Cedartown City Commissioner members Dale, Tuck, left, and John Barrett, right, receive plaques from Commission Chairman Larry Odom during Monday's regular monthly meeting. Tuck and Barrett completed a lengthy series of courses and received a Certificate of Achievement through the Georgia Municipal Training institute, which is a cooperative effort to GMA and the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government. (Lowell Vickers/thepolkfishwrap.com)
City Manager Charles Akridge explains that a minimum water fee of $8.40 was temporarily taken off household bills last year. City residents have instead been charged only for water used.
Monday night, Akridge informed commissioners that the water department’s budget was suffering now that the fee was no longer being collected.
“For us, revenue wise, we essentially are losing money,” Akridge said.
His recommendation was that the fee be re-instated along with a $1.60 increase to get the water revenue back in the black. A public notice about the fee will show up in next month’s water bills. The minimum fee of $10 is applied to all water customers that use 500 cubic feet of water or less per month. Larger water customers face other fees.
Akridge noted that while any increase in bills is going to be unpopular, the Cedartown charge is less than other nearby communities. Rockmart, for example, charges a minimum fee of $18.74 for access to its city water supply, he said.
In other business Monday night, the commission:
Approved a conditional use request for Jeremy Fulbright, owner of a building in the 400 block of East Gibson Street. The building is zoned as heavy industrial and a conditional use permit is required for his plan to open “a retail food mart and deli style prepared quick service restaurant,” doing business as J&D’s Food Mart.
The application listed the location as “407 and/or 411 E. Gibson St.” Fulbright explained that his building has two addresses -- the county tax records give it one address and the city’s water billing department gives it another. Once commissioners determined there was no confusion about the physical address, the permit was approved.
A public hearing regarding the permit request preceded the regular meeting at 7 p.m. No one raise any objections.
Commissioners also held a public hearing regarding a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant application. The commission will apply for the state grant to support water and sewer system improvements along Central, Marietta and Thompson streets.
The board also heard from two groups who asked to come before the board.
Pastor Lewis Clark, of Cedar Spring Baptist Church, spoke in support of the Cedartown Ministerial Association’s annual Feed the Children Youth Festival. The next event is to be held Saturday, Aug. 14 at Peek Park.
The program distributes canned goods, flour and other food items to local families. Last year’s event provided for about 400 families. Clark said program participants are aiming for 450 this year.
The board approved the group’s request to reserve the park for the event on that date.
Also coming before the board were Rita Mull and Krige Schabort, on behalf of the 11th Annual Cedartown 5K Road Race and Camp, set for June 27 to July 1. The commission promised its support for the event at the same level as last year.
Mull is a volunteer with the annual pushrim wheelchair race, which brings in athletes from all around the world. Schabort is a medal-winning competitor in the event and lives in Cedartown. The event is held a week before the larger Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta each year.
Also Monday, the commission:
Applauded Polk County Commission members John Barrett and Dale Tuck. Both received plaques noting their Certificate of Achievement through the Georgia Municipal Training Institute. They achieved this recognition by completing a series of training seminars offered through the Institute, which is a cooperative effort of GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Designated Feb. 19, National Arbor Day, as Cedartown’s officials observance.
Made plans to attend a Medal of Valor presentation ceremony, scheduled fro 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16 at the Cedartown Fire Department to honor firefighters. Commission Chairman Larry Odom reminded the board that the two men are being recognized as heroes after “they saved a man’s life.” The two pulled 95 Prior St. resident Hal Thompson out of his burning home. The two were off duty and were not equipped with firefighting equipment or any gear when they went in and moved the elderly man to safety.
Heard an update from Johnny Morris, the city’s recreation director, about upcoming little league baseball. Morris said there is a shortage of coaches as “we already have about 100 more kids” than last year.
“We’ve got more teams than we’ve got coaches,” he said.
Morris said about 330 children registered already, compared to about 246 last year. Registration for the senior league, for ages 13-14, will be held later.
Made plans to prepare for the return of the National Guard members from the 108th Calvary. The unit has a barracks here in Cedartown. The Guardsmen are expected to return between March 3-11. A planning session for local plans will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Cedartown City Hall.
Granted permission for local Boy Scouts, working with the Keep Polk Beautiful program, to plant flower bulbs on city property, including Peek Park. The project is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 20.
*also, to cedartownisdead, here is the story about the water building:
Cedartown city buildings in need of repairs; some described as "unsafe"
by Aimee L Harmison
20 months ago | 603 views | 4 4 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Safety concerns about city-owned buildings were aired during the June meeting of the Cedartown Board of Commissioners.
Interim City Manager Tommy Engram told the board that the conditions of city structures were “very unsafe.”
Engram said that there were inoperable fire alarms in every one of the city’s buildings, and many lacked fire extinguishers.
The prognosis for the city’s water plant doesn’t look good, according to Engram. “The city water plant is in danger of falling down or burning down … if a fire takes place before we can get this fixed, then the city’s out of the water business.”
The water plant contains many heart pine beams, a common material used for building in the early 1900s, when the plant was built. “Heart pine is wood that has dried out for years and contains resin. What’s made from resin? Turpentine. If this caught fire, it would go quick.”
There are no fire alarms in the building.
Water damage from leaky gutters and pipes are also proving to contribute to the building’s dilapidation. Engram said it was critical that the water plant is preserved as it provides millions of gallons of water to city residents.
There are other buildings that Engram is also worried about. “The city’s water maintenance building is collapsing on itself and at City Hall, we have a leaking roof and bats.”
The water maintenance building is in bad shape, a fact which is apparent for anyone who walks in.
Doors won’t shut because the foundation is sinking. The building was built on top of a landfill, so there’s no stability. “Dig down into the ground a few feet, and you hit trash,” Engram said.
Baseboards are detached from the floor, because the floor is literally falling away. A set of employee lockers have to be propped up with pieces of wood because the floor is caving in.
In fact, one day after Engram expressed concern over the lack of fire alarms in city-owned buildings, the gym located at the Bert Wood Youth and Athletic Complex caught fire.
Engram said a fire was set intentionally in a garbage can by two juveniles. The fire spread from the can and burned the gym's floor and part of the wall. Had it not been for two good Samaritans who doused the flames with water, Engram said the fire could have taken the whole building.
Engram said not all of the issues could be fixed right away, but the city needed to start looking at creating a five year budget that they can draw on in order to correct these problems.
In other news, the city:
—Approved a land disturbance permit for Byron Slaughter for property located next to the Dollar General Market.
—Approved the use of either the Peek Park parking lot near the tennis courts or the Prior Street ballfield parking lot for the County Extension Agency’s Farmer’s Market.
A rate change passed by the commissioners Monday night hopes to bring in a little more than what’s going out.
The rate change will bring a decrease for some and an increase for others, depending on water and sewage use.
In an earlier interview, Engram said that the city was basically “giving away water to the rich and charging the poor.”
For a typical low use home, 1,500 gallons of water is the average (think single men and women with no family). With the old system, that resident would have been charged $8.40 for water and $8.40 for sewer, a total of $16.80. In fact, that $8.40 charge would have been billed even if the resident had conserved water and only used 750 gallons that month — not exactly fair.
With the new rate system, that resident will be charged for only the water and sewage they use. So, for 1,500 gallons, they will be billed $3.36 for water and $5.04 for sewer, a savings over the old $16.80 charge of over $8.
The savings continue for residents who use 2,250 gallons. Bills will break even and no change in billing will be seen for those residents who use 3,000 gallons.
Though for residents who use more water (think married couples with children), an increase will be seen.
A family that uses 5,000 gallons of water and sewer service per month can expect to see an increase of $5.26. They will be billed $10.08 for water (an incrase from the current charge of $9.97) and $15.12 for sewer (an increase from the current charge of $9.97).
Residents who use 9,000 to 11,250 gallons each month, can expect their bil to climb anywhere from $11 to $14.
Commissioners were disheartened at the news of having to increase some residents’ bills, however they all felt that the change had to be made in order to be fisically responsible.
“I hate to say this because I am a non-tax, non-increasing fee kinda guy, but our rates have been low for a long time, “ said commission chair Larry Odom.
Commissioner Dale Tuck agreed. “We haven’t rasied water rates since 2003 … and anyone sitting in here tonight sees the financial situation we are in. If we don’t do this, what we are left with, is that we’ll be looking like Atlanta, city employees will have to be laid off and furlows for city police and fire.”
Are things better here? No, they are worse! You Moron Mr. Akridge!
Open your eyes, Mayberry is Dieing in front of your eyes!
"Akridge noted that while any increase in bills is going to be unpopular, the
Cedartown charge is less than other nearby communities. Rockmart, for
example, charges a minimum fee of $18.74 for access to its city water supply,
he said." Yet again, am I missing something? Since when did the City of
Cedartown give a CRAP what the comparisions with other cities amount too?
Should we all get some examples together of Rockmart Vs Cedartown? I
bet you dont want us to do that sir!
"Commissioners also held a public hearing regarding a $500,000 Community
Development Block Grant application. The commission will apply for the state
grant to support water and sewer system improvements along Central, Marietta
and Thompson streets." If I remeber correctly when Gary Martin and others
took office, there was an article in the newspaper (ill try to find it) That said
the Cedartown Water Dept was in Dire need of improvements. Paint peeling off
the building, something about "dangerous" materials, dont remember if it was
Lead or asbestos or something. What have you all done to implement any of your
Promises there? What about the safety of the workers? What about the safety
of our water?
"Heard an update from Johnny Morris, the city’s recreation director, about
upcoming little league baseball. Morris said there is a shortage of coaches as
“we already have about 100 more kids” than last year." That would be because
you went back to Little League. But, from what I have experience so far...After
this Joke-of-a-Year your numbers will drop again! Wait and see!