It was a changing of the guard Thursday night, as a new mayor and council member, as well as a returning council member, were sworn in. Jerry Neace was sworn in as mayor to replace Mike Kelley. New council member Jeff Parrish was sworn in to replace Ray Holcomb. Robert Bohannon was sworn in to serve another term.
The first act of the council and mayor of 2010 was the approval of the review draft of Baldwin’s Comprehensive Plan. The draft now goes to Georgia Mountains Regional Development Center for review of the plan for final comments before the council approves a final draft.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at Thursday’s meeting, the council:
•discussed the proposed maintenance contract with Utility Service Company, Inc. for the service and cleaning of the 400,000 gallon water tank on Coldwater Drive. The six-year contract would cost approximately $181,000 with an annual payment of $33,400 for the first five years, then decreasing to $14,000 annually. Another option the city has is a one-time service on the tank for approximately $82,500. According to councilmember Jeff Murray, the tank is need of repair and an interior cleaning. Murray also said that due to erosion issues at the base of the tank the city will have to haul dirt in to fix the site. The council decided to move the matter onto the agenda for the next council meeting, where it is expected to be tabled until the council finds out more about the cost of repairs.
•discussed the fee adjustment for Woodard and Curran for operation and maintenance of the water and sewer plant. The increase would be $253 per month for an annual increase of $3,040 due to a 22 percent increase in wastewater chemicals used.
•discussed formation of a cell phone committee to form a policy for the use and discipline of city owned cell phones. Council member Murray brought the matter before the council and provided a stack of cell phone bills that illustrated the misuse of city phones and the subsequent charges incurred by that use. Baldwin employees are on a shared minute plan with each phone having approximately 450 minutes allotted per month. Murray showed where some of the phones were using as many as 1,200 minutes per month. Another incurred charge was the use of picture messages sent and received. Volunteering for the committee to set a policy was Mayor Neace and council members Jeff Parrish and Beverly Holcomb. The council was open to suggestions from the public present and were adamant that something has to be done to solve the problem.
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