City Council Meets

In a called meeting last Wednesday, the Hazlehurst City Council voted to accept the insurance proposal presented by Brenda Reynolds of McLendon Reynolds Insurance Agency to cover the city.
At the city’s June 21 regular meeting, Reynolds presented her proposal but Mayor Bayne Stone announced that the council would not vote on it as he wanted to wait until he could further explore getting a bid from the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA).
Reynolds questioned why the matter could not be voted on that night and Commissioner John Bloodworth made a motion to vote on the proposal but could not get a second to his motion.
Reynolds and City Clerk Vernice Lopez both pointed out that the deadline for submitting the proposal was at noon, June 21, and Reynolds further expressed her concern that, with her bid already submitted, GMA could submit a bid $10 lower than hers.
But Mayor Stone refused to entertain a motion on the matter and the decision was postponed until the next week.
At the called meeting, there was no discussion as the Mayor quickly called for a motion to approve Reynolds’ proposal and the approval came without opposition.
The roundabouts now under construction came up again at last week’s meeting with Commissioner Bloodworth asking the council to reconsider its December, 2017, decision to install the roundabouts at Pat Dixon Road’s intersection with Collins Street and Charles Rogers Boulevard.
Commissioner Eric Griffin asked if the roundabout at Charles Rogers Blvd. near the crosswalk in front of Jeff Davis Elementary School would be be a problem. Contractor Joey Hiers, whose firm is doing the work, said he didn’t see how it possibly could.
“You’re going to have people directing traffic there,” he said. “I think it would go better than with stop signs. It will take some time for people to get used to it.”
Despite concerns that the work would not be completed by the time schools open for the 2018-19 school year, Hiers said, “I can have it functional before school starts. We may not cut the centers out until the last thing, but they’ll be functional.”
Hiers said that AT&T would be through moving its utilities by the next day (last Thursday) and Mayor Stone said he had talked with Georgia Power and was told everything possible would be done to get the utility poles moved.
“I think we’re good,” Stone said.
The Council met in closed session for almost a half hour to discuss personnel.
When they reopened the meeting the council voted 4-1 to promote long-time employee Lori Williams to Deputy City Clerk at a salary of $42,640 per year. Stone, Griffin, John Ramay and Dywane Johnson voted in favor of promotion and Bloodworth opposed.