[0:09] All right. The meeting is called to order.

[0:11] I am Mayor Pro Tem, Jared Rutberg, in for Mayor Tina Maggard.

[0:16] She's a little under the weather right now, but she'll be back in a couple of weeks

[0:20] here for our meeting. First up, let's do our invocation.

[0:33] Mr. Williams.

[0:37] I didn't do that, did I?

[0:39] We'll let you.

[0:40] Okay.

[0:43] Did you do that? Did I do that?

[0:45] I did.

[0:48] Okay, I didn't want to be guilty of something.

[0:52] Thank you for letting me be here tonight.

[0:54] It has been a hot, hot week, and I've tried to go to high school ballgames and

[1:00] watch my granddaughter play in ball at Eastside,

[1:05] but it's just too hot for an old woman to sit out there.

[1:08] So I sort of welcome tonight, to get out of the house

[1:14] and have a chance to meet with all of y'all, and I just have a sense that this is

[1:20] going to be a grand meeting. I'm looking forward to it. Let's pray.

[1:25] Gracious God, we thank you for giving us the courage and the ambition

[1:32] and the wherewithal to come again to meet, to discuss, and to

[1:38] decide. Help us to be diligent in our thinking and help

[1:43] us to be attention to the details and help us to

[1:49] do your will in all these things. In Christ's name, amen.

[1:56] Amen.

[1:56] All right. Next up is going to be the Pledge of Allegiance, and tonight we're going

[2:00] to have two of our Covington's newest, finest officers coming in.

[2:04] One is a Navy veteran and one is a Marine veteran. Correct?

[2:09] So please let Brock Birch and Matthew Bonestell lead us in the pledge.

[2:18] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the

[2:24] republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with

[2:30] liberty and justice for all.

[2:34] Thank you, gentlemen. Next up is going to be the administration of oath of

[2:40] office for these same two officers here, so don't go too far.

[2:50] Good evening, Council. It's my distinct privilege to introduce to you the two

[2:55] newest members to the ranks of the Covington Police Department.

[2:59] They've both demonstrated outstanding character, dedication, and commitment to

[3:03] public service. As Mr. Rutberg stated, both of them have military

[3:08] service,

[3:10] and on the right is Brock Birch, who served as a firefighter and also

[3:16] as a Navy corpsman, and on to the left is Matthew Bonestell, who comes to us with

[3:22] eight years of prior police service for his community in Cornelia, North

[3:27] Carolina.

[3:30] You guys can go ahead and come

[3:35] up.

[3:38] Thank you.

[3:40] You can sit. Your family can go and take pictures there if you'd like.

[3:43] All right.

[3:45] All right. Raise your right hand.

[3:48] I, state your name.

[3:49] I, Brock Birch.

[3:50] I, Matthew Bonestell. Do solemnly swear or affirm.

[3:52] Do solemnly swear or affirm.

[3:54] That I will support and defend.

[3:56] That I will support and defend.

[3:57] The Constitution of the United States of America.

[3:59] The Constitution of the United States of America.

[4:02] And the Constitution of the State of Georgia.

[4:04] And the Constitution of the State of Georgia.

[4:06] That I will faithfully perform all the duties of my office.

[4:09] That I will faithfully perform all the duties of my office.

[4:12] That I will faithfully observe all the rules, orders, and regulations.

[4:16] That I will faithfully observe all the rules, orders, and regulations.

[4:20] Of the Covington Police Department.

[4:22] Of the Covington Police Department.

[4:23] And that I will faithfully enforce the laws of the State of Georgia.

[4:27] And that I will faithfully enforce the laws of the State of Georgia.

[4:30] And the ordinances of the City of Covington.

[4:32] And the ordinances of the City of Covington.

[4:34] I do further swear or affirm.

[4:36] I do further swear or affirm.

[4:38] That I am not the holder of any unaccounted for public money due this state.

[4:42] That I am not the holder of any unaccounted for public money due to this state.

[4:47] Or any political subdivision or authority thereof.

[4:50] Or any political subdivision or authority thereof.

[4:54] That I am not the holder of any office of trust.

[4:57] That I am not the holder of any office of trust.

[4:59] Under the government of the United States.

[5:01] Under the government of the United States.

[5:03] Or any other state or foreign state which.

[5:06] Or any other state or foreign state which.

[5:10] By the laws of the State of Georgia.

[5:12] By the laws of the State of Georgia.

[5:14] I am prohibited from holding.

[5:15] I am prohibited from holding.

[5:17] And that I am otherwise qualified to be.

[5:19] And that I am otherwise qualified to be.

[5:21] A police officer according to the Constitution and the laws of Georgia.

[5:25] A police officer according to the Constitution and the laws of Georgia.

[5:29] I do further swear or affirm that.

[5:31] I do further swear or affirm that.

[5:33] As a police officer.

[5:35] As a police officer.

[5:36] I will faithfully serve and protect.

[5:38] I will faithfully serve and protect.

[5:40] To the best of my ability.

[5:41] To the best of my ability.

[5:42] All citizens.

[5:44] All citizens.

[5:45] Regardless of race, color, or creed.

[5:47] Regardless of race, color, or creed.

[5:49] I accept the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.

[5:52] I accept the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.

[5:54] As my standard of conduct.

[5:56] As my standard of conduct.

[5:58] While on and off duty.

[5:59] While on and off duty.

[6:01] And swear to faithfully abide by and defend the same, so help me God.

[6:05] And swear to faithfully abide by and defend the same, so help me God.

[6:09] Congratulations.

[6:10] Thanks.

[6:10] Thank you, guys.

[6:14] Here, guys. Guys. Oh, excuse me.

[6:18] No, you shake their hand.

[6:19] Oh.

[6:21] No, that's their shake.

[6:31] It's congratulations.

[6:34] You

[6:36] shake their hand.

[6:42] Yeah.

[6:42] Just sit. Okay. Next up is going to be unfinished business,

[6:47] and we're going to deal with, first thing is going to be agenda changes, which is

[6:51] going to be delete item four, because it will be included with the HR policy manual

[6:57] at the next meeting. So I just need a motion for that agenda change to delete item

[7:00] four.

[7:01] I make a first motion.

[7:03] Can I get a second?

[7:04] Second.

[7:04] I'll second.

[7:05] Okay, I got Sharica as the second. All, time to vote.

[7:12] Okay, thank you. All right, public comments for current agenda items excluding

[7:17] public hearings, which by the way, we have no public hearings this evening.

[7:20] I have a card for Robbie Tombrello.

[7:23] Minutes. You forgot the minutes.

[7:24] Oh, I'm sorry. I jumped one here.

[7:28] Minutes for the regular council meeting is all in your packet from the August 17th

[7:33] meeting. Is there any questions?

[7:37] No? Can I get a motion to approve the minutes?

[7:39] I make a motion to approve.

[7:41] Got Anthony as first.

[7:42] Second.

[7:43] Second from Duane. Please vote.

[7:48] Okay, now we're onto public comments for current agenda items. Robbie Tombrello.

[7:55] If you could, when you come up you can state your name and address for the record.

[8:02] My name is Robbie Tombrello, address is 1500 Isabella Lane, Covington.

[8:07] I am here representing Yancey Brothers in the City of Covington.

[8:12] About a year ago, we made an investment in this community, put a store in, in an

[8:17] effort to draw business into this area.

[8:20] We recently put a bid in for the next item up, which is a code

[8:26] M excavator. We were a

[8:31] little over $10,000 cheaper than what it looks like the approval is going to be

[8:37] for.

[8:39] My comment to that would be, we're a more premium brand.

[8:45] We were, in this case, a cheaper acquisition cost while also being a cheaper

[8:52] cost of ownership over the lifetime of that machine.

[8:55] In that bid packet, there's also a section

[9:00] stating to the fact that any kind of tiebreakers would be awarded, number one, to a

[9:06] business in the city. I know this is not a tiebreaker situation, but it does show

[9:10] some

[9:13] Preference to local businesses. So, that's it.

[9:18] Thank you.

[9:19] Thank you very much, sir.

[9:22] Okay. Item four we've already discussed, is removed.

[9:26] We're on to item five, which is going to be the discussion of the second reading of

[9:30] a zoning amendment to Section 16.12.020.D regarding the Covington

[9:36] Planning Commission appointment and terms.

[9:39] This will be Judy's. It is an ordinance of the city of Covington, Georgia to amend

[9:43] the Covington Municipal Code enacted and adopted on the 16th day of October 2001,

[9:48] as amended by previous amendments, to alter certain provisions of Title 16 of the

[9:52] said code of ordinances for the purpose of amending Section 16.12.020 Planning

[9:58] Commission of Chapter 16.12, Procedures, thereof to repeal conflicting ordinances

[10:03] and for other purposes. Is there anything you need to present on this?

[10:08] Frank, I know you had to do some rewrites.

[10:10] No, basically what we've done, it's made effective October the 1st so that you'll

[10:15] have the opportunity to make your appointments, because it was not clear who would

[10:18] come off. You

[10:20] only have three vacancies, I think, right now, and it wasn't clear then who of the

[10:24] remainders when they would come off.

[10:26] So you would have till October the 1st before this is effective.

[10:29] That'll give you time to have a work session, make your appointments.

[10:33] You can begin. Some of you want to appoint people who are already on there, some

[10:36] people may want to move. That's up to you.

[10:39] Okay, and just so we're all clear on that, so the selection's going to be on that,

[10:45] basically, it's going to be a three-round draft.

[10:48] So it'll be Sharica, Dwayne, and Anthony would be in the first round.

[10:52] You guys can pick from the existing nine or pick new, doesn't matter.

[10:57] The second round would then be... And these are based on when terms are ending.

[11:02] So the next would be the terms that are ending next December, which would be Jared,

[11:07] Kim, Travis, and Felita. Again, those four would go and either pick from the nine

[11:13] or pick their own, doesn't matter.

[11:15] Round three would then be the final, would be two at large, which would be agreed

[11:20] upon by the council as a whole.

[11:22] So those would be elected at your September meeting or the first meeting of

[11:27] October. Those two at large seats are elected by the whole council.

[11:32] Yeah. So the intent is we'll do that during a work session just to go over it, make

[11:36] sure we have everything right. We'll do that work session before next meeting, go

[11:40] over that, make sure everybody's got their picks, everybody's straight on it, and

[11:45] then we would have to come into the meeting and as agenda item, make the actual

[11:49] appointments. Correct? So, it should be pretty easy.

[11:53] So just come to the next meeting or work session with probably, well, first round

[11:59] you guys definitely will know who you're getting, but second round and third rounds

[12:03] have a few names in mind, in case that name's already been taken.

[12:07] So, it's kind of like NFL or NBA draft. Okay.

[12:13] So at that point, is there any questions about that item?

[12:18] Yes. So you stated that

[12:22] we may have a work session before the next meeting?

[12:26] Yes.

[12:26] Okay. So I will not be able to attend any work sessions this month.

[12:30] Do I need to give you my person? I mean, unless it's during a council meeting.

[12:35] That's right. So the ordinance won't be effective till October 1st.

[12:39] If you can name somebody before October 1st, you don't have to appoint them at a

[12:42] meeting, you can appoint them whenever you want to appoint them.

[12:45] So you don't have to come to the work session.

[12:47] I think the thought of the work session would be for y'all to discuss maybe the

[12:50] at-large appointments that all y'all are going to vote on, but you can make your

[12:53] appointment.

[12:54] Okay. But you need that person's resume or no?

[12:57] No, it's just an appointment.

[12:59] The staff does have to verify that they're a city resident.

[13:02] When's the best day I can give you their name?

[13:04] It'd be on that day, just do it right before that meeting.

[13:08] What day?

[13:09] The 21st, I believe is the meeting.

[13:11] The 21st, yes.

[13:11] Okay.

[13:12] So if Judy has it before the meeting on there, give her enough time so she can

[13:17] verify-

[13:17] Okay

[13:17] ... what she needs to verify on there, and then you would have a first-round draft

[13:21] pick, so.

[13:22] Okay. So Judy, I'll give you the name and the resume before the first meeting so

[13:26] you can verify. Okay. Thank you.

[13:28] Okay.

[13:30] All right, any other questions on that?

[13:33] Okay.

[13:33] Oh, who's coming off?

[13:36] Judy, can you go, and actually, well, this is the thing is basically they're all

[13:40] coming off and-

[13:41] Who's coming off first round?

[13:43] The three members that have expired is Sean McGovern,

[13:50] Felicia Sanders, and Bobby Shepherd. Those are the ones that expired in July.

[13:56] Felicia who?

[13:57] Sanders.

[14:00] Okay. Thank you.

[14:01] Okay.

[14:02] And just to be clear on that, so at the end when we pick our nine, okay, and it

[14:06] could be you could have all nine existing people are back on, if we all picked from

[14:11] the nine. You could have nine brand-new people on there.

[14:14] So at the end of it, at the end of the third round when the two at larges are

[14:19] picked on there, whoever's not left, it doesn't matter if they were one of those

[14:25] nine on there. If they weren't picked, they weren't picked.

[14:28] Judy, can we ask the three people that's on there, are they willing to

[14:34] stay?

[14:36] Yes, sir. I can ask them and then get back with you.

[14:38] We have a meeting this upcoming Tuesday.

[14:41] Okay. You just let me know.

[14:42] Yes, sir.

[14:45] All right.

[14:45] All right. Any other questions, Dwayne? Nope. All right.

[14:48] Anthony, you have any questions?

[14:49] I'm good.

[14:50] Travis?

[14:52] No.

[14:53] Kim?

[14:53] Did we

[14:56] determine our picks had to be from our ward, or we could pick just from the city?

[15:00] So thank you. So it says that you're supposed to attempt to find someone in your

[15:04] ward, but after you attempt to do so, then you can

[15:09] pick from the whole city. So it's not going to be that.

[15:12] I think you can pick from the whole city.

[15:15] Nobody's going to say you didn't try hard enough.

[15:18] There's no standard of how hard you have to try.

[15:22] Any other questions, Kim?

[15:24] Frank, any other comments?

[15:26] Judy, you got everything?

[15:28] Yes.

[15:28] Good. Okay. Can I get a motion to approve?

[15:32] I make a motion to approve.

[15:33] All right. I've got a first from Dwayne. A second?

[15:35] Second.

[15:35] Second from Kim. Any questions? It's a vote to approve as written. Okay.

[15:41] Please vote.

[15:44] All right. We're approved 6-0.

[15:48] Okay. Next item up is under new

[15:53] business. For the consent agenda, we have two items, 6A and 6B.

[15:58] 6A is the approval of the purchase of the new Kubota KX057-5 mini excavator from

[16:03] Lashley Kubota for $87,994 for the water and sewer department, and 6B, which is the

[16:09] approval of the purchase of its Kubota skid steer, which is included in the FY

[16:12] 26-27 approved budget in the amount of $85,000 for the transportation department.

[16:18] Kevin, is there any chance you can come up and

[16:22] address that, what was commented earlier?

[16:26] Good evening, mayor and council. The RFP that we sent out for this tractor was

[16:32] specific to a Kubota-type tractor to drive consistency within the fleet that we

[16:37] have at the city of Covington. And it's not exclusive to the water and sewer

[16:41] department, but Kubota is a consistent tractor that we have throughout the city.

[16:47] And so it drives the maintenance and a

[16:50] operator ease of cost there. So the ability to maintain that tractor

[16:56] and keep up the, for the operator to be familiar with all the functions of those

[17:01] tractors is why we chose to ask for a Kubota within the RFP.

[17:07] So the respondents to that didn't meet the specifications of the RFP.

[17:12] Understood. Okay. Does anybody have any questions for Kevin?

[17:15] So yeah, in comments, well, down in the comments section,

[17:21] is that what it's meant by was the Lashley Kubota was the only vendor that supplied

[17:25] a bid that met the specifications?

[17:28] Yes.

[17:28] So that's what you're talking about?

[17:29] Yes.

[17:29] Okay.

[17:30] Great. Okay. Jim, do you have any questions on that? Anthony?

[17:34] No, sir.

[17:36] Dwayne? Sharica? No. Yes.

[17:40] I honestly should know the answer, but I don't. So I'm going to ask it anyway.

[17:43] This gentleman, which agenda item is he on?

[17:46] He's talking about 6A, the excavator.

[17:48] Is that what I'm talking about right now?

[17:51] Yes.

[17:52] Oh, okay. Thank you.

[17:55] My one question would be is,

[17:59] is there a competitive, are there multiple Kubota dealers we could've gotten bids

[18:03] from?

[18:03] Oh, yes. Well, we sent the RFP and advertised.

[18:07] Anyone can supply a bid.

[18:10] Okay.

[18:10] But the bid RFP was specific to Kubota.

[18:14] Okay.

[18:14] So any Kubota dealer could have submitted or any of these other vendors did submit.

[18:19] We had other respondents. They just didn't meet the request.

[18:25] You have something else to complain?

[18:27] Yeah, I just wanted to reaffirm why are we going with bid number two and not three

[18:32] or four, which is cheaper?

[18:34] In the RFP that we advertised out, we specified a Kubota

[18:39] tractor

[18:42] in the

[18:44] RFP that we put out and advertised.

[18:46] For consistency of maintenance purposes and consistency of-

[18:51] Our department, plus the gas and electric, and that we have multiple of these

[18:56] tractors already in the fleet, so maintenance on those is consistent.

[19:00] Filters, ease of operations for the operators, and the folks that work on them.

[19:07] Could we have used non-Kubota? Because it's kind of like Walmart, Target-

[19:12] I'm not-

[19:12] ... or anything.

[19:13] Obviously, we can learn new equipment.

[19:16] We can

[19:19] utilize different equipment.

[19:20] Kevin?

[19:21] Yes.

[19:21] You might use the pumps that we use and have used for my 25 years of being here,

[19:26] and explain the reason for that. Submersible and above ground.

[19:31] Light versus going and rough, same principle.

[19:34] Yeah. It's actually just that we are familiar, and because these

[19:41] equipment is reliable for us. And these are

[19:46] proven equipment for the city.

[19:49] And obviously, we can

[19:52] purchase whatever the council chooses for us to purchase, but we recommend

[19:58] the Kubota tractor. And that's why we put the RFP out that way.

[20:01] But isn't CAT like a good brand as well?

[20:04] It is. I wouldn't put any of these tractors down, right?

[20:08] They're all good equipment. You're looking at the $75,000 at the low end, a piece

[20:14] of equipment to $87,000,

[20:17] so.

[20:17] So would you say that the only difference would be is more training on it, if it

[20:20] mean?

[20:21] Well, we'd have to

[20:25] stock new filters or stock... Yeah, there'll be more training that we'd have to do

[20:29] the maintenance on these. And then the operators, they probably can operate the

[20:35] same way. They typically do have the same types of controls that you can put on

[20:38] them, but it just is a standardization.

[20:42] That's within our purchasing policy.

[20:45] To standardize the fleet, standardize the equipment that we use.

[20:50] And so we looked at the policy, we looked at the RFP that we put out, and

[20:56] Kubota was the only one that met those specifications.

[20:59] All right. I guess, can we

[21:02] go and look at before, let's say, budget meetings next year or sometime in the

[21:07] future? Go and look at what would be the implications if we go and use multiple

[21:12] brands on there, considering training,

[21:17] maintenance. Because the driver training frankly, is not as big of a deal from

[21:22] having to operate that equipment.

[21:23] It's the maintenance side of it, not all the same.

[21:26] So, if we can just look at what would the impacts be as far as if we went and had

[21:32] Kubota, Cat, et cetera. Pick a couple of brands.

[21:36] I know you're not buying these off of Temu or something like that, so.

[21:38] No, no. Like I said, if you look in there, what I supplied in the packet was the

[21:42] RFP that actually went out. And it goes onto the city website, and it gets put out

[21:48] and advertised. So, it was clearly stated what the desire was in that RFP.

[21:54] And so, the only-

[21:56] Yeah, I get it. I'm just trying to justify the spending $10,000 more just for

[22:01] something we're used to having.

[22:03] And I don't know that we went line by line on the specs because once you don't meet

[22:09] the RFP requirements, I don't know that we went line by line on the tractors.

[22:13] I can't say that that tractor has the same breakout force or depth to dig in, or I

[22:18] haven't looked at those particular numbers to know if the specs are identical

[22:23] because it was the only one that met the specs that we requested.

[22:27] Okay. So we all agree that maybe have them

[22:31] by the next budget season, when we're looking at that, or we want a shorter

[22:36] timeline where we would come back and look at what the different options are?

[22:40] Because I understand the standardization, the maintenance stuff because I live in

[22:45] that world, but also,

[22:48] if opening this up to other brands, if it's a feasible option from a maintenance

[22:52] standpoint and an operational standpoint, if we could save money, that would be

[22:57] ideal. But I don't want to jump into that pond if the bottom line is the

[23:03] mechanic's going to take three times as long doing it because he doesn't know the

[23:06] equipment yet. Does that make sense?

[23:08] Yeah. And I'd say if we want to do anything, it'd be the next budget, because right

[23:11] now, this is currently budgeted in this line item that is listed here. But yeah.

[23:17] Yeah, but the only difference is the bids that come in lower.

[23:21] Obviously, the lowest is compatible, it's just you say it's not standard to what

[23:25] you guys use right now, right? So technically, you'd be saving, you'd be coming

[23:29] under budget if you go with something with a different brand.

[23:33] So, what would be a reasonable timeline for you to be able to evaluate that whole

[23:37] program? And actually, this is not just him, this is citywide.

[23:40] So Trace, what would be a...

[23:43] I think that it could be done. It'd take a few months, I think, because the

[23:48] scenario that I presented, and I'm going back to my knowledge and when I served in

[23:52] a different capacity, pumps. Pump stations, very expensive, but we have two types.

[23:57] If Kevin can correct me, I'm out of the loop a little bit.

[24:00] But submersible, we've gone with Flygt over the years.

[24:04] They're not the cheapest, I can tell you that right now.

[24:07] Well, I guess Xylem's the new name.

[24:09] Yeah, Xylem.

[24:11] But you say, "Well, that's what we have in stock." We have impellers, we have

[24:15] volutes, other things. Our maintenance folks know how to work on them.

[24:19] When

[24:21] the application is appropriate, we can go with a above ground pump.

[24:25] You might've seen them, the little doghouse looking things, where you can pop the

[24:29] top. I think we're going to more of a little shed for the maintenance worker or

[24:34] technician to get in there and work. But those are Gorman-Rupp.

[24:36] Again, probably not the cheapest, but we have parts of those in stock.

[24:41] We have impeller shims,

[24:45] so on and so forth. And

[24:47] it's just a consistency along the lines of what Kevin was saying regarding this

[24:51] piece of digging equipment, excavation equipment, is it just standardizes.

[24:55] And so, I think it may take a little longer than-

[25:01] Probably have to review purchase policy.

[25:03] Purchasing policy

[25:04] Just put it in the purchase policy.

[25:05] Yeah.

[25:06] Would January be a fair time for you guys to go make the assessment and come back

[25:10] and just having evaluated it?

[25:13] I'm not saying change it, but to have evaluated it and said, "Hey, these are the

[25:17] impacts across the board" and just come back and say, "Hey, this is why we want to

[25:21] continue with this, or we can open it up to another brand also."

[25:25] And I think we can come up with something then.

[25:28] Are we talking about just excavation equipment or across the board on any?

[25:31] I would say across the board.

[25:32] Okay. Kevin, thoughts on that? You have a lot of equipment in your organization.

[25:36] Well, I would say some of the challenges, which we obviously can dig into if you

[25:40] want to come back with a more formal presentation than an agenda item, but each one

[25:45] of these tractors uses an attachment of sorts, right?

[25:48] Yeah.

[25:48] So, are all the attachments we have compatible with the tractors that we're-

[25:51] And that's all-

[25:52] We build the specs for these tractors based on what we do.

[25:55] Mm-hmm.

[25:56] And what we know to be the best for what we got to do out in the field, so.

[26:00] Yeah.

[26:01] And I mean-

[26:03] That would be all-

[26:03] ... I can't say there's a sea of orange out there.

[26:06] These Kubota tractors are every one we got.

[26:09] I don't know that there is a different brand out there.

[26:11] They've served us well in all of, I guess, our standard operation and the way we

[26:17] approach this, the attachments we have, the trailers we have, the things that we

[26:21] use to work these tractors are designed for that.

[26:25] So I'd say we obviously can take a look and come back with, I guess, a

[26:31] finance maybe or

[26:35] maybe a-

[26:36] Probably-

[26:36] ... all the stakeholders.

[26:38] Yeah, maybe have a matrix of some sort that shows different types of equipment.

[26:42] Well, I think we have to identify the different types of equipment and the

[26:45] different standardizations that you have in your organization.

[26:48] Yeah. That's right.

[26:49] So that would be pumps, that's going to be

[26:51] possibly things even at your plant, at your LAS facility.

[26:54] It could take a while, and I think we may need to have maybe some of our

[26:58] consultants give us some assistance with that.

[27:00] Yeah. And like I say, I know the purchasing policy would have to be amended or

[27:04] changed or looked at, because like I say, that's driven by the purchasing policy.

[27:10] Okay, so let's just keep it with equipment, with this heavy equipment right now,

[27:15] specifically on this one.

[27:16] Okay, excavation-

[27:17] And-

[27:18] ... skid steers, that sort of thing

[27:19] ... skid steers, all that type of stuff. Okay.

[27:22] I think we can come back with something first of the year.

[27:24] Yeah. So, let's look at it first meeting of January, be able to come back with some

[27:28] sort of presentation, maybe a work session that goes and tells us, "Hey, this is

[27:31] what the options are." Because it is not just filters and maintenance, but it's

[27:35] also the attachments and a lot of other things.

[27:39] I think the driving part, that's like the easiest of the things.

[27:43] But I didn't even think about the attachments.

[27:45] Yeah, and each one of these tractors has a different spec, right?

[27:48] Yeah.

[27:48] This Case, the Case, and the JCB, and Cat, Kubota, you look at their numbers in the

[27:53] back of that, that manual is going to give you different specs for each one of

[27:56] those. They're not going to be exactly. So, it depends on what we need for the job.

[28:01] Okay.

[28:01] And so we can shape the RFPs And specify those items as well-

[28:07] Okay

[28:07] ... to drive the right piece of equipment for the job that we're doing.

[28:11] Okay. Has anybody else got any other questions that address our concerns there?

[28:15] Okay, cool. All right, I need a motion for the consent agenda.

[28:23] I'll make.

[28:23] I'll make first. All right, Travis is first.

[28:25] I'll second.

[28:26] giving us a second. Any we're approving it, vote.

[28:32] Okay, it was five-one.

[28:34] Thank you so much for y'all support.

[28:35] Thank you.

[28:36] What's going on with the screen down there?

[28:38] Yeah, sorry that we got to screen this out.

[28:41] If Larry was here, we'd have it, but we're depending on John over there to get the

[28:45] screen up, so it's still not up.

[28:47] No problem with it.

[28:49] Okay. We're on item number seven, discussion of annexation request from the CID,

[28:54] Ms. Cathy Morgan.

[28:59] And by the way, just to clarify for the audience out here, what she's about to

[29:02] discuss is not an annexation into the city itself like a county property into the

[29:07] city. She's going to be talking about the CID, that's the district, community

[29:11] improvement district, the corridor on 278, and a property wanting to get into that.

[29:16] Yes. The property owners at 6263 Turner Lake Road

[29:22] LLC have approached us and would like to annex into the CID.

[29:27] They, for just common knowledge, that's where Charlie's Car Wash is at Turner Lake

[29:31] Road and 278.

[29:34] They have signed the documentation that they need to sign. I've met with them.

[29:40] I've given them a copy of the Newton County CID Act.

[29:43] I've made them aware of the fees that they will have to be paying and what entails

[29:48] joining the CID. And,

[29:52] for the process that the Newton County Highway 278 CID board

[29:57] has passed a resolution similar to the resolution that you passed that has approved

[30:03] their annexation into the CID. And, the city has to pass a

[30:08] resolution to accept or approve the annexation into the CID, and then I'll take

[30:14] it to the county and make them aware of it.

[30:18] And that's what's required by the law.

[30:21] I believe I sent you a map that shows the little parcel.

[30:26] They are contiguous coming across from the GDOT parcel at

[30:32] Turner Lake exit. And, their property will have some improvements

[30:38] in phase one of the CID design that we're currently working on.

[30:45] And I don't know if there's any other questions, I'll be glad to answer them.

[30:51] Does anybody have any questions for Cathy? We'll start on this side. Sherika?

[30:54] No questions. Mm-hmm.

[30:56] Dwayne?

[30:58] You say you're going to let the county know.

[30:59] Do we have like a say-so to say yes or no?

[31:01] I'm sorry, I can't hear you.

[31:02] The county, do they have like a say-so to say yes or no?

[31:05] Our agreement with the city and the county when we created the

[31:11] CID was if there are any significant changes, that we will notify you, each of you.

[31:17] Since the CID is totally within the city of Covington, y'all are the only ones that

[31:23] have to pass the resolution and approve, but I am going to the county to make them

[31:27] aware of the change, just so that there's no surprises, again, that sort of

[31:33] thing. We try to keep you all informed.

[31:37] Yeah, the county's just going to be informed. They're not voting on it.

[31:41] Okay, anything else, Dwayne? Anthony?

[31:44] Nope.

[31:44] Travis? Kim? All right. Can I have a motion to approve the annexation request for

[31:50] the CID?

[31:51] I make a motion to approve.

[31:52] Got Anthony's first.

[31:53] Second.

[31:54] Dwayne second. Any questions, please vote.

[31:59] Okay, we are six-zero.

[32:01] Great.

[32:01] Thank you.

[32:02] Can I just mention one other thing to you guys?

[32:04] Please.

[32:06] We do want to let you know the timeline on the CID.

[32:09] We expect the final plan review to be approved next Thursday.

[32:14] And we expect the construction letting for phase one, which is Exit 92

[32:20] just past Emory Street, to begin in either August or October of '27.

[32:26] So we have a year before we'll be turning dirt. We're excited.

[32:31] So, just to give you that. That's the most final timeline I've received in all the

[32:37] years I've been working on this, so.

[32:39] Have they created like a detour plan yet?

[32:43] I'm sorry?

[32:43] Like a detour plan?

[32:45] Oh, yeah. They'll

[32:48] put up the barrels and a lot of the traffic will still go through.

[32:52] They'll probably do one side and then the other side.

[32:56] So, for that, around Emory Street, they are going to detour to West Street,

[33:02] pretty much like y'all are doing with the bridge here on 81.

[33:08] Just because that's such a tight fit.

[33:12] But yeah, we have a complete detour construction plan, everything that's required

[33:17] for state and federal highway.

[33:20] And as soon as we get that, we'll

[33:23] make y'all aware. John Hendricks and Trace pretty much know

[33:29] what's going on as soon as I know what's going on.

[33:32] Okay.

[33:33] Great. Thank you.

[33:34] Thank you, Cathy. Have fun at the county.

[33:38] All right, item eight, discussion regarding revocation of the current moratorium on

[33:42] gasoline stations, which is set to remain in effect through October 20th of 2026,

[33:47] now that the related ordinance has been adopted. Ms. Judy.

[33:57] Good evening again, Council. When we adopted the amendments at last

[34:03] council meeting for both the gasoline station and the data center ordinance, a lot

[34:09] of times our resolutions will simply dissolve that moratorium upon

[34:14] adoption. This particular resolution was written for either an amendment to the

[34:20] resolution, a change of date to the resolution, or a revocation to the

[34:26] resolution or a date, which is October 20th.

[34:31] Now that the amendment is adopted, I'm just asking if you would consider revoking

[34:36] the moratorium, as there's really no reason for the moratorium to stay in

[34:42] place for the gasoline station on this agenda item and for the data center on the

[34:47] following agenda item.

[34:51] All right, starting over here, Kim, questions? Travis? Anthony?

[34:56] No, sir.

[34:57] Dwayne? Sherika?

[34:58] Nope.

[34:59] All right. Can I have a motion to revoke the current moratorium?

[35:05] First.

[35:06] All right, Dwayne.

[35:07] I'll second.

[35:08] Anthony second. Any questions? Vote.

[35:12] All right, six-zero, and the moratorium will be revoked on that, and the ordinance

[35:18] is now in effect.

[35:21] Item number nine, which Judy already alluded to, I won't make you walk back up

[35:25] here, it's the same exact thing, but for the data centers which had the same

[35:28] expiration date. Is there any questions on that?

[35:32] Okay, can I get a motion to remove that moratorium?

[35:35] I make a motion to approve.

[35:36] All right, Anthony's first.

[35:39] Second.

[35:39] Sherika second. She didn't even need to turn her mic on there, she...

[35:44] All right, please vote.

[35:46] All right, six-zero, that moratorium is removed.

[35:49] Item number 10, discussion of approval to accept the low bid of $754,535

[35:55] provided by All South for the rehabilitation of Spillers Lift Station. Mr.

[36:00] Sorrow, come on up.

[36:01] Yes, sir.

[36:02] As Trace spoke to earlier, we're in the process of needing to rebuild the Spillers

[36:08] Lift Station. Had that designed in last year's budget cycle, and then

[36:14] budgeted for rehabilitation in this budget cycle.

[36:16] So,

[36:18] put out RFP, set into GPR for a month, and had

[36:24] four respondents to that RFP. All South Constructors was the low bid at

[36:29] $754,535. We'd ask council

[36:35] to approve that

[36:37] bid from All South Constructors.

[36:41] I've got also attached in the packet city engineer recommendation and the design

[36:46] professional's recommendations.

[36:48] Thank you, Kevin. Sherika, you got any questions?

[36:51] No questions.

[36:52] Dwayne? Anthony?

[36:54] No, sir.

[36:54] Travis? Kim? And this was within budget?

[36:58] Yes. Budget item in infrastructure 505433054.1400.

[37:04] Okay. Can I get a motion to approve?

[37:05] I'll make a motion to approve.

[37:06] All right, with the mic on, too. That was Sherika's first. Who seconds?

[37:10] Second.

[37:11] Travis will second. Please vote

[37:14] All right, pass to six-zero. That was easier for you.

[37:16] Yeah.

[37:18] All right, we're on to public comments.

[37:21] Okay, I've got two cards here for public comments. First one is Ms. Rosie.

[37:32] And a standard, when you just say your address when you go and come up, so they

[37:36] have it for the record.

[37:39] Good evening. Rosie Crawford, Covington, Georgia, address 9282

[37:45] Westview Drive.

[37:49] My concern tonight is that I'm just making it known that I've noticed that the city

[37:54] had not cut the grass on my property where you have the easement.

[37:59] It has not been kept up. And I was told I couldn't put anything on it because the

[38:04] city needed to have access to that property.

[38:08] Also, I'm not

[38:10] being compensated for it. I'm still having to pay the tax on that piece of

[38:15] property, but I can't use it. And the other thing that

[38:21] happened to my property was that the city cut my

[38:26] magnolia trees without my permission, and it wasn't on their property, on

[38:32] that right of way. But it was on my property that they cut and almost killed my

[38:37] trees. They're still in bad shape. And that was uncalled for.

[38:42] So, the next thing that I want to bring out is I'm still concerned about the CRB

[38:47] board, even with the update that I read.

[38:50] And I just want to know what is taking this council so long to get some people in

[38:55] place. The last time I heard that Travis had sent some application

[39:01] to Ms. Judy, and I know that there's another person that has been recommended

[39:07] to a council member that is interested in being on that board.

[39:13] So, it just seems to me as though this thing is being drug out, prolonged,

[39:19] and when Turnin shut down that board, it wasn't done right.

[39:25] First of all, it should have been staggered because all of us was not on that board

[39:30] at the same time. I didn't come on there at the same time other people was on the

[39:34] board. But nonetheless, it was shut down.

[39:37] So I'm just wondering what's going on with this board. Are we going to have it?

[39:42] Are we going to be active? We never got to a point where that board was active.

[39:49] The things that was promised, the things that we did get accomplished, it just...

[39:54] And I know they say there haven't been any

[39:57] complaints. The people right now, if they had one, what we going to do?

[40:02] So I'm just wondering why it's taking so long to get this board up and running when

[40:06] all these other boards is being fulfilled. Thank you.

[40:11] Thank you, Ms. Rosie.

[40:12] You're welcome.

[40:13] We'll come back on one of those items. All right.

[40:17] Next one's Ms. Thelma.

[40:21] Passed. Did you say pass? Passed. Okay. She passed. Okay.

[40:25] All right, let's go around to staff. Trace?

[40:32] Yeah, so has anybody been asked about the opening of Emry Street?

[40:38] I get that question about three or four times a week, it seems like.

[40:43] I'll give you a quick update. If you'll remember, I told the council, based on what

[40:49] GDOT had given me, the information GDOT had given me, that Emry Street would be

[40:53] open the first week in August.

[40:57] Obviously, August has come and gone, and I don't think the street's going to be

[41:02] open anytime soon. So, I did make a stop over to the construction trailer today and

[41:07] talked to the project manager over there, Rodney, and

[41:13] just wanted to let you know that the

[41:18] contractor, stated in the contract, was supposed to have it open August 6th.

[41:25] They are getting penalized $1,000 a day, and if my calculations are

[41:31] correct, I think they're about up to $26,000 if you start back when the penalty

[41:35] started. They did give them an extension.

[41:38] The contractor requested an extension based on some

[41:45] depths of the manhole that were inaccurate from the beginning.

[41:49] So they did get an extension. The extension takes the project out to October 13th.

[41:54] And that's for the entire project.

[41:59] GDOT has not given a date when Emry Street will be opened up.

[42:02] Hopefully, this

[42:05] penalty that they're getting seems to be pretty stiff, and so I'm hoping that Emry

[42:10] Street will open up prior to that October 13th date.

[42:14] I know it's frustrating with the folks that use that corridor and waiting for the

[42:19] road to be open, so like I said, I'll provide

[42:25] additional information when I get it.

[42:29] Quickly, on Flat Shoals Road, if you'll notice, the construction of the sidewalk

[42:33] has been underway for a while. There's probably about 1,000 feet that has been

[42:39] installed from Washington Street down south of the entrance into Englewood

[42:45] Park Subdivision. And this project consists of about 2,100 feet and is scheduled

[42:50] for completion in about mid-November.

[42:54] And then also, we will not meet again until September 21st, so I'd like to wish

[42:59] everyone a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. Thank you.

[43:03] Thank you, Trace. John?

[43:06] Nothing.

[43:06] Nothing. Audrey, do you have anything?

[43:08] I'm good, thanks.

[43:08] Tina?

[43:10] No, sir.

[43:11] No. All right, I will start this end. Kim.

[43:14] Nothing. Travis?

[43:17] I want to acknowledge the Water Resource Department

[43:21] for coming out and helping me with a sewer issue on one of my rental properties.

[43:24] And I know he's watching, the one and only Mr.

[43:27] Del Mar,

[43:29] for coming out and helping me as well.

[43:31] But I appreciate all those guys showing up in a timely manner and helping me out

[43:34] today.

[43:36] Thank you. Anthony?

[43:37] I'm good.

[43:38] Okay. You're good. Great, even better. Twain.

[43:44] Got a few questions here. Trace, can we write a letter...

[43:48] And I remember this a couple weeks ago.

[43:50] Can we write a letter to GDOT for like a, what was that letter we had

[43:56] when Oxford wanted to

[43:59] let GDOT know to fix their bridge or something like that?

[44:03] A letter of support?

[44:04] Yeah. Can we do that for MLK Drive for them just-

[44:08] Are we talking about for traffic signal?

[44:10] Yeah. One of-

[44:11] We have.

[44:14] We have, like many times.

[44:16] Oh, Lord.

[44:17] Yeah.

[44:18] I think Mr. Redberg signed that, actually.

[44:22] Or did you-

[44:23] Yeah. Well, okay, so to cover that one, okay, I have personally talked to

[44:29] the guys from the central office multiple times about it.

[44:35] When they go and look at streets, they don't look at them the way we look at them.

[44:40] They do theirs off of a study and everything.

[44:44] I talked to them about MLK or Bypass from that intersection down

[44:50] there by McDonald's all the way through, and they had said for 10 years straight,

[44:55] we were coming at it from the planning commission, we were coming at it from staff.

[45:00] We would hit them up from the CID meetings. We'd hit them up every way we could.

[45:04] And they always said, basically, "Nothing to see here.

[45:06] We don't see it as a problem." That said, they magically, this past

[45:13] spring,

[45:15] I believe it was, they suddenly went from nothing to see here.

[45:18] And when they say nothing to see here, that's nothing in the next 30 years.

[45:23] So, not like next five years, next 30 years, they don't see a problem.

[45:27] They've suddenly switched to, bam, they looked at 142 and

[45:32] 278 and said, "We're going to put a roundabout in there at the same time phase

[45:36] one's going to happen." And then suddenly they said, "Oh, we think there's an issue

[45:40] on MLK." So, they've at least gotten it.

[45:43] Doesn't mean it's moved within 30 years, but that's where they're at.

[45:46] Further, down there where the theme school is, everything is set

[45:52] up to allow for a traffic light with a left turn to go into the school if you're

[45:57] heading south on the bypass. And we did it last year, and we asked the county to do

[46:02] the same thing, and we asked the school board to do the same thing to petition GDOT

[46:06] to go, and I think we asked the sheriff's department also, to go and submit

[46:10] letters. And I know we did ours. I don't know if the other ones did theirs, but to

[46:14] say, "Can you just put a light in there at the school?

[46:19] At least it will go and provide breaks in the traffic." And that was two years ago,

[46:24] and there's still no light there. So.

[46:28] Yeah.

[46:29] But we can do it again though, but yes.

[46:31] Try to make it one. That's all that we can do.

[46:33] Yeah. So.

[46:35] If we can, Trace, I appreciate you.

[46:38] Sure.

[46:40] I just want to let the council know, I think now is the time to start thinking of

[46:45] what we can come up with for some of the rollback money.

[46:48] I know Sharica and Anthony had some plans a couple months ago about the summer

[46:53] youth program. So we should start looking out to next year as well, if

[47:00] we can on that one.

[47:04] Ms. Rosie, I apologize for the CRB board. It's on me. Okay?

[47:10] I will get with Ms. Judy next week. Seem like I got to make an appointment for the

[47:14] CRB board, the ethics board, and now the planning commission.

[47:17] So that is something that I will personally get on with Ms. Judy next week.

[47:21] Did we find out, last time I checked, you were saying how...

[47:26] I had an appointment.

[47:28] Yeah.

[47:28] But I remember you said-

[47:30] You had someone.

[47:31] Yeah, I remember you said, do we have to bring that person to the council, or is it

[47:35] just automatically on?

[47:37] Are we talking about CRB?

[47:39] Yeah.

[47:40] The CRB has three members appointed by the council members from the west, and three

[47:45] members appointed by councilors from the east.

[47:48] The way the ordinance is written,

[47:50] you bring the name, and the three of you on the east would typically honor your

[47:56] suggestion. The way y'all have done it informally is each person has a name, and

[47:59] the other two will go along with your name.

[48:00] But we have to put it on the agenda though, right?

[48:04] It does.

[48:05] It does at this point.

[48:07] The east members will need to vote on that appointment.

[48:09] Well, that would be my next agenda item. Yes.

[48:15] I also want to let the council know, I want to say thank you to the council as

[48:19] well.

[48:21] Believe it or not, we are not that. There are a lot of cities out there, people

[48:23] getting indicted everywhere,

[48:26] on city councils, mayors, commissioners across Georgia.

[48:30] So I think coming to city council is not that bad.

[48:33] So I'm just going to let y'all know that.

[48:35] And my last thing is, I hope to see everybody at the Police Fudge Run.

[48:42] Thank you. Sharica.

[48:44] Trace, will you give me an update once you've looked into Pastor Crawford's

[48:47] concerns regarding her magnolia tree and her grass being cut?

[48:53] I sure will. I'll get it in my notes.

[48:55] Thank you, and happy Labor Day, everyone. I hope you enjoy your day off.

[48:59] Thank you. Okay, and just one thing for Rosie.

[49:04] The right of way portion, you don't pay taxes on that right of way portion.

[49:09] I didn't mean that part.

[49:09] Oh, okay.

[49:10] Yeah, I was talking about the property over where the east would be going.

[49:15] Okay.

[49:16] That's what-

[49:16] Okay, I'm sorry. I just want to make sure you don't pay taxes that last little bit.

[49:21] I was just talking about that.

[49:21] Okay. And Sharica beat me to the punch about seeing about the tree cutting and

[49:26] whatnot. All right. Let's see. Emory Street opening, I'm glad, Trace, you hit that

[49:31] one because I was going to ask about that again, because I ask you about that every

[49:37] week on there.

[49:39] First of all, I hope the extension that they were given does not remove their

[49:42] penalty. Frankly, I'm going to call it's BS that they had 150 days to go and do the

[49:48] project to begin with and asked for a 75-day extension citing weather, when we all

[49:53] know we were in a drought for the most of that first 100 days of that project.

[49:58] So what weather were they dealing with? Because we didn't experience it.

[50:03] The summer youth program, actually, I was meeting with Paul yesterday I think it

[50:08] was, and he actually mentioned that they were already working on things for that,

[50:13] doing all the research and everything for the summer youth program.

[50:17] And then a reminder, when's the submission date deadline for our ethics boards

[50:21] people? When we have to have our names in turned into you?

[50:27] I think we have a couple weeks left.

[50:29] Okay. Is it before next meeting?

[50:32] Which would be the 21st.

[50:34] Yes.

[50:35] Okay, so we have to have them in before that.

[50:37] Then do we have to vote on those as council or anything?

[50:42] No, as I recall, they're just to submit the names.

[50:45] Correct.

[50:45] And then you submit them to the clerk, and the clerk keeps a list.

[50:48] Okay.

[50:48] So I'll send out the forms. You all received the forms.

[50:50] Yeah, just the date I was questioning on.

[50:53] Okay, so just a reminder to everybody, get those in as soon as you can before you

[50:57] hit the deadline there. And that is... Yeah.

[51:01] Can we send out a, and maybe I'm unbiased, but I don't really care too much to get

[51:07] friends on the ethics board. Can we send out a letter to the community?

[51:12] What's one of them applications, if the community wants to join the ethics board?

[51:17] Is that possible?

[51:19] I think that would be up to you.

[51:21] No, I'm saying, you know how we usually post on Facebook a position is open for a

[51:26] CRB. Can we do that for the ethics board?

[51:32] If you direct staff to do that, they could.

[51:35] I guess then they would have a pile of resumes they could send to you if you want

[51:39] to pick from one of those rather than your own person.

[51:42] Yeah. That'd be good.

[51:43] Could we do it for all the boards?

[51:44] Yeah.

[51:46] Can we do that for

[51:48] ethics? Because I'm going to be honest with you, I don't know who I'm going to pick

[51:53] for ethics, or I would rather get that from a general public versus my own people.

[51:58] So if we can send out a application, like who wants to join the ethics board or who

[52:04] wants to join the planning commission, and then they can send it to us, if that's

[52:08] possible.

[52:11] Good, Trace. Yeah, certainly it's legal if that's something you say.

[52:14] Put a Facebook post up notifying people of open positions.

[52:18] And again, the request is to post ethics boards and all other boards?

[52:24] Yes.

[52:25] I think we had last year, we've done it in the past.

[52:28] I guess basically what they're asking for is a reminder and maybe a post reminding,

[52:34] "Hey, we're looking for volunteers on boards," and maybe just list the boards that

[52:38] we have openings for.

[52:39] Right. Yeah. My appointments is ethics board and planning and commission.

[52:45] So I would want that out there to the general public for either side.

[52:50] I'm just making it public. I'm not the type of person to pull my friends or

[52:54] anything to go on those boards. I want a random person. But I don't really know.

[52:58] And I have my recommendations filled with constituents.

[53:02] However, I'm interested in seeing what else is out there.

[53:05] Yeah.

[53:05] Thank you.

[53:07] Judy, is it?

[53:08] It would be a matter of just updating the application.

[53:13] Yeah.

[53:13] I think we have most all boards. I'm not sure if the ethics board is on the

[53:18] application, but I can certainly work with the city manager tomorrow,

[53:24] and we can look at the application and get that out there.

[53:28] Yeah.

[53:28] So you can have some... Hopefully a lot of people will be interested.

[53:34] Thank you.

[53:34] Yeah, we can put that out as soon as possible because as the greatest auditor said,

[53:39] we don't have time out here.

[53:41] Yeah. So I guess it's just, Trace, I think we can have them do another post, "Hey,

[53:46] we're looking for this." And then how to contact to get their

[53:53] application or whatever.

[53:56] So that should be pretty simple. That is all I've got here.

[54:00] I just need a motion to-

[54:01] I'll make that motion.

[54:02] Can I get a second?

[54:04] Second.

[54:05] Record? Well, maybe for this council, I don't know. We have 55 minutes.

Council Meeting 9/1/26

Transcript