The Cullman County Commission has authorized County Attorney Heath Meherg to revise the long-term camping rules and policies at Smith Lake Park. The current rules are too “vague” and don’t allow park officials to easily evict someone if they fail to comply with their rental agreement, said Parks Director Doug Davenport.

“We’re not going to allow them to have permanent structures, like decks and satellite dishes, which we’ve had a problem with in the past,” Meherg said.

The county has also had issues with individuals signing long-term rental agreements and then leaving before they ended, Meherg said. Under the current rules and policies, there’s no penalty for leaving before the end of the agreement.

Smith Lake Park has nine cabins, 199 full service sites, five water and electric sites and 61 tent sites.

In an unrelated matter, the commission has awarded a Hanceville contractor the bid to construct safe rooms at four local senior centers.

Powe General Contractors returned the lowest of four bids received for the job with an estimate of $355,981.34. The company’s bid was also $116,000 below the estimate for the federal hazardous mitigation grant the county received to fund the project, said Matt Kinsland, project coordinator with Cullman County Economic Development.

Safe rooms will be built for Brushy Pond, Colony and Crane Hill community centers and the Cullman County Senior Center. The safe rooms at Brushy Pond, Colony and Crane Hill will be able to accommodate roughly 50 people while the one located at the county senior center will hold around 100.

Powe General Contractors recently built the county’s 2,000-square-foot splash pad at Sportsman Lake park.

In other business, the Cullman County Commission:

* Approved minutes from Dec. 9 meeting, appropriations, expenditures, payroll, requisitions and all journal entries to be posted.

* Authorized Chairman Kenneth Walker to sign the North-central Alabama Regional Council of Governments (NARCOG) Title III aging contract for fiscal 2015.

* Authorized $428,879 payment to the Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA) Liability Self-Insurance Fund Inc. for 2015 premium.

* Authorized $5,988 payment to Smith-Gray Insurance Agency for boiler and machinery insurance policy with Travelers Insurance.

* Approved lease for mail postage machine with Pitney Bowles for $857 per month for 3 years.

* Authorized Chairman Walker to sign 10-year lease agreement with Alabama Forestry Commission. The county will waive the $19,000 annual lease fee as an in-kind contribution, allowing the forestry commission to use its current building on Sportsman Lake Road for no charge.

* Approved Chairman Walker’s appointment, Tanya Carter, to the Airport Board to replace Rex Smith whose term will expire Jan. 2017.

* Approved Brushy Pond Community Center’s $500 request for polling maintenance and operational support.

* Authorized $203,612 payment to Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) for Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP) project on County Road 114. The county will resurface 6 miles of the road.

* Tabled $11,132 purchase of 10.12 acres adjacent to the Stony Lonesome OHV Park from Craig McDugald. The land was appraised at $14,000.

* Approved Christmas Eve as a paid holiday for all county employees.

The county commission will hold a special-called meeting at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 6 to consider the hiring of a director for the Cullman County Commission on Aging. Its next work session will be 8:30 a.m. Jan. 13, followed by its regular meeting at 10 a.m.

Tiffeny Owens can be reached by email at towens@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 256-734-2131.