COVINGTON, Ga. – Members of the Covington city council elected to approve a bill proposal that would allow Rainbow Community Center to host a warming shelter for those in need at the Dec. 11 meeting.
The discussion for potential warming shelters for underserved residents has been on the minds of council members for quite some time, but had little traction since the Nov. 6 meeting.
City manager Tres Thomas said that this remained this way despite constant conversations, up until just hours before the council’s meeting. Thomas described it as a “change of heart.”
“Needless to say, this has been up and down and up and down and up and down for a while,” Thomas said. “It looked like it turned for tThe Covington Newshe worst again… but I got this [the RFP] around 2:30 today. I know council’s very eager to get something official for a warming shelter.”
Thomas mentioned that with it being December, this was left to be the “only option.” He also mentioned that Rainbow is also unofficially accepting participants for the time being, but that this would make the unofficial, official.
In the RFP submitted by Rainbow, the proposed budget for the entire project was $118,200, with the project spanning from late November to mid March. The general expectation from council was that the county was planning to split the cost with the city, making the city’s cost $59,100.
However, this was a point of concern for Mayor pro-tem Anthony Henderson, as he asked if the county really was planning to match the funding the city is providing.
Thomas then mentioned that Harold Cooper, Newton County’s county manager, had indicated to him more than once that the county would collaborate with the city on this project.
A motion was made by Susie Keck to waive the city’s purchasing policy to reject all previous RFP’s for the project – including those from Repairers of the Breach and Full Armor Strategies that were presented in a previous meeting – and to approve the RFP presented by Rainbow.
Additionally, Keck also added a stipulation in the motion that Rainbow provide a bi-monthly report with an Excel sheet showing a comparison of expenditures presented in the contract as opposed to what is actually being expended. Keck also requested that a list of residents be provided to the council, barring it not violating any HIPAA laws.
The motion was seconded by Kenneth Morgan and passed 4-2, with Fleeta Baggett and Don Floyd opposing.
Impact Fees Discussion
Impact fees in the city of Covington will have to wait a tad longer, as council voted to table discussion for impact fees until the Feb. 5 meeting.
The idea was pitched during the work session that took place an hour prior to the regular meeting.
Attorney and impact fee expert Bill Ross stated that he was unaware of a SPLOST impact in Covington and that the fees proposed would need further examination and discussion by himself, Thomas and city attorney Frank Turner to get the proper numbers.
Baggett then opted to ask Ross a question regarding the timing of the matter.
“I just don’t understand how after all of these months – months of looking at this stuff – that here we are and no one seemed to know what’s going on,” Baggett said. “Why did it take until the last two weeks for this to evolve?”
Ross again reiterated that he was unaware that there was a SPLOST in Newton County and that he relies on being told this information to configure the correct data. Ross mentioned that Thomas brought SPLOST to his attention.
Thomas brought forth an example of Turner Lake Rd. to explain how doubling impact fees and SPLOST would not be allowed under state law.
“If SPLOST is gonna fund that project – and then you collect impact fees also – then you’re double-dipping,” Thomas said. “That certainly is not allowed by state law.”
Mayor Steve Horton, who joined the meeting by Zoom, suggested to the council to take the information that they have learned today and move it forward to the subsequent vote in a future meeting.
The motion was officially made to table the official vote by Charika Davis and seconded by Morgan, passing unanimously.
Other Items of Business
In other items of business, council opted to table a request from the community development department to add a special events specialist position to the Jan. 2 meeting.
Community development director Ken Malcom requested the position during a previous work session in order to meet the demands for the growing department.
Davis mentioned that she did not feel comfortable approving this position and awarding money from the budget without a job description being provided, which was not available to the council at the time of the meeting.
Floyd, however, made a motion to approve the new position. The motion failed due to lack of a second, and a subsequent motion was made to table the item with the stipulation to provide a job description. This motion passed 5-1, with Floyd opposing.
The other items were also approved during the meeting:
A request to table a number of recommendations from staff and planning commission regarding zoning ordinances to the Jan. 16 meeting (6-0).
A resolution extending a limited moratorium on the acceptance of zoning petitions and applications for preliminary plats and special use permits for residential development until Feb. 5 (5-1; Morgan opposing).
An appointment of Lee M. Mayfield to the planning commission.
An extension of service hours of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption until 1:00 a.m. on New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Morning (6-0).
A consolidation of the Flock camera agreement with the Covington Police Department that will also allow the purchase of five additional cameras (6-0).
A property and liability insurance renewal for the Covington Municipal Airport and Gary Massey Agency Inc until Dec. 31, 2024.(6-0).
The purchasing of two transformers for Archer by the electric department in the amount of $192,500 (6-0).
A bid approval for the lowest bidder for water resource facility improvements. The winning bidder was consultant Carter & Sloope by Lakeshore Engineering, LLC in the amount of $22,237,500 (6-0).
An approval of minutes from the Nov. 20 and Nov. 27 meeting (6-0).
Numerous items on the consent agenda (6-0).
Also recognized were new mayor-elect Fleeta Baggett as well as new council members Kim Johnson, Travis Moore and Jared Rutberg. This full story can be read here.
The new council members will take office for their first meeting on Jan. 2.
