GRAY
Gray City Council members received good news about a test well and discussed other pending issues, including reconsideration of a brewery ordinance, at their meeting of all committees.
The Nov. 20 meeting was called to order by Mayor Ed Barbee, and the first report was from the finance committee. Council Terrell Fulford serves as chairman of the committee and reported that 12.8 percent of 2023 property taxes had been collected. That amount totaled $135,715.
Councilman David Tufts asked the status of the CDBG issue that currently has made the city ineligible for any grant funding. City Attorney John Newberry said he did not have an update. He said the property owner needed to sign grant paperwork.
Tufts said that would be a problem because the work was not done, and the property owner should not be responsible.
Fulford asked Newberry if the city has a legal recourse against the grant administrator who signed off on the funds. The attorney said yes.
However, Newberry suggested the city might consider repaying the CDBG funds now in order to be able to apply for available grants.
“Gray will not be eligible for any more grants until it’s settled,” he said.
Tufts agreed he would hate for the city to miss out on grant opportunities. Council members agreed to put the issue on the December meeting agenda.
Water and Sewer
City Superintendent Cheyenne Morgan reported for the Water and Sewer Committee. He announced they hit water at the test well site on Allen Green Drive and would be permitting the well.
Morgan said he would have more details about the well after the capacity test.
The superintendent said Jerry McMillan was the low bidder for the Autumn Ridge Trail Storm Drainage project at $86,260.
Tufts asked if the city had used the company before with no problems, and Morgan said yes. It was agreed to put the acceptance of the bid on the next agenda for a vote.
Plan
Mayor Pro Tem James Collins serves as the Plan Committee Chairman. He pointed out Councilman Benny Gray is the chairman of the Water and Sewer Committee and serves on three other committees.
He asked that Gray be replaced on the committees because he has not been able to serve at all during the current term. Council members agreed to put the committee appointments on the next meeting agenda.
“We need these committees full,” Collins said.
Main Street Director Ashley Roberson gave an update about the Christmas Market scheduled Saturday. She said 110 vendors had signed up, and food trucks would be set up on Atlanta Road.
The director said the Christmas Tree lighting would be at 6 p.m., and a Jones County High School outdoor wrestling match would follow the tree lighting.
During the report for the Streets Committee, Morgan said there was a December deadline for the next LMIG funding. He said he measured Dolly Street, and they should be able to continue down to Black Boulevard.
Streets and Sanitation
Collins said he had a conversation with State Rep. Ken Vance, and it was time to discuss increasing Gray’s LMIG funding. He said the representative was aware of the road miles added to the city when the state route was changed to the North Gray Bypass and offered to help.
Morgan agreed the additional roads were a lot for the city to maintain.
Tufts said with the new year the city would have a new sanitation company, Ryland Environment. The contract with the new company was approved by council at their Nov. 6 meeting.
The councilman said the city needed to adjust its customer fees in order to no longer be losing money every month. He said the fee for a single cart would increase to $13 and additional carts would cost $12 each. The cost for those outside city limits with city water would be $16. The commercial dumpsters will have $2 added to the price that Ryland is charging the city.
Council agreed to put the increase on the next meeting for a vote.
Morgan said the new carts were to be delivered to a staging area around Christmas.
Public Safety
Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe spoke to council about the approval of the distribution of grant funds that was on the called meeting agenda to follow the committee meeting.
An announcement of the receipt of the $528,896 grant from the state took place in June, and Lowe explained the list of vendors and invoices that needed to be approved at the meeting.
GPD Maj. Mark Robinson said the way the grant works is the city pays the vendors and is reimbursed from the grant.
The chief said new cameras had been installed in all the GPD patrol vehicles, and officers had received new body cams. He said the timing of the grant worked out great as the department was down to four cameras that worked.
“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Lowe said.
Brewery
Councilman Terry Favors asked for a discussion about the proposed brewery ordinance. The item had been tabled indefinitely, but the mayor pro tem asked that it be put back on the agenda.
Collins said he felt like the issue deserved to at least have a vote.
Lowe said the brewery could only sell what it produces with the brewery permit.
“They can’t serve what they don’t brew without a pouring license, which would be purchased separately,” he said.
The chief said there would be no alcohol sales after 10 p.m. and no outside entertainment after 10, according to the ordinance. He added no gaming machines nor pool tables would be allowed.
Lowe said, if the ordinance passed, there would be zoning issues to clear up before it could open.
Favors said in his opinion, if the brewery did not sell food, it was a bar.
“I’m not against them making beer, but if you are just going in and drinking, it’s a bar,” he reiterated.
The councilman said investors want to come into Gray to make money, then they leave.
Public comments against the ordinance included James Nobles, who said Gray does not need a “Beer Palace.” He suggested that Gray’s ordinances were 30 years out of date.
Terry Moore stated that a brew pub in Gray was a divisive issue, and he breathed a sigh of release when it was tabled. He said Gray is not Milledgeville or Macon.
He said he did not understand why the local newspaper referred to the tabling of the ordinance as “a waste of time.”
“I’m wondering why the council has such a strong desire to bring in alcohol. Anything this divisive should be put to a vote by the people,” Moore said.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Hailey Robinson said the mission of the chamber is to support the business community. She cited statistics of the number of jobs a brewery could create and other benefits such as increasing tourism, supporting agriculture and the increase to state and local tax revenue.
“It would be an economic catalyst for the city and stimulate the local economy,” Robinson said.
Rick Childs, owner of Treasures by the Tracks, said he had heard positive comments from customers who enjoy touring breweries.
“It would attract people to our local restaurants. I think it would be a good fit for Gray and would fit right in,” he added.
Collins said he thought it was a good point that the brewery could be in partnership with local restaurants.
Joshua Daugherty and Danny Munday also spoke against the brewery.
Chuck Asbell said he would like to open a brewery in Gray and felt it would be a huge economic benefit to the community.
“This would be a prime place to open,” he said.
Favors said 50 percent of the people who live in the city do not want it to grow. “They like it the way it is. I moved here because it is quiet and peaceful,” he added.
Collins said he is a small-town person, but if the town is not growing, it is dying.
“It needs to be managed growth,” he said.
The mayor pro tem asked if the first reading of the brewery ordinance could be ready for the Dec. 4 meeting, and Newberry said it could. Council voted 3-1 to put the first reading on the agenda. Favors opposed.
Called meeting
Barbee called the meeting to order. The first item was a First Reading of an ordinance pertaining to technology fees for municipal court. The ordinance would impose a $21 fee per offense and would be effective upon adoption.
Item two was a list of the vendors and invoices for the Police Department Violence Reduction Grant the chief explained earlier, and the final item was a resolution that would in affect adjust the city’s budget to accept an increase in revenue in the amount of $12,500 from the Jones County Board of Education for school security.
All items were approved unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting of the Gray City Council is scheduled Dec. 4.
