The Walker County Board of Commissioners addressed a wide range of business Thursday evening during its final regular meeting of 2025. The December 4 session began with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance before commissioners approved a minor agenda amendment and accepted minutes from the November meeting.
Chair’s Report Highlights Insurance Savings, Winter Preparedness
Commission Chair Angie Teems reported that Walker County will save more than $91,000 in the coming year thanks to a 7.5% reduction in workers’ compensation premiums and a 5% cut in liability insurance.
Teems also discussed the status of the Battle Bluff subdivision, which includes roughly 400 residents newly under county zoning and taxing authority while neighboring cities continue providing other services.
With the winter season approaching, Teems noted that crews have been preparing for potential snow events and reaffirmed the importance of mutual-aid agreements with surrounding counties.
County Recognitions
The meeting included recognition of individuals making a significant impact locally and internationally.
• Melba Powell was honored for her 60 years of service on the Walker County Board of Assessors as she enters retirement.
• Joel Westbrook, 18, was applauded for competing in the 2025 Para Karate World Championships in Cairo, Egypt. Westbrook was the first male wheelchair athlete to be name to the US Para Karate team. Commissioners invited Westbrook to speak at a future meeting about his experience and future goals.
Reports: Audit Progress, Tire Amnesty Results, and Litter Task Force
Teems told the board the county’s annual audit remains in progress, with a detailed update planned for the January meeting.
Commissioner reports followed, including a summary of the recent Tire Amnesty Day, which collected 3,355 tires from residents. The county’s Litter Task Force continues to expand cleanup efforts, partnering with local schools on expanded litter-reduction education and exploring composting program opportunities. Officials also reminded residents of the annual County Recycling Day scheduled for December 30.
Public Hearing: Zoning Requests and Local Concerns
A public hearing opened the floor for planning and zoning matters. Ronnie Martin requested approval to build a retirement home for himself on his property, and the board later voted to approve the request along with a separate recommendation for Clarence Lowell Poteet.
During public comment, Beverly Foster spoke about ongoing issues with a pallet yard on Highway 341 North, saying the operation continues to negatively affect neighboring residents. Foster called the conditions around the pallet yard, a “horror” and an “embarassment to Walker County”. Commissioners told Foster the owner of the pallet yard comes to court “almost monthly” to pay his fines. Commissioners mentioned the need for harder enforcement penalties calling the situation a “team effort” and work in progress that is not going unnoticed.
Additional speakers, including Ned Yates and Jamie Halsey, raised concerns about the proposed roadside maintenance vendor contract.
Melissa Holsey spoke that in October she obtained copies of Walker County Bank statements through an open records request. Holsey said she discovered an IT service that she thinks the board needs to be made aware of. According to Holsey from July through September of this year Walker County paid the vendor $115,000. Holsey says that her investigation into the IT company discovered that they are a Tennessee company that only recently became compliant in Georgia. Holsey called the company’s website “a one level website, and what that means is it has a really good cover page, but when you press to go to the next there’s nothing there. So it had the appearance of a shell.” The Walker County checks that we issued to them were mailed to a rented mailbox in a UPS Store. The only other address associated with this business was an executive suite facility, and I could not even verify that they were a regular tenant within that executive suite facility. Holsey says she could find no employees that worked for this company other than what appears to be business partners in Alabama. Holsey claims that Walker County has no written agreements with this vendor, no service, pricing or reporting agreements. Holsey says she was told this was all verbal with the previous administration. Holsey took the invoices to Jay Mattson an IT professional. She says that Mattson says Walker County is being charged for Amazon web services in addition to Rackspace. And Rackspace, from what he has said, “implies that we have proprietary software. Now, normally you don’t have both.” Holsey says the county is billed monthly for testing services. She has requested the reports of the test through an open records request and none were provided.
Contracts, Purchases, and Project Approvals
Commissioners approved a resolution selecting Yellowstone as the vendor for countywide mowing, litter pickup, and weed control after the company submitted the only bid. Staff were directed to negotiate the final terms and return with the full contract.
Other approvals included:
A resurfacing contract with Tally Construction for Walker Rocks Park trails
A purchase order for a digital message board at the new Elections Office
A traffic light replacement at McFarland Avenue and North Jenkins Road, to be handled by Nabco Electric
The road department also discussed a proposed $505,000 purchase of a new excavator. With concerns about cost and broader equipment needs, commissioners agreed to continue negotiations before bringing the item back for final approval.
Action Items to Continue Into 2026
The board outlined numerous follow-up items, including developing a repair plan for Wallaceville-area roads, reviewing documentation for recent IT vendor payments, moving forward with enforcement efforts at the Highway 341 pallet yard, and coordinating several equipment and safety-related purchases.
Meeting Adjournment
With no executive session required, commissioners closed the meeting by thanking county employees and volunteers for their work throughout the year and wishing residents a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The Walker County Commission will reconvene in January, when updates on the annual audit and several pending action items are expected.