CENTERVILLE, Ga. — Centerville Mayor and Council gathered in their usual chambers on Tuesday, March 1, and held their first meeting for the month of March.
First in New Business was a discussion regarding a Dunbar Road and Bay Gaul Sewer Extension. This project would extend Centerville’s sewer lines into additional portions of the city.
Harley kicked the discussion off with some background information regarding the project’s funding.
“We put a proposal in for State Fiscal Recovery funds to cover this for us,” Harley said. “We got word last week that we did not receive it.
“The city of Warner Robins and Houston County were both fortunate. They did receive some assistance, but Perry nor Centerville received any assistance. We still need to do these things; we’re going to find a way to do it within our own means.”
Director of Operations Mike Brumfield and City Accountant Carol Harrison provided more detail. Brumfield explained that to complete the project, the city would need approximately $3 million. Harrison provided a solution.
“We do have the local recovery money; that total is $2,944,000,” Harrison said. “That won’t cover the whole project, and Mayor and Council may only want to allocate a portion of that to the Bay Gaul Sewer Line.”
Harrison went on to suggest that council allocate $2 million from the Local Recovery money and then finance the rest.
Harley responded to Harrison, saying that the idea “made good sense.”
Councilman J. Michael Evans added that the City should act soon.
“I think if we’re going to do that, if we’re going to do any financing, we need to get ahead of the interest rates going up — because they are going to go up,” Evans said.
Mayor and council instructed their directors to begin the process of submitting an application to the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority for financing the extension project and begin the fact-finding groundwork for the project.
During the meeting’s public comment period, former Centerville Council Member Randall Wright stood to speak as a member of the public.
“I came before you back on July 7, 2020, with several code violations,” Wright said. “All were corrected but one.”
Wright continued, describing an address in Centerville that, according to Wright, goes against Centerville City Code: Hauling in Metal Items, Sorting, and Hauling Away.
Wright went on to list several other code violations as well that he has seen, including an address he calls “a junkyard,” and another he calls “a clutter of junk.”
“Mayor and council, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Wright said. “My wife and myself rode around the city Sunday for about two hours, and I understand there’s only 44 miles of street in this city. So, I can’t understand why these problems haven’t been taken care of.”
Finally, Police Chief Cedric Duncan informed mayor and council of several expenditures for necessary equipment and later requested funding for a K-9 Barrier for a Centerville Police Department Vehicle, which would allow the city to have two K-9 units. Council unanimously approved.
Following some brief comments from Mayor Harley, the council meeting was adjourned.
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