Monticello City Council Plans Town Hall Meeting, Transfers Title

Monticello City Council members handled some routine business matters Tuesday evening in regard to operating the city office while approving several items and tabling others.

County Manager Mike Benton presented the council with a request to transfer the title of Fire Station #3 to the county for purposes of the Insurance Services Offices, Inc. (ISO) rating. ISO provides a rating for each county based upon the number of factors related to fire and property damage risk. It also is a determining factor in the insurance premiums property owners must pay, a lower rating means lower premium whereas higher ratings results in higher premiums.

ISO requires that the fire facilities be owned by the county in order to maintain the county’s rating, according to a letter from the county attorney. It was discovered that the fire station in question is titled to the city instead of the county. Thus Mr. Benton requested that title be transferred to the county and in turn the county will execute a first right of refusal in favor of the city with a purchase price of $1.

Council members approved the transfer by 4-0 vote, councilman Larry Thurman was not present.

Council members also heard from Downtown Development Authority (DDA) President Wendall Yoder about the purchase of Christmas decorations for the downtown area. The council had previously approved $20,000 for the holiday décor.

Mr. Yoder said the project was placed for bid and only two bids were received, none from a local business. The lowest bid was from Universal Concepts for $21,575 and any amount over the allocated amount would be paid by DDA, noted the president.

Councilman David Wease said that he was against spending the money on decorations as Mayor Gail Harrell reminded him the money had already been budgeted. Councilwoman Jenny Murphy asked what the decorations would entail and whether the bid included installation.

Mr. Yoder responded that the décor would include new lights and a star for the large tree, lighted archways, garland, bows, and lights for the light posts and monument. He said installation would have to be completed by local personnel. The bid was approved by a vote 3-1 with Councilman Wease dissenting.

Also, council members voted to host a Town Hall meeting for citizens to voice their concerns about city government matters. The meeting was set for Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers.

Other action taken included appointing Billy Bryant and A.J. Stewart to the Planning and Zoning Committee; appointing Dee Garland to the 911 Authority; and approving the second reading of the alcohol code amendment.

The council is also seeking to fill two vacancies on the Ethics Committee.

City Manager LaThaydra Sands provided an update on several items in the works including the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) slated for 2023; a Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) grant application; sewer expansion project; short term rental contract; the preview of Curse of Bridge Hollow filmed on location in Monticello last year; and an invitation to the ECG annual meeting in December.

Mayor Harrell informed council that an outside mediator will conduct the LOST mediation between the county, city, and Shady Dale on Friday, Oct. 21.

Also, discussed was the possibility of rebranding the city with a new logo. City Manager Sands noted that the city of Jackson had done so and was seeking to know if the council was interested. Councilwoman Murphy said that she was not against rebranding with a new logo but noted that there are costs associated with it at a time when more urgent tasks could use their attention. Councilwoman Cynthia Miller and Mayor Pro Tem Doug Currie agreed as well.

Council members agreed to keep the revolving loan fund utilized by the DDA and tabled a vote on onboarding credit checks for future city employees.

There were no council comments to close the meeting. Two citizens opened the meeting with comments. Roberta Anderson of Frobel Street asked for clarity on the updates for Funderburg Park. She said that the red dirt areas are not friendly to park goers. The Get Ahead House director also thanked the city council for extending the organization’s budget funding.

Rev. William Gibson also spoke about Funderburg Park. He said that the basketball goals had no netting which was helpful when kids are learning the sport. He also urged cooperation in the city and people loving one another.