ADRIAN MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2021,

WORKSHOP: 5:30PM, MEETING 6:00PM

ADRIAN ANNEX, NORA BLVD., ADRIAN, GA. 31002

 

I. Call Meeting to Order: Mayor Smith called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.

 

II. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance: All in attendance stood for the pledge.

 

III. Adoption of Agenda: CM Hutchinson made a motion to adopt the agenda including an executive session. Motion seconded by CM Love. Motion carried by CM Yawn, CM Griffin, and CM Brown. Motion passed. Agenda adopted.

 

IV. Announcements: None

 

V. Public Speakers: None

 

VI. Adoption of Minutes:  CM Hutchinson made a motion to adopt the February 8th minutes. Motion seconded by CM Love. Motion carried by CM Brown, CM Yawn, and CM Griffin. Motion passed. Minutes adopted.

 

VII. Reconciliations: Not ready

 

VIII. Unfinished Business:

1. Alarm System: CM Love stated she has been looking into the weather alarms and will be getting some quotes soon. Two of the people she spoke with will be coming this week to give their quotes. She also spoke with Dr. Kelley about getting a grant for the system and was told there are a few grants that could cover 45%-50% of the cost.

2. Ditches: Mayor Smith reported that the ditches are being worked on and look good. There are some more that will be done soon, including one CM Griffin asked about.

3. Community Center Porch: Mayor Smith stated that the Community Center porch is almost completed. If the weather holds up this week they will be done. It looks good so far.

4. Mosquito Sprayer: Mayor Smith stated that she has been told by several people that the mosquito sprayer won’t help solve the problem. They suggested trying out a pellet that is out into running water. The city already has them available and will be trying it first before spending the money on the sprayer.

 

IX. New Business:

1. Water Bills: Mayor Smith spoke to the council about several issues concerning the water bills. The council agreed that the water bills need to be paid in full on the 20th of every month and cutoff will be done first thing on the 21st. This is how everything is stated in the ordinance and it will now be followed.

2. Old Water Accounts: Letters will be sent out to some past due water accounts giving them a certain amount of days to pay the balance.

3. Grant through EPA: Mayor Smith stated that she is working on the grant with the EPA again. They help the city with the whole process and the grants can be up to $300,000. She will let the council know when there is progress made.

4. Land Survey: Mayor Smith stated that some property needed to be surveyed in order to complete some of the maintenance. She has contacted a company the city used in the past.

5. Laptops: Mayor Smith stated that both laptops at City Hall are no longer working. The original laptop has a cracked screen and the newer one is dead. Danny from quick computer repair looked at both and said the first was not worth repairing and the newer one he will be contacting the manufacturer. Danny quoted a laptop for a price of $689 to purchase a new laptop in a 4-1 vote. CM Brown voted against the motion.  

6. Meals for kids: CM Hutchinson and CM Love are in charge of giving out the meals at the Community Center. The program started on March 3rd and is through the Johnson County School system. Each Wednesday meals can be picked up from 11:30 to 12:30. There will be 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches provided. While on the subject of Johnson County the Mayor announced about a hot spot. There was a hotspot provided by Johnson County available to the public intended for students to use.  The hotspot is at the Community Center and the password will be posted shortly. Chief Strickland suggested putting a time frame for the use of the hotspot. 

7. Southern Software Proposal: Mayor Smith stated that the city clerk was unable to start training for bank reconciling due to the state of the accounts in the system. There were items that were entered incorrectly and other errors dating back to January. Because of this Southern Software offered to catch the general, water, and court account up to date. CM Hutchinson made a motion to accept the proposal from Southern Software and to pay for each out of the individual accounts. Motion seconded by CM Yawn and carried by CM Love and CM Griffin. CM Brown voted against the motion.

8. Knapp Building: Mayor Smith spoke with Shannon Watkins about taking down the Ice House and part of the Knapp Building. He stated that he was unable to give a price estimate until he can see inside of the Knapp building to see what all needs to be done. The council agreed to get a contract and price of what it would cost to take down the Ice House alone.

 

X. Reports:

Department Head Reports

1. Fire Department- Chief Yawn reported that there had been 5 first responder calls and one MVA call for the month of January and 4 first responder calls and one woods fire call for the month of February. Two new personnel will be attending first responder training in Swainsboro. The department had their oxygen bottles tested and 9 out of 10 passed. There are two air packs that need to be repaired.

2. Street/Water Department- CM Brown had nothing to report. Mayor Smith asked if CM Yawn would like to give a report. CM Yawn stated that everything is going good. There has been a few water lines dug up and they found a cut off they were unaware of.

3. Police Department- Chief Strickland stated he had a lot he wanted to cover with his report. He started off stating that the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Dinner went extremely well. They held a small road check after and they all had a good time. Next he stated that they are still waiting on GDOT approval for the camera at the traffic light. After that he announced that there was a dog kennel donated to the animal control effort by Ethel and Lenard Andrews. He took the time to set up a holding facility for the dogs. All of the materials and food were donated as well. He posted on Facebook that as of March 1st they would be fully enforcing the animal control ordinance. They will be issuing city ordinance citations and holding dogs for 24 hours. There is a $25 holding fee. After 24 hours the dog will be transferred to Swainsboro Animal Shelter to be rehomed. They will make their best effort to contact any owners who he knows of for the dogs. There has been an excellent response and 1 citation has been written so far. In response to the change they have seen Jack and Kim Fleming donated $500 to support the animal control effort.  The next issue he moved onto was complaints he heard about the truck purchased for the police department. He stated that the he heard it was a “waste of tax payers’ money.” That statement is untrue. The truck was paid for out of the court account which is money accumulated from fines and fees. They are still waiting on a grant for the radar. He then covered the striping of the truck stating that they are following the laws. Striping is only necessary for writing speeding tickets. He followed by announcing that total brought in for citations this year so far and that the safety of the city has increased. Lastly he presented Officer Renfroe and Office Claxton with awards for their 1 year of service.

4. Safety Department- CM Hutchinson reported that she spoke with Felicia about the Safety Grant and she will be getting the information together for her. The grant is due in October.

5. Recreation Department- CM Griffin stated that they will be receiving a donation for cabinets for the Rec Dept. from Sammy Floss.  CM Griffin is currently looking into a hot water tank/ in line hot water for the concession stand.

 

Council Members

1. Julie Griffin- Briefly spoke about the event the council approved the previous month- the event was canceled and moved to a different area.

2. Suzanne Hutchinson- Spoke to Chief Yawn asking if the Fire Dept could repaint the fire hydrants in town.

3. Jesse Yawn- Nothing to report.

4. Michelle Love- Already went over what she wanted to speak about.

5. Ed Brown- Nothing to report.

 

Mayor Wynola Smith stated that she needed to speak in executive session

 

XI. Executive Session: CM Hutchinson made a motion to go out of regular session and into executive session at 7:19pm. Motion seconded by CM Love. Motion carried by CM Griffin, CM Yawn, and CM Brown.

 

XII. Call Regular Meeting to order: CM Yawn made a motion to go out of executive session and into regular session at 7:30pm. Motion seconded by CM Love. Motion carried by CM Brown, CM Hutchinson, and CM Griffin.

 

XIII. Adjournment: CM Hutchinson made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 pm. Motion seconded by CM Love. Motion carried by CM Yawn, CM Griffin, and CM Brown.