Attorney swears in new councilmen; cuts in water production discussed

Stephen Brown (far right), filling in for Barry Fleming, attorney for the City of Lincolnton, swears in three city officials, beginning new terms this year, at the regular meeting of the mayor and council held Monday, January 7. They are: (l-r) Councilman Chuck Beggs, Councilman Jeremy Dawkins, and Councilman Larry Goolsby.

The Lincolnton City Council conducted routine "beginning of the year" business at its first regular meeting of 2008 held Monday, January 7, at City Hall.

At the outset of the meeting, attorney Stephen Brown of Fulcher Hagler, LLP administered the oath of office to incumbent councilman Chuck Beggs and to new councilmen Jeremy Dawkins and Larry Goolsby.

In other business, the council:

.. Voted to re-appoint Barry Fleming of Fulcher Hagler as the city attorney.

.. Selected Henry Brown as mayor pro tem.

.. Heard the Water Department Report given by Superintendent Stanley Parton, who indicated that total water production made another sizable drop this past month, going from 11.1 mg (million gallons) in November to 9.92 mg in December.

In his remarks, Superintendent Parton discussed a mandate issued by the EPD requiring the city to reduce its monthly average water production for the winter quarter (December March) by "10 percent of the average of the monthly average production for the period of December 2006 through March 2007..."

According to Parton, "The EPD added the water production for each of the winter months together and then divided the total by the number of days which came to .35 million gallons per day. Therefore, we need to stay under .32 million gallons a day to achieve the 10-percent reduction, which we did for the month of December."

He went on to say, "Our withdrawal permit is for .63 million gallons of water per day - .35 is about half of this. There's no way to control the number of leaks we have or how much flushing we'll have to do. Ten percent is reaching for the stars. Still, we'll do our best. That's all we can do."

In conclusion, Parton indicated that December was a bad month for wastewater collections due to four main-line stop-ups. On a positive note, water consumption continues to drop at the wastewater treatment plant due to the use of an ultra-violet disinfecting system.

Commenting on the water shortages around the state, Mayor Dwaine Biggerstaff said, "If we don't get some rain and Atlanta doesn't get water, there's going to be a fight. The notion of an interbasin transfer isn't dead. If we lose our lake water, we will dry up and die on the vine."

.. Heard a report on SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) collections made by Mayor Biggerstaff, who said, "Our most recent SPLOST check was several thousand dollars below the previous one. Since we use SPLOST collections to gauge economic health, we'll be watching our finances more closely."

.. Voted to adopt the final FY 2008 General Account and Street Account Budget of $754,200. Although the figure reflects a seven-percent increase ($52,100) over last year's budget of $702,100, the millage rate remained at 5.6 mills as a result of growth in the tax digest.

The budget includes the purchase of a new garbage truck and raises for city employees.

"We plan to start finalizing the purchase of a new garbage truck, but we're waiting to see how things go with the sales tax," said Mayor Biggerstaff. "If we can wait for a few months, it will give us more latitude with the budget."

He likewise reported that the city has purchase 210 new garbage carts, with metal handles.

.. Voted to purchase a used, portable generator for the water department from J & T Service Center for approximately $23,500; $15,000 of this amount was awarded to the city by the General Assembly. The generator will be placed at one of the city's pumping stations.

.. Discussed the purchase of a repeater and an amplifier from Bailey's Communications and Electronics, Inc. for the police department at a cost of $8,388.50.

According to Jim Justice, chief of police, "It's getting difficult for our officers to communicate out there. You can hear fairly well and then the system crashes. Our system is on the verge of a complete and total failure, and when it goes out, we will have nothing."

The council voted to table the purchase until an agreement with Lincoln County could be obtained that will allow the city to place the repeater on Graves Mountain.

.. Heard a report from city zoning administrator David Griffin, who indicated that six building permits were issued during the month of December for a total of $790.

In other items of information, he said his department is in the process of checking addresses in preparation for the 2010 census.

.. Voted to table a proposal to raise building permit fees and the adoption of an ordinance that would create the position of code enforcement officer until a later date.

.. Agree to obtain monthly reports from all city department heads.

.. Heard Mayor Biggerstaff appoint the following committees for 2008: Finance and Personnel: Henry Brown, chairman, and Guil Mattison; Public Utilities - Water and Wastewater: Larry Goolsby, chairman, and Chuck Beggs; Public Safety - Police and Fire: Guil Mattison, chairman, and Jeremy Dawkins; Public Works - Streets and Sanitation: Chuck Beggs, chairman, and Henry Brown; Permits and Ordinances: Jeremy Dawkins, chairman, and Chuck Beggs; Downtown Revitalization: Guil Mattison, chairman, and Larry Goolsby; and Public Buildings: Larry Goolsby, chairman, and Henry Brown.

.. Voted to appoint Pat Moss to the city's zoning board.

.. Voted to enter into executive session to discuss personnel. Upon returning to regular session, the council took no action.

The next regular meeting of the mayor and council will be held Monday, February 4, at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.