Gray City Council’s meeting of all committees began with a public hearing for the purpose of the city opting out of HB 581. The hearing was the second of three that are required to opt out of the bill.
No one from the public attended the hearing, and after a few minutes, the Jan. 27 committee meetings began. The meeting was called to order by Gray Mayor Ed Barbee.
Councilman Terrell Fulford, who serves as the chairman of the Finance Committee, presented the first report. He said Gray has collected 91 percent of 2024 property taxes in the amount of $1,193,320. The remaining unpaid balance is $115,785.
Water and Sewer Chairman Councilman David Tufts asked City Superintendent Cheyenne Morgan to present the report. Morgan said he had been in talks with a hydrogeologist about the Highway 18 property purchased by the city for test water wells.
The superintendent said a surveyor has been engaged to survey the fiveacre property and lay out sites for five test wells.
He also announced the bid opening for a generator for the Glover Lane lift station would be held March 13.
Main Street Gray Director Ashley Roberson presented the Main Street report. She said she is working on a calendar for events for the year that need to be approved by city council. The plan is to present the calendar at the next meeting.
Roberson said the Georgia Department of Economic Development will now come to communities to present day-long sessions, instead of the once-a-month classes previously offered.
She said the credit hours for the session would satisfy continuing education class requirements. The director said the date of the training is Aug. 13.
Roberson said the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street are planning a State of the Community event that will involve reports from the City of Gray, Jones County Commissioners and Jones County Board of Education.
She said the details for the event are still being worked out.
Plan Committee Chairman Mayor Pro Tem James Collins said the branding logo meeting is scheduled Feb. 7 at 3:30 p.m. at the chamber board room. He said it is hoped that the entities have had time to process the presentations and can get on the same page.
Roberson said the county has some concerns.
“We plan to back track so we can come to an agreement. We don’t want to have spent this money on something that may not be used,” she added. “This will not replace the city or county seals. It is just a branding opportunity.”
Collins said he has been speaking to members of the boards of Commissioners and Education. He said he would like to get the joint meetings of the boards going again.
“Elected officials should know each other better,” he said.
Roberson said that is one of the goals of the economic development office that is being planned for the East Clinton Street building.
Collins said he would like the meetings to be less structured and more laid back to allow elected officials to talk to one another.
Barbee suggested more like a networking night, and the Mayor Pro Tem said yes.
Roberson said the ‘Galentines Sip and Shop’ event is planned Feb. 8 and will include music at the Terrace on Madison. She said they continue to work on the renovations for the brewery building with the estimated completion in mid-summer.
Tufts, who also serves as chairman for the Streets Committee, stated that trash collection should be back on track after the bad weather.
Morgan presented a design for street sign that will be placed on every city corner from Washburn Street to Pinewood Drive. The new signs will include the street names at the top in addition to a stop sign.
The superintendent was asked the cost of the signs. He said the estimated cost is $10,000, and it is covered in the city budget.
Morgan said the timeline for the installation of decorative streetlights on West Clinton Street to the courthouse was delayed due to the weather. He said Middle Georgia Electric is the contractor installing the streetlights.
Tufts asked about the crossing across West Clinton from the courthouse to First Baptist Church. The councilman said his concern was the current flashing lights were not being noticed.
“I’ve seen some signs that get a lot more attention,” he said.
Morgan said he would look into options.
Barbee said he was checking into a grant for pedestrian safety by Sen. Jon Ossoff that could help with that and other sidewalk needs in the city.
Tufts said he would like to see Dolly Street connected with sidewalks.
“I’d like to get a traffic count. There are a lot of people out walking,” he said.
Fulford asked about a draft ordinance to keep 18-wheelers and other large trucks out of the downtown area.
City Attorney John Newberry said he is working on the ordinance. He said the goal is to force trucks on the bypass. The attorney said he is looking at the current ordinance and what needs to be added.
Council Terry Favors suggested having the ordinance ready for discussion at the February committee meeting. Newberry agreed and said it could then be placed on the agenda for the March business meeting.
Fulford also asked about the progress for an ordinance for the big storage containers that had been previously discussed. Newberry said it was not complete, but he could get back to work on it.
The attorney said he had been waiting for the county to make a decision on their container ordinance, but he did not think it was adopted.
Roberson said the Gray Downtown Development Authority had concerns about storage containers in the city.
Newberry said he needed to research the design guidelines and double check what the county had in place.
The meeting was adjourned at the conclusion of the reports. The next meeting of the City Council is the Feb. 3 monthly business meeting.
