Updates heard on Public Art Ordinance
The Milledgeville City Council met on Jan. 9 to hear three presentations and approve an amendment to the budget and two sale/ lease agreements. Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan was not present at the meeting so Steve Chambers acted in her place as pro-tem.
To start presentations, Georgia College & State University students Grace King, Renata Ocampo, and Vivian Cassaniti from the Public Policy Making class presented their proposal for a Public Art Ordinance.
Using a PowerPoint presentation, each spoke about the benefits of the ordinance, how the Milledgeville Public Art Board would function, and some of the proposed guidelines and qualifications for the proposal. To learn more about the specifics of the proposal and how it was created, refer to last week’s article “GCSU students to propose public art ordinance”.
“Well presented and well prepared,” said Mayor pro-tem Steve Chambers after the presentation. “This is extremely interesting to me and I think it would benefit our community.”
While the council did not vote on the ordinance, they agreed that discussions on the specifics of the final draft would continue. Each board member showed interest in possibly adopting the ordinance in the future if it comes to pass.
Following their presentation Vice President for Institutional Development at Georgia Military College Allen Simmons presented an update on the Georgia Military College Center of Leadership. He showed a schematic of the landscaping occurring. According to Simmons, the Georgia Military College Foundation is in charge of landscaping and employs a local business to complete it.
“We have Trae Grimes of Grimes Landscaping completing both the landscaping and hardscaping of the project. He is doing a phenomenal job,” said Simmons.
The plan involves the entire area around the Center of Leadership but also carries over to Usery Hall. The crosswalk will be carried over to Usery Hall to increase safety due to foot traffic between the two buildings.
The Center of Leadership will have new shrubbery and sidewalks. In addition, there is a plaza documented in the plan that may be used for community events and as an open “peaceful area” for the school and community.
“This is going to be amazing with what it creates for the city and the school,” said Simmons.
Concluding presentations, Director of the Emergency Management Agency Wayne Johnson presented weather radios to the City of Milledgeville as part of the Hazardous Mitigation Plan. He also stated that installation of the radios in some locations has begun and will continue.
Moving into action items the board approved an ordinance and two resolutions:
• The council unanimously approved amending the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year Annual Operating Budget to make a one-time allocation to the Mary Vinson Memorial Library to provide funding for an insurance increase. City Manager Hank Griffeth stated that this increase cannot be guaranteed for the library each year and that the library is already internally adapting to accommodate for that.
• The council unanimously approved resolutions for the authorization of a sales/ lease agreement with Superior Document Solutions to lease two copiers for the Waste Treatment Plant. These agreements account for leasing and maintenance.
The next city council meeting will be held Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m.