By Scott Pearson

Staff Writer

Much of the Monday evening Marshall County Commission meeting focused on future needs and possible improvements to county services.

Larry McKnight presented a proposal to the commission that would expand the local veterans service office.

"We need a county service office that is open five days a week," he told the commission.

The local office is currently part-time, and some area vets have expressed a desire for more consistent hours and service from the office.

This year's budget for the office is $39,488, covering two part-time employees as well as transportation costs for veterans to Veterans Administration facilities in Nashville or Murfreesboro.

According to state numbers, there are 2,283 known veterans living in Marshall County who bring almost $18 million into the county through various educational or medical benefits.

Ideally, McKnight said that one full-time person, one part-time person, and someone to make sure the phones were answered at the office would go a long way in improving the local office.

He suggested that the county might save money if they paid the cost of using the South Central Area Transit Service to take veterans to medical appointments instead of having the local veterans service office do it, lessening any potential budget increase.

"That way the process of that office is doing nothing but taking care of evaluating our veterans and getting them what they need," he said.

McKnight, who is a former commissioner himself, is one of the founders of the veteran's group that meets every Wednesday night at Church Street Church of Christ.

The group was founded to provide a place for veterans to meet and discuss issues that impacted them and to educate and communicate with vets on benefits or in dealing with the VA.

The group is also working to compile a list of the many organizations that offer support to veterans so that proper referrals can be made.

Their last meeting was attended by 74 vets and their family members. McKnight said that 14 of those veterans were homeless, although they had recently been placed in temporary housing.

He also expressed the group's concerns for area vets suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. A lack of support for these issues contribute to alcohol and drug abuse issues as a coping mechanism and problems reintegrating into civilian society.

"We need to make sure we are providing what is needed," said McKnight.

McKnight presented his proposal now so that, if commissioners decided to move forward with it, any changes could be figured into next year's county budget.

The commission also approved the application for a Community Development Block Grant. CDBG funds are federal dollars passed through the state, generally used to fund water and sewer improvements.

The county has applied for a $581,000 grant that would be used to run water lines on Robertson Road, Dean Road, and Haislip Hollow Road. The grant would be $400,000, with the county's matching amount $181,000.

Commissioners approved two resolutions for the next five-year county property reappraisal cycle. 2017 is a reappraisal year for the county and the state requires approval of the next cycle to be in place.

Assessor of Property Michelle Campbell told the commission that revised values should be set by mid-March.

The county approved a five-year contract with a firm to provide aerial photography of the county to assist Campbell's office with the next, 2022, reassessment.

As required by state law, the commission approved the 2017 master road list for the county. The county contains 544 miles of road, representing, according to Commissioner Dean Delk, 477 different named roads.