Fence-mending, public comment at Walthourville council meeting

Walthourville’s Jan. 23 city council meeting was missing one thing: the rancor of recent months.

Mayor Sarah B. Hayes made it clear from the outset that she would not tolerate any outbursts. Hayes said that meetings would be conducted in a manner that was “decent and in good order,” and that she would have the police chief remove anyone who engaged in disruptive behavior. Department heads, not council members, would deliver reports. Public comment has been restored, and elected officials have their assignments.

Hayes said she will be responsible for communicating with the fire, police and water departments. Councilman Mitchell Boston will handle Public Works; Councilwoman Luciria Lovette will continue with Parks and Recreation; Councilman Robert Dodd, who is Liberty County Emergency Management Agency director, will serve as EMA liaison; and Councilman Patrick Underwood will be in charge of the new Youth Commission and other youth activities. Councilwoman Bridgette Kelly was tasked with finding grants and other funding.

Hayes added that the city is planning to host a town hall meeting for residents, who will be able to ask questions of the mayor, council, and department heads.

A longer session will be needed to review the city charter and ordinances: “We need to get on this,” Hayes said. Moses pointed out that any changes would have to go through Rep. Al Williams at the state Capitol, which would probably have to wait until next year’s legislative session to get done.

“The earlier we get on it, the better,” Lovette said. “We’ve tap-danced around it enough.”

The work session will take place at 5 p.m. Feb. 13 in council chambers; results will be presented to the citizens on Feb. 27; and March 12 would be another work session. Hayes said each work session would “adapt and adjust.” either half an hour or an hour before the regular meeting.

Meeting before the meeting

The council held its first pre-meeting “workshop,” which it had established at its Jan. 17 work session as a means of going over the regular meeting agenda. Hayes said this was to see whether any discussions needed to be rescheduled. Those sessions are open to the public under the state Open Meetings Act, as is any meeting of public officials where a quorum is present.

The workshop started at 5:42 p.m. because some of the new members went to City Hall instead of the courtroom at the police station, where council meetings are usually held. 

Contractor pitches trash pickup

Sam Sullivan of Allgreen Services, a solid waste contractor associated with Atlantic Waste Services, made a pitch before the council meeting to take over trash pickup for the city for the next five years.

Sullivan said his company would interview and hire as many of the department’s employees as he could and, possibly, buy the city’s own relatively-new garbage truck. Sullivan said that commercial drivers are a “hot commodity” right now due to all the work at the Hyundai metaplant and in Chatham County.

While no specific dollar amounts were discussed, If the city were to privatize trash pickup with Allgreen or another company, it could eliminate a projected $488,797 expense from its 2024 budget — a significant savings that could keep the city in the black. 

“And you would essentially eliminate all expenses that you currently have regarding solid waste collection,” he said. “That includes your landfill bill. All your repairs and maintenance, tires, all your labor costs, insurance, fuel. Everything associated with solid waste, that would be our expense. And we would charge you $17 per cart per month. You just bill your residents. You continue to collect the fee.”

Bulk trash pickup and recycling were not part of the proposed estimate, which Sullivan said he would have to recalculate.

The council took no action on Sullivan’s proposal and tabled it pending an updated estimate on what it would cost to bring recycling back to the city.

Sullivan said that Councilwoman Bridgette Kelly had contacted him in December for more information about the company’s services. “And so I gave her a proposal and I was asking her, pestering her during the holidays, ‘Please let me know when I could get before council and just introduce myself and tell you what we do.’ ”

Under state law, the city would have to advertise for bids on any potential public works contract involving goods and/or services of $100,000 or more and post that information in the Georgia Procurement Registry. A check of that online portal showed no requests for proposals or formal bids listed for Walthourville. 

Another company that has come up in council discussions is ESG, which services Hinesville, under the direction of Liberty County Commissioner Gary Gilliard. 

Lovette named mayor pro tem

During the previous work session, Hayes told the council that she intended to nominate Kelly as mayor pro tempore. When the time came to vote, Hayes put forth Kelly’s name. Underwood made a motion, which Kelly seconded. Dodd, Boston, and Lovette voted against naming Kelly to the position.

City Attorney Luke Moses said that, by law, the incumbent on the ballot with the most votes when last elected would automatically become mayor pro tem. That person was Lovette. Although Lovette ran unopposed, her name did appear on the ballot. 

Hayes asked whether there were an alternative. Moses pointed to Article Two, Section 2-6 of the city charter, adding that, because the charter reads that the mayor and council get to decide, “this is one of those rare times when the mayor gets a vote.” However, the vote would be a 3-3 tie.

Kelly then nominated Lovette, which Underwood seconded. Boston and Dodd voted no. Hayes abstained; Lovette cast the deciding vote for herself as mayor pro tem.

Moses, Pirkle reappointed

Underwood moved and Boston seconded reappointing Moses as city attorney; only Councilman Robert Dodd voted no.

Municipal Court Judge Robert Pirkle also was reappointed 3-0-2, with Underwood making the motion and Boston seconding, Dodd, Underwood, Boston voted yes, while Lovette and Kelly abstained.

Hayes brought up the possibility of hiring a chief financial officer for the city.

“We definitely need one,” Lovette said; Underwood agreed. 

Hayes said she knew money was tight but that the city has “enough for this.”

Lovette suggested looking for a city employee with the skill set, if possible. Moses pointed out that a full-time position would need to be advertised, but that a city employee could apply. The discussion was tabled pending more information about what an appropriate salary would be for the job.

How to enforce recycling?

The council also set the first two dates to work on “some of the things that are already in place that need changing,” such as recycling and reducing bulk trash. 

Enforcing penalties against those who use recycling bins for garbage could prove tough, Kelly told the council: “By the time they dump it and see it, it’s already in the recycle truck, so what do you do then?”

Dodd suggested setting up a recycling cage at a central location where residents could drop off their items.

Lovette pointed out that the incentive to recycle would be a cheaper garbage bill: “If you put recyclables in the recycle bin and garbage in the garbage bin, it would reduce the tonnage and it would reduce our garbage bill at the landfill….Now, if they don’t do it, then the people picking up the trash would have to report that to City Hall, and they would bill them for that.”

Boston said he had lived in places where sanitation workers simply refused to pick up garbage if the recycling bin wasn’t done right: “That’s punishment enough.”

A recycling fair is set for Feb. 17, Hayes said, adding that she sits on the board of Keep Liberty Beautiful and will ask that group whether it has any ideas or assistance to offer.

City of Walthourville turns 50

The council also discussed a celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of Walthourville’s incorporation as a city. Although the Georgia Assembly passed Walthourville’s charter in March 1974, Hayes said the reason for delaying the celebration until September was to round up sponsors to fund the event, “due to the fact that March is right around the corner.”

Boston said, “I think the city’s finances need to be first and foremost.”

“And that’s why I said if we do it in September, that will give us some time to get some sponsors together,” Hayes replied.

The council voted unanimously to move the celebration to September.

Fire fee update

Fire Chief Nicolas Maxwell suggested a fair way to assess the fire fee would be to charge a flat fee per square foot: for example, one cent for residential properties, two cents for commercial, and three cents for industrial. No fee would be charged for undeveloped parcels. Maxwell said the city “would need heavy assistance from the Tax Assessor’s office” to figure out exactly how much revenue the fire fee would generate, based on properties within the city limits. 

Using Maxwell’s example, The Current calculates the proposed annual fire fees would translate into $7.84 for a 78- square-foot mobile home; $11.55 for a 1,155-square-foot ranch; $100 for a 5,000 square-foot office building; and $3,600 for a 120,000 square-foot industrial facility.

Hayes said no one was able to meet with the city until after Feb. 28, so the discussion was tabled.

Nicolas also said the fire department would start a school supply closet for children who lost their school supplies in a fire.

Citizens’ Police Academy

Police Chief Christopher Reed announced the Citizens Academy, which gives residents the chance to learn about policing firsthand through a series of classes, would take place in March on Thursdays at 6 p.m. if enough people sign up. Those who finish the course will get to go on a ridealong with WPD officers. Several young people also had approached the department about starting a youth academy; Hayes suggested that Underwood and Lovette offer support through the Youth Council and Parks and Recreation.

Broken water meters

Patrick Golphin, who handles billing for the Water Department, said the city needs to replace about 40 non-working meters, which field techs are reading manually. Golphin added that it would cost about $9,000 to replace those broken meters with new digital meters that could be read from the office.

The people speak

Hayes had promised that she would restore public comment to the council agenda. Residents can speak for up to three minutes after the reports from department heads, which come after  council agenda items.

Citizens at Tuesday’s meeting had one issue on their mind: not the budget, not the fire fee, but recycling. 

Gwendolyn Dykes said that, when the city used to have a central recycling dropoff location, it was “a mess” and that the curbside bins “were a blessing.”

Gail Ford said that, over the past year, she had seen recycling put into the regular trash truck.

Yvette Sanders said she agreed with Boston’s suggestion that people who don’t separate their recycling shouldn’t have their trash picked up. She added that residents “need clarification on what can and cannot be recycled” and that it was not fair to penalize everyone for a few people’s actions.

Lovette suggested “talking to the guys on the trucks to see what’s feasible.” Hayes and Boston are set to meet with Public Works.

After the meeting, Walthourville Police Maj. Anthony Hooker used his cellphone to take official photos of the mayor, council, and city attorney. Having dispensed with the formalities of the meeting, Hayes helped Underwood straighten out his suit, Moses moved flags around for the photo, and Kelly briefly threw a peace sign.

Type of Story: News

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.