VALDOSTA – Money was on the minds of Valdosta residents, specifically the federal $2.9 million CARES Act funding earmarked four months ago for the city.

District 2 Councilwoman Sandra Tooley said her constituents have been continuously asking her where the money is and what’s being done with it.

Both District 1 Councilwoman Vivian Miller-Cody and District 6 Councilman Andy Gibbs said they’ve heard the same questions from their constituents.

As Assistant City Manager Richard Hardy finished out the city manager’s report section of the Valdosta City Council meeting last week, Tooley asked him about the CARES funding.

Nothing yet, he said.

“We’re still waiting on the direction on how to distribute the funding (but) we haven’t got that call,” Hardy said.

City Manager Mark Barber echoed a similar answer when he was asked the same question in prior City Council meetings.

Hardy said the question was a hot topic at the city managers conference in November. He learned the majority of Georgia cities are going through the same thing.

Mayor Scott James Matheson said the lack of direction and communication on the matter is alarming. According to him, there’s the potential of getting a lot of “great projects” off the ground with this funding.

He even asked Austin Scott, U.S. representative of Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, what he could do for some insight. Scott said he sent him a letter.

Matheson had yet to hear a response late last week.

City Council heard other money issues during the last regular meeting of 2021 as the price for purchasing police vehicles was higher than expected.

The City of Valdosta was set to purchase five rear-wheel drive pursuit vehicles for the Valdosta Police Department for a total of $197,000.

Eleven pursuit vehicles were set to be bought during the city’s 2021-22 Fiscal Year, budgeted at $291,500. This leaves $94,500 for the city to use in this area. 

Greg Brown, city purchasing agent, said the price is so high because of the chip shortage.

Brown said he looked at Dodge to provide the vehicles as it has the only models that meet city specifications; however, the production line has been shut down.

Gibbs asked if the purchase was put out for bids like normal. Brown said no. The city wanted to send it out, but bids weren’t available, which is very unusual.

“They gave us the information and said, ‘Look, don’t send bids. It’s not good. We don’t have anything to bid,’” Brown said. “No concessions came in because there were no cars.”

Bids aren’t typically put out until the city hears from all of its dealers, Brown said, and unless the city wants to get Toyota vehicles or other brands, there was nothing to get.

Cass Burch helped find vehicles for the city with it being a past provider.

The company found five vehicles fitting the city’s specifications from a dealer in Alabama who bought extra units, bought them and sold them to the city for the same price they were originally bought.

It was “slowly unanimous,” Matheson said, as City Council members, seemingly reluctant, approved the request.

Brown said the city will attempt to buy more pursuit vehicles at a later date.