Commission sets date for road closure public hearing

HAMILTON — The Marion County Commission has set a date for a public hearing to discuss the closure of Walker Bottom Road for Jan. 6, 2026 at 9 a.m. at the commission office.
Tim “Ears” Estes said that many people don’t even know where the road is, which is on the east side of the county right before entering Walker County which used to let out near Highway 13 in Walker County.
“150 yards off the road, you have to ford the creek to get in there,” Estes said. “The landowners have approached me several times. One didn’t want to close it a while back, but since then he has passed away, and his family is wanting to close. I told them we’d ask for a public hearing.”
The commission also discussed the county’s paid leave policy and accepted an amendment to change the annual starting date each year after this year. The date will be Dec. 1 for this year, and Nov. 1 starting next year.
Later in the meeting, the commission discussed the leave policy with Sheriff Kevin Williams, and how one of the goals with the new policy was to try and make sure employees had at least 120 hours each.
The commission voted to allow EMA Director Russ Taylor to purchase a new type of weather radio for this year’s giveaway. The new model, which Taylor had discussed with the commission previously, feature a hand-crank charger, solar charging, a rechargeable battery, AM/FM radio and several other features for around the same cost as the model of weather radio the county has gotten in years’ past.
The commission also discussed purchasing a new compactor. The choice was between a newer 2019 model with more hours of usage, or a slightly older 2016 model with less hours of usage.
Larry Akers suggested the older model with less hours, and the commission voted to approve purchasing the 2016 model for about $36,000.
The commission also accepted a bid for cleaning services from the lowest bidder, Tammy Harris, for county facilities in the amount of $2,000. The commission accepted the bid on a six-month trial basis.