MOORE HAVEN -- Glades County Board of County Commissioners approved a number of items during its Aug. 10, 2021 regular meeting, one of which was in the amount of $362,800 for engineering design costs for sewer improvements along the Caloosahatchee River on the eastern section of US 27 in and around River, Daniels and Park roads.

Commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of awarding the contract to Craig A. Smith & Assoc., a southern Florida engineering firm headquartered in Boca Raton.

Funding the contract will come from the County’s $2.7 million FDEP grant monies approved in Glades County in 2020.

The proposed sanitary sewer improvements include the expansion of the City-County Public Works Authority (CCPWA) sewer service area to the east/south side of the Caloosahatchee River. The initial expansion of the sewer service area will serve the existing Sportsman Village RA/ Park's 215 mobile homes and an additional 32 single family residence residences located on Daniels Road and all the homes located along Park Ave.

Commissioners also voted 5-0 in favor of a one-time purchase in the amount of $4,835.70 for equipment for the Glades County Supervisor of Elections Office conference room.

The request was presented  by Supervisor of Elections Aletris Farnam in coordination with County Manager Bob Jones and Chairman Tim Stanley.

The bulk of the expense will be for a $2,894.70 microphone system for the Canvassing Room which will include a cardioid condenser-hanging microphone, a Samson Technologies Expedition PA system, wall mount speaker bracket, molding and a $1,299.99 wall cabinet for the equipment and installation and testing of the system.

In addition, polling location hardware for in-person voting totaling $1,096 for an ICE display kit and ICE monitory carrying case was approved with an additional $50 for shipping.

“We need to have these,” Farnam told commissioners. 

Glades County Sheriff’s Office’s requests for $6,296.29 from the Local Law Enforcement Trust Fund for fiscal year 2020-2021 for drug task force operations and crime and drug prevention programs; $4,594.82 from the Federal Equitable Sharing Fund (DOJ) for law enforcement equipment; and a budget amendment for an additional $2,328 increase in the Sheriff’s budget were also approved 5-0 by commissioners.

Commissioners also touched on the upcoming Aug. 23 public meeting regarding property tax exemptions for proposed fire protection services in Moore Haven. New revenue from the services is expected to earn the county $892,000 in revenue for fiscal year 2021-2022.

Attorney Richard W. Pringle said that if commissioners don’t have specific exemptions in mind by Aug. 23, it could still be discussed during the public meeting at the Doyle Conner Building, 900 US-27 in Moore Haven at 6 p.m. A final meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7.