Gray City Council members met for their January meeting of all committees last week and prepared the items that will be on the agenda for the February business meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem James Collins called the Jan. 26 meeting to order with all council members present. The committee meetings are now held in the Gray/Jones County Business Development Center adjacent to City Hall.
The first committee report was from Finance Committee Chairman Terrell Fulford. He said the 2025 property taxes collected were $1,253,686. That is 91.72 percent of the digest.
The amount of uncollected taxes is $113,168.
City Superintendent Cheyenne Morgan reported that the test well is moving forward with a favorable location found on the property. He said the next phase is acoustic sounding.
Morgan said he was working on an agreement for employees to receive CDL training. He asked council members their suggestions for the required employment time following receipt of the training.
Councilman Terry Favors suggested 24 months, which in his experience was the norm. Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe said the rule to send a candidate to mandate certification training was also 24 months.
Morgan said he found a training program for $4,200, and he needs two employees to obtain their CDLs. The superintendent also talked to council members about a lease to own program for the purchase of an excavator.
He said the city has a mini excavator that works well but needs a bigger one. Currently the city pays a contractor for the bigger jobs. Morgan said he has the money in the public works budget to pay for the contract.
The best price he found was for a Caterpillar, and it will fit on the trailer the city owns. He said the excavator is needed for storm water management.
Morgan added that the Dolly Street project will be completed in the next couple of days.
Main Street report
Main Street Gray Director Ashley Roberson said the Galantines event would kick off events for 2026. Galantines is a girls’ day out in Downtown Gray Feb. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Roberson also said resumes are being accepted for a receptionist for the Gray/Jones County Business Development Center.
The director reported that she submitted the accreditation information for Main Street Gray to the Georgia Main Street Board Jan. 15 and would be presenting the information to the board in person next month.
For the plan committee, Mayor Ed Barbee talked about training that will take place next month in Griffin and a Department of Community Affairs class in Warner Robins March 11 about housing.
Personnel committee
Collins announced the city’s employee of the month, Ivan Jordon, who has been with the city since August of 2024. Morgan said Jordon has excelled since his employment in running heavy equipment and receiving certification from Georgia Water.
Collins also announced council’s committee assignments that will be approved at the February business meeting.
The finance committee will be chaired by Fulford with other members Collins and Councilman Terry Favors. The water and sewer committee will be chaired by Favors with other members Councilman David Tufts and Fulford.
The plan committee will be chaired by Collins with other members Tufts and Favors. The personnel committee will be chaired by Collins with other members Fulford and Tufts.
The public safety committee will be chaired by Fulford with other members Collins and new councilman Ikea Simmons. City property will be chaired by Simmons with other members Tufts and Favors.
Streets
Morgan said the Georgia Department of Transportation has a new Safety Equipment Grant available. He said the grant is for rapid flashing beacons. He said the GDOT pays for the equipment if the city will install it. He said the application will be submitted in March.
Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe talked about issues with people putting items out on the street since the change in the trash collection company. The current company only picks up what is inside the trash carts. He said the items are not only in yards but also in streets’ rights of way.
Collins suggested putting a notice on the water bills again about the trash collections rules. He said the notice seemed to help previously.
Favors brought up another issue with trash carts. He said some are always sitting in the streets instead of just on trash collection days.
City Clerk Cindy Yancy informed council members that the cost of picking up the trash has increased, and the city is now paying more to the company than it is collecting from customers.
Lowe said the police department would have a list of surplus vehicles to be sold for approval at the February meeting. He said one of the cars would be put aside for the use of the Main Street director as had been approved by council.
The chief said the police department would be applying for the public safety grant again, and the hope is the amount received would be double this year.
The final item mentioned in the open meeting was the need to get a quote for a new roof for City Hall by Yancey.
At the conclusion of the agenda items, the meeting adjourned to enter closed session to discuss personnel.
The next meeting for Gray’s City Council is scheduled Feb. 2.
