CITY OF GRAY
Gray City Council members approved rate increases, a mutual aid agreement with Baldwin County, recognized fire fighters, hired a new public defender for City Court and officially named a new city superintendent at their December business meeting.
The Dec. 5 meeting was called to order by Mayor Ed Barbee.
All council members were in attendance with the exception of Councilman Benny Gray.
An Old Business item was first on the agenda. It was the second reading of an ordinance increasing water and sewer rates for city water customers.
The increase was the fourth and final increase needed to pay for the construction of the city’s new wastewater treatment plant.
The current monthly minimum usage rate for water and sewer is $42.42. The $4 increase will bring the new rate to $46.42.
Councilman David Tufts made the motion to approve the rate increase, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
City council members voted unanimously to officially appoint Cheyenne Morgan as the City’s Superintendent.
Morgan served as assistant superintendent since June 15, 2020, and he has been the interim superintendent since the retirement of Frank Ross this past June.
The motion to appoint Morgan was made by Mayor Pro Tem James Collins.
Firefighter recognition
Robert Singletary represented the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs with the award of certifications for two Gray Fire Department personnel. Singletary is the former president of the organization.
Capt. Heather Johnson received Georgia Volunteer Chief Fire Officer certification in recognition of her continued commitment to education and training in fire service leadership and management.
Gray Fire Chief John Keith Eisele received two awards as both Georgia Volunteer Fire Officer and for the completion of all requirements that demonstrate commitment to continued training, commitment to education and always his leadership in the fire service in Georgia.
Councilmen approved a resolution for a fire service mutual aid agreement with Baldwin County. The motion to approve the resolution was made by Councilman Terrell Fulford, and it was approved unanimously.
Bonuses and meetings
Collins made the next two motions. The first was the rescheduling of both city meetings in January. The Jan. 2 meeting was moved to Jan. 9 and the Jan. 16 meeting to Jan. 23 due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The motions were approved unanimously.
The mayor pro tem also made the motions for Christmas bonuses for city employees, which was also unanimously approved.
Tufts made the motion for the streets to be included on the 2023 Georgia Department of Transportation Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant list. The streets on the list are Dolly Street from Madison to Cleveland streets and Atlanta Road from West Clinton to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Garbage
A new agreement for solid waste collection services was in the next resolution on the agenda. The contract is with Georgia Waste Systems and includes the collection and disposal of commercial and residential solid waste generated in the city. The collection is curbside, and garbage is collected once a week.
The motion to approve the agreement was made by Tufts, and it was approved unanimously.
The increase cost to residents as result of the contract was not discussed by council. The current monthly cost of $10 for garbage collection is paid with customers’ water bill.
The new agreement states that the city will be charged $17.07 per month for residential oncea- week garbage collection.
A motion to enter into a new agreement with the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce for the disbursement of Gray’s Hotel/Motel tax funds was made by Fulford. The agreement states that the Chamber will receive 48 percent of the tax collections to be used to promote tourism for the City of Gray.
Public Defender
Council members were recently informed that the Georgia Public Defenders Office could no longer serve the city’s municipal court. The next resolution on the agenda was an agreement with local attorney Wilson B. Mitcham Jr. to perform those public defender services when needed.
The contract is for one year. Fulford made the motion to approve the contract, and it was approved unanimously.
Resolutions
The last four items on the agenda were resolutions pertaining to standard operating procedures for liquor licenses in the city, required by a law that became effective Oct. 1, 2018. The resolutions were for Applicant Privacy Notification Policy, Disciplinary Policy, Media Protection Policy and a Man-Made Disaster Policy. The resolutions were passed unanimously.
With no more items on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting of the city is the All Committees Meeting scheduled Dec. 19.
