Magee Mayor Dale Berry asked that residents be patient with the city because continual rainy weather has prevented the city from correcting certain problems.
At the February 18 meeting of the Magee Board of Aldermen, he made that request, referring to the potholes currently plaguing city streets. He said that the weather must improve before the potholes can be cleaned and fixed, adding that the city plans to sweep streets but that the sweepers are not effective when everything is rain soaked. He also reported plans to put additional top soil at the city cemetery. However, that also must wait for drier weather.
Berry told the board that the city had received $29,400 from the sale of surplus property and asked members to consider putting the proceeds toward the purchase of a grapple truck the city budgeted to purchase.
Berry reported that the floor is almost finished at the old YMCA facility, which is slated to become a senior citizen center. Department of Recreation Director David Dunn said a lot of small things still must be done, like painting outside and repairing columns and shutters, but the facility should be available soon.
The board heard from Joseph Barnes, who is trying to get a city league youth football program re-established in Magee. It was approved last year. The city program is different from existing programs like the Falcons, which he termed a “travel team.” He said the goal of this program is to give the players a minimum of half a game of play time at all games. The fee to participate is $65 per player, which includes a partial uniform, insurance and coaching insurance costs. He said surrounding programs charge $100 to participate.
The board agreed to have Dunn meet with Barnes to discuss the possibilities of city affiliation. Registration for this program would start March 1 and go through August 15. Barnes said he would be teaching the fundamentals that junior high teams are looking for. He said he fronted most of the expenses for last season because the registration did not cover all the cost.
The board heard from Brett Duncan with Charles Prince CPA about accepting bids to do business with the county. Duncan cautioned that while a better rate may appear to be the best deal for the county that may not always be the case. He said specifically the city’s payroll clearing account and the accounts payable have so many transactions associated with them that the small difference in interest is not worth the accounting issues caused by transferring accounts.
The board did approve all three of the bidding banks, PriorityOne, Trustmark and Peoples, as depositories. City Clerk Lane Yearby said there are currently no accounts at Peoples and the city will establish those when board approval is given. The board concurred with this plan.
The mayor asked the board to apply for a second grant from the state. State Senator Chris Caughman was instrumental in the county receiving $500,000 this year for a sewerage lagoon. According to Berry, funds can only be used for roads, bridges, water or sewer projects. Ideas that were discussed included pedestrian walkways along the bridge on 11th Avenue, which would cost $11,000 for each side. The board also discussed the need to replace a water control box and clean the third cell of the lagoon. The board agreed to submit a request for funding.
The board gave their approval for the disposal of Fire Engine 3, a 1999 Freightliner. Fire Marshal Charlie Valadie told the board the fire department would like to use the proceeds to offset some of the cost of recent equipment purchases. The board concurred.
Valadie also discussed concerns about having fire detectors that may be available to the public. The board gave their approval on researching the options and programs that are available.
The board approved raising the cost of an accident report from the Magee Police Department. The cost will go from $25 to $35 because of the amount of paperwork associated with the new reporting format.
