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The Covington County Commission approved setting an upcoming public hearing for Slinks Nighttown Bar and Grill, formerly Soggy Bottom, at a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, August 9.

Locals are invited to attend the first September meeting and share their concerns or opinions of the Slinks Nighttown Bar and Grill before approving its liquor license.

“At the last meeting, we had Mr. (Alex) Myrick come in wanting to open a lounge at the premises of what used to be the Soggy Bottom. He has redone his paperwork with the ABC Board, and according to ABC, it should be coming to us soon. There are some citizens that would like to voice their concerns about it, and I think we need to allow them the opportunity to do that before we make a decision on approving his license. There are a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouth from before,” said District 4 Commissioner Tommy McGaha.

In 2018, a 22-year-old was shot and killed at the club, which was then known as Soggy Bottom Tavern.

“We would invite him to come back and make any presentations he has. We should have all of his paperwork by then, and I’ve heard from two or three citizens who have expressed concerns. At least we can consider all that and hear from everyone involved,” Chairman Greg White added.

Revenue Commissioner Chuck Patterson gave an update on the collection of the county’s property taxes.

“We have recalculated all of the property taxes in the county. We’re at $500,253,000 worth of appraised value of all the buildings, land, and homes in Covington County. We have a homestead exemption of $84,662,000 against that, so the total assessed in tax values is $415,591,000. Taxes did increase this year by approximately 10 percent because of the state’s calculation,” Patterson said.

In other business:

• The commission approved a lease as presented for the firing range to be used by the Covington County Sheriff’s Office for the next two years with an option to include four additional years. Commissioners approved the lease by a 2-1 vote.
• The commission announced the cancellation of the second meeting for August due to scheduling conflicts.
• The commission approved the solicitation of bids for emulsified asphalt and prime and the purchase of two new 15-foot Rhino bush hogs for the Engineer’s Department.

The next meeting of the Covington County Commission will be held Tuesday, Sept. 13, 9 a.m., at the Covington County Administration Building. The public is invited to attend.