Council meetings bring news of donation, charter amendment

Two representatives from Hargray Communications — Regional Sales Manager Robert Holley and Major Account Manager Ken Mullis — presented a $30,000 check to the City of Perry at the meeting of mayor and council Tuesday.

Assistant City Manager Robert Smith said the money has already been assigned to a city project.

“This past December, the city received notification that we would be recipients of a $30,000 grant from Hargray for community building, essentially,” Smith said. “It was a surprise, a very welcome surprise — and we have actually directed the use of those funds to the new scoreboards Mr. Swan [leisure services director] will be purchasing and installing to the outer recreational facilities.”

Mayor Randall Walker said the funds would be put to good use to make the city better for its residents.

“He [Sedrick Swan] had been working to try to get his scoreboards all updated and all other areas of the city, and this is really going to go a long way in getting that done,” Walker said.

Mayor and council performed the first reading of a charter amendment for reapportionment of representative districts, and City Attorney Brooke Newby presented the amendment.

“This is the first reading of an amendment to amend our charter to make the adjustments following the 2020 Census relative to the districts from which the council members are elected,” Newby said.

The notice has run once in The Houston Home Journal, and it’ll be published two more times before mayor and council read it again, she said. At the next reading, council would consider voting to amend the charter and provide the appropriate adjustments in the district map.

Community Planner Holly Wharton brought the Houston County Joint Comprehensive Plan forward to mayor and council, and they went on to approve unanimously.

She said the plan was completed by the Middle Georgia Regional Commission, reviewed and approved by the Department of Community Affairs and approved by the Perry Planning Commission.

Wharton and her department had put some hard work into making the plan happen, Mayor Walker said.

“This thing came to us as a recommendation or a resolution, but I know during all that time, there has been a tremendous amount of work putting this together,” he said. “And I’d like to say ‘thanks’ to you and all the folks in Community Development that worked on that.”

Though some Perry residents have said their water bills are the highest-costing around, Assistant City Manager Smith presented a report from an online database from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that stated rates in Perry are reasonable compared to other cities statewide.

“You can see that for the city of Perry, our median water bill was $22.38,” Smith said. “Now, you can also see on this how it compares to water bills across the state, and you can see that it’s actually very affordable in comparison.”

According to Smith and the database, the median water bill statewide is $29.31, putting Perry at around $7 less per month. The median water and sewer bill combined statewide is $62.50, with Perry sitting right above that at $63.94, he said.

Mayor Randall Walker said while Perry’s service bill might be higher than some cities’, not every city charges the same fees for the same things.

“The thing is that we’re providing a service, and people keep saying: ‘Well, your water is the highest everywhere’; it’s not. Our service bill may be higher, but I don’t know what other people are charged on their service bills.”

City Manager Lee Gilmour brought forward the Perry Pathways resolution for consideration of council, which went on to be approved unanimously.

“This is not a spending plan,” Gilmour said. “If you adopt this resolution, this does not require you to spend any money on any project at any particular time.”

The resolution would provide a guide for city projects and connectivity, as well as framework for requiring developer contributions — all without affecting current projects in progress, he said.

Over the last 11 years, the historical significance of the city has brought people from 48 states (all except Connecticut and West Virginia) and 14 countries to visit, according to Perry Area Historical Society President Ellie Loudermilk.

“Who knew, 11 years ago, that we could evolve into such an active destination,” she said. “We are Perry Proud, indeed.”

The Historical Society is 30-strong at this point, and their efforts within the community have inspired more and more items to be donated and featured in their museum on Northside Drive.

Last year, these efforts included completing 65 requests for information, she said. Visitors came from Florida, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, California and Iowa. One visitor from Denver, Colorado, stayed in Perry for a week.

Finance Director Mitchell Worthington said city officials utilized a scorecard to grade business stability, technical capabilities and price associated with a call for a construction manager to handle efforts in the construction of the new City Hall.

This process highlighted the most advantageous option for the city, and Worthington said appropriate staff recommended awarding the job to Allstate Construction Group, Inc. in the amount of $213,287.29. Council approved unanimously.

He also brought forward bids for the demolition of the properties at both 1016 Duncan Avenue and 1044 Greenwood Drive. Appropriate staff recommended awarding the job to Southern Equipment, LLC in the amount of $33,800. Council approved the 3 responsive bids.

Mayor Walker closed the meeting, announcing the time and dates of the next meeting of mayor and council.

The next council work session will take place Monday, Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. The pre-council meeting will take place the next day at 5 p.m. with the official meeting beginning at 6 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.

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