New Mayor Presides Over Meeting

The Monticello City Council held its April monthly meeting Tuesday with newly elected Mayor DeAshley Thurman at the helm as the full council settled several business items.

The first action item of the evening was met with a bit of confusion as the council discussed granting a hardship waiver on a zoning application fee of $250 for a home improvement project planned at 343 Benton Street. The fee was previously waived by the Historic Preservation Commission. The first vote was to deny the hardship waiver 2-2 with Mayor Pro Tem Doug Currie and Jenny Murphy in opposition of approving the waiver and council members David Wease and Larry Thurman for the waiver.

Another vote was taken to approve the waiver which resulted in 2-2 vote as well. Council member Murphy noted that council member Cynthia Miller did not vote on either motion. Thus, a third vote was taken calling for all those in favor of the waiver being granted. It passed on the final vote 3-2.

Council also approved a park reservation request submitted by Sheila Jones of Sands Drive for a second annual Juneteenth Festival to be held June 10 at Sands Drive Park. The event will feature a baseball game, vendors, food, and children’s activities. The approval came after several questions and a drawn out discussion. Also on the agenda was an item to review the city’s park rules and procedures, however it was tabled until next week’s April 20 called meeting for further review.

Mrs. Jones had questions about what rules would be instituted and how would that affect her request and any future requests. She asked what the insurance requirement was for and whether insurance was needed for a birthday party. Mrs. Jones said she thought the insurance was for bounce houses. City Manager LaThaydra Sands explained that insurance is for liability purposes not covered by the city for non-city events.

Mrs. Jones said “it’s like y’all don’t want us to use the park.” She said that the sheriff had been notified of the parade and was on board. She noted that Juneteenth was a federal holiday and acknowledged commentary made as a result of a recent park incident at Funderburg Park.

After adjusting the time request on the reservation application from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. to be in line with the city’s policy of sunrise to sunset, the request was approved 3-0 with council members Murphy, Larry Thurman, and David Wease voting in favor.

Two budget amendments were reviewed and approved. The first was to adjust the city attorney’s budget. The original budgeted amount was $20,000 and Mayor Thurman was approved for $2,865LOST negotiations with the county cause the line item to run over that amount. Council approved $16,000 to cover the current year’s budget overage.

Also amended was the new mayor’s travel budget needed for attendance at the June Annual Convention in Savannah. Mayor Thurman was approved for $2,865 in travel expenses. Council also voted to remove the former mayor from the signature cards and place the new mayor on those items.

Along the lines of administrative task, updates to the city manager’s contract were approved. Mrs. Murphy noted her only issue with the proposed amendments to the contract was the cost of living increase as the new manager makes more than any city manager before and should not be considered for an increase until after one year of employment. The Mayor Pro Tem said he was against 60 days of severance pay but rather 30 days of severance. The contract was approved with the amendments suggested by the city manager by 3-2 vote.

Council heard two brief presentations. Jennifer Lassen introduced herself as the new director of the Chamber of Commerce and a former resident of Eatonton with a lot of organizational experience. Maurica Carter of the Monticello Housing Authority asked the council to consider putting three to six speeds bumps at Funderburg Drive to help slow the speeding vehicles. She said most of the residents had signed a petition in favor of the action.

In other action, council approved appointing Gas Department Director Robbie Colvin as the delegate to the 2023 Gas Authority Annual Election; adopted the fiscal year 2024 budget calendar; approved a text amendment request to allow geckos to be housed on Kelly Lane; and also approved the fourth amendment to the City of Adel agreement to provide utilities.

The city manager’s update included plans for the gas and electric building groundbreaking; updates on the comprehension plan; gas & water system meeting; funding request for the Annual Convention; request from Downtown Development Authority to reimburse $7,000 for Christmas decorations; and informed council of plans to meet with the Concerned Citizens of Monticello next week in regards to park concerns and utility billing.