The City of Magee is getting serious about property cleanup, and those who do not comply may get called on the carpet.
At Tuesday’s meeting the Magee Board of Aldermen decided to move forward on holding Raymond Albert Booth responsible for his property located at 158 Highway 149, formerly Keith Tire. It was stated that the property was in a state of uncleanliness and as so creates a hazard.
The board agreed to contact the Department of Environmental Quality to remove tires stored on the site. The facility is no longer in operation and is not being maintained, evidenced by grass that needs cutting, abandoned vehicles and general clutter. The owner did not show up for the meeting, so the city will bring the property to standard and a lien will be filed against it.
The board also plans to take action against the resident on Main Ave. for the tree that was cut and was too large for city equipment to remove. The board discussed a similar situation on Highway 149 of which the property owner has been notified.
Last year, owners were instructed to clean the property at 605 Co-Op Road where raw sewerage was running on the ground and a trailer was parked, but nothing was done. A public hearing has been set on July 21 to proceed with cleanup actions and filing a lien on that property.
The mayor reported that there will be no garbage service in the city on Monday, May 30, which is Memorial Day. Collections will be backed up on Tuesday and Wednesday and back to regular service for the remainder of the week. The same schedule will be in place for the July 4th holiday week.
The board heard from Andy Baeurele, a member of the Mayor’s Student Council. Baeurele expressed his concern about the condition of the facilities at McNair Springs Park. The city is currently contracting for the grass to be cut at the park. Baeurele said the issue goes much further, though, and includes issues like the roof on the pavillion and the condition of the bathrooms. He said the condition of the concrete aquifers where the water flows is not appealing and they are not being cleaned. He also expressed safety concerns about a foot bridge connecting to the ballfield. He said the facility would be better utilized if it were properly maintained.
The board will be conducting interviews for assistant city clerk and police chief the first of next week.
The city is having issues with pumping sewerage from the Eastside Subdivision to the city lagoon. The solution is to purchase a grinder that would be placed either in an existing manhole or by building a contained concrete structure. Brett Duncan of Charles Prince CPA advised the board that they could possibly avoid the bid law by determining this as a sole source provider or they may have to bid the project through the typical bid process. The contained structures, according to initial estimates, are $15k to $20k less expensive than retrofitting an existing manhole. The concrete option including installation is expected to run in the $165,000 range. The improvement would allow sludge to be pumped to the lagoon.
It was reported that two additional annual payments are needed to pay off the existing road bond for the City of Magee. The payment is due at the end of June, and the bond will be retired in June of 2024.
Airport Manager Ashley Steele reported the contractual service with Rebel Services for annual inspections of fuel and standard maintenance to include changing of filter is $4,190. The board approved the contract. Additional fees will be needed for the Jet A fuel sold at the airport to be brought up to standard before Rebel will agree to service this part of the airport operation.
Building inspector Philip Magee brought two new candidates before the board to be approved for “duty to act.” Magee also reported a problem with residents buying portable buildings and attempting to make them into permanent residences. He said by the time they are brought up to standard the residents could have paid for an addition to their homes.
Alderman Mark Grubbs commented that there were already enough issues to deal with to get involved in portable buildings.
The board approved the $49,500 needed to move and assemble the new communications tower. It will be located by the pump house in the industrial park.
Tim Bray, the department head for Public Works, reported the need to start working every other Saturday in order to get caught up with all projects in the city such as bush hogging and other regular maintenance.
The board agreed to hold the first meeting in July on July 7.
The board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters.
