Water will be improved and so will the streets after action by the Waycross City Commission last week on a pair of resolutions during its bimonthly meeting in City Hall.
Commissioners approved borrowing up to $3 million for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and the purchase of a new street sweeper for $318,904. The resolutions were among five passed Tuesday, March 3.
The third measure approved the 12 people nominated last month to form the pool of citizens from which the city’s Ethics Board would would be chosen. The fourth affirmed the city’s participation in the Georgia Municipal Association’s Georgia Cities Week, April 20-25.
The final resolution authorized the city to present written notice to the owners of the Confederate monument and Civil Warera cannon in Phoenix Park downtown the two must be removed within 45 days or the city will take action toward that end on its own.
In other business, the commission recognized public works staffer Michael Hays as City Employee of the Month for March. Mayor Michael-Angelo James conducted the meeting with all commissioners except District 1’s Shawn Roberts attending.
There was an executive session for litigation after the open meeting.
Resolutions
The loan is from the clean water state revolving fund administered by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority to install a water main, update the distribution system and make modifications at the water treatment plant. The facility is a key focus of the city’s infrastructure improvement program.
The new street sweeper will replace the city’s two decades-old models that Public Works Director Matthew Elwell said have reached the point they’re in the shop for maintenance as much as or more than on the streets. The newest is from 2012, while its counterpart does not have a suction component, he said.
Funds from the 2023 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax will cover the expenditure, City Manager Ulysses “Duke” Rayford said.
Each of the commissioners, as well as Mayor James, presented two members to serve in the Ethics Board pool, should a complaint be filed against a city official. The 12 approved were: Ossie Andrews, Connie Kirkland; (Commissioner Shawn Roberts); Carlos White, Ken Taft; (Commissioner William Simmons); Charles Johnson, Marcus Burden; (Commissioner Shawn Sanders); Phillip Walker, Angie Coleman; (Commissioner William Tompkins) Dr. Albert Bussey, Lorene Regulus; (Commissioner Alvin Nelson); and Kenneth Kirksey, Felecia Leggett (Mayor James).
If a complaint is filed, seven of the 12 — five to comprise the panel and two alternates — will be chosen in a blind draw to hear the case and report its findings to the commission.
The city will celebrate Georgia Cities Week with a variety of programs and events to promote citizen participation during the week.
The resolution on the statue and cannon authorized a letter from the city, seeking removal by the owners as well as filing a civil action if necessary to cause removal of the items from municipal property.
Citizen objection to the presence of the statue and cannon in downtown first surfaced in August, 2020. It was followed by commission approval of a letter sent by the city March 12, 2021, to officials with the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans, requesting them to remove the two.
The issue eventually ended up in Ware County Superior Court. The Clement A. Evans Camp No. 64 SOCV and the Georgia Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans filed suit April 29 seeking monetary damages, as well as preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting removal of the monuments.
Named as defendants with the city were the three commissioners who voted for sending the letter. Judge Dwayne H. Gillis, who is now retired, heard the case June 9.
The local statue controversy at the time was among others that had arisen elsewhere around the state. Two of those cases, in Newton and Rockdale counties, respectively, are currently before Georgia’s appellate court.
Both were similar to the one currently before Gillis.
Employee of Month Hays has been with the city for a little less than four years and serves as the lead technician for building maintenance. Director Matthew Elwell said Hays truly is a “jackof- all-trades” in his capaccity, which Elwell said extends much further than just the city’s 15 buildings.
“His attention to detail and commitment to highquality workmanship show up in the finished product every time,” Elwell said. “From painting and HVAC repairs to plumbing and general construction, Michael brings a deep well of hands-on experience to every task.”
Elwell said the honoree’s “leadership and pride in his work reflect the standard we strive for across all departments.”
