Villa Rica Councilmember Leslie McPherson elected mayor pro tem; city’s cash on hand grows to $33.6M

story by Janice Daniel

The Mayor and Council of Villa Rica conducted a Special Called Meeting prior to their Regular Monthly meeting on 1/10/23 at 6:00 p.m. for the sole purpose of the appointment of members of the Public Facilities Authority. Those appointed and approved unanimously were: Chairman: the Mayor, Gil McDougal; Vice Chairman: the Mayor Pro Tem, Matthew Momtahan; Secretary: City Clerk, Theresa Campbell. Minutes of the meetings of January, 2022 and May 4, 2022 were read and approved.

Special Called Meeting was then adjourned, and the Regular Meeting was called to order by the Mayor. Mayor Gil McDougal performed the swearing-in of Judge Keith Rollins.

During Public Comments, most citizens spoke of the homeless camp located on the corner of Williams Industrial Blvd. and Highway 101. (See front page story.)

The 15-item Consent Agenda was approved unanimously (see story this page) and Councilmember Leslie McPherson was voted Mayor Pro Tem for 2023.

Minutes of the prior month meetings were approved unanimously.

Mayor then called upon city attorney David Meckin to present the first reading of the Ordinance to Redistrict the Council Wards. Mecklin said the city must meet the requirements of the Federal and State Constitutions in the one-person one-vote legal standard. The 2020 Census showed an imbalance in Villa Rica, and had to be revised by the State Reapportionment Office. The revised map is on the city’s website, and the paper map can be viewed at City Hall.

The city must adopt the map through the Home Rule Provisions of Georgia law, which requires that the new map be presented in two separate council meetings (final reading at February regualr council meeting), and inbetween the two meetings, legal notice must be given to the public.

Currently Ward 1 Councilmember is Shirley Marchman, Ward 2 is Matthew Momtahan, Ward 3 is Leslie McPherson, Ward 4 is Anna McCoy, and Ward 5 is Danny Carter. Once the map is adopted in February, each person can go to the Secretary of State’s website “Your Voter Page” to find your ward. Mecklin made a motion to approve the first reading, which was approved by the Council unanimously.

The convenience center at 157 Commerce Drive, Villa Rica, is under new ownership and had to apply for a license to offer sale of packaged beer, malt beverages and wine. After approval by the Council, Mr. Mecklin instructed the new owner that the City of Villa Rica strictly enforces the law against selling alcohol to underage persons, and that he should be very careful, himself and his employees, to request ID from everyone, because the VRPD makes random checks for compliance, and failure to comply results in loss of license. The owner confirmed that he understood.

The Financial Update was given by Jennifer Hallman, reporting total cash at 11/30/22 was $33,684,320, compared to $27,587,661 at the same time last year.

Self-funded insurance added $172,070 to the fund for a cash balance of $1,359,042.

There was growth in water taps.

Carter and McCoy asked about the North By-Pass and FUQUA projects. City mamaner Tom Barber said the city started in November with six weeks of cutting down trees, and six weeks of burning the debris, and hope to start grading by the first of March. It is a three-year build started in the fall of 2022 and should be completed by the fall of 2025, including both roundabouts.

Barber stated that Fuqua has closed on the land for a grocery store that he said will be completed later this year.

Villa Rica council hold 1:00 p.m. work session to set multi-item consent agenda

by Janice Daniel

The Mayor and City Council of Villa Rica met for a work session January 10, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. to discuss upcoming business and to prepare the consent agenda for the regular meeting following at 6:00 p.m.

The 15-item Consent Agenda which was prepared is as follows:

1.EPD Mandated Long-Term Water Quality Monitoring at a budgeted cost of $28,676. Staff recommended Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

2.Appointment of Lois Gerstenberger as Solicitor for the Municipal Court.

3.Revision of the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Ordinance to allow the city to begin collecting this tax from entities such as VRBO and Airbnb

4.To approve the annual pledge payment of $75,000 to Carroll Tomorrow.

5.Establishment of the fees for candidates qualifying for Municipal Elections, at 3% of the current salary of the position held. The fee to qualify to run for Mayor is at $342.00 and for Councilmembers $270.00.

6.Approval of appointment of Doug Lang to the Planning and Zoning Commission Ward 1, for the term of 1/1/23 to 12/31/24.

7.Approval of appointment of Nancy Mims to the Planning and Zoning Commission Ward 5, for the term of 1/1/23 to 12/31/24.

8.Approval of appointment of Carolene Cox to the Main Street Advisory Board for a staggered term of 1/1/23 to 12/31/24.

9.Approval of appointment of Ronda McCullors to the Main Street Advisory Board for a staggered term of 1/1/23 to 12/31/24.

10.Approval to convert part-time IT Technician to full-time IT Technician at a nonbudgeted amount of $22,536 for 20 additional hours per week salary and benefits

11.Approval to implement Armis Vulnerability Management Solution at an annual cost of $46,132

12.Approval to implement ThinkGuard Disaster Recovery Solutions to replace current Barracuda Backup System with a full data protection service. Cost is $37,405.40, which