Monticello Council Hears from Residents

The Monticello City Council handled its routine business expeditiously at its regular meeting Tuesday, then heard from two local pastors about their concerns for Monticello.

The council approved the payables with the exception of $8,000 to the Georgia Public Web. Councilman Adam McGinnis, for the second month in a row, questioned what the city is paying for. He wants to get details on the city’s obligation and see if there is some way to get out of paying that expense.

Councilwoman Jackie Smith said she agreed that they need to look into it further and see what we can do. She said it has not provided us with the benefits we expected.
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Council discussed that $24,000 had been spent in the last three months, and with the city’s current financial situation, it would be good to be rid of that expense.

Mayor pro-tem Otis Clark and Councilman Bryan Standifer voted against the motion to approve the payables with the exception of the Georgia Public Web.

When asked, City Manager Walter Smith said the city has a 30 day grace period which will give the council time to study it, and make an informed decision.

J.S. “Chick” Wilson gave the Monticello history segment of the meeting. He told of how bustling the town Square was when he was a child. He told, in some depth, about his memory of working in the packing shed, and at the grocery stores.

He said high school football games were not at night…they were at 3:30 p.m. on Rose Bowl field. He said Monticello and Gray were big rivals. He said the Washington Park School had a six man football team.

Mr. Wilson applauded the town as being a “great town” and said there is a lot of pride in the town.

The city manager reported that work had been completed on the aerator in the small pond that had been causing problems for the last couple of weeks. He said the problem should go away in the next few hours.

The Rev. Jimmy Horton said he wants to congratulate the great city for a job well done. He said he had seen so much improvement in the recent years, and he wanted to thank this group.

He said he wanted to praise the mayor, city manager, and especially the police chief. He said he felt really blessed to live here.

The Rev. Spencer Booker said he came to encourage the city officials. He said he could understand offering criticism, but did not understand those attacking the city. He said he wanted the council and city to identify the critics and try to silence them. He wants to know why local leaders are being attacked and pursued in Atlanta.

He referred to being the spiritual leader for all those persons being attacked, with the exception of the county administrator. “I’m their pastor, their spiritual encouragement,” he said, indicating it troubles him for them to be berated so. He said it was with a heavy heart that he made his remarks.

City Clerk Susan Roper told the council that the tax digest is not ready, and that tax bills will not go out until, possibly, 60 days later than regularly. He said that could put the city in a tight spot when the payment on the building comes due the end of the year.

At the end of the meeting, during council comments, Mr. Sauls asked why the council had stopped giving gifts to the presenters of Monticello history. He said he wanted to give them gifts.

Mrs. Smith said she wants to look into the contract with the county for collecting recycling fees. She said her constituents don’t want to recycle and don’t feel they should be forced to pay for something that they don’t need or want.