City’s water withdrawal permit on hold due to lack of funding

The Lincolnton City Council dealt with routine items of business at its regular meeting held Monday, February 1.

During the meeting, Mayor Henry Brown announced he had been notified that the United States Army Corps of Engineers cannot process the city’s request to pump a maximum of two million gallons (mg) of water a day from Clark’s Hill Lake because funding is not available at the present time to complete a reallocation study.

Currently, the city is allowed to pump .63 million gallons of water per day from the lake. With upgrades to the water plant, it now has the capacity to process two million gallons of water on a daily basis.

In other business, the council:

.. Heard Mayor Brown announce that the annual clean-up day for the city and county has been scheduled for Saturday, April 25.

The event will begin at 8 a.m. and continue until 12 noon.

“We are asking everyone, who isn’t busy, to come out and help pick up a little paper,” said the mayor.

Gloves and bags will be furnished by the state.

.. Heard the Water-Wastewater Department Report given by Superintendent Stanley Parton, who said that with leaks in the city and the county, water production increased from 12.14 mg in December to 13.5 mg in January.

He went on to add, “With the continuing rains, the lake has been on the rise again. Lake levels even exceeded full pool (330 feet above mean sea level) for a few days. On January 31 the lake was at 329.41 feet.”

.. Voted to grant a conditional use variance to the Lincolnton United Methodist Church to enable the church to purchase a single-family residence on N. Peachtree Street for use as a youth activities building.

.. Heard the Police Department Report given by Chief Jim Justice, who said his staff received 245 calls for service last month as compared to January of 2009.

Also last month, the department handled six traffic accidents, three DUIs, and cases involving terroristic threats, theft by taking, and stray dogs.

“One of these dogs had bitten an adult, and the other, a child,” said Justice. “Both of these incidents occurred on Joan Way.”

“We have a leash law in the city, and we will be enforcing it,” said Mayor Brown. “We can’t have all of these dog incidents.”

.. Reviewed the Zoning, Building, and Code Enforcement Report submitted by Jim Butler.

According to Butler, he issued four building permits, one sign permit, and one moving permit for a total of $437 during the month of January.

He also conducted seven building inspections and issued one certificate of occupancy.

.. Voted to table awarding a contract for information technology infrastructure support services to give the councilmen time to study the various bids.

.. Voted to table awarding a contract for repairs to the leaky roof at City Hall until more information could be obtained.

.. Voted to put out a bid request to install a pipe under the pavement on Morningside Drive in preparation for resurfacing under the Georgia DOT’s Local Road Assistance Program (LARP).

.. Heard a report given by Mayor Brown on “Mayors’ Day” in Atlanta. He indicated that the hot topic for the gathering was the budget.

“They are talking about cutting off allotments for GEFA (Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority), which is one of our funding sources,” Brown said.

.. Heard a request made by the county for the city to charge commercial rates on the meter monitoring the Saddlebrook subdivision. Following a discussion period, the council agreed to keep the rates as they are since the city is responsible for maintaining the lines as well as transmitting water to the subdivision.

However, the county will still receive commercial rates on the booster station on Washington Highway.

.. Voted to enter into executive session to discuss personnel matters. Upon returning to regular session, no action was taken.

The next regular meeting of the mayor and council will be held Monday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.