Monticello Council Hears from Residents
The Monticello City Council Tuesday heard from residents about work that needs to be done around the city. Doug Currie went to the council with some concerns about water run-off both on Funderburg Drive and on Forsyth Street.
Bobby Sutton complained that the street department rides around too much and doesn’t pick up debris when it is lying on the road.
Vera Roberts expressed her concern to council about houses in the historic district of Funderburg Drive that need to be taken down because they are so dilapidated. Council members heard the concerns, and agreed to look into each. The city manager was also on hand, and will check into some of the situations.
The council heard from Pam Mayer on both the Chamber of Commerce (COC) and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA). Mrs. Mayer talked about the success of the recent job fair, teacher appreciation program and the Market on the Square. She said that they had issued two film permits recently for filming somewhere in the county, but details are still confidential. She talked about the increase in tourists at the Market, and said there will be a coffee call on Thursday, August 16, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Thomas Persons Hall to show off improvements there.
She told of a museum exhibit coming here, that is a Smithsonian traveling exhibit, and it will be in Monticello December 7, 2019 until January 11, 2020. She said as time gets closer she will offer more details.
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Mrs. Mayer talked about the DDA, and said that Wanda Cummings had resigned, and she wanted to name Tamala Alexander to the board. Council agreed and approved Mrs. Alexander. She said they are starting to meet every two weeks because so much is happening. She named the officers board members, and they include Judy Hunsucker, chair; Martha King, vice-chair; Russell Watts, treasurer. Mrs. Mayer will serve as secretary and director for the DDA.
She also said they need to sit down and review park rules and regulations, as a lot of people still don’t know to go through the COC to get permission to use the parks. She also said a lot of work needs to be done on the Square and she will bring a proposal for that work to the council next month.
Mayor Pro Tem Stone Workman attended a session on Service Delivery Strategy at the Georgia Municipal Authority convention recently. He said that the city makes up 12.4 percent of the tax digest. He said in the last five years, the county has spent no money in the city on Code Enforcement or roads and bridges, but meanwhile the county has spent plenty in the county. According to the county budget figures, he said, Monticello citizens have aided the county over the last 10 years with more than a million dollars because of what he says is double taxation.
The cities and the county plan to sit down next month and discuss Service Delivery, and the idea is to eliminate double-taxation. They must come to an agreement by the end of October. Two previous meetings have resulted in little headway being made. Mr. Workman suggested rather than all of them sitting down together that one person from each entity and the lawyer for each entity try to reach a decision.
Council members talked about installing crosswalks on Post Road at the Never Too Late home for boys, and on Hillsboro Street for St. James Missionary Baptist Church.
Also during the meeting, Mr. Workman responded to a “tirade” last week by Commission Chairman Carl Pennamon, saying that he said Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) is designed to end double-taxation. That is not true, said Mr. Workman, LOST is merely a distribution of taxes by where they originate.
Furthermore, said Mr. Workman, the county keeps bringing up the sheriff, and the sheriff is not considered part of SDS. He said that Mr. Pennamon said the city refuses to negotiate, and that is just not true; the two entities have met twice, and will meet again.
Lastly, Mr. Workman said that the county attorney finally told the county that it cannot put consolidation on the ballot.
Mayor Bryan Standifer then said that the county claims we put a gag order on them. He then referred to a meeting that was tailored to discuss SDS, and the idea was to have one speaker for the city and one for the county. He thought, he said, that the commission would have one voice. The commission took offense at the idea of only one person talking.
