It would appear that a brewery is in the future for the City of Gray following a unanimous vote by city council members to approve an important step in the process.
Mayor Ed Barbee called the Nov. 4 meeting to order and had a short mayor’s report.
“Vote tomorrow,” he said. A planning and zoning hearing was first on the agenda to consider the request of Anndrea Lampkin and Charles Asbell Jr. for a condition use to allow a brewery on the property at 115 West Clinton Street.
The property was the former home of Chevy’s Pizza that closed Sept. 15.
Zoning Officer Tim Pitrowski presented the request and Asbell spoke to council in support.
“My partner and I are asking for a conditional use. This is the best location for the brewery, and it’s in a C2 zone, as was requested,” he said. “This is prime property. It will be a great attraction for Gray and a boost for the economy.
Barbee asked council members if they had any questions, and they did not. He then asked if there was anyone opposed to the request and got no response.
The hearing was closed, and the meeting reopened.
Barbee stated that the first item of new business was the conditional use to allow the property to be used as a brewery.
Mayor Pro Tem James Collins made the motion to approve the request, and the vote in favor was unanimous among councilmen present.
Councilman Benny Gray was not in attendance.
The mayor commented that he is looking forward to the addition of the new business.
“Word is already getting out,” he said.
Thomas McEachern presented the council with a quote for the city’s workers compensation insurance for the coming year. He said the premium would be $43,866, which is a savings of $3,550 over the previous year.
“Everything else is the same. It’s a nice savings, and I’m happy to present it,” he said.
Collins made the motion to accept the proposal, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Council was unanimous in its approval of a resolution to allow the city to sell surplus equipment.
Next on the agenda was a proposal that was discussed at the Oct. 21 committee meeting. Collins brought up the issue of paying 50 percent of dependent health insurance as an additional benefit for city employees.
The mayor pro tem made the motion to approve the benefit, and it was approved unanimously.
After the approval, Collins noted that he had been approached by an employee before the meeting who wanted to express his gratitude to council members for their help with dependent insurance.
Item five was a similar request, this time concerning retiring employees. The request was authorization to allow employees who meet the 75-rule retirement requirement to stay on the city’s insurance with the city paying 50 percent of the cost until the former employee is eligible for Medicare.
Collins asked that that item be postponed and discussed in the next committee meeting. He made the motion to postpone the agenda item, and council agreed unanimously.
The final agenda item pertained to an effort of the city to get a refund of sales taxes that were paid to vendors during the upgrade of Gray’s wastewater treatment plant.
The request was to authorize Barbee to sign a letter to vendors asking them to provide all sales tax information for the project to the tax specialist of Georgia Southeast.
Collins made the motion, and it was approved unanimously.
Barbee asked for any public comments. There were none, and the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting of the Gray’s City Council is the meeting of all committees scheduled Nov. 18.
