Whether or not to hold Summer Camp amidst the pandemic was a hot topic at the recent Hendry Board of County Commissioners meeting. During this meeting it was reported that the Hendry County School Board had not yet made their decision regarding holding Summer Camp. It was also mentioned that the City of Clewiston was awaiting the Hendry BOCC’s decision.

Commissioner Turner moved to give Staff the ability to plan and make decisions regarding opening, if it occurs. Commissioner Byrd cautioned that everyone be conservative about opening summer camps, due to the dangers surrounding COVID-19. The current issue, for the YMCA camps, has been finding a location. They had not been able to secure a place to hold camp.

Commissioner Byrd was concerned about the feeding program as well, and said that she would like staff to make sure that whether summer camp would open or not- to make sure there was a plan to continue to feed students.

A motion was passed to allow staff to make plans as needed until a final decision was made whether to open summer camps, but overall the BOCC agreed that while it needed to be done safely, with precautions in place, there were many people in the community that needed a safe place for their children to go while they are at work throughout the summer.

Other important parts of the BOCC, such as the bids received on five mobile homes for demo and replacement, and one single family home for rehabilitation for the Hendry County CDBG program were discussed. The projects were reported as being located at 717 Maryland Avenue, Clewiston, 1808 Matthew Loop, Clewiston, 1028 Georgia Avenue, Clewiston, 2600 7th Court, Clewiston and 919 Mississippi Avenue, Clewiston. Superior Contracting’s bid was approved by the BOCC.

Discussion about other BOCC business included Commissioner Turner asking if the E911 funding would be applied to solve an ongoing problem with communications between City of Clewiston Police and the Hendry County Sheriff’s Department . He said that he was concerned about them having to use cell phones instead of their radios, during emergencies. It was explained that E911 funding could not be used for that, but that ‪on July 1, a grant opens that may help solve this problem for all Emergency Services communications.

During the discussion of a petition for special exception request, for a horticulture recycling facility on Colding Road, located in the Southwest corner of Hendry County. The applicants are requesting for proper permitting, as the previous managers did not apply for the permit. It was reported that there will be a burn box implemented, for safety and to minimize problems commonly associated with this type of business.

Commissioner Byrd asked how many jobs it would provide for Hendry County. The answer was that employment opportunities would be minimal. The impact on homeowners was discussed and was reported to also be minimal.

The Commissioners discussed traffic and determined it would not be an issure in the Church Road area, which Commissioners agreed would be the biggest concern to homeowners, due to the location of the facility. The motion to approve the request was approved.

Dr. Pepe, FLDOH, called in to report on the current coronavirus situation, “We have had a very busy weekend, as you all can see with the numbers.” He went on to explain these increases have been traced back to the same main outbreaks that include the two nursing homes, a detention facility, and a large agricultural employer. The BOCC thanked him for all of his hard work.

The Hendry County Board of County Commissioners’ regularly scheduled meetings ‪on June 9, and ‪June 23, have been cancelled.

The Board will hold a regular meeting ‪on June 16, at 5:00 p.m.‬, at the John Boy Auditorium, 1200 W.C. Owen Avenue, Clewiston, Florida.

Members of the public may attend the meeting in person or are invited to watch a livestream of the meeting at ‪https://www.facebook.com/hendrycounty‬ and/or participate in the meeting by telephone by calling ‪877-853-5257‬ and entering meeting identification number ‪955 2625‬ 7584#. Members of the Board may participate in the meeting by telephone, as well.