At Monday night’s Rockdale City Council meeting, the citizens of Rockdale got some good news from City Manager Barbara Holly during the budget workshop.
Jerald Brunson, the city’s public works director, came up with a plan that will allow the city to replace the aging pipes at the water facility instead of having to rebuild the structure as city leaders thought they were going to have to make provisions for in the upcoming budget.
Brunson’s plan will extend the lifespan of the water treatment plant by eight to 10 years, Holly said.
The cost will be about $300,000 and $200,000 of that will come from a grant the city is going to receive from the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District.
“This means that the next wave of debt needed to rebuild the facility (around $16M) can be put off. The time frame for new debt can more closely coincide with a big debt chunk being retired in early 2030. It all adds up to smaller water rate increases for our customers while they get clean water,” Holly said.
She told council members that this news also means they can put road-work issues at the top of their budget priorities.
SANITATION—The council later voted to allow Holly to seek bids for a new sanitation contract.
She told council members that Waste Connections is falling down on its contract which ends in January of next year.
“We receive complaints every service day,” she said of the company that picks up garbage once a week for city residents.
ELECTION—The council also “officially elected” Brett Boren as the new City Council member for the west side of the city. He was unopposed at the filing deadline so there is no need to include him on the May 1 ballot which will include two candidates, incumbent Richard Coppedge and Scott Starnes, running for an east side seat.
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