An attempt to move forward with a plan to require county residents to post signs signifying their street address was voted down 4-3 during an Oct. 28 meeting of the Coffee County Commission.
Though Enterprise and other cities in the country already require residents to have a visible display of their physical address, areas outside of those city jurisdictions are not required to do so.
With the safety of county residents in mind, Sheriff Dave Sutton and Coffee County E-911 Director Charles Webb requested the commission give E-911 the authority to draft a resolution requiring such a sign.
Commissioner Jimmy Jones, who proposed the motion for its original vote, echoed that sentiment.
“We need to help E-911 identify the citizens of this county,” Jones said. “It’s very important we work with the director to get this done.”
Commissioner Josh Carnley, who voted against the motion, said he wanted to wait and see if there was another way to fix the issues of homes not being clearly identified.
“I’m not disputing the fact that it’s needed, but I’d like to try the volunteer method first,” he said. “I think we’re going to see a lot of opposition and we need to be careful in the way we ‘force’ people to do this, because I don’t think it sets a good precedent.”
Webb said policy changes concerning property addresses have always caused a small amount of negative feedback.
“There will be complaints the first six moths, but they overcome that,” Webb said. “That’s our experience.”
If the resolution had passed, it would have had to be sent to the state legislature for approval before it could go into effect.
Commissioners Al Britt, Kim Ellis, Dean Smith and Carnley voted against the motion, and Kevin Mitchell, Jones and Commission Chairman Tom Grimsley voted in favor.
In other news, commissioners approved the county to hire Ed Hardiman as a mental health officer, funding for which has already been approved in the county’s 2013 budget.
County Administrator Rod Morgan said Hardiman would work on an as-needed basis with Coffee County Probate Judge Steve Blair and local law enforcement officials.
In other news, commissioners approved a contract for the construction of a new website for the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department.
Sutton thanked the commissioners for letting his department proceed with a website redesign, which will include information about criminals in the Coffee County Jail, their charges and the most wanted fugitives in the county, among other improvements.
Sutton said similar, more public-friendly websites have helped other counties increase arrest numbers and share information with county residents.
The Coffee County Commission has rescheduled its next meeting from Nov. 11 to 9 a.m., Nov. 12, at the Coffee County Complex.
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