VALDOSTA — Citizens voiced their concerns to the Valdosta City Council relating to the sign ordinance and uniform land use code during the meeting Thursday.

“The overly restrictive sign ordinance and uniform land use code that has come about over time in Valdosta, Ga, is not what the founding fathers of our great nation tried to establish,” Jim Halter, Valdosta resident, said. “It is what they worried about the most — the infringement on individual liberties by big government.”

Citizens are asking the council to review the sign ordinance to help small businesses. Some feel it is anti-business, hurting area businesses.

“We don’t need to try to kill business,” Dan Davis, Valdosta businessman, said. “I wish ya’ll would consider small businesses ... Let businesses run their business ... (Let them) make money, hire people (and) continue to raise taxes.”

Davis recommended businesses and merchants be allowed to offer their ideas of what works and what does not for the ordinance.

“I really think you don’t need to hire consultants to write these ordinances,” he said.

Sandra McDonald with Signarama provided mayor and council with her knowledge of the sign ordinance rules, which are difficult to handle, she said.

Businesses are allowed to apply for banner permits twice a year and each banner can be up for 30 days each, she said. Also, banners that stick in the ground are not permitted.

The square footage of signs is also regulated, McDonald said.

“There’s a lot of regulations that causes businesses not to come here,” she said. “There’s a lot of limitations businesses have to deal with, that I have to deal with. Please read the ordinance ... It’s hindering businesses in town, not just retail businesses, but sign businesses.”

“I’d like to thank you for postponing the gateway project till September,” Nolan Cox, Valdosta resident, said. “I think you’re going in the right direction. I’d like to see it postponed till 2013, but I do think you’re going in the right direction.”

Visitors come for food, fuel and a place to stay, he said, not to “get off (the freeway) and ride around because they saw some shrubs.”

“I think there’s some down sides to this thing that you need to think about,” he said.

The City should also consider cutting taxes, regulations and overhead on businesses, Cox said.

“We’ve got to trust enterprise,” he said. “We ought to be known as the business capital of America.”

Toward the end of the meeting, Larry Hanson, city manager, said that Matt Martin, interim planning and zoning administrator, has been reviewing the LDR and sign ordinances and he would like to arrange a meeting, inviting businesses and citizens, to address concerns and ideas for improvement.

The City’s unemployment rate was a concern with citizens. With people losing their homes and being evicted from their apartments, Roy Taylor, Valdosta resident, thinks it is important that more jobs are created to help people, rather than focus so much on beautification of the city.

“We need jobs,” he said. “In this community, we need jobs. Give them (people) some pride to be an American.”

Men and women should have a sense of pride from working, “that’s what being an American is all about,” Taylor said.

Taylor has invested millions into the city, he said, and he wants to continue helping the community.

“Ask kids,” he said. “I help this community. They’re my heart, they’re my future.”

Pastor Anthony Bellamy approached mayor and council because he is concerned about the crime taking place in Valdosta.

“We can’t feel like we’re trapped in a box in Valdosta,” he said. “We can think out of the box and we can find a solution to what’s

happening in Valdosta.”

He offered that the community needs to come together to bring about change, improving crime prevention. Bellamy thanks the Valdosta Police Department for their services and ability to locate people committing crimes.

“What we (need to) look to us to find out how things can be changed and made better,” he said.

Following citizens comments, council members unanimously approved all agenda items.

The Herndon Company was awarded management of the Five Points Property, the Georgia Department of Labor Career Center and the Bennion Properties. The City has tenants at all properties and will pay about $350 a month for the company to collect rent, handle repairs, evictions and secure tenants, Mara Register, assistant to city manager, said.

The Valdosta Police Department will purchase mobile reporting software from the Southern Georgia Regional Commission to improve record keeping and reporting. Police officers will also be able to type reports into the system, rather than hand write them, saving time, Chief Frank Simons, said.

The software package will cost $325,000, which is covered by SPLOST 6 under technology improvements, Hanson said.

There will also be no recurring costs for maintenance or annual licensing fees, Simons said.

“This software will improve the efficiency of our officers as they go about their jobs,” he said.

Fretti and council members also selected Councilman Alvin Payton Jr., District 4, as the new Mayor Pro Tem. The position was previously held by Councilman At Large John Eunice, whose resignation became effective Aug. 10.

“I’d like to take just a moment to thank the council and mayor for seeing something bigger in me than I see in myself,” Payton said.

Citizens rely on all of the councilmen and mayor to make City Council successful, he said.

Before the meeting ended, Councilman Robert Yost, District 6, addressed Mayor John Fretti about his belief that there have been “several instances where you’ve tried to use your authority as mayor to get the council to vote as you want."

Yost also said that Fretti did not sign John Eunice’s travel request for the recent GMA trip to Savannah. Eunice’s request was approved 6-1 and that Fretti ignored the vote, Yost said.

Yost continued by stating that during the council’s trip to Washington, D.C., Fretti reprimanded, made threats and verbally abused some council

members. Yost also questioned Fretti wanting to allow only a few members of council to attend the trip to Washington, D.C. and that if others wanted to attend they could do so out of their own pocket.

“I cannot or will not allow you to circumvent or make our votes,” Yost said.

While he did not want to address these issues publicly, Yost said, he did since Fretti has brought up the issues before.

“You and I’ve had words once before,” Fretti said. “It’s good, it’s passionate.”

Yost said he was speaking for himself and not for  the other council members.

In response to Eunice’s travel expense report, Fretti said, he was fully reimbursed. While he did not sign the report, he attached a memo explaining his decision not to.

The council voted for Eunice’s reimbursement, he said, not for him to sign the report.   He also did not appeal the travel report, Fretti said.

In response to the Washington, D.C. trip, his intention for everyone not attending was to save money, Fretti said. He felt it was fitting due to the economy and he plans to bring up the issue for next year’s trip.