Council O.Ks Purchase of Two Trucks

The Monticello City Council voted to approve the purchase of two new trucks for the gas department during its regular meeting Tuesday.

Council members were very vocally appreciative of Richard Martin, Gas Superintendent, seeking state pricing for the two trucks which come in just over $88,100 for both. Money had been budgeted for these vehicles this year in the amount of $131,000. Mr. Martin got the two new trucks for $43,000 under budget according to Doug White, City Manager.

The current trucks used in the gas department have had major issues and been in the shop often this year, according to the city manager. He also commented that the city also received a bill for the Jones County gas line for approximately $24,000 that comes out of the gas department’s budget and the overage saved on the new trucks could be used to pay that.

Mr. White also noted that the City of Monroe founded an educational training, the Georgia Utility Training Academy for all water, sewer and gas employees. He said that there was a $1,500 fee to join the Academy and that for the class fees, City of Monticello employees can attend to aid in keeping and obtaining certifications. Mr. White commented that all of this could be done under what was budgeted for the gas department.

Members of the council voted on fixing the sidewalk on College Street closest to the football field for an amount not to exceed $6,000. The city will use a company for labor and bring in the concrete themselves to save money. This is expected to be completed in time for the first home football game this year.

Council members also decided to put the Urban Redevelopment Plan that was discussed last month and the Job Classification and Wage Determination into the budget for next year. They all agreed that these could be beneficial to the city, but did not want to incur charges that were not budgeted.

The council did however, vote to pass the WEX Government Fleet Card Program which will allow discounts on fuel for city vehicles. Currently the city buys fuel from the county and has a three percent markup. The council was in favor of the fuel program for tax incentives and for accountability of usage. Mr. White explained that each card would be linked to a city vehicle and each individual person would have a PIN number. There are also no initial set-up fees for the program.

There were several citizens in attendance Tuesday and several of them spoke to the need for a code enforcement officer for the city. Most of the citizens commented on how the “Historic Districts,” were becoming run down with complaints of a burned home, vacant homes, abandoned cars, and portable campers in yards in the city.

Most of the citizens were concerned about property values and eyesores. They commented that Monticello is a beautiful city and they needed enforcement to keep it that way. Mr. White did address the citizens as to this issue when prompted by Mayor Bryan Standifer. He stated that he had done some riding throughout the city and he had letters (14) to go out yesterday. He also stated that he had reached out to a third party to come in and do enforcement for the city.

Mayor Standifer also apologized on behalf of the city for the delay in getting this done. He said that they had spent time thinking that they would be using the county code enforcement officer, possibly being led astray, and that had since fallen through.

The council also set up work sessions to review the current personnel policy. They decided on August 25, September 29, and October 27th at 6 p.m. each night.

The council also heard from Judy Williams on her treatment at City Hall from having utilities cut off and late fees due to a payment that had been processed wrong. She also stated that City Hall shouldn’t be closed for lunch as that was a common time for citizens that used services to come in.

During council comments there were several positive comments including one from Mayor Standifer stating that the meeting is always a good meeting when we are saving the city and its citizens money. Councilman Larry Thurman commented that he was appreciative of the city manager being on top of issues before they come before council. He liked the attentiveness and awareness of the city’s needs.

Council woman Jenny Murphy thanked all of the citizens for being in attendance and told them to also reach out to their county commissioner [as far as code enforcement] as the city is in the county and people that live in the city pay both city and county taxes.

David Wease, Council Member, thanked everyone for their concerns and for attending the meeting. He also did his $100 for utilities drawing that he does monthly.