COVINGTON, Ga. — After a considerable amount of discussion, fireworks will fly this Christmas in Covington.
The Covington city council voted 4-2 to overturn a veto that would stop the firework show for 2024 at Monday’s meeting. Council members first voted 4-2 to approve a contract for $15,000 to run the annual firework show, but the vote was vetoed by mayor Fleeta Baggett.
City attorney Frank Turner Jr. notified the council following the initial vote that they had the right to overturn the veto should there be a two-thirds vote. This is exactly how it played out at Monday’s meeting, with council member Jared Rutberg electing to approve the fireworks and council member Anthony Henderson seconding Rutberg’s motion.
There was previously some dispute as to who would pay for the $15,000 firework show. It was believed that the city would pay $10,000 of the contract, while Newton County would pay $5,000. “
That is still being worked on there,” Rutberg said. “If we still had our 15 [thousand] that was appropriated for it, we’re spending 15. If they step up then we’re only spending 10 [thousand].”
But Newton County, however, has decided to not pitch in.
At the Sept. 18 Newton County Board of Commissioners meeting, District 4 commissioner J.C. Henderson made a motion to give the city $5,000 for the firework contract. The motion failed due to a lack of a second.
This means that the city will pay the full amount.
It is expected that this is the last Lighting of the Square firework show that is under contract. The city council would have to agree to a new contract for 2025 and beyond should they want future firework shows for the event.
It is still unclear if/where the firework show will remain for the July 4 celebration. A consensus was agreed upon by Baggett and some of the council, but an official vote has yet to be made.
“As of three minutes ago, we’re gonna do the usual everything downtown that we normally do for [the] Fourth of July,” Baggett said during the Aug. 19 work session. “It’ll be the same type [of] things during the day and then the fireworks will be at night at a different location. And that different location is yet to be determined.”
While the topic of downtown events have dominated the talking points over the last six weeks, council members also approved a slew of other items at Monday’s meeting. Those include the following:
- A special use permit to allow a single-family home to be located at 3156 Spring Street – also known as the now-former Charles Christian Tuller House.
- A final reading for an ordinance amendment for riders and adjustments
- A first reading for a language adjustment for qualifications for the planning commission and the board of appeals and adjustments.
- A first reading for a language adjustments in regards to cohesion for the 2023 comprehensive plan for zoning districts and future land use districts
- A first reading for an amendment to the architectural variety ratio requirements for single-family residential houses.
- A first reading for an amendment to the alcohol license fees to match neighboring cities.
- An allowance for the gas department to lease warehousing space for the AMI meter change-out program
- A gas main agreement for 37 homes for Grove Park
- An RFP for the Sanitary Sewer Manhole Rehab/Replacement Project
- A bid awardance to East Coast Grading for the LMIG Paving Project
- A modification to the city of Covington sick leave policy for employees
- Two budget amendments
- The approval of minutes from Sept. 3
- Multiple items on the consent agenda.
