The REHAU plant in Cullman.

The Cullman County Commission approved a half-million dollar tax abatement for an expansion at Rehau Automotive which should allow for the company to retain nearly 50 of its current employees.

The abatement approved by the commission Tuesday, May 21, will be dispersed during a 10 year period and is not to exceed $573,000. Cullman County Administrator/CFO John Bullard told commissioners that the abatement would cover the necessary expansion required to begin producing a new line of products to allow for the retention of employees who “would otherwise have been laid off.”

The city of Cullman approved a similar $10 million tax abatement for the project in April.

The county also signed off of engineering services for improvements to Cullman Regional Airport. The airport is a joint venture equally funded by both the city and county. Airport director Ben Harrison previously told city councilmembers that these improvements would usher in what he described as a “new growth phase” and echoed those statements to commissioners last week.

In other business the council:

— Recognized both Doug and Sharon Davenport for their retirements after decades of dedicated employment with the county. Doug has worked in the Parks and Recreation department for 25 years while Sharon has worked within the Sales Tax office for 23.

— Proclaimed May 21 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

— Reduced the County Road 1421 speed limit in the Goldridge Community to 25 miles per hour.

— Approved a $24,264.88 payment to Thompson Rental to repair damages to equipment while in the county’s possession.

— Ratified the final settlement of insolvents, errors and taxes in litigation for FY2023 for the Cullman County Revenue Service.

— Approved the purchase of two Ford Maverick Super Crew off State Bid from Stivers in the amount of $24,352 each.

— Approved the payment invoice to Nitorco for server configuration to Azure in the amount of $35,000.

— Approved to removed the cap on hours worked during the attorney’s interim period.

— Approved to pay Cullman Appliance Repair, LLC $12,692.83 for a six ton compressor, thermostat and dehumidification system for the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office dispatch.

— Approved the payment of $77,392.38 in NARCOG dues.

— Approved Commissioner Kerry Watson and Kelly Duke’s nomination of Brooke Desnoes to replace Brenda Scott on the Cullman County Public Library Board.

— Approved Commission Chairman Jeff Clemons’ nomination of Dawn Beard to replace Jerry Smith on the DHR board.

— Approved a three-year master agreement with Nitorco Technology for hosted assurance software suite in the amount of $6,000 per month.

— Approved the surplus of 70 18.5 volt batteries from probate.

— Approved the surplus of 52 18 volt batteries from probate.

— Approved the surplus of 66 election automark ballot guides.

— Approved the surplus of 70 express poll tablets.

— Approved the surplus of a 1997 Seadoo from Smith Lake Park.

— Approved the surplus of a 1991 Chevrolet 3500 from the road department.

— Approved the surplus of a 1997 Ford F-350 from the sanitation department.

— Approved the surplus of a 2000 Chevrolet Venture from the IT department.

— Approved the surplus of two 2013 and one 2014 Chevrolet Tahoes from the CCSO.

— Approved the purchase of one self propelled power broom from Cowin Equipment Company, Inc. for $33,184.

— Approved to purchase two manufactured park model cabins from Alabama Park Models, LLC for $54,075 each.

— Approved a minor subdivision containing three lots located half a mile South of the Bolte Road on County Road 706 and the corner of County Road 717.

— Entered into an executive session to discuss matters regarding a real estate transaction.