The April meeting of Gray’s City Council began with a tribute to the Jones County Library in honor of National Library Week.
Mayor Ed Barbee called the April 4 meeting to order and in his mayor’s report talked about Jack’s Restaurant that opened that morning and the upcoming opening of Tractor Supply.
Barbee asked Julie King, branch manager of the Jones County Library, to come forward and presented her with a city proclamation for National Library Week. He noted the recent addition of a part-time person at the library and the addition of Saturday hours.
Barbee, in his capacity as mayor, serves as a member of the Jones County Library Board of Trustees.
The council meeting was adjourned to go into a public hearing to hear a zoning item. The request was for a variance to allow reduced front setbacks on two lots in Nature’s Walk Subdivision.
Councilman Terry Favors said he looked at the properties and was concerned that the request had something to do with a large hole in the back of the lots. One of the residents on a connecting property spoke at the hearing, stating his concern that if approved the variance would allow the plat to encroach on his property.
City Attorney John Newberry assured the resident that was not the case. He said the variance was to allow the placement of houses on the two pie-shaped lots to conform with other homes on the street.
The resident then stated he was not against the variance as long as the lots are leveled and would not cross his property line.
A spokesperson for Avery Communities that was requesting the variance said the large hole would be filled in and the lots would be leveled. He said reason for the request was to allow the homes to be moved closer to the road to provide unity with the surrounding homes.
The P&Z staff report said without the variance, the homes built on the two lots in question would be set behind the neighboring houses. The report stated that a similar request was approved for the subdivision in 2018.
The hearing was adjourned, and the council meeting resumed.
Mayor Pro Tem James Collins made a motion to approve the variance, but the motion died without a second. Newberry said without a motion to approve the variance, the request was denied.
Resolutions
Council members approved three resolutions that were previously discussed in the All Committees Meeting. Each of the resolutions was unanimously approved.
The first was authorizing an agreement between the city and IPR Southeast that was awarded the contract for a sewer rehabilitation project. The contract is in the amount of $549,765 and was approved at a called meeting following the March 21 All Committees meeting.
Council approved a resolution to purchase the property located at 102 East Clinton Street that sits directly in front of City Hall for the amount of $425,000. No indication was given for the use of the property.
The final resolution was to amend the city’s budget to include the updated budget for Main Street Gray in the amount of $52,500. The budget amendment was the result of the council’s decision to bring Main Street Gray back under the city as a separate department.
Barbee was also authorized to sign credit applications with Snider Fleet Solutions for the Gray Fire Department and American Hose and Hardware for public works. City Clerk Cindy Yancey clarified that the fire department purchase would be for 16-ply tires for the city’s ladder truck and the public works purchase would be for hoses for tractors and other city equipment.
The next meeting for Gray’s City Council is scheduled April 18.
