Council Hears from Residents
The Monticello City Council met last Tuesday, October 7 with all members present.
With little discussion council unanimously approved the three action items on the agenda including approving the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Amendments, the City’s Fraternization Policy and the purchase of a Mud Vac Machine at the price of $58,500 for the Gas Department.
The cost includes delivery and training and is a machine that can be shared with the water department.
It was also reported that gas department received more revenue than anticipated and the electric department sold more electricity than expected.
Citizens comments included Cindy Pride, a resident of Oak Ridge Subdivision talking about the bad conditions of the streets in her neighborhood and asked Council members to keep the streets of Oak Ridge in their discussions for road improvements.
Mayor Pro-tem Doug Currie shared that he would like the Board of Commissioners (BOC) to begin using impact fees for roads when developers built subdivisions to help with their long term upkeep.
Craig Lashley, a Washington Street business owner, asked the Council if they had come to any decisions regarding his requests from a previous city council meeting regarding the traffic problems at Washington and Church streets.
Council stated they have approved having DOT look at the intersection for their possible assistance. Council also advised they were investigating whether it was possible to lower the speed limit to 25mph for all streets within the city limits.
Wanda Cummings, a W. Greene Street resident, asked if the city had changed its limb pick rules or schedules since the limbs in front of her house had not been picked up. Citing personnel issues, she was assured that the limbs on her street would be picked up within the week. She also asked about the dates of the annual Christmas tree lighting which is scheduled for the evening of November 30 after the end of the Chamber of Commerce sponsored Christmas parade.
Council update included information that a Town Hall Meeting with the Mayor is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 6pm in City Council Chambers. The city is participating in the annual Breast Cancer Walk on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Funderburg Park starting at 8:30 a.m. A car show is scheduled on this Saturday, Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hillsboro Community Center to raise money for the Hillsboro Schoolhouse and Haunticello on the Square is on October 31.
Council also asked to be notified of city streets that need to be cleaned and a Lunch and Learn for city employees on retirement is at noon on Thursday, Oct. 31.
The Get Ahead House has asked for a proclamation from the city in support of National Substance Use Prevention Month at an event on the square in Monticello on October 25, during the National Red Ribbon Week of October 23-31.
The FY 2021 audit is mostly complete with plans under way to hopefully finish FY 2022 audit by the end of December. Once caught up with the back audits, the city will begin doing its own audits.
