City Council Agrees To MOA With Development Authority

Monticello City Council members entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Development Authority of Jasper County (DAJC) to obtain a bond with a potential business.

The action came after a brief executive session for real estate purposes with Tony Rogers of the DAJC during a special called meeting Tuesday afternoon.

With all council members in attendance, also approved was the first reading of the building regulations ordinance.

With regards to building regulations, council members briefly took up discussions involving the chain of command following a building permit issue that occurred last week. Currently, the city has a moratorium on all building permits. A county resident needed a demolition permit for property owned in the city, which was acquired from county personnel instead of city personnel.

Instead of contacting the city offices for direction, the resident made personal contact with a council member who settled the matter.

Councilman Tim Womack inquired as to what the process is in a matter such as that going forward, as he didn’t understand what the relationship was between the county and city government.

City Clerk Carnethia Pennamon explained that while the city has a moratorium on building permits, before hiring an ordinance employee, city permits were handled by the county. However, demolition permits have always been handled by the city.

Council also approved an invoice in the amount of $6,230 payable to Emerald Transformers for work completed on behalf of the electric department.

Action on approving a bid from Bautista Welding to install a gate at the electric and gas building was postponed. The bid was for $11,000 and the council thought it was a bit pricey.