The appointment of the Columbia County Board of Elections chairperson was discussed during the Columbia County Management and Internal Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 13.
County Manager Scott Johnson told committee members they were recommending the reappointment of current chairman Ann Cushman as the chairperson.
“As you know House Bill 730 states the board of commission shall appoint a person to the Board of Elections and that person shall serve as the chair,” Johnson said. “Ms. Ann Cushman is currently the chair, and I think it’s the desire of this body to allow her to continue to serve in that capacity. This would be an appointment for four years.”
The Columbia County Board of Elections is made up of three members, two of whom are appointed by the political parties who received the most and second most votes in Columbia County in the previous general election for president. The third spot, the chairman, is appointed by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners. The terms for the other two spots are not up for re-appointment until 2025.
The committee approved moving the item to the consent agenda for the full Columbia County Board of Commissioners.
The MIS committee also discussed resolution 23-30 for the appointment of the initial Board of Directors for the Hospital Authority. In February, the commissioners passed a resolution to activate the Hospital Authority, Johnson said.
“This resolution provides the initial board of directors and sets up their initial terms….you can see the length of the initial term corresponds with the terms of the commissioners appointing each of the authority members so we can stagger those terms,” Johnson said.
The members of the Board of Directors will be Dewey Galeas (countywide), Dr. Rick Richards, (district 1), James Allen, III (district 2), Walter Massingale (district 3) and Ronnie Kurtz (district 4). For Galeas, Richards and Kurtz the terms will be through Dec. 31, 2026, and for Allen and Massingale the terms will be through Dec. 31, 2024. After the initial terms have expired, all appointees will serve four-year terms.
The Columbia County Development and Planning Services Committee discussed a memorandum of understanding with Fort Gordon for military compatibility. Scott Sterling, planning services director, said for the past few years the county has been involved in meetings with representatives from Fort Gordon and several other counties around the fort and the compatibility use study was completed in 2019.
“This memorandum of understanding for consideration is just simply stating that we are going to continue to work with Fort Gordon on any developing applications that are in our jurisdiction,” Sterling said.
The committee approved moving the item to the consent agenda for the Columbia County Board of Commissioners.
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
