporary tax bills for the collection of taxes had been approved by Judge Harold Hinesely. “Hopefully the tax bills can go out before the end of the year if everything can be worked out with the billing company,” Moore said.

Tyler reported that $63,111.89 in Local Option Sales Tax had been received for the month of September and that $97,095.12 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax had been received for the same month. In light of current economic conditions, Moore said that he and Tyler had reviewed the sales tax receipts as compared to a year ago and found that while they were down slightly, it was not as much as might have been expected. “The drop hasn’t been over three percent,” Moore said, “which is not as low as a lot of places, so we’re glad about that.”

Tyler reported that a reduction in required reserve funds for Solid Waste Closure had allowed for $100,000 to be transferred from that reserve back into the general fund.

Reporting for the Wilkes County EMS, Tina Bailey said that a $2,200 federal grant had been awarded for the First Responder program. She said the department hopes to start that program in January.

She also reported that as a result of St. Mary’s Hospital and Athens Regional Hospital discontinuing ambulance services for Clarke County, the Wilkes EMS will be getting a “stocked and loaded” truck from St. Mary’s at no cost to the county.

Bailey further reported that the EMS has been awarded a state grant for the purchase of up to five laptop computers but she did not know exactly how many the grant specifies.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be held on Thursday, January 14, 2010, at 7 p.m. in the Wilkes County courthouse.