The Waynesboro City Commission met in regular session on Monday, April 12th, 2021 at City Hall in Waynesboro. All commissioners were present, including Mayor Chris Bevis, Vice Mayor Jeff Davis, Commissioner Lynn Warren, Commissioner Jeff Howell, and Commissioner Tony Creasy. Also in attendance were City Manager John Hickman, City Attorney Josh Polk, and City Recorder Paige Jackson.
Mayor Bevis called the meeting to order, and Commissioner Warren offered the invocation.
First on the agenda was approval of the minutes from the previous commission meeting. Commissioner Howell made a motion to approve. Commissioner Creasy seconded the motion, and the minutes were approved.
Department reports were next on the agenda. City Manager Hickman distributed fiscal year-to-date cash collateral statements and investment reports for the commissioners’ review. The city manager then went on to inform/update the commission on several items, including:
-RaeKar recently made a $1,000 donation to the city’s Cops for Kids program;
-the deadline for bid submissions for the Highway 64 East water line extension project has been extended from April 13 to April 20 in order to allow time for more bids to be submitted;
-Vernon Calton has requested that property he owns on Old Highway 64 West be re-zoned from industrial to residential.
City Manager Hickman then told the commission that MDN Development had made an offer of $200,000.00 on the Industrial Park property on Highway 64 East. The company also agreed to pay the city 10% of the offer if the city accepts and the company backs out of the proposition. A brief discussion followed among the commission members regarding the feasibility of keeping the property versus the possibility of selling it for further development. Mayor Bevis asked the city manager if a representative from MDN Development could come speak to the commission regarding their intentions for the development of the property, and Hickman said that he would get that set up.
The first item of new business on the agenda was the second reading of the ordinance to rename a portion of Fairlane Drive to Dr. Hall’s Way, in honor of the late Dr. Joe Hall. Commissioner Warren made a motion to approve the second reading of the ordinance. Commissioner Howell seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
The next item of new business was the awardance of a bid for construction of a new pavilion at the City Park to replace the old one destroyed by fire. City Manager Hickman presented the lone bid received, from G&G Construction in the amount of $59,750.00. Hickman said that G&G would be able to start the project the first week of May, and should be completed within a one- to two-week time frame. Commissioner Howell made a motion to accept the bid from G&G Construction. Vice Mayor Davis seconded the motion, and the bid was unanimously approved.
“Citizens to Address the Commission” was the next item on the agenda. Gail Edwards and Elsie Hobbs, representing golfers at the Waynesboro Municipal Golf Course, addressed the commission regarding changes and improvements they feel are needed at the golf course. The commissioners agreed with the ladies that a very pressing need is new restroom facilities, as the ones inside the clubhouse building are in bad shape and become easily clogged on a regular basis. Ms. Edwards and Ms. Hobbs also asked the commission to consider lowering membership rates for senior citizens, and to enforce stricter policies regarding golf carts and other issues. The commission agreed to discuss these matters further in the future, and to put funding in the next fiscal year’s budget for improvements at the golf course.
Next, Mr. Allen Mathis came before the commission to discuss a buy-out of property he owns that he said was promised from the city in 2003. Mr. Mathis distributed copies to the commissioners of documents pertaining to various civil litigations that he has brought before the courts over the past several years. City Attorney Polk advised the commissioners not to respond to Mr. Mathis’ allegations, and assured Mr. Mathis that he would familiarize himself more with the details of the issue and answer his questions to the best of his ability after he has had time to do the research.
Under open items on the agenda, Commissioner Howell said that he had received a complaint regarding a bridge on Haggard Street. City Manager Hickman confirmed that the bridge was badly damaged in the recent flood, and is on the list to be repaired.
Vice Mayor Davis asked about the water on the soccer fields at the Sportsplex. City Manager Hickman said that Wayne County Rock is going to take care of the problem.
City Manager Hickman went on to say that due to the recent storms and flooding, the city will continue to pick up all brush as long as residents get it to the side of the roadway.
With no further business to come before the commission, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting of the Waynesboro City Commission will be on Monday, April 26th.
