Monticello Council Hears About Code Enforcement
The Monticello City Council, at its regular meeting Tuesday evening, held the first reading to adopt the county’s code of ordinances concerning code enforcement.
The second reading will be held next month, and when they will presumably be adopted. At that time the city will be ready to hire a code enforcement officer, and will begin prosecuting cases in Magistrate Court.
The city and county have been working on this for months, or even years, with the emphasis being in the last few months.
The city also heard from Michele Celani with an update from the Downtown Development Authority. Ms. Celani told the Council that construction is underway on the Shoppes at Monticello. There will be nine 10×10 storefronts painted to look like historic buildings in town. They will be rented, and youth will have free space in the building.
She also said they are developing a youth advisory council. She asked that the City Council members allow students to shadow them to learn about government.
She talked about Small Business Saturday on November 28, and she asked council members to be present. She said that DDA is planning two raffles—one for a scooter and one for a tablet. She gave the results of a survey the DDA did of golfers at the Chamber of Commerce (COC) that showed a desire for more restaurants, and support for art programs, live music, and a tour of homes, among other items.
Council learned that a recent surplus equipment sale raised some $18,982 for the city.
During citizen comments, Lillie Gotel spoke about changing the name of Blue Ruin Street. She said that many on the street did not know of the proposed name change, and that they have a problem with it. She said it’s nothing personal, but there are many elderly and with medical conditions.
Dessa Roberts complained about the condition of the roads, particularly Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., Funderburg Drive and Sands Drive. She complained about potholes, and went on to say people are living in homes unfit for habitation, and she also complained about the city not picking up limbs. She said that in 40+ years in Monticello, she never saw it looking so bad. She said houses need to be torn down. Then she talked about a house on Smith Street.
Roberta Anderson thanked the city for what it does for Get Ahead House (GAH), but said she has a problem. She said that the city workers won’t cut the grass at the GAH, and if they do they won’t weed-eat or blow.She said the city gives them $2,800 a month which has to be used to pay for teachers, light bill, phone bill, and food.
In the city manager’s report, Angela Redding responded to the citizen comments from last month. She talked about upcoming projects including Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG), 2018 SPLOST project, bridge on Bonner Street, and the joint paving project on College Street with the county.
She also mentioned early voting which is currently under way, and encouraged those who have not responded to the census to do so.
