Montgomery Commission applies for drug testing equipment, hears concerns about foam party in Hope Hull

Montgomery County law enforcement officers will be less likely to be exposed to dangerous drugs if the sheriff’s office receives a grant for drug testing equipment.

The Montgomery County Commission entered into an agreement with the City of Montgomery to apply for the 2023 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to purchase drug detecting equipment. The $150,000 grant requires no match from the commission. 

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Chief Kevin Murphy said that the equipment, non-contact drug testing equipment similar to a spectrometer, will help keep officers safe from exposure to dangerous drugs. 

Murphy said a deputy had to be “rushed to the emergency room” after being exposed to fentanyl in April. Two other officers in the state were also harmed when exposed to dangerous drugs. “This is becoming (an) all-too-familiar situation with law enforcement,” Murphy said. 

The commission also approved applying for a grant for Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office to hire a case manager in the Controlled Substances Division of the Pre-Trial Diversion program and a victim services officer who would deal exclusively with domestic violence victims.

Chief Administrator Michael Briddell said that the $150,000 comes from the Department of Justice and requires no matching funds. 

Commissioner Rhonda Walker asked him how the DA’s office will pay the employees when the grant runs out. “We’re hopeful that the positions prove themselves so viable that we’d be able to justify the expense elsewhere in the budget,” he replied. 

“I’m not going to preclude you from waiving the rules on this, but I’ve said for years it’s a bad idea to spend grant money on full-time employees,” she said. “It sounds great up front; then you’re going to come back to us and ask us to bring on a new employee with pay and benefits and all that. We don’t need to hire people using grant money.” 

Commissioner Doug Singleton said that he would like to have the commission consider hiring contractors instead. Despite the concerns, the commission voted to approve the grant application. 

During the formal meeting the commission heard from Ashley Hall, a farmer who brought up his concerns about an event that he said was scheduled for Hope Hull Recreation Center on Aug. 19. The event, called “Freaknik Pool Foam Party,” reportedly features a number of what he called “X-rated” activities, including a wet T-shirt contest. 

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“Not the kind of thing we want in our community,” he said. Hope Hull is an unincorporated, agricultural area. 

“I understand that this event is to take place on private property, and I respect the rights of anyone to do what they choose on their property,” he said. “(It) seems certain that the illegal and very undesirable activities will result (from) this, including the probability of personal harm and property damage.” 

Hall referenced a shooting that he said occurred in a past event. He said the organizers of the event purposely chose the location as it would bring a “minimum amount of legal and law enforcement resistance.” 

“I am not in favor of this at all,” Singleton said. “But there’s really nothing from the county or the sheriff’s department that we can do to stop it.” He suggested coordinating with law enforcement to increase patrols in the area once the event takes place. 

Additionally, the commission briefly discussed moving forward with an agreement between ALDOT, the City of Montgomery and the county for widening, relocations and traffic signals on Wadsen Road between Lamar Road and U.S. 31 Highway. 

This is near the Manna beverages facility being developed in the city. Part of the funding is $3.5 million in federal, $1.7 million local and split $60 million from the city and $40 million from the county. This item will be on the agenda for the next meeting. 

The Montgomery County Commission meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 101 South Lawrence Street. Information sessions begin at 10 a.m. followed by the formal meeting. 

Livestreamed meetings can be seen on the commission YouTube and Facebook pages. 

Agendas with additional details can be found at the commission’s documents section of the website.