PORTERDALE, Ga. - After its first full business day in its new location, the City of Porterdale held its first-ever Porterdale City Council meeting in the new city hall, located at 2800 Main St., in the renovated old fire station.

“I just want to say how far we have come with the advent of this new building,” Mayor Arline Chapman said. “And as I go around the county and meet with different folks, as part of my responsibilities, I only hear just really good things about Porterdale and what’s happening here so it makes me very proud to be your mayor.”

Marking the historic event, the council unanimously agreed to a lease agreement with United Bank for the purchase of gym equipment, trucks and more through Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) revenues.

City Manager Bob Thompson said the lease agreement can be compared to a payment plan. Once the agreement is complete, the city will have ownership of everything included.

Included in the lease agreements are:

·         Gym equipment

o   Electronics, sound boards, speakers, lighting: $60,704

o   Stage covering, mounting assemblies, engineering: $38,096

·         Rolling stock for Public Works

o   F-150: $19,145

o   F-250: $27,455

o   F-350: $33,490

o   F-350: $33,490

o   Sewercam: $7,970

o   Chipper: $33,064

o   Leafvac: $21,250

o   Multihog: $105,000

o   Attachments: $50,000

o   72 Volt Cart: $9,800

Altogether, the purchases total $439,464. Thompson said Porterdale receives about $33,000 a month in SPLOST revenue and the financing for the equipment will be around $10,000 or $11,000. The remaining SPLOST funds will go to other approved projects.

“This does leave a lot of revenue available for the other projects that y’all decided and the voters agreed on,” he said.