Why are fire hydrants multi-colored? Hydrants should be color-coded according to gallons per minute flow
Why was Leathers Street deemed a private drive by city? Citizen couldn’t sell home as buyer was faced with “no access”
by Janice Daniel
Mayor and Council of the City of Villa Rica met for their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 12th, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., with all present except Councilmember Matthew Momtahan.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Angel Arzuaga, who also offered the Invocation. Arzuaga, Athletic Manager at Villa Rica, was born in New Jersey, raised in Puerto Rico, and received a Baseball Scholarship to Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky. He was raised by his grandmother, who taught him to put God first in everything and Arzuaga said he follows that advice in his life and also his job at the Villa Rica Athletic Department.
A plaque for recognition of all his service to the city was given to Tom Flowers, who passed away before the award could be given, but it was received by his wife, Connie Flowers, along with a round of applause from those in the council room. Flowers served on the Housing Authority Board, the Villa Rica Downtown Development Authority, and “never missed” a Planning & Zoning Commission meeting where he served for many years. Flowers was known for always being prepared for questions and evaluations, and he was known for being specific, concise, and prepared to help mayor and =council with issues in Planning and Zoning.
Recognition was also made of School Psychology Week from 11/11 thru 11/15/24, and several representatives of the school psychology group were there to help emphasize the importance of the work they do in the school system each and every day with students, teachers and parents to meet the specific learning needs of the city’s children.
County Commissioner District 2 Clint Chance was at the meeting to present a $1,000 donation from the Villa Rica Lions Club to the Villa Rice Police Department for their annual Shop-with-a-Cop Christmas event with the city’s children.
Mayor Leslie McPherson then gave special recognition to a group of public safety employees involved in the rescue of a man lost in the woods on 11/5/24. Pedro Alecia suffered a medical incident close to South Carroll Road and Highway 61, where several hours were spent recuing Alecia from a ravine where he was heard screaming for help. Those involved in the rescue were VRPD B shifts officers Morris, Marchbanks, Anderson, Hamilton, and Early, Corporal Bishop and Sergeant Walton; from Special Ops, Officers Hemingway and Rosemary, along with Corporal Massey; Firefighters from Truck #9, Jacob Long and Lt. Daniel Nation; Firefighters from Engine #9, Dalton Ridgeway and David Erig; Rescue #16, Riley Dresslin and Brandon Allen, Battalion #2, Chief Tyler McKinley, and from Dispatch, Lauren Crumley, Alycia Johnson Nieves, and Sandy Yates. Alecia was at the meeting to say “Thank God for the whole team,” and he gave a hug to the “young lady who stayed on the phone with me to keep me calm and assure me that help was on the way.”
Nina Shabazz, Community Development director, presented a special thanks to her team, and especially Whitney Cox, Business Licensing, for receiving a 100% compliance audit for the “first time in a very long time.” Cox was described as always being pleasant and helpful.
Cindy Glommen received a certificate for ten years service with the city and is currently serving as the “right-hand person” for Hal Burch, Public Works director, who could not say enough about all the wonderful characteristics of Glommen and the contributions she has made to the Public Works team. “She is the heart and soul of the Public Works team, and has had a ripple effect of positivity, a legacy of dedication and selfless service” whose impact will be felt for years to come.
Jason Waddell, Distribution and Collection manager in the Sewer and Solid Waste Department, also received a certificate for ten years of service with the city. Utilities Director John Bain, said Waddell has been manager for the Distribution Team for two years now and has done an outstanding job. “He has put together a solid team, additional crew, written development policies and procedures, safety protocols, and training, and is responsive to any need in the department. “Jason is outstanding to work with and it is an honor to consider him a friend.”
In Public Comments, several citizens presented concerns about not being able to sell their property because the city had, at some point, decided to make Leathers Street a private drive without letting the people who live on the street know about the change. They want the city to reinstate Leathers Street because the residents are now, according to Tisha Devault, “stuck on an easement and can’t sell our property.” Carol White stated that she lost a sale of her property because of “no access”.
Pamela Whyte said the Villa Rica Mayor and Council had a meeting in Carrollton which they labeled as a workshop, on October 24th, and went into executive session without giving any information. She said, “We will not tolerate hints of threats, intimidation or retaliation – we have it recorded.” A couple of other people made comments about this meeting that took place in Carrollton, and the lack of information that was provided there.
Dr. Bernice Brooks asked for clarity about the different colors of fire hydrants she see as she is driving around the city, and asked, “why all the different colors?”
Josh Evans said he had already brought before the council the issues of water hydrants in the city being painted incorrect colors. He said the hydrants are supposed to be color-coded according to the gallons per minute they are able to pump, and “Villa Rica’s don’t match” the code.
In Council Comments, Councilmember Stephanie Warmoth said the constituents at River Trace are very excited about the speed bumps that have now been installed there for traffic calming.
Councilmember Anna McCoy said the Ward 4 Planning & Zoning Commission seat vacated by Marilyn Glass would be filled by Kelley Vines for the term 1/1/24 – 12/31/25.
Council also voted unanimously to extend the moratorium on Multi-Family Developments which expires in November for another 180 days (until May, 2025) in order for staff to determine what parcels are still available for such developments and what infrastructure needs to be built to support them.
The Consent Agenda from the work session was approved unanimously.
In Community Development, Director Nina Shabazz, presented ABL-08-24, application for JK Bhramani, LLC dba Easy Quick Stop to sell retail package malt beverages and wine at the business location of 1607 W. Highway 78, Villa Rica. Bhramani has recently purchased the business and therefore had to get his own alcohol license. No one spoke at the Public Hearing and the Council approved this item 3-1 with Councilmember Shirley archman opposed. The VRPD policy on selling to underage customers was read to Bhramani.
VA-04-23-01 was presented by City Planner, Shaun Daniels. Jerry Tolbert was at the meeting to seek an annual variance review from the Paving and Drainage section of the Zoning Ordinance for a continued allowance of a gravel 60’x20’ parking lot instead of the hard, dustless surface the zoning code requires. The subject property is located east of Highway 61 and west of Tolbert Drive, and is currently zoned C2 (Commercial Low-Density). It includes a display area equipped with various accessory structures, such as sheds and playground swing sets for sale on the property. Staff recommended approval on this variance that was approved by council last year with the condition that the applicant come back in one year for an evaluation. Staff reported that the gravel lot has not caused any environmental or public health issues since its installation, and there have been no dust-related problems or surface run-off issues. The owner is responsible for keeping the grass cut and the trash picked up.
In the Public Hearing, Josh Evans said the applicant shouldn’t have to come back every year for approval of this variance since he is keeping the gravel well- maintained.
Councilmember Stephanie Warmoth said she was in favor of keeping the annual review to ensure that the property is kept as required. Daniels said that Code Enforcement is responsible for checking on that, and Mayor McPherson said that she didn’t see the necessity for putting regulations on one property owner and not all the others. Ultimately, council voted approval on the variance with the condition that the applicant come before them every three years for evaluation of the gravel parking lot.
Interim City Manager Diana DeSanto was at the meeting via Zoom since she was out of town at a City Manager Boot Camp for training. She gave the City Manager Report as follows:
ADMINISTRATION: On-going projects are the year-end audit preparation; Laserfiche training and implementation; website redesign and migration with Public Service Request App; open enrollment for FSA; CHIP grant application.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: Issued over $71,000 in building permits; Fellowship Hall Renovations with Ribbon Cutting 10/30/24. On-going projects are Code of Ordinance text amendments; hiring part-time Code Enforcement Officer; WIC building modifications and improvements; landscaping and final building walk-through of the Dorsey Apartments; two model units open of the Emery Townhomes.
PARKS AND RECREATION and TOURISM: Gold Dust Open Gym Activities include Pickleball, Senior Pickleball and Basketball. Basketball has 384 registered and 54 on the waitlist; Holiday Bootcamp is 11/4 – 12/30. The Pine Mountain Gold Museum is being prepared for Winter Wonderland, along with The Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt. Christmas on Main is November 23rd and will include Elf on the Shelf incentive.
PUBLIC SAFETY: Recruitment of two additional patrol officers; training and equipment for a Critical Response Unit. Carroll County Animal Control reported 204 incidents and 96 investigations through 10/31/24 and Douglas County Animal Control reported a total of 80 calls for service.
PUBLIC WORKS: Completed the Main Street drainage project and the Annual Citywide Cleanup 10/14 through 10/25. 2024 paving schedule is underway, the Conners Road Path backfill dirt was completed and sod will soon be installed. 90 loads of dirt was trucked in and spread at the downtown parking lot and the bid process was completed for the asphalt paving there. Traffic calming signs were coordinated with speed bump installations.
UTILITIES: On-going projects are the Shoreline force main, the Cleghorn lift station, and the Church Street water main. Surveys were done about unidentified or galvanized pipes, and the new contract for water purchases from the Douglas County Water Authority is still being worked out.
CARROLL COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND CARROLL TOMORROW: A Downtown Façade grant strategy session was held; a Legislative Breakfast is scheduled for 11/12, and Women of the Year Luncheon is scheduled for 11/21/24. A State of the County Breakfast will be held 1/23/25.
DOUGLAS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Provided support and educational information for the Douglas County TSPLOST/ESPLOST initiative; held a Common Ground Dinner on 11/12 with Community Support for Veterans. A Government Affairs Council Meeting will be held 12/4/24.
VILLA RICA CLUSTER SCHOOLS UPDATE: A Sand Hill Elementary School teacher was awarded a $500 check in a national competition sponsored by Southwire and West Georgia Tech; a Villa Rica Elementary School teacher was selected as a UWG grant recipient for an Assistant Technology Grant through the Department of Special Education; Bay Springs Middle School is holding a sock drive and a canned food drive to help homeless shelters; Villa Rica Middle School students were selected to participate in the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony Artist Concert held on October 5th.
DeSanto started preparing these in-depth City Manager reports after some criticism in Public Comments in earlier meetings said they never knew what was going on in the city. In these reports, DeSanto lists completed projects, on-going projects and future projects for each department of the city, both chambers of commerce (Carroll and Douglas counties) and Carroll Tomorrow, and the Villa Rica school cluster. This article does not include everything on the reports, but they are available in the agenda on the city’s website.
Meeting was adjourned at this time.
