[21:49] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I want to welcome everybody to this August

[21:52] 17, 2026 city council meeting and work session. I'd like to welcome everybody

[21:56] here. Um, I like to ask people here in the audience, if you had had a chance,

[22:00] please sign in at the desk over here. And if you also like to speak in our

[22:03] public input, please fill a sheet out, get Miss Beverly over here, and she'll

[22:07] be more than glad to take it from you. And, um, so, uh, at this time, I'm going

[22:13] to do roll call. Council member Will I >> here,

[22:16] » council member Kayla Phillips >> here.

[22:18] » Council member Sandy Sawyer >> here.

[22:19] » Council member Mark French >> here.

[22:21] » City Attorney Kevin Talent >> here.

[22:23] » City Manager Jacob Evans >> here. City Clerk Beverly Banister

[22:27] » here. >> Public Works Director Trampus Hanser

[22:29] » here. >> Utilities Director Russ Chambers

[22:31] » here. >> Finance director Robin Gazaway

[22:33] » here. >> Planning and zoning administration Miss

[22:35] Stacy Harris >> here.

[22:37] » And CPO represent Miss Dana Spade >> here.

[22:40] » All right. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, if you're able, if you

[22:43] can please stand for the invocation pledge by Council Member Phillips.

[22:48] » Thank you for this day. Thank you for letting us all come out here safely. be

[22:52] with us in the decision we make from behalf of the city of Dawsonville.

[22:55] Please be with us as we go separate ways.

[22:58] » Amen. >> To the flag of the United States of

[23:03] America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God,

[23:10] indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

[23:14] » Thank you. Lady see.

[23:25] » All right, moving on to announcements. Anybody got announcements?

[23:29] » I have two announcements if I can. First of all, the next food truck Friday is

[23:32] Friday, September 11th. Appreciate all the citizens and all the help that come

[23:36] out for that. And secondly, our second concert of the year is Saturday,

[23:40] September 12th. that is featuring a Journey tribute band and a Brian Adams

[23:45] opener tribute band. So, want to invite everyone out to that. Love to see you

[23:49] there. >> Any more announcements?

[23:52] » Um, I just wanted to talk about leadership Dawson. We just had our

[23:56] orientation and we are looking forward to hiking up to the Lynfoot hike in and

[24:01] creating some uh some memories and some friendships and uh I just want to um

[24:07] invite all of the people in leadership Dawson to come watch a meeting, come be

[24:12] a part of what the city's doing. It's a really special thing. So I just want to

[24:16] um just give a kudos to what the chamber has done with leadership Dawson. It's

[24:20] pretty cool. Any more announcements? Uh, also I would

[24:26] like to announce a chat with the mayor tomorrow night. Um, I'd like to invite

[24:29] the community to come out, talk about whatever you want to talk about. I also

[24:33] uh did a special meeting invite the council here to be with me. So, majority

[24:36] I think near the whole council member team here is going to be here. So, this

[24:40] is a chance for the community to come talk to us. Come talk to your elected

[24:42] officials. You know, whatever it may be, you know, what'sever on your mind. You

[24:46] know, we love we love to hear from the community. You know, what's your

[24:49] thoughts? where you like to see the future, how the city goes and so forth

[24:52] because at the end of the day, you know, we we want to hear from you on that

[24:56] because there's a lot of people want to go on social media, talk about a lot of

[24:59] stuff. So, if you don't talk about whatever data centers, you could talk,

[25:04] we could talk about that. You know, it may not be a popular subject, but we're

[25:08] here to listen. So, but the main thing is we just want here for our community.

[25:10] So, please come on out tomorrow night at six o'clock be in the Joe Lancok's room,

[25:14] the room right next to this. So, come out, be with us.

[25:20] All right. Can I get a motion to approve the

[25:23] agenda? >> So moved.

[25:25] » Second. I got a motion by Council Member French.

[25:29] Second by I think Council Member Elbe on that one. All right. Any discussion? All

[25:34] right. Please signify by your vote. Motion passed 40.

[25:39] All right. Moving on to public input. M. Beverly. Anybody sign up for public

[25:43] input? >> No. Mayor Walden.

[25:45] » All right. Thank you very much. All right, moving on to the consent agenda.

[25:48] This to approve the minutes for regular meeting held August 3rd, 2026 and

[25:52] executive session held August 3rd, 2026. Can I get a motion?

[25:55] » Motion to approve. >> Second.

[25:57] » I got a motion by Council Member Sawer. Second by Council Member Phillips. Any

[26:01] discussion? All right. Please sitting fine by your vote.

[26:05] Motion passed forward.

[26:09] » Always happens to one of us, Sandy. [laughter]

[26:13] » And I put it on silent. >> Bring donuts next time.

[26:17] [laughter] I'm so embarrassed. >> Don't worry. Don't worry.

[26:19] » I just hope the camera wasn't >> It happened to me before, so I don't

[26:22] feel bad [laughter] ago.

[26:25] » All right, moving on. Item number eight. This is for employee recognition. Mr.

[26:29] Evans. >> Yes, I got several. First of all, the

[26:31] July employee of the month is Miss Sarah Beichum.

[26:35] » Hopefully, she [applause and cheering] comes out.

[26:42] [clears throat] >> Y'all should have been like all lined up

[26:45] doing this.

[26:50] » [laughter]

[26:58] » Yes.

[27:03] [laughter]

[27:05] » Next is Miss Barbara Maddox for oneyear anniversary with the city of Dawson.

[27:11] [applause]

[27:13] » Thank you, Sarah. >> Thank you.

[27:29] » [laughter]

[27:31] » Next is Miss Annette Watson. Fouryear anniversary with the city. [applause]

[27:38] If >> you ever wonder how clean this building

[27:40] is, it is because of Annette.

[27:47] a net >> and also the fishing pond out front.

[27:55] » Thank you. >> And then lastly, I don't know if Robin

[27:58] typically comes up for this, she got the certificate of achievement for

[28:02] excellence in financial reporting for the 14th year in a row.

[28:05] » Wow. [applause]

[28:09] » Amazing.

[28:14] » [laughter] >> I would say Sarah Beichum is a part of

[28:18] that as well. So if she would like to come out for this picture also

[28:21] » kept up the momentum

[28:32] » Sarah.

[28:39] » [laughter]

[28:51] » Great job Sarah. >> Yes, great job.

[29:15] [clears throat]

[29:17] Congratulations all the employees.

[29:22] All right, moving on to item number nine for a public hearing for annual update

[29:26] for capital improvements uh in related impact fee schedule. Can I get a motion

[29:30] to open public motion for public hearing?

[29:33] » So second motion by council member Phillips, second by council member ill.

[29:38] Any discussion? I please signify by your vote.

[29:42] Motion pass forward. Open public hearing. Uh Miss Stacy.

[29:46] » Yes, mayor and councel. [clears throat] Each year, the Georgia Department of

[29:50] Community Affairs through the uh Mountain Regionable Commission uh GMRC

[29:55] requires the city to submit an annual uh impact fee financial report for the

[30:01] previous year and a five-year community work program identifying the parks and

[30:06] reccks projects eligible for impact fees. Um attached in your packet was a

[30:11] spreadsheet for the five years and the um financial report. We have a um

[30:20] resolution for a draft for authorizing a transmitt of the capital improvements

[30:25] which is and so we would need approval for that if y'all agree to what has been

[30:29] presented.

[30:33] » All right, any discussion? >> Thank you for your work on this kind of

[30:37] hard cats getting all of us together to do this for you. But thank you.

[30:41] » Thank you.

[30:45] Uh just to confirm as the needs change in our community, we can update this

[30:49] each year. Correct. >> Yes. Every year it has to be updated. So

[30:53] stuff can be added in there. >> Perfect. Just want to confirm.

[30:57] » The impact fee is not for maintenance though. Maintenance cannot be put in

[31:01] there. >> Okay.

[31:04] [clears throat] Uh Miss Beverly, anybody sign up public input for this for

[31:07] speaking in favor of this? >> No. Mayor Walden.

[31:10] » All right. Does anybody here speak in favor of this?

[31:16] Hear none. See none. Miss Beverly, anybody sign up to speak against this?

[31:19] » No, they have not. >> All right. Anybody here speak against

[31:23] it? All right. Hear none. Seeing none. All right. Can I get a motion to close

[31:28] public input? >> So moved.

[31:29] » Second. >> I got a motion by Council Member French,

[31:31] second by Council Member Sawyer. Any discussion? All right. Please signify by

[31:35] your vote. All right, ladies and gentlemen. Public

[31:38] input is closed. All right.

[31:44] » Make a motion that we authorize the execution of resolution R206,

[31:49] excuse me, 2026-4 authorizing the transmission of this

[31:54] document to DCA by the mayor. >> I got a motion by council member French.

[32:01] Second by council member Phillips. Any discussion? I please signify by your

[32:06] vote. Motion pass four of them.

[32:10] All right. Moving on to business item number 10.

[32:15] Uh, Miss Dana. >> There it goes. Okay. Good evening. I

[32:20] hope it's okay if I actually kind of summarize these three since they're all

[32:23] in the same Okay. [laughter] So, these are lots 11, 12, and 13 in the

[32:28] Arbor West subdivision. Um, they're on the Cedar Crest Lane Culdeac. Um so if

[32:34] you remember Arbor West was annexed and reszoned in 2018 recently platted in

[32:39] 2025. Um the first one at 466 is.197 acres. Um

[32:46] 460 Cedar Crest Lane is 304 and 454 is 308. The applicant is requesting the

[32:55] same variance for all three lots, which is a front yard setback from 30 feet to

[33:00] 24 feet for the construction of a single family residence.

[33:05] Um 466 has an eastern and rear drainage easement as well as a 10-ft planted

[33:11] buffer that was a condition of the reszoning and annexation.

[33:15] [clears throat] 460 has the same drainage easement on the southeast

[33:18] corner and 10-ft planted buffer. And then 454 is just the 10-ft planted

[33:23] buffer. The applicant indicated the lot has unique dimensional limitations that

[33:29] make compliance with the current front setback requirement difficult while

[33:33] still allowing for a functional home site and usable rear yard. Um last time

[33:38] uh the applicant was here, you kind of talked about how there's like a plateau

[33:42] or top of the slope that's on the site plan. So I did go and pull the original

[33:46] civil plans that were approved for Arbor West. And basically it's about a 20%

[33:51] slope. Um so 10 feet over two foot 20%. So they basically flatten that to create

[33:58] the home sites and then it just goes downhill. So that's why there's a wall

[34:02] in the back of lot 11 goes into lot 12 a little bit and then there's that

[34:07] significant drop in 13 he mentioned. So I did go and look that up just for some

[34:11] background information but basically flattened it. Um, from a staff

[34:16] viewpoint, we do feel like there are alternatives, floor plans, um,

[34:20] alternatives. Some lots are a little bit larger than others. So, there's

[34:24] definitely alternatives and we don't feel this the applicant meets all of the

[34:29] variance criteria. So, we recommend denial of each lot. So, for lot 11, 12,

[34:34] and 13, >> I'll make a motion to deny the varian.

[34:40] [laughter]

[34:42] I want to ask does anybody got any questions first for Miss Stain before I

[34:45] go any further? >> All right, we're going have to take one

[34:48] of these one item at a time. So, be for record. So,

[34:50] » all right. So, I'm going to start with item number 10. This is for variance.

[34:53] This is lot 11. That's V-C2600407.

[34:59] Can I get a motion on that? >> I'll make a motion to deny. Second.

[35:03] » I got a motion by council member, second by council member French.

[35:10] Any discussion? Please signify by your vote.

[35:15] Motion for denial. Pass 40. All right. Item number 11. This is for

[35:20] lot 12. This is V-C2600408.

[35:25] Can I get a motion on that one? >> I'll make a motion to deny.

[35:28] » Second. >> I got a motion by council member Sawyer.

[35:31] Second by council member Phillips. Any discussion? I please signify by your

[35:36] vote. All right.

[35:40] Motion for deny pass for roll. All right. Item number 12. This is for lot

[35:45] 13. This is a a variance V- C260049.

[35:52] Can I get a motion on this one? >> Motion to deny.

[35:55] » Second. I got a motion by council member French. Second by council member Ilk.

[35:59] Any discussion? All right. Please signify by your vote.

[36:03] All right. Motion pass for 40 for denial. Thank y'all very much. So I have

[36:08] to keep good housekeeping on this. >> Yeah. Thank you.

[36:12] » All right. Moving on. Item number 13. This is for the miller rate for tax year

[36:15] 2026. Miss Robin

[36:20] for you is the uh paperwork for the millage rate. I have presented it as

[36:26] rolling it back to zero where the city would not be charging any taxes.

[36:32] » Thank you very much. >> Motion to approve the zero.

[36:35] » I'm ask anybody questions for Miss Robin. I was listening to Will and I

[36:39] went ahead and did it. [laughter] >> No questions. I'm grateful for that.

[36:44] Yeah, >> I have motion does council does pass.

[36:47] This is a cine string of keeping the miller drake zero that we have done for

[36:52] many years where city has not had a tax. So can I guess get a motion to keep it

[36:56] at zero? >> So moved.

[36:58] » Second. >> I got a motion by council member French.

[37:01] Second by council member ill. Any discussion? I please signify by your

[37:05] vote. All right, ladies and gentlemen, we keep

[37:08] the military rate at zero for another year. Thank you very much. Pass 40.

[37:12] All right, moving on to item 14. This is to amend to employee personnel policy

[37:17] section section 11. This is tabled by from 83 2026. Uh Mr. Evans.

[37:24] » Yes. What's before you has been presented uh several times in the last

[37:28] couple meetings. Uh no changes have been made. All requirements have been met. So

[37:32] if you have any questions, please let me know.

[37:36] All right, council members, got any questions?

[37:38] » I do have um a couple of things I want to talk about. So, I did talk to our

[37:43] attorney uh Kevin Talent about section 11 and we talked about two different

[37:47] additions that I wanted to uh I wanted Kevin to kind of prepare some language

[37:52] around and then him read it to us so that way we can kind of talk about it

[37:57] and see if it makes sense to include. Uh one relates to the certification process

[38:02] of an employee who seeks to get a raise. I thought it made more sense that they

[38:06] should get kind of pre-approval from the department head and the city manager as

[38:10] opposed to them just being able to go and do it because maybe the

[38:14] certification isn't offered anymore or maybe something has happened. So that's

[38:18] one of them. And then the other one relates to um what gets communicated to

[38:23] city council and mayor. So in practice we're already doing it like and but it

[38:29] has to do with whenever there's a change in employee compensation. I think it's

[38:33] good practice. I think we need to be aware of that. Obviously, that's kind of

[38:37] out of our purview, but I like to be apprised of that sort of thing. Um, and

[38:41] so that's the second thing. So, I was wondering if you could any input you

[38:45] have or any language. >> So, based upon the request, um, I

[38:49] drafted um, two things um, to for you to consider. One would be to add the

[38:56] following language at the end of 11.6. six.

[39:03] And that language would be if the city manager takes an action

[39:09] pursuant to this paragraph, he shall notify the city council.

[39:14] Sorry, he shall promptly notify the city council.

[39:19] And then at the end of or as an additional bullet

[39:25] under 11.8 Eight.

[39:31] Prior to starting a certification for which the employee intends to obtain

[39:35] certification or training incentive pay, an employee must have the approval both

[39:40] of their department head and the city manager.

[39:45] » Thoughts on that?

[39:49] » Okay. >> Anybody got any more questions?

[39:52] » I will make one comment. You know, Will, you touched on really wasn't our

[39:56] decision. Of course, you know, that that rests with the city manager rates, but

[40:00] ultimately it has to be within the budget we approve. So, you're we do have

[40:03] a >> Yeah, that's right.

[40:04] » A little impact on us on our side, but that'll be fine.

[40:08] » I like those additions. Thank you. >> Great.

[40:12] » I'll make a motion to approve uh with the adjustments that Kevin mentioned.

[40:19] » Second. All right, I got a motion by council member, second by council member

[40:23] French. Any discussion? I please signify by your vote.

[40:28] Motion pass 40 with the adjustments. Thank you very much.

[40:36] All right, let's move on to work session. This item 15. This is for a

[40:39] change order number for one Flat Creek Water Pollution Control Plant. Uh Mr.

[40:43] Russ chambers.

[40:52] The story unfolds

[40:56] from

[41:00] the engineering firm

[41:08] for the equipment prehand

[41:17] or and they did their best to get

[41:29] it.

[41:35] » Is that better? >> Yeah.

[41:37] » Okay. when they turned it into the equipment suppliers, they started

[41:41] rejecting them. Once they realized that this paperwork from the Department of

[41:46] Revenue wasn't um going like it should, they notified

[41:51] me about the change order. And then I immediately turned it into Jacob because

[41:56] of deadlines of of u this two-year wastewater plant being constructed, the

[42:02] timeline. Uh we need to stay on top of purchasing the equipment and and

[42:06] building the plant. So it's time crucial.

[42:10] Uh what's going on now is that we will settle up on the taxes afterhand which

[42:18] is a simple process that uh Kenny Green saying with the with turnup seed. They

[42:24] do it every day. They don't have a lot of success with doing taxes beforehand,

[42:29] but they have uh really high chances. It's it's really easy on the aftermath.

[42:34] It's um it could take up to a year to get the tax refunds back to Robin in the

[42:40] bank account. U so Robin's aware of that and we'll manage the money. Um

[42:48] trying to think of other high points I didn't bring up. Uh the only thing that

[42:54] um really stands out and I made it brought to y'all's attention the line

[42:59] item the handling fee for handling paying those taxes up front by Harwin.

[43:04] Um they charge a percentage of it's cost of doing business. They're going to pay

[43:09] the taxes for us and and handle all those um millions of dollars. So, uh,

[43:16] somewhere I think we figured it up around 9.5, Jacob.

[43:20] » Around 9% is what we could tell. >> Handling fee for paying those taxes. Uh,

[43:24] that's the only thing that that I don't like, but it's part of doing business.

[43:28] Um, and it's around $29,000. Um, the rest of the money will get back

[43:36] 100% except for the handling fees of them handling the money for us.

[43:43] And I don't think I'm gonna have all the answers to your questions tonight, but I

[43:47] will get on as prompt as I can. So, load me down. I'll get the answers wrote down

[43:51] and I'll get them back to you. [clears throat]

[43:55] » I got lots of questions. I'll let I'll let Mark go first because he's the

[43:58] finance. >> Ross, when I was looking at the summary

[44:03] that's provided in our agenda packet at the purchase price for the equipment,

[44:08] does this reflect all the equipment or is this only a portion of the equipment?

[44:12] I believe it's a portion. Uh just looking at it, it it's nowhere near uh

[44:19] feasible on all the equipment in that plant.

[44:22] » The reason I ask is I ran a total excluding the sales tax figure just on

[44:26] the purchase price column and that totals 3,641

[44:32] 958.882. But when I compare that to the total

[44:37] equipment cost in the contract of 3,355,000,

[44:43] that's a nice little difference there. So I wanted to know, were they planning

[44:47] to make any substitutions in the equipment or have the equipment prices

[44:51] changed since they submitted their bid and their proposal to the city that we

[44:55] accepted? Is there I guess what I'm asking just to shorthand it

[45:00] in our agenda packet there's the summary of each piece of equipment to which

[45:05] they're applying sales tax. Could you or someone tie these pieces of equipment to

[45:11] the pieces of equipment that are listed in the contract so I can see where we

[45:14] are. >> Yes.

[45:17] Today at this moment I can tell you that there has been u substitutions to

[45:22] equipment. The equipment has changed. uh the fluctuating business market uh back

[45:29] orders delays uh they have uh substituted which

[45:35] they're allowed to do. They have I believe a first and secondary option on

[45:39] the equipment. Uh, and I'll get you a a better answer this week, but I do know

[45:44] they have been been dealing with the economy. And

[45:48] » well, the reason I ask in particular, if you apply the sales tax to the items

[45:52] listed in here and then compare it back to the contract, there's a difference of

[45:56] 578,3153. >> Yes, sir.

[46:00] » And I just I just wanted a little help understanding where we got that figure.

[46:05] » Where the Yeah. the change in numbers come from.

[46:08] » Tim, I'm not too bad. Well, I'm trying to wrap my head around

[46:12] what you just said. So, you're saying [laughter]

[46:14] you're you're saying that there's a difference between what we're seeing

[46:18] right here in our agenda packet and what was in the original contract. Is that

[46:23] what you're saying? >> Okay. And I um what I'll do, I just did

[46:30] a little quick st I spent maybe 15 maybe 20 minutes at the most looking through

[46:34] some of this and making some notes and I'll forward this to the entire council.

[46:37] So, I knew this was just a work session. Yeah.

[46:40] » And I was spending a little bit of time on this over the weekend, so I just I'll

[46:43] get it everybody so you can see what I'm seeing.

[46:45] » Yeah, that'd be great. >> And if anybody wants to sit down,

[46:47] » I'm not the brightest cray in the box. I don't pretend to be, but it just it

[46:51] didn't add up, >> right?

[46:54] I I guess my questions are um well, let me make a statement and then I'll have a

[46:59] question. A statement first is in general I am very adverse to giving the

[47:06] government money and expecting them to pay me back. I just don't like doing

[47:11] that. So the question I would say is why did our efforts not work out on the

[47:18] front end to be able to get the sales taxes waved and what do we need to do in

[47:26] order to get it done on the front end? Because that makes me feel

[47:30] way more comfortable to go ahead and get it and nip it in the bud on the front

[47:34] end than to pay 320 some odd thousand dollar and then pay

[47:41] interest on that money for the next year and then only get back the $320 some odd

[47:47] thousand without the entrance that we're that

[47:51] we're borrowing. Go ahead. >> I that that's one thing I can speak of

[47:55] Robin and this isn't my knowledge it's Robins. Yeah,

[47:58] » we're recommending using uh our enterprise uh reserves and pay cash on

[48:05] that. Okay. >> So that we don't pay interest.

[48:07] » Okay, that's good. >> That's smart money move. You don't pay

[48:10] interest on it. >> Yep.

[48:12] » Um so I like that. Good bringing that up, but I was excited to be able to

[48:16] answer that for you. >> Yeah. And then the other question I have

[48:19] is you're saying there's a 9.5%

[48:25] fee >> for for paying taxes. So we got to pay

[48:30] another 9.5% to a handling company on that. Is that what I heard?

[48:35] » No, it's part of the one of the line items. It's just hair and construction.

[48:41] Uh uh it's just for them handling the money

[48:45] for you. It's not a handling company. So that's for the entire project, not

[48:51] just for the taxes. >> That's just for the taxes right here on

[48:55] this page. Uh line item number >> 13.

[48:59] » 13. Yes, sir. >> So, okay. So, that's my question. So, we

[49:02] have to pay $29,718.39 just to pay taxes

[49:08] » for them. Yes. >> And plus, we lose the interest we would

[49:11] have earned on that money in the bank. So, we're not paying interest, but we're

[49:14] not earning interest. So, we're going to take a hit on that side,

[49:17] » right? So, I would I would say we don't pay the $29,718.39

[49:23] and we save that if we can. Whatever challenges we're having, whether it's

[49:27] with the state or whether it's with the company that we're working with, I would

[49:31] say whatever needs to happen, whether we all need to get in the same room

[49:35] together and talk this out to make it happen, let's make it happen on the

[49:39] front end at every effort that we can do. And if we're having trouble at the

[49:43] state, then we need to call people down at the state to get their work on this

[49:46] because this is a lot of money for our city. You know, I know it's not for a

[49:50] county or something like that, but for a small city like ours, this is a big this

[49:55] is a big hit for us. And so I would say I'd rather save the $29,718

[50:00] plus all the tax money and whatever we got to do to help you, Russ, let's do

[50:04] that. >> Okay. Um if I can can can build on to

[50:08] that too, Will. Um is phrased in here. It may be a misunderstanding for me that

[50:14] we're paying this upfront. When would do we know when the

[50:18] contractor intends to pay the the quote unquote sales tax on the items? Because

[50:22] if they're if we're paying them tomorrow, if we approved this tonight,

[50:26] hypothetically, and they're not spending the money until

[50:31] November, we just gave them an interest free loan for over $300,000.

[50:36] Why don't they show us a receipt where they paid it and then ask us to

[50:39] reimburse them for it? So that is what they would be doing. I talked to Lamar

[50:42] this afternoon. So it wouldn't be paid upfront. It would be paid once they

[50:47] purchase the equipment, not a lump sum up front. And on and on the draws,

[50:53] they're going to itemize it so Robin can see it. U that's one thing that we

[50:58] request is that they differentiate it. Uh, so we know what part of this we're

[51:03] dealing with the taxes and each draw could have like all this equipment. One

[51:10] draw might have three pieces of equipment on it and then the next month

[51:14] it might have three other equipment. So each month is going to have a different

[51:18] set of equipment that they bought until we're done with the plant in June.

[51:23] » That makes more sense. Um,

[51:29] I I guess another question is what happens, Russ, if the council says we're

[51:37] not comfortable with just paying sales tax beforehand

[51:41] and what happens to our wastewater treatment plant? Because I I definitely

[51:47] am not the kind of person that likes making decisions feeling like my hands

[51:52] are cuffed, where I don't have any options. I want to know what the options

[51:56] are. So, if we say, "Hey, no, we're not going to pay the sales taxes on the

[51:59] front end. We're going to work this stuff out on the front end." And if that

[52:04] takes 30 days, 60 days, what does that do to

[52:07] our wastewater treatment plant on the back end?

[52:11] Because I don't want to get in a position where it's like, well, if you

[52:15] don't pay the taxes, you don't get the wastewater treatment plant. for every

[52:18] day that you delay on paying the taxes. Now you're delaying on opening up the

[52:22] wastewater treatment plant that your city needs. I don't want that to happen

[52:25] either. >> The the only uh the comfort that I feel

[52:29] is like the the contract price isn't going up. So the price that you all

[52:33] agreed to pay the plant, it's not budging. It's going to be under that.

[52:38] There's contingency fees more worked into it. And so you're not going over

[52:43] the price that y'all agreed to to build that plant. Um the um that's the only

[52:49] thing that at the end of the day I feel good with is that um it's not a b it's

[52:54] not a budget exceedence. In other words, if it was a budget exceedence, I'd be

[52:59] it'd be a totally different story coming in front of y'all,

[53:01] » right? >> What's the contractor going to do if we

[53:05] say no >> tonight? Like if we ask for 30 days to

[53:09] try to talk to the state or whatever and try to work it out, are they going to

[53:13] continue working or are they going to quit buying anything?

[53:16] » That's that's >> I I'll find out.

[53:18] » I'd hate to put words in their mouths. >> I mean, can you find out? And then if we

[53:23] need to have a >> special meeting to handle it, we can.

[53:26] But I mean, if we want to make some calls to try to work it out, let's do

[53:29] that. But at the same time, I don't want them to say, "Well, we're not going to

[53:33] buy nothing else until you get it worked out." you know,

[53:36] » because I think each day is $2,600 delays if it's on their end or I think

[53:43] it's around 2,600. >> I can damages

[53:46] » can also tell you in emails with Lamar, it's due to the state do department of

[53:51] revenue not answering or returning calls in a timely manner over the past several

[53:54] months. Continuing to pursue this matter with the state could result in

[53:58] additional costs due to construction delays. So, um Lamar did put that in an

[54:03] email. So, just keep giving you >> I think it's easier for them to just

[54:07] say, "Hey, pay the money and keep going." But at the same time, who who's

[54:09] really called down there and asked anybody anything?

[54:12] » I do not know. >> I mean, we have a state representative

[54:14] that lives in the county. >> He could have sent the email and never

[54:17] heard back, but never followed up. Yeah. >> I don't know.

[54:20] » I don't know either. >> And two, I'm thinking, and I'll ask

[54:23] Robin because she's had experience on on the county side of the fence as I have.

[54:28] Let's say for example, you're ordering a new fire engine. Those things are well

[54:33] over $100,000. Typically speaking, what you would do is you would be invoiced

[54:37] for a deposit on the equipment to go ahead and get the work in progress so

[54:41] you don't lose your spot and your equipment being delivered is not

[54:44] delayed. Then at some point in time, the project

[54:48] will reach a point of completion where an inspection is done. At that point,

[54:53] the inspection is done. They get another little bit. They don't actually get the

[54:56] final check until it's delivered. That's when the sales tax is when the sale is

[55:00] complete. That could buy us some time to get things worked out with Department of

[55:04] Revenue if they're structuring it that way.

[55:09] » That's the way I've seen it before. >> Thank you.

[55:13] » So, we both learned something in our many years on the other side of the

[55:16] fence.

[55:19] » Yeah, I guess a lot more questions than answers right now. So, I guess

[55:23] » Sorry to bombard you. >> I don't want to delay the project. So, I

[55:26] mean, if they come up tomorrow and tell you they're not going to buy anything

[55:28] else until something's worked out, then maybe we need to have another meeting or

[55:32] whatever. >> We need more information. I guess I got

[55:34] a question for Russ. Um, can this council see more change orders as you

[55:38] see this thing progressing along besides just this?

[55:43] Uh, there's several change orders. However, they fall within that

[55:48] contingency funds. Uh,

[55:53] I believe the way that that we're working right now is just full

[55:56] disclosure. We all uh the y'all have already awarded the the total price, so

[56:02] it's not going to exceed that. But any like I explained it to Jacob, if I if

[56:07] y'all approve me to buy a truck for $70,000

[56:10] and I bought a truck for 65 or 67, that leeway there, it's the same way

[56:17] with $20 million. y'all have approved the total wastewater plan. As long as it

[56:22] doesn't exceed that, then those change orders doesn't have to come in front of

[56:26] y'all every time is what I've been told by the engineer.

[56:32] So, we're doing this to, you know, be completely open and transparent with

[56:36] y'all. >> But this is right now going to exceed

[56:39] what the council approved. >> No, it's not going to change the uh 20

[56:43] million the the total price that y'all approved. Kenny Green assured me that

[56:49] that's what he's talking to me. He's like, "This does not change the total

[56:53] price of what y'all agreed to." >> But that's not what is that's not the

[56:58] document that's in the staff analysis. >> Yeah.

[57:02] » And I think >> it clearly shows that that figure is

[57:05] going from 21797 to 2212392.

[57:12] And I think that's the the governmental finance that I'm not good at. In in the

[57:17] real world, it's washed out and it's not changed. But with the

[57:21] the uh Gazsby or whatever, you're you didn't pay the taxes up front. So now

[57:27] you're paying them in the end. You're going to get the money back at the end.

[57:31] So the price washes out. I think but um I will I'll triple triple

[57:38] check on the that statement. So what I'm understand what you're saying Russ is

[57:42] what the council approved 21 million some odd change. Okay.

[57:46] » All right. What we got now showing be 22 million but you just said that it will

[57:51] not exceed that 21 million. Apparently it washes out.

[57:54] » Is that what I'm understanding? >> And there's like a million dollar

[57:56] contingency there. Lamar put like a million dollar contingency in there for

[58:00] buffer room not to exceed what y'all approved.

[58:03] » All right. So what if it goes two more million? Who's going to eat it? If it

[58:07] goes over what y'all approved, then y'all would have to prove it. It' have

[58:10] to come out of our um loan or our enterprise account if it

[58:17] goes over the budget. >> Yeah. I think what it is is say the 217

[58:21] 97 probably more than likely it was what their bid was was probably something

[58:26] like 20 million797. So Lamar just made the contract amount a

[58:31] million extra dollars for anything that pops up like this. So on paper it's

[58:36] 21797 but what heron probably priced is a

[58:40] million dollars less than that. So on paper it's going up but you're not going

[58:45] to pay all that out. So in the end I don't think they're going to right now

[58:49] they're not asking for more than the 21797.

[58:52] » Yeah. It's just >> but even though it's saying 22 million

[58:54] now. >> Yeah. Because a million of that is

[58:57] contingency money that >> it's just sitting there in case

[59:00] something like this happens or >> the price of something goes up. you can

[59:04] absorb it without having to ask for more money.

[59:07] » Well, it makes a lot of sense they would do it that way. I get that.

[59:10] » But if I could ask Lamar or somebody to walk me through and show me where that

[59:14] is in the contract. >> Yeah. You would just need to see Heron's

[59:18] bid. Probably her bid, you know, to what we approved it should it should be less.

[59:24] You know what I mean? Right. >> Or he may have built something in their

[59:28] contract like like at my work rock. If you hit rock, it's in there. So the

[59:33] contract's way up here, but if you don't hit any rock, then

[59:35] » that's just a savings. >> Yeah, it's a savings. And so he may have

[59:38] put made them price stuff that actually is not going to get used, like a you

[59:42] like a unit price. >> Interesting.

[59:45] » I'm going to get a good answer on that. I wrote it down. I'm going to get a good

[59:48] explanation because it's important to me.

[59:52] » And I didn't mean to make sound like I was picking on you. I just You're the

[59:55] man who's going to get the answer. So I wanted to give you all my questions. I

[59:59] uh um I love a good challenge and [laughter]

[1:00:03] » you have to >> the the the money is really important to

[1:00:08] me because it's um you know this is our first wastewater plant. Biggest thing

[1:00:14] that I've ever done with this city. It's you know the last thing we did in the

[1:00:18] newspaper was we bought those new tractors back in 2007 when we was in the

[1:00:23] newspaper. [laughter] You know we bought the city first.

[1:00:27] So, I'm very excited about this project. >> Any more questions?

[1:00:33] » I don't have any more. >> I may have others, but I'll let you.

[1:00:37] » Pardon me. >> Thank you very much.

[1:00:39] » Thank you. >> Moving on to item 16. This for

[1:00:42] certificate appropriateness fee waiver for the DDA funded project. Council

[1:00:45] member Will. >> Yeah. So, I'm bringing this in front of

[1:00:48] the council on behalf of the DDA. This has been on our to-do list for a while

[1:00:52] now and we are kind of in the home stretch for it. uh murals help to

[1:00:57] celebrate kind of our history and they're also used as like a placemaking

[1:01:02] thing within our community. Um and so the DDA has been uh diligently looking

[1:01:07] for a place to put this mural. Uh as a result, we've talked to Dwight Gillan

[1:01:12] who all of y'all know has been on the DDA for a long time and he just recently

[1:01:16] stepped off. But um we're going to do it right there at the fancy flea building.

[1:01:21] And um you can see an example of that mural in your agenda packet. But uh

[1:01:26] because we're very friendly towards other nonprofits as a council and other

[1:01:31] government entities, I said there's no reason for the DDA to try and pay this.

[1:01:35] Why don't we come before city council and see if city council would be willing

[1:01:39] to wave the fee that the DDA is required to pay for this COA? And I think there's

[1:01:44] administrative charge. So, I think total it's 400 bucks um that we're asking to

[1:01:49] wave. Now, I I'll just say I'm the chair of the DDA and so I don't want to vote

[1:01:55] on this because I don't want there to be some type of I don't know weird where

[1:01:59] it's like, hey, you you voted on this on city council and you're bringing it up

[1:02:03] as a DDA chair. Is there a conflict of interest? So, I plan on abstaining, but

[1:02:07] I wanted to to bring it before you guys.

[1:02:13] » Council got any questions for council member Oak? Looks nice.

[1:02:16] » Yeah. Thanks. >> All right. So, can I get a motion for

[1:02:18] it? >> I'll make a motion to wave the fee as

[1:02:21] presented. >> Second.

[1:02:22] » I got a motion by council member Sawyer. Second by council member Phillips. Any

[1:02:26] discussion? I please signify by your vote. Motion pass 300 with council

[1:02:31] member Elstaining.

[1:02:35] » Thank you very much. All right. Moving on. Item 17. This is the transition from

[1:02:39] manual to electrical digital time sheets discussion. Jacob.

[1:02:42] » Yes. So, the city has utilized paper time sheets for as long as we've existed

[1:02:49] from what I've been told. Um, so over the past several months, we started in

[1:02:53] January looking at different systems that we could use a little bit more up

[1:02:57] to the times. We looked at four different companies and Robin and I have

[1:03:01] selected what we think is the best company which would be paychecks and

[1:03:05] that was based on ease of use, implementation and training, competitive

[1:03:09] pricing and integrated services. What I mean by that last one is we didn't want

[1:03:13] to have two different companies for one for payroll and then one for

[1:03:16] timekeeping. So this company can do both and they've offered us a better price as

[1:03:20] well on the payroll. So it's even cheaper than what we were paying. So we

[1:03:24] have all this information before you today. Not no vote needed today. Just

[1:03:27] getting the information to you. And if you have any questions, please let me

[1:03:31] know. >> All right. Thank you, Jay.

[1:03:36] » Let's move on to staff reports. Mr. Evans.

[1:03:41] Yes, got a several here if that's all right with you. [clears throat] So,

[1:03:43] through your direction as city council and the mayor, we've been able to

[1:03:47] provide some much neededed updates throughout the city. So, I wanted to

[1:03:50] give it just a highlight of a couple of those and that includes paving Stonewall

[1:03:54] and Rain Hill subdivisions, North Raymond Park Street. The gravel is now

[1:03:59] gone there, which is an amazing thing. We've also recently completed paving

[1:04:04] Robinson Road, Elliot Village, and George's Place. In addition, the dog

[1:04:08] park and the playground at Main Street Park have seen improvements. And we've

[1:04:12] cleaned out all the water lines in the city, plus cleaned out the two 500gallon

[1:04:17] water tanks that existed in the city. And we've also partnered with a leak

[1:04:21] detection company to help identify leaks throughout our system. This has gone

[1:04:25] pretty well so far. And then to continue, our wastewater treatment plant

[1:04:29] continues to remain on schedule of June 2027 for a completion date. So all of

[1:04:34] these things are just raising the bar of the excellence within the city and I

[1:04:37] want to say thank you to the council and the mayor for approving those. So

[1:04:40] there's a lot going on in the city and it's a lot of good things. And then for

[1:04:44] leak adjustments, we had two leak adjustments in July. Uh totaling water

[1:04:49] 7501 and sewer 13759. So a total altogether of $21260.

[1:04:57] And then a list of announcements and updates are before you. If you have any

[1:05:01] questions, please let me know. >> Thank you, Mr.

[1:05:07] Going to Finance. Mr. Gazway. >> Yes, Mayor and Council. Presented to you

[1:05:11] the financial statements uh for July. Just keep in mind it's only one month.

[1:05:16] So, any good and any bad is going to be skewed just a little. [laughter]

[1:05:23] » There's more coming in than going out. It's okay.

[1:05:26] Robin, um do you remember if we saw a slowdown uh in July of last year with um

[1:05:34] with uh local option sales tax collections? Do you remember if we did?

[1:05:39] » You I have that with me. >> Awesome. Of course you do. [laughter]

[1:05:44] She's so good.

[1:05:51] Let's see. July of last year on Lost. Um, we were up a little.

[1:06:00] Splast, we were up a little. >> Okay.

[1:06:02] » And then T-Lost is just a little skewed because, you know, we were starting and

[1:06:09] everything, but they were up just a small little bit.

[1:06:12] » Okay. >> Very small increases, but they were

[1:06:16] increases. >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:06:19] Any more questions for Robin? All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Rob.

[1:06:24] Welcome. >> All right. Moving on to mayor council

[1:06:26] sports. Council, got anything to report? >> I have one. I just wanted to um report

[1:06:30] on family fair. Family fair. Um Friday night was a great success. It was um

[1:06:36] lots of people in the park even though it was really hot. We had great weather.

[1:06:40] Uh shout out to Leila McBrer and Bonnie Shudy. They worked in the park all day.

[1:06:45] Thank you, Trampus, and your team for um making sure that the roads were closed.

[1:06:50] And um thank you for to the council and mayor for approving that change and

[1:06:53] letting the the park be closed uh to through for through traffic. It really

[1:06:59] made a um a big difference in the feel and the the atmosphere on the park

[1:07:07] » and I want to echo that too. I was working with United Way and seeing the

[1:07:11] city staff out there helping people, all the different vendors get set up. That

[1:07:15] was greatly appreciated. So, thank you. >> And I also let the council know I've got

[1:07:21] a lot of feedback from it. The community really enjoyed it. Had a good time and

[1:07:25] also to the staff. I heard great thing about the staff working in the park and

[1:07:28] all that. So, I I want to commend everybody and it's great to see the

[1:07:31] community come out, come together and all that. It was a great event.

[1:07:35] All right. Anything else? All right, council. We're going to need

[1:07:39] executive session tonight for penny or potential litigation, real estate

[1:07:42] acquisition, andor personnel. So, can I get a motion go to executive session?

[1:07:48] » So, move second. >> I got a motion by council member French,

[1:07:51] second by council member Phillips. Any discussion? I please signify by your

[1:07:55] vote. >> All right, motion pass for leisure.

[1:07:58] We're in executive session.

[1:08:05] I know what it will say.

[1:08:14] The the audio will be saved. videos.

City Council Regular Meeting and Work Session Monday, August 17, 2026

Transcript