City To Build Sewer Plant
By HOLLY TINNEY
In a special called meeting on Thursday, Feb. 20, Monticello City Council members Gail Harrell and Jenny Murphy, along with Mayor Pro-Tem Doug Currie and Mayor DeAshley Thurman made swift action with only one agenda item and three action items.
Mrs. Harrell motioned to amend the agenda to include an executive session to the agenda to discuss real estate. The one agenda item was Chad Peden from Carter & Sloope, Inc. Mr. Peden presented members with general common practices for waste water management.
His recommendation for the city of Monticello’s wasteload application is to build a mechanical treatment facility. His proposal is for a facility at Pearson Creek, that can be configured to suit the needs for our water treatment.
This option presents room for potential future growth of the community, at a cost of $10-15 million, as opposed to original estimated costs upward of $15 million. Of course, preliminary engineering estimates will provide a more accurate estimate, even with market fluctuations and actual costs.
Regardless of the methods or facilities, Mr. Peden asked the council to provide authorization for his firm to begin communications with the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, as project/plan approval and paperwork process can take upwards of nine to 12 months, and EPD has set a 36 month time frame for the municipality to come into compliance.
Initiating correspondence with EPD shows good faith intentions to come into compliance, which can facilitate leniency when dealing with non-compliance fines, which can accrue daily after the deadline has passed. Bonds for the project were discussed briefly, and can be explored more in-depth once the 2024 city audit is completed. The City Manager assured council it would be completed as soon as they could find a firm to complete it.
In the action portion of the meeting, Mr. Currie motioned for correspondence to be sent to the EPD, indicating Pearson Creek for the intended treatment facility and it was passed unanimously. The second item on the agenda was the parking lot lease update, in which members Mesdanes Harrell and Murphy shared that they have visited the lot, and noted 13 parking spaces, with the possibility to add a 14th, as opposed to the owner’s original statement of 16 spaces.
During their visit, they observed broken asphalt, apparently caused by the growth of tree roots from the trees that surround the lot. David Leach, the lot owner, does not wish for trees to be removed, and the city does not wish to be responsible for repairing broken asphalt, now or in the future after continued damage.
City Manager Lathaydra Sands reminded city council that one of the spaces would also have to be made ADA compliant. For the cost of $400 monthly, the city would be adding 13-14 parking spaces available for public use. The council members present moved to postpone any action on the agreement, citing further negotiations necessary on the proposal.
The third and final action item was a Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) project for 2025, and the City Manager made the recommendation of reporting Spruce Street as the 2025 project. Mrs. Harrell made the motion to reflect the manager’s recommendation, the members agreed unanimously, and the council adjourned to an executive session. After their executive session, members voted to place the Mine Lake property out for bids for 60 days.
