Park Employees Get Health Insurance

Beginning June 1, the Jackson County Park Board's four full-time employees will receive the same health insurance coverage as other county employees.

The county commission voted Tuesday to add the workers to its health plan after Chairman James Tidmore said the county's insurance provider had no problem with it Family Health Insurance. He also said the Park Board agreed to pay the costs for getting the employees on the plan.

District 3 Commissioner Carl "Cheese" Marona of Dutton, who recently retired as the board's park manager, told the commission at a recent meeting that park employees cannot afford to pay monthly insurance premiums on their own. He said he had worked there several years without any health insurance.

But District 1 Commissioner Darren Blizard of Bridgeport, who abstained from voting, said at the recent meeting that park employees knew what they were getting into when they were hired. Providing them with health insurance, he said, would open it up to other autonomous boards in the county.

The commission appoints the members of the County Park Board and other boards.

Family Health Insurance In another matter, the commission agreed, after meeting privately for about 30 minutes, to hire JH Partners architectural firm of Huntsville to oversee the courthouse window replacement project.

On County Attorney John Porter's recommendation, the commission voted 3-0 to go into executive session to discuss the issue and an unrelated matter concerning the good name and character of a county employee. Blizard abstained from voting without commenting.

Family Health Insurance In an April 8 letter to the commission, Porter advised the commission to meet privately in order to discuss the costs of the windows because bids will have to be solicited for the project.

"Those cost estimates should be discussed in executive session and remain unpublished until the bids for the windows are taken and awarded," he wrote.