Monticello Council Makes Appointments

The Monticello City Council, in their regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening, voted 4-1 to approve the 2011 appointments of Bob Schwartz as City Manager, Peggy Billerman as City Clerk, Bobby Norris as Police Chief, E. Ray Lanier as Judge of the Municipal Court and M. Joseph Reitman, Jr. as City Attorney. Mayor Pro Tem Russell Gross cast the lone dissenting vote.

Also retained but not appointed were Robert Jordan as City Engineer and Timothy Bumann as Judge of the Municipal Court Pro Tem.

The council met in a closed session for this purpose prior to the open meeting scheduled for 7 p.m., which began a little late.
A change to the City Charter was also on the agenda to stagger the elections of council members, mayor pro tem and the mayor. During the discussion period of this item Mayor Glenn Newsome explained the purpose of this change was to see that the Council always had some experienced members serving. In the upcoming election, three positions would be elected for two years and three positions for four years.

Any change in a city charter has to go before the legislature and be approved by the state. In the past the elected member of the state legislature would not take the issue before the legislature unless it was approved unanimously. A motion was made to take action to initiate this change in the city’s charter and submit to the state for adoption. It passed unanimously. After the initial terms, each will serve four year terms.
{{more}}
Also discussed in depth was a long time downtown water leak in front of the Big Chic restaurant. After several unsuccessful attempts to find the leak the project was turned over to City Engineer Robert Jordan, who took on the task in November. Mr. Jordan’s first plan was to depressurize the water lines to find the leak, which they have been unable to do. The new plan is to turn off certain valves and install Inserta Valves in order to replace the defective valves and depressurize at a cost of $17,600. A motion was made and unanimously approved to proceed with this plan at a cost not to exceed $20,000, which would come from the water and sewer bond fund. A motion was also approved to get bids on replacing all the water valves downtown.

Monticello Police Chief Bobby Norris said the city collected $4,613 in fines and fees for the month. He also reported that citations were written for over $10,000, but that over $6,000 of that amount was suspended by the city court. He also reported the loss of one officer to an adjacent county, and the replacement of that officer by a part time officer who could be elevated to full time in the future. Another item brought forth by Chief Norris was the high mileage and depleting situation of the force’s three vehicles, and the need of replacement in the near future.

Mr. Jordan, along with a representative from the vendor, gave an update on the Automatic Meter Reading project, which has fallen behind the projected schedule. It was reported that 70 percent of the gas meters, 75 percent of the electric meters, and 100 percent of the water meters had been installed, and that the delay had been caused by the weather and other logistics. A new goal date for completion was established for the end of February.

Once again Mr. Jordan was called upon for an update on the Community Development Block Grant for sewer repairs. He reported he was almost finished mapping the sewer system in the project area and has begun work on the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the initial evaluation of the sewer system. The cost is estimated at $400,000 or more to update the sewer system, as required by the EPA. A target date to start the project has been set for late summer or fall.

There was a resolution before the Council to approve a $100,000 draw down from the competitive trust, which has a balance of approximately $240,000. The purpose, as approved in the FY2011 budget, was to pay for a playground at Westview Park and the city’s contingency fund. Councilperson Bobby Jacobs made a motion to reduce the draw down to only $50,000, which was approved unanimously.

The Council took other action as follows:
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance that allows partial payment of the wine and beer pouring license.
• Voted to adopt an outdoor watering ordinance as required by state law.
• Voted to adopt an on-bill financing ordinance with a matching grant through Electric Cities of GA to provide some funding for the financing of energy efficient electric appliances and home improvements.
• Agreed on a plan to bring a revised policy to Council for review at the next regular meeting.
• Voted to approve a check-gas-meter installation at the source of supply, as recommended by the gas/electric committee.
Also, in an item not listed on the agenda, Mr. Jacobs made a motion to instruct the county manager to draft a signing sheet for utility workers to understand how to properly implement utility policies, which passed unanimously.

Before adjournment, Mr. Newsome scheduled a called executive session meeting on February 3, to discuss personnel, and announced the next regular monthly meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, February 8 at 7 p.m.