The Milledgeville City Council met on Feb. 27 and approved several ordinances, resolutions, and the new pro tempore. Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan was present virtually, therefore council member Steve Chambers opened the meeting.
The meeting began with two public comments from Cynthia Ward-Edwards and Clarence Hall of the National Association of Advancement of Colored People. Both made comments thanking the City of Milledgeville for approving banners featuring overlooked Black leaders for the downtown area for Black History Month. They also expressed disapproval of council member Jeanette Walden’s vote against the project.
After, City Manager Hank Griffeth conducted the first hearing to make amendments to the budget for the previous fiscal year. These amendments are made annually as the city wraps up the fiscal year. The rules were suspended for the first hearing, allowing the ordinance to be voted on and unanimously approved by the council to allow the city to proceed with the audit.
The next ordinance discussed the deactivation of a detective position in the police department to create a lieutenant position, specifically for IT forensics.
Griffeth stressed the importance of IT forensics and how it will benefit the department. The rules were also suspended for the first hearing of this ordinance, allowing unanimous approval.
The council then voted on three additional resolutions. The first is an agreement with Turnipseed Engineers.
This agreement would allow the company to provide services to check Milledgeville homes’ water lines for lead. It will provide reports and estimated costs for replacement if needed. This will be funded by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority. This was unanimously approved.
The final two resolutions voted upon were agreements to work with the company Simonton on three different projects around Milledgeville.
The first two projects are the traffic flow improvements on Blandy Road and the stormwater infrastructure replacement on various roads throughout Milledgeville. The third project is a traffic study on North Jefferson Street and Dunlap Road to help come up with a plan to reduce collisions in this area. Both resolutions were unanimously agreed on.
Four alcohol licenses were also approved in the meeting for Sodexo at Georgia College for the Centennial Center, the main dining hall, the Magnolia Ballroom, and the Old Governor’s Mansion.
Five members of the Milledgeville Mainstreet/ Downtown Development Authority were reappointed to their positions. Those members were Justin Jones, Adam Heagy, Missy Swicord, Willie Davis Jr., and Jim Fain.
The meeting concluded with the voting for a new mayor pro tempore. Council member Shonya Mapp made a motion for council member Denese Shinholster to be nominated for the position. The nomination was voted upon and agreed upon by the council, making Shinholster the mayor pro tempore starting in March.
The City of Milledgeville’s next city council meeting is scheduled for March 12.