John Willoughby: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Madison County Planner Jeanne Bass said farewell at the end of March and stepped into a new chapter in her life as she retired and plans to go back to traveling with her husband, Ben Bass.
Bass was born in Texas and raised in New Rochelle, NY until she was 15. Bass graduated from Wolfson High School, in Jacksonville; and attended Florida Junior College, where she received her Associates in Arts. Bass went on to graduate from the University of North Florida, with a Bachelor in Arts, in 1986. Bass also became a licensed real estate broker in 1986.
Bass moved to Madison in 1998, after she and Ben Bass had gotten married in 1995. In 2006, Bass assumed the role as County Planner, working under County Coordinator at the time, Alan Cherry. Before going to work for the county, Bass stated that Madison County had been utilizing the regional planning council, in Gainesville, but because Madison County was starting to pick up economically, the county needed a position for someone to focus just on Madison County.
As Planner, Bass was a part of a visioning project, titled Vision 2010. In this visioning project was the notion of extending water and sewer to four Madison County interchanges: County Road 255, County Road 14, State Road 53 South, and US Hwy. 221. Going through a comprehensive plan and grants from the State of Florida and the Department of Community Affairs, the water/sewer line project was approved. Because there was not enough money, water/sewer was not sent out to the County Road 14 interchange at the time.
As a part of a great economic development growth, Loves Truck Stop established a business on County Road 255 and a truck stop with a triple-chain restaurant (Subway, Wendy's and Dairy Queen) were established on State Road 53 South. "That was one of the first big projects," said Bass. During her time as Planner, Bass had the pleasure of trying to establish a Walmart Superstore in Madison. The site plan was permitted and ready to go in 2008, but unfortunately, Walmart pulled 488 shovel-ready projects, including the Madison store. Bass stated she tried years after that to bring Walmart back.
Other projects in which Bass took part included the extension of the Four Freedoms Trail from Hansen to the City of Madison, running parallel to Colin Kelly Hwy. through the Rails to Trails program. Bass also helped put the playground and restrooms in the Pinetta area. Through the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program, Bass was able to improve the Cherry Lake beach facility by putting in a playground. "All this stuff takes years," said Bass. "There's a lot of work that goes into preparing the information, submitting the information, following through, and then closing them out. You usually don't get anything done within a year."
Bass stated that she enjoyed working with the people during her time as Planner. When asked what she enjoyed the most about working with Alan Cherry and current County Coordinator Brian Kauffman, she stated "They're both similar in some ways, and different in others. As long as you do your job, they let you do your job. Both of them have been very easy going too."
Jeanne Bass retired from the Madison County Planner position after 11 years. She plans to go back to traveling with her husband, Ben Bass.
Brain Kauffman made a statement about Bass and her time with the county. "We will certainly miss Jeanne," said Kauffman. "She was a valuable asset here."