The Chilton County Commission voted Harry Benson as a new Water Authority Board member during Monday’s meeting.

Current chairman Jimmy Parnell and Benson were the two nominees to fill the position.

Tim Mims, chairman of the county commission, voiced his opinion before the voting began.

“I would like for Jimmy to stay on the board,” Mims said. “He has done a good job. I’ve even had people come and tell me how well he is doing and how satisfied they were with him on the board.”

Not all of the commissioners were in agreement with Mims.

“When I vote against something, I always say why I vote against it,” said Commissioner Heedy Hayes. “I’m not voting for him because I think he is not looking out for the best interest of Chilton County. He was not in support of our 1–cent sales tax. When we talk about taxing people, particularly log haulers, he is totally against paying anything on the roads that are torn up.”

Benson won the seat with a 4 to 3 vote.

In other business, Tony Wearren shared information from the Heart of Alabama Rural Planning Organization (HARPO) and the Regional Planning Commission (RPC) meeting that was held Thursday in Clanton.

Commissioner Bobby Agee brought up that he wants to put something in place to start working on updating the courthouse.

“The county is growing, but the courthouse is not,” said Allen Caton. “But I know we don’t have the money.”

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said Benson would be named the water authority chairman — his appointment is to the board, not its chairmanship. Also, a initial quote from Commissioner Heedy Hayes was wrong. When explaining why he wouldn’t support Jimmy Parnell for the board, Hayes said, “When we talk about taxing people, particularly log haulers, he is totally against paying anything on the roads that are torn up.” The incorrect quote from Hayes said Parnell “was against the log hauling.”
The Advertiser regrets the errors and is happy to set the record straight.