Centerville Council extends effective date of city ordinance

Tuesday evening, the dais in Centerville City Hall was void of the five members that make up Centerville City Council. Instead of having their normal in-person gathering, Mayor Harley and council met via teleconference for their first session of the month of April. About halfway through the call, a few technical difficulties arose with the live broadcasting on the city’s Facebook page, but listeners were told in a Facebook post from the City of Centerville that the issue would be worked on for future teleconferences, should the need continue for council to meet via this platform.

The mayor began the meeting by expressing his desire to see everyone’s face as is typical in a regular meeting, but stressed that the city was doing everything it could to protect everyone’s health and ensure the safety of council members and the public during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The official adoption of the minutes from three previous meetings was first on the agenda for the evening. These included the minutes from the meetings that took place on March 3, 2020 (Regular Council Meeting), March 17, 2020 (Council Work Session) and March 24, 2020 (Special Council Meeting). It was motioned by Councilman J. Micheal Evans that the minutes be adopted as written, and Councilman Edward Armijo seconded his motion. This received unanimous consent from council.

The one order of business covered in Tuesday’s meeting was Ordinance 2020-2-Declaration of State of Emergency. Regarding it, Mayor Harley said, “As you all are aware, on April 2, 2020 and April 3, 2020, Governor Brian Kemp issued three executive orders. The first executive order contained, among other things, a mandate for all Georgians to shelter-in-place.” Harley went on to say, “Two subsequent executive orders followed to help to clarify the first executive order. Governor Kemp’s orders preempt, and therefore suspend, the City of Centerville’s Declaration of State of Emergency and orders adopted on March 24, 2020.

“The purpose of adopting tonight’s ordinance amendment is to ensure that the city’s declaration and ordinance go back into effect when and if the governor’s orders expire or are otherwise rescinded. Therefore,” the mayor stated, “the effect of adopting tonight’s ordinance amendment is that there will be a local legislation in place in the absence of an executive order of the governor by extending the effective period of the city’s ordinance through 8 p.m. on May 5, 2020. It is the opinion and intent of the governing authority that provision of Centerville’s Declaration and Ordinance, Sections 5, 6, 11 and 13, related specifically to Centerville’s local operations, do not conflict with the Governor’s Executive Order and shall remain, at all times, in effect.”

During her clarification that followed, City Attorney Rebecca Tydings explained that the ordinance was identical to the initial ordinance that was passed on March 24 during the special meeting held by mayor and council, with the only change being the extension of the effective date and time to May 5, 2020 at 8 p.m. In a statement directed to the mayor, Tydings said, “The sections that were referenced—that are not in conflict that remain in effect—are the sections that empower you to make decisions about essential workers, hours, purchasing and such as that. Those do not conflict with the governor’s orders.”

Tydings said that by adopting the ordinance, council would be agreeing that Mayor Harley could move forward as he had been doing over the past few weeks.

Councilman Justin Wright motioned that the ordinance be adopted as re-written, and Armijo seconded the motion. Council members unanimously gave consent.

In the way of new business, Mike Brumfield, Director of Operations for the city recommended that a contract for resurfacing and repairs to Larry Drive, Harold Drive, Pine Trail, Brandiron and Crestwood Circle be awarded to C.W. Matthews Contracting, who submitted a bid amount of $162,460.42 for the 2020 Centerville LMIG SEC Project #1145. The bid was lower than the bid amount of $162,725.20 that had been submitted by Reeves Construction. Councilman Cameron Andrews motioned that the awarding of the contract be approved. After the motion was seconded, members of council unanimously agreed to award the contract to C.W. Matthews Contracting in the amount stated.

The last item on the night’s agenda before the meeting was adjourned was a motion by Andrews to designate Mayor Harley as signatory for the awarding of the aforementioned contract to C.W. Matthews Contracting. The motion was seconded by Wright and approved unanimously by council members.

HHJ News