The first order of business at the October 17 Putnam County Commission meeting was the testing of vote tabulating equipment to be used in the Tuesday, November 5, General Election.
During the testing each commissioner votes, witnesses the counting of his vote, and attests to the accuracy of the count. The testing is also involves counting of lots of ballots that include every precinct. When voting, each voter views his or her ballot for accuracy before it is recorded at the polling place.
Each commissioner completed voting in less than three minutes. First time voters often require much longer times. County Clerk Brian Wood said that first time voters will need to show a valid driver’s license or some other form of identification at the polls on election day.
The vote count is not known until recording devices are unloaded and votes counted at the courthouse in Winfield on election night.
In other business, the commission approved an amendment to the county’s Fiberoptic Network Deployment Plan which authorized $63,100 in spending for seven design changes and services presented by Jessie Parker of New River Engineers. Parker stated that the project was more than 80% complete.
The commission also approved a proposal for engineering services that will allow the Riffee Ridge Water Main Extension Project to qualify for additional funding.
The commission approved the signing of a letter of support for Frontier’s BEAD Fiber Broadband Grant. Commission president Andy Skidmore stated that the Frontier project was targeted to reach areas that the county’s fiberoptic project would not reach.
The commission appointed Commissioner Brian Ellis to a term on the Putnam County Development Authority which will expire on September 30, 2027. The commission also approved the following appointments: Heather Vanater, C.D. Caldwell, and Scott Edwards to the Putnam County Development Authority Board; and Sherry Hayes to the Putnam County Animal Shelter Board.
The next regular commission meeting will be Thursday, November 7, at 9 a.m.