City of Perry water wins three awards

Mike Thomas, of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals, addressed Perry Mayor Randall Walker and Council on Tuesday night during the presentation of three awards accepted by ESG Operations on the behalf of the City of Perry. The first award given was the George Burke Safety Award, recognizing the Frank Satterfield Water Treatment Plant, which is given to only one wastewater plant in the state for excellent practices. Thomas said that in a wastewater treatment center, dangers can include aerated water, dangerous chemicals, proximity to high voltage electricity, as well as confined spaces with dangerous gas, and this plant demonstrated a very safe work environment.

Thomas also presented an award for Outstanding Operation of a Water Collection system. This was a platinum award, meaning that it had to have been received at least five years in a row—this was the eighth year.

Lastly, received for the second year in a row, was an award for district five being the district with the best tasting drinking water. There are nine districts in the state, and Perry belongs to district five.

Discussed at Tuesday’s pre-council meeting, was the subject of an insurance claim the city submitted regarding a home located on Clinchfield Circle. City Manager Lee Gilmour informed council that due to recent rains, sewage had backed up into the residence. Gilmour informed that the claim had been denied by the city’s insurance company and made the recommendation that the city should still honor the claim. Gilmour said that it is his understanding that because the homeowner was not at the residence at the time of the incident, and due to the fact that when the city had been notified and inspected the issue there was no activity, the insurance company determined that there was not a direct link between the city and the event. Gilmour further explained that it is known to the city that the particular sewer main in question is known to have issues, particularly during heavy rains. Gilmour also noted that due to the home’s age, it is possible that the home was not equipped with back flow prevention measures.

“If there is an incident or event that the administration feels goes back and causes a problem with one of our infrastructure systems, we recommend to [pay], if the insurance company doesn’t pay,” Gilmour said.

Councilman Riley Hunt inquired as to the reasoning of the denial of the claim, and requested that City Attorney Brooke Newby review the policy to further understand why the policy was denied and if there was the possibility that the decision could be disputed. The decision of council ultimately was that they would honor the claim while simultaneously investigating the insurance action and policy, so that the homeowner would not be deferred of a decision for any further length of time. “I’d hate to see this homeowner and their home not being repaired because we’re arguing with the insurance company,” said Mayor Randall Walker.

In other business, Mayor Walker addressed council in reference to a resolution supporting legislation for the Georgia Local Government Infrastructure Finance Act. Walker said that this act—which is currently being reviewed in this session of the state legislature—would allow the Georgia Municipal Association to make lower interest rate funding available to cities for building and infrastructure in the form of bonds. The resolution was passed unanimously.

Council also unanimously approved previously proposed changes to the city’s purchasing policy. Finance Director Mitchell Worthington presented council with a draft of the policy with these changes, which included increasing the threshold at which competition was introduced into the purchasing process and increasing the threshold for which a purchasing order was needed (and conversely, at what point the city manager or council need to approve it). The changes also involved expanding the clause concerning purchasing off of state contract to include purchasing off of local governments within the state.

Worthington also informed council that he is currently reviewing the next step in purchasing policy change, which would involve increasing the capitalization threshold. Worthington said that he is currently working on this and it will be presented to Mayor and council in the future.

Police Chief Steve Lynn introduced a new Animal Control Officer, Kira Marzig. As of Tuesday, Marzig had been with the department for two weeks and has worked with animals ranging from small to wildlife. Marzig has zoo experience and animal training experience as well.