The Waynesboro City Commission met in regular session on Monday, August 23rd, 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 Vice Mayor Davis offered the invocation.
First on the agenda was approval of the minutes from the previous commission meeting. Commissioner Creasy made a motion to approve, and Commissioner Howell seconded. The minutes were unanimously approved.
City Manager Hickman gave brief updates on the following:
• The Highway 64 East water line extension project is underway. The boring process is almost done, and the installation of water lines will begin in the next couple of weeks. Several new water customers have already paid the fees to hook up to the new lines when they become available.
• FEMA has committed to covering the cost of the bridge that was damaged in the spring flood, along with the cost of the generators that the city used at the water and sewer plants.
• Bid notices are being published in the Wayne County News for the next two weeks for golf carts, mowers, and paving.
• A new police vehicle has been ordered.
The first item of new business on the agenda was the bid award for new playground equipment at City Park to replace the equipment damaged in the spring flood. Three bids were received, with the low bid coming in from Cunningham Recreations at $17,988.54. City Manager Hickman said that not only was the Cunningham bid the lowest, they were also the only company that sent a representative to Waynesboro to look at the old e quipment and describe what they would be replacing it with. Vice Mayor Davis made a motion to accept the Cunningham Recreations bid, and Commissioner Howell seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. City Manager Hickman also confirmed that the commission had set aside money in the new budget to replace the old wood chip mulch on the playground with rubber mulch.
Next was the bid award for the fence at the water plant that was destroyed in the spring flood. City Manager Hickman presented the lone bid that was received before the deadline, which was from Volunteer Fence in Jackson, Tennessee in the amount of $23,976.50. Commissioner Howell made a motion to accept the bid, and Commissioner Warren seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
Under open items on the agenda, Commissioner Howell said that he recently received two different calls about an overgrown property on Stockard Street. City Manager Hickman said that he would send someone to look at it. Commissioner Howell also said that the sidewalks on the square are in need of cleaning.
Commissioner Warren told the commission that he had recently met with the new greens manager at the Waynesboro Municipal Golf Course, and he seems to be doing a great job. Commissioner Warren went on to ask if anyone had heard an opening date for the new Rick’s BBQ location in Waynesboro, and City Manager Hickman said that he had not heard an exact date yet, but it would be soon.
Commissioner Creasy mentioned a residence on Will Drive that needs cleaning up.
Vice Mayor Davis said that several members of his church, Green River Baptist, had recently done some cleanup work at the City Park and on the square as a community outreach project, and they were disturbed by the amount of unsanitary personal items that had been discarded at the park. Mayor Bevis said that he and all the commissioners greatly appreciated the work the church group had done to clean up around town.
With no further business to come before the commission, Commissioner Creasy made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Warren seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned.
