City Manager Charles Akridge reminded commissioners that their adoption of the Water Shed Protection Management Plan is required by the Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Without the plan, the city cannot maintain its wastewater treatment permit.
“This is an aggressive plan,” Akridge said. “Once you sign this, it is not a concept. It is a mandate.”
The city has yet to bid out any projects specific to the plan. As the commission moves forward, Akridge said the city will seek grant money where applicable to try and fund some of the work that will be needed, such as replacement of aging sewer lines.
Part of the requirements of the plan are that the city take steps to protect and, where necessary, restore natural streams and other water resources in the city. A major concern is a recurring problem with fecal matter contamination, which is especially a problem after high rainfall.
The fecal matter comes from storm runoff, septic tanks, leaks from old city sewer lines and possibly other sources. Some problem areas have been identified by environmental engineer Catherine Fox, Fox Environmental, who spoke to the commission Monday night. Fox was hired by the commission to conduct a study and to write the report.
The city has a number of monitoring sites. One site in Cedar Creek was found to have higher than usual fecal concentrations even when other areas were low. But when it rained, all the monitoring sites showed elevated areas of contamination, she said.
She said by signing the plan, the city is making several promises. First, that the city is going to “fix the pipes” in the sewage collection and treatment system. The city also is going to look at septic tanks within the city limits and address possible problems there. And thirdly, the city must enact stronger measures to handle stormwater runoff from developed areas.
Fox added that “there are illicit discharges” and the city is going to have to “find where it is coming from.”
In other business Monday, the city commission:
Denied an application for an alcohol (beer and wine) license for the Amoco Food Mart at 804 East Ave. The commission’s concern was that the current owner sold alcohol for an unknown period of time without a valid license.
According to information presented in the meeting, the store traded hands sometime in early 2009, and the new owner continued selling beer and wine under the previous owner’s license. Commissioners were told this was a mistake on the part of the new owner, who wrongly believed he could continue sells while the license transfer was pending.
An attorney said the store owner would gladly make the license probationary, which final authorization dependent on his meeting all rules and having no infractions. However, the commission voted unanimously to deny the license.
Granted a conditional use request for property at 201 Prior Station Road. The property is zoned for industrial use, but new owner Nina Jackson plans to open a daycare facility there.
Jackson explained that the property’s location at a city industrial park is ideal for her goal of providing daycare services for the children of employees of the HON Company, AT&T and other industries. She said she also plans to have a “second shift daycare service,” something she claimed is unavailable currently in Cedartown.
Approved a proposal to alter the boundaries of the downtown area under the auspices of the Downtown Development Authority. The DDA’s redrawn borders extend further north along Main Street for an additional three blocks. However, some areas to the east and west of Main Street – including a residential area that now has a historic designation – have been dropped from the DDA district.
Heard about chronic sewer problems in the Girard Avenue neighborhood. Debra Hansard and Cherri Worsham spoke on behalf of their elderly mother. They said the problems are worse after heavy rainfall. In the past, raw sewage has backed up from the city’s system into the home, once requiring their mother to replace a bathroom floor at her cost.
To prevent a reoccurrence, their mother had to pay to have a relief valve installed in her yard. Now when the city’s sewer lines back up, the sewage spills out into their mother’s yard.
Hansard said the problem has been ongoing since the 1970s and has been brought to the attention of past commissions, yet nothing has ever been done to address the problem.
The current commission recently heard from another homeowner in the same area with the same complaints. Commissioners acknowledge that there is a problem and the issue is being looked at by the city manager and city engineer.
Signed a proclamation to observe Parkinson Disease Awareness Month in April.
Signed a proclamation supporting the Cedartown Post Office’s participation in an annual canned food drive, which will be held May 8. Canned food collect in Cedartown will be donated to the local food bank.
Approved the low bid of $7,400 from G&G Equipment Co., Cedartown, for a lawnmower for the cemetery crews.
Received an invitation from Cedartown Assistant Police Chief Jamie Newsome, on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police, to attend the unveiling of a monument on May 13. A dedication ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. on the grounds of Polk County Courthouse No. 1. The new memorial honors six police officers who were killed while on duty in Polk County over a period of several decades. Newsome said a local businessman, who asked to remain anonymous, donated the funds that allowed the project to be completed.
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