By Matt Flumerfelt
REMERTON — Remerton residents will soon be able to enjoy cleaner water in a more peaceful environment. Remerton’s City Council made progress
on two issues that have been a source of complaints for a long time.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Jessica Freeman updated Remerton’s council on the tie-in to Valdosta’s water system at Monday’s work session. The city was recently awarded a grant from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Agency (GEFA) in the amount of $392,000 to help pay for the installation of meters and backflow prevention equipment.
The loan stipulates that Remerton must set aside $75,000 in a separate account to be used in conjunction with the loan, Freeman stated, and another $500,000 in funds from SPLOST VI must also be used to supplement the GEFA loan.
Bids by contractors to connect Remerton to the Valdosta water system will be submitted on Feb. 4, and will be reviewed by council at their upcoming meeting on Feb. 9, Freeman said.
City Council was also updated on progress toward purchasing noise measurement equipment by interim City Manager Mike Terrell. Terrell said three bids have been submitted, and he recommended council accept the low bid by Occupational Health Dynamics based in Birmingham, Ala.
The bid of $4,294 submitted by OHD was lower in part because their equipment does not include the recording option, which City Attorney Brad Folsom said is not needed in order to enact an enforceable ordinance.
“Once we decide a few key issues,” Folsom said, “an ordinance can be drafted pretty quickly.”
Once the ordinance is passed, Remerton’s Police Department can start actively enforcing it to cut down on noise complaints. So far, the city has spent $14,435 to get enough data to craft an enforceable noise ordinance, according to information presented at their Jan. 5 work session.
Freeman said the Downtown Development Authority would like council to reconsider their decision to eliminate the downtown manager position as discussed at their recent retreat. DDA would like to see progress on some of their goals for downtown Remerton, Freeman said, but it would take the new City Administrator at least a year, once hired, to get up to speed on downtown development projects. The DDA would still like to hire a part-time downtown manager using the resumes already received, Freeman stated.
Public Works Director Ron Woods said local fire departments would be using the structure at 1727 W. Gordon St. for training purposes on Saturday, resulting in the demolition of the structure. The property will then be used to construct condominiums, Woods stated. The public is invited to attend, Woods said.
City Clerk Lisa Mashburn reported that only about 32 businesses have renewed their licenses by the Jan. 31 extended deadline, compared to between 90 and 100 license renewal applications received by this time last year.
Other items dealt with at the meeting involved:
• Discussion regarding hiring a new City Administrator.
• Discussion regarding the Codification of Ordinances.
• Discussion regarding alcohol license applications.
• Discussion of bids by engineers to replace sewer and water pipes on the old mill property.
Remerton’s regular monthly city council meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 9, at 5:30 pm at Remerton City Hall, 1757 Poplar St. The public is encouraged to attend.
