Debates turn heated at Fort Valley Utility Meeting

FORT VALLEY, Ga. – The Fort Valley Utility Commission’s Monday night meeting turned heated as discussions between the board and a concerned citizen turned sour.

A local representative from Friendship Circle, Sabrina Thorpe, was in attendance to ask the Utility Commission a few questions about the water plant that was constructed near Friendship Circle in Fort Valley. Her first question was if the land was zoned as commercial property. County Attorney Charles Jones responded that the land is most likely not commercial, but the government is not subject to its zoning restrictions. Her second question was about who applied for the funding for the project. Jones answered that the Fort Valley Utility Commission applied for the funding. Her final question was about what considerations were given to the residents of that area. Jones answered that there were at least two public hearings before the building of the water plant and the public would have been notified of the project.

Thorpe explained that since the project started, there has been an increase in noise pollution from both the roads and the railway. Thorpe explained that when the water plant was created, a large number of trees were cut down. The trees had previously acted as a sound barrier and with their number being depleted, there is considerably more noise. 

However, General Manager Clay Walker later refuted this, stating that there is still an abundance of trees that act as a sound barrier in the area. He provided photos from around the area of the treelines. 

Additionally, Walker informed the committee that slats were put into the fence around the plant to help with canceling out noise. Other solutions had been looked at previously, but they were infeasible due to the cost, roughly $200,000.

Commissioner Rose Huff-Thompson asked Walker to go back and consider if there might be other options for helping provide aid to the citizens of Friendship Circle. Chairman Alre’ Horton agreed to look into revisiting the matter.

Sue Roach, an attendee at the meeting, asked the commissioners to clarify the recent payment process of the Fort Valley Utility Commission. She explained that there had been recent confusion about the overall process. If a customer comes inside or goes through the drive-through, they will ask for the person’s name and address. If they are not an authorized user on the account, the Fort Valley Utility Commission cannot provide information on how much the bill is as it is considered private information. However, a workaround that has started to be used is to ask if the customer is paying the current bill, a past due bill or do they know how much they are going to pay. Another option is if the customer is paying in cash, they can be rung up and provided a receipt and any change. The Fort Valley Utility Commission can also be called the account holder. There is also the option of using an app, either for iPhone or Android. In regards to getting information, a customer either has to provide a photo ID in person or the last four digits of the social security number if they are over the phone. If a customer is at the Utility Commission to solely pay a bill, this information is not required.

The Utility Commission discussed the March activity report. In the operations overview, Walker was asked to expound upon water and electrical meters having to be reread. However, the issue had just been brought forward earlier that day. Walker assured the board that he would be looking into the issue.

The discussion turned to new business. The first item was for the GEFA (Georgia Environmental Finance Authority) contract. Walker asked the commission to come up with a bill to modify the GEFA contract to reflect the new data. The modification would be extending the deadline of the contract. The motion was approved. 

The next item was the MEAG (Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia) Power Projects 2022 Year-End settlement. Walker asked the commission to vote on taking the year-end settlement refund, $99,555, and putting it into the flexible operating account intermediate extended maturity portfolio. Walker was asked to explain the stark reduction from this year’s and last year’s refund. In 2021, the price was around $550,000, and for the previous year 2022, the price was around $100,000. Walker explained that the market was more volatile this year. Walker explained that the ideal price for the refund would be around zero. The motion was approved. 

Before adjourning the session, Jones asked Chairman Horton to recognize the recent passing of Pastor Morris Hillsman of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.