City looks at ramifications of failure to meet mandate

Water was one of the topics discussed at the regular meeting of the Lincolnton City Council held Monday, February 4, at City Hall.

In his remarks, Mayor Dwaine Biggerstaff pointed out that the city is still under a production mandate issued last fall by the EPD.

The mandate requires the city to reduce its monthly average water production for the winter quarter (December February) by "10 percent of the average of the monthly average production for the period of December 2006 through February 2007..."

This means that the water plant needs to stay under .32 million gallons a day to achieve the 10-percent reduction. The city's withdrawal permit for Clark's Hill Lake is for .63 million gallons of water per day - .32 is approximately half of that amount.

According to Stanley Parton, water department superintendent for the city, "With the bad propane leak on Watson Street that had to be watered down for hours and perhaps people leaving their faucets dripping during cold snaps, water production and usage went up quite a bit during the month of January."

Production climbed from 9.92 mg (million gallons) in December to 11.18 mg in January, an increase of 1.26 mg, Parton said.

He went on to point out that for January, there was an estimated threepercent reduction in water production as opposed to the mandated 10 percent. "There's no way to control propane leaks, how much flushing we'll have to do, or large main water leaks."

"Everybody needs to be aware that we are under a production mandate," stated Mayor Biggerstaff. "If it doesn't rain, the mandate will probably continue, which could serve to cap the amount of income we can generate. No doubt, this would put us in a very precarious position.

"We have borrowed money for the water system based on our ability to pay it back. When water production is restricted, there is the possibility that we will not be able to meet our financial obligations. We may even get to the point where people who want to build a house will not be able to get water. I'm just saying that this could get to be a bigger issue than it is now.

"We have had some rain recently, but it is not near enough - pray for rain," said the mayor.

In a related item of information, Mayor Biggerstaff congratulated Chris Guin, superintendent of the wastewater treatment plant, for lowering the plant's water bill to $83 for January. "This shows what happens when you have good people in place."

In other business, the mayor invited those present to be at the James Allen Reed Water Treatment Plant at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19, for a trial run of the plant's new generators.

In further business, the council:

..Heard a report on clubhouse rentals, given by Ginger Dawkins, assistant city clerk.

Dawkins noted that since rental fees for the Lincolnton Clubhouse were raised on January 1, she has received several inquiries, but no one has yet to rent the facility. Last year, there were five rentals in January.

"Maybe the council should consider lowering the deposit or rental fee," she said.

The council voted to table the matter and monitor the situation.

.. Discussed possible franchise fee legislation and its impact on the city.

.. Was informed by Mayor Biggerstaff that "Peachy Clean Day" for the city and county is set for Saturday, April 20. In the event of rain, the clean-up initiative will take place on Saturday, April 26. .. Agreed to refer a request for the purchase of a truck for the water department to the Public Utilities Committee, chaired by Councilman Larry Goolsby.

.. Agreed that Councilman Chuck Beggs will obtain information on the cost to replace the fluorescent lights at the city barn with halogen lights. As it now stands, workers are having to continually replace lights and ballasts.

.. Voted to grant a second zoning approval extension of 90 days to Deanne and Stanley Thompson of Lincoln Square, LLC for property located on the Augusta Highway.

.. Voted to rezone property on Lumber Street, owned by John Braden, from R-1 (Residential) to P-1 (Professional) to accommodate an office building.

.. Heard the Zoning Department Report given by Zoning Administrator David Griffin, who said his office assigned 11 E-911 addresses, issued 11 building permits, accepted two rezoning applications, and conducted 16 building inspections during the month of January.

In other comments, the zoning administrator indicated that he is still in the process of verifying addresses for the 2010 census. "Hopefully, this will be completed within the next two weeks," he said.

.. Heard an update given by Chief Jim Justice on efforts to purchase and install a repeater and an amplifier for the police department.

According to the chief, there is no room for the city's radio system in the storage building, located at the base of the county's tower on Graves Mountain. As a result, he will obtain additional information about the Georgia Forestry Commission's tower as well as approach others about the possibility of using their towers.

In further discussion, Justice was asked if there was really a need for the new system.

"When several officers respond to a call, everyone tries to talk at once," said the chief. "The new system will allow city officers to operate on a separate channel. It will also serve as a back-up channel."

He went on to say that by purchasing the system, the city will already be compliant when the government requires all law enforcement agencies to communicate on narrow band frequencies.

In his report for the month, Chief Justice indicated that his department responded to 246 calls for service, made five adult arrests and seven juvenile arrests, and investigated four traffic accidents.

At the conclusion of his report, the chief recommended that pre-fabricated curbing be purchased to help eliminate traffic problems at LCES.

.. Was informed by Mayor Biggerstaff that the city's monthly bills are available for review by the public at City Hall.

.. Agreed to refer Councilman Jeremy Dawkins' request that interior improvements be made to City Hall to the Public Buildings Committee, chaired by Councilman Goolsby.

The committee will also consider a bid submitted by Austin's Remodeling & Repairs to remodel the entrance to City Hall.

.. Agreed to look into the possibility of establishing a website for the city.

.. Voted to grant an alcoholic beverage license to El Portal in the name of Elena Galvin.

.. Was informed by Mayor Biggerstaff that a mini-course, titled Historic Preservation 101, will be offered from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 19, at the Thomson Depot.

Voted to enter into executive session to discuss personnel issues. Upon returning to regular session, the board took no action on personnel matters but did vote to appoint Mike Seigler to the zoning board.

The next regular meeting of the mayor and council will be held Monday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.