The annual Fourth of July celebration for the City of Waycross will move to the parks and streets of downtown Waycross this summer.
The Waycross City Commission has approved a resolution for the fireworks display that closes the day’s festivities. Pirotecnico Fireworks, Inc., which has handled the presentation the past few years, will do so again at a cost of $22,500.
The resolution was one of seven commissioners approved during their bimonthly meeting Tuesday, May 6 in City Hall. Two dealt with the purchase of public works equipment, two others surplussed vehicles for public works and fire department, while the others were for contracts for an addition to the city’s upgraded computer software program and a consulting agreement for grant writing services.
In other business, commissioners approved a pair of privilege licenses, one for the Wawa that opened last week. City Clerk Jackie Powell also was honored as Employee of the Month for May.
In addition to Mayor James, all four commissioners were present for the meeting.
Resolutions
The annual July 4 program normally is held around Bit Tanner Field and the grounds of Waycross Middle School. The new school is currently under construction forcing the festivities to the downtown area similar to that occupied by Swampfest in early April.
The fireworks will be fired from the area behind the Train Depot near the downtown water tower .
“Basically where swampfest has their show,” Community Improvement Director Marc Hawkins told commissioners at their planning and information session May 5.
Hawkins said because of the surroundings where the fireworks will be delivered and fall, they will not be as high as those in the past, but there will be more of them in the same 18- to 20-minute show.
He said the city will seek support from the Ware County Commission as well as sponsorships from individuals and businesses as in past years. The festivities will include music by a DJ, food, beverage and other vendors as well as activities for children and families from late afternoon until the fireworks conclusion.
The purchases of the items for public works totaled more than $30,000 from the department’s equipment budget. One was for a new mosquito sprayer for $15,300 and the other for a heavy duty trailer to haul equipment around to work sites at a cost of $14,900.
Director Matthew Elwell said the pump on the sprayer was bad and beyond repair and the trailer finally had succumbed to years of use.
Commissioners surplussed two vehicles and a safety trailer from the fire department and four other s from public works for sale on govdeals.com to the highest bidder.
The fire department vehicle no longer qualified for safe status while the trailer was damaged in Hurricane Helene. The public works vehicles dated to the 1990s.
Another resolution approved an amendment to the contract with Tyler Technologies to add a fixed asset module for the city’s finance software. Cost is $1,189 for the module with the annual fee of $4,044.
The final measure OK’d a consulting contract with SEAS Community Partners, Inc., to provide grant writing services. The Atlanta-based firm will target sources of funding to supplement money realized from an increase in water-sewer rates that begins October 1.
The contract is for $50,000 annually to be covered by funding SEAS secures.
Top employee
Powell was hired as clerk nearly three years ago after the city had a revolving door of people in other positions on staff shared the duties.
“(Clerk) can’t be a secondary role,” said City Manager Ulysses “Duke” Rayford, who arrived a few months after Powell.
Rayford said when he arrived there was only about a 25 percent compliance rate with business licenses. He said Powell and her team now have that figure at more than 85 percent.
“She and her team have a done a great job educating our citizens,” Rayford said.
