The Eatonton City Council held a brief scheduled meeting on June 16, with all seven council members and Mayor John Reid present.
The first order of official business delivered unanimous council approval to dispose of a 25-year-old, former Public Works Ford F-150 that City Administrator Gary Sanders described as worth only “scrap metal” at this point.
Next, the council was asked to authorize the mayor to apply for an annual safety and liability management grant offered by the Georgia Municipal Association.
“We use this as a way to fund certain purchases of safety, such as cones and barrels, safety vests, hard hats, and various other safety equipment that will be approved through this program,” Sanders explained.
Authorization to apply for the annual GMA grant was unanimously approved.
Likewise, authorization was sought for the mayor to execute a Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA, a U.S. DOT agency) agreement regarding an exposed natural gas pipeline alongside Hwy. 129 between Eatonton and Gray.
“The mayor received this grant award in Savannah a couple of years ago, but this is now the formal agreement that PHMSA has presented for execution,” Sanders told the council. “The period of performance for this grant officially is April of 2025 through April of 2030. Engineering has been proceeding on this and all the different studies and processes with the Feds. It’s a $326,000 grant for the modernization of our gas pipeline. So, it comes with the request that you authorize the mayor to execute the agreement.”
Authorization for the mayor to proceed was unanimously approved without further discussion.
Next, Sanders explained that a revised SPLOST 10 project list needed to be approved based on a projected revenue increase by the county that predicts the City of Eatonton would receive slightly more than $11.33 million over the SPLOST’s six-year term, if approved by voters in November. This represents 24.8 percent of a projected SPLOST 10 intake of more than $47.68 million countywide over that same period.
The largest city departments and/or projects submitted to be paid for with SPLOST 10 revenues over six years include approximately $3.5 million for drainage projects and road-andsidewalk maintenance and/or construction, plus $1.32 million for streets’ department vehicles and tools; $1.8 million for maintenance of public buildings and sites; $1.6 million for gas department vehicles, tools, and projects; $1.26 million for police vehicles and equipment; $1.23 million for fire department vehicles and equipment; and about $300,000 for blight remediation, among other “smaller” amounts.
After some brief discussion, the council voted unanimously to accept and submit the proposed figures as presented.
The next city council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1, at the county administration building (117 Putnam Drive, Suite A, Eatonton).