Council O.K.s Zoning Change for Car Lot
The Monticello City Council met and had a shorter agenda than previous months, voting unanimously to approve amended text of the zoning ordinance for the city, Article IX, Section 909, Central Business District, to include sales of passenger vehicles as a use permitted by right. The vote was 4-0, as councilwoman Katherine Alexander was not in attendance.
The amendment came before council after Josh Arnold, owner of Monticello Motors, Inc. filed the application. According to City Manager, Peggy Billerman, Mr. Arnold is planning to purchase a lot on Funderburg Drive (the previous Bill’s Dollar Store), and to make it a used car sales lot.
The recommendation came to the council after Planning and Zoning met and recommended it be approved.
The council also voted to pass the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan that is to be updated every five years for Jasper County. Melissa Slocumb, Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director, came before the board and explained that there was no financial cost associated with the plan, in which the city is obligated. She explained that this was a federal requirement through FEMA and was a draft stating that Jasper County was vulnerable to severe thunderstorms, tornados, vulnerable populations and hazardous materials.
The council also voted to turn the Church at Monticello’s lease renewal and rent reduction request over to the Downtown Development Authority, now that there are members on that authority. Jason Parr came before council in a previous meeting to discuss this matter, but the council noted that it was the DDA’s building and lease and therefore should be decided by that board.
The council voted to approve a new Electronic Communication and Internet Policy that was redone and approved by Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA). The new policy will hold employees accountable for their internet use and make the employees liable for any inappropriate use while employed with the City of Monticello. This policy was an updated, more thorough policy than was previously used.
The council also voted to reimburse the citizen at 249 Culver Street for the sewer portion of their bill which had been extremely high, due to there being a problem with their meter. Mayor Pro tem Bobby Jacobs asked the council that the resident be reimbursed on the sewer portion of the bill, as the water portion had already been reimbursed for the excessive bill and that Monticello was a 100 percent match on water and sewer.
The resident will be reimbursed for the same amount that was reimbursed on the water side of the bill, about $1,500.
This sparked some discussion on how the city employees should not do work on private property, and how the situation at this residence could have been handled better.
The council also approved the City Manager to buy a transformer, as there are no spares at the electric department, and 24 power poles.
They also approved repair to the air conditioner on the third floor of the city complex which houses the rental spaces, and gave its o.k. to order the parts for the leaf vacuum for the streets department. This cost was $16,200 and each cost will come out of that departments’ budget.
