Road upkeep and water drainage dominated last Tuesday’s Long County Commission meeting at the courthouse in Ludowici.  
About 30 people representing different areas of the county filled the courtroom, as representatives from the areas went before commissioners to ask for help.
Randy Klingsmith and Walt Pelton once again voiced their displeasure with the lack of progress in addressing problems in the Vicker’s Hill area.
Klingsmith said that he wasn’t at the meeting to point a finger at the developer or the commission, but only to get a plan of action from them, in writing, of how the problems will be resolved. Roads in the area are falling apart and some are impassable, he said, and as a result of the county allowing the area to continue growing, traffic is crushing the roads.  
Klingsmith said he thinks no more permits should be allowed in the area, and no new construction should be allowed until the problems are corrected. He said that only the permitted work that already has begun should be allowed to continue. He said that as items are repaired, new work could start proportionally.
Commissioner Dwight Gordon said that he is actively looking into stopping any further permits in the area.  
Pelton told the commission that he has been in Vicker’s Hill since it first was developed, and that these problems have been continually passed down to each new group of commissioners with nothing ever being repaired. He said he feels that the developer has good intentions and would repair it if he could, but that he isn’t financially able to do so.  
Pelton said a homeowner who resides near the subdivision agreed to allow the county to dig a retention pond on his property and route the drainage from Vicker’s Hill to the pond. Commissioner Willie Thompson said he will not support the county using its equipment or employees to dig a pond on any property owned by an individual, and for him to support it, the land would need to be deeded to the county.  
Commissioners took no decision or action, but Gordon said he will sit down with the land owners and attempt to work out the problems.
Roosevelt Jones also went before the commission to complain about Washington Drive, saying that the road has never been graded and the county isn’t maintaining it. Commissioner Gerald Blocker said that he does not believe that the road has been assumed by the county, but he will check. He said that if not, then the county will not be responsible for it.
Patricia Johnston also said that the grass is overgrown on Macedonia Road and is not being kept up by the county.
Commissioners approved a resolution declaring that a Ludowici Heritage Festival will take place every third weekend in July. The move is designed to encourage local citizens to celebrate the city’s history. Thompson said that selecting this weekend will give high-school alums the opportunity to schedule their reunions around this date. He said that this year, the Long County High School class of 1974 will have its reunion July 19.  
In other items Tuesday:
• The commission extended the county’s emergency medical services with Liberty EMS through June 30.
• Commissioners approved a request by Liberty County Hospital Authority attorney Kelly Davis to release a lien against more than 6 acres to build an adult day-care center associated with Coastal Manor Nursing Home. The authority’s Liberty Regional Medical Center owns and operates the facility. Davis said the center will bring 35 jobs to the county, offer a high-school training program and provide a needed service to the community. Coastal Manor long-term care coordinator Elise Stafford said construction will take about 120 days and likely will be finished by the end of the summer.