A group of Magee residents presented a petition to the Board of Aldermen at their meeting last week asking the city to improve city services.
The petition signed by 29 residents reported to be living on 11th Avenue calls for the city to improve services. The written request was presented to the board by Dot Nichols on behalf of the community.
While acknowledging the task of maintenance, the residents asked for improvement of various city services. The petition addressed the physical condition of the road as “terrible and in desperate need of repair.”
The petition cited the length of time it takes for the city garbage trucks to pick up debris and household items, which it said in some cases have remained on 11th Avenue for upwards of a month.
It requested that the police continue their presence to reduce the number of speeders and potential accidents.
It cited the amount of litter present in the area and requested the city to respond with signage as well as fines for offenders.
Nichols said that couches and commodes litter the streets and are not being picked up. She also told the board that water valves were coming up in the roadway and would probably cause damage and/or accidents to vehicles traveling on 11th Avenue.
Betty Harper, a resident of Colonial Drive on the other side of Magee, reported to the board that a culvert is bent and causes water to back over the road during heavy rains.
Magee Mayor Dale Berry told both Nichols and Harper that the city would address the problems that were identified and work to remedy the situations.
Berry said he had been in contact with the contractor about the paving that was to take place in Magee. He said the contractor said that the asphalt company was behind on its schedule but that the work would be done soon.
The board discussed the decision to take the Magee Chamber of Commerce in as an agency of the city. The goal is to expand the job of the executive director of the Chamber to writing grants and helping administer them for the city. The candidate for that position would handle public relations and events that have previously been handled through the Chamber of Commerce, which has formerly been a private business organization.
The city is funding the position of executive director at $35,000 per year. This includes a $10,000 stipend that the city has provided to the Chamber annually and an additional $25,000 budgeted from the city.
Barry Mott, one of the engineers that assist the city with airport operations, told the board that they would be audited by the Federal Aviation Administration because funds designated for airport programs were being held too long by the city. He said the city was not complying with the time limit for paying bills.
He also reported that the jet fuel farm at the airport was not installed properly and that the anticipated cost of $28,000 to bring the facility to standard is going to be closer to $42,000 because inspectors continued to find issues and problems that were not corrected when the system was installed under the former engineering consultants.
Mott made recommendations to the city on spending other funds for additional projects at the airport. These included additional security fencing as well as keyless entry for pilots to the hangar area.
The hearing regarding the opening of the road in Biglane Heights has been scheduled for October 20, at 5 p.m.
The board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters.
