Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During their regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 12, the Madison City Commission voted on a resolution that paves the way for a massive, $4.8 million, water system upgrade. David Bolin, from Saltus Engineering presented the highlights of the plan to the commissioners, who also received a 60-page report detailing the plan. The total plan covers 11 separate projects, all aimed at improving the quality of Madison's water supply, as well as improving the efficiency of the city's water department. The project will include meter replacements, a new utilities/public works building, replacing the Chason and Coody water wells, electrical upgrades at the Barrsfield well and more. The total construction costs for all the projects comes in at $4,799,000. The total price tag for the project, including administrative costs, surveys, permits, site certifications, etc. sits at $5,837,390. Most of the funding for this project would come in the form of a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which would cover 90 percent of the total cost. The city would be responsible for the remaining $584,000, which would be paid over the course of 20 years at 0.0 percent interest. This would amount to annual payments by the city of $29,200. According to the report prepared by Saltus Engineering, "there is enough revenue [from the city's water and sewer enterprise funds] to cover the payment, therefore, user rates will not be impacted." Before taking a vote on the project, Commissioner Jim Catron posed a hypothetical question of what would happen if the project were not approved by the commission? Bolin gave an analogy of running a vehicle until it fails. "The state is offering $9 out of $10 for a new vehicle," said Bolin. There was no public comment on the resolution, which was passed unanimously by the commissioners. Construction is expected to begin in October of 2021 and is expected to be complete in March of 2023.
As part of the consent agenda for the commissioners a report was made by the Madison Police Department (MPD). For the first quarter of fiscal year 2020-21, there were 6,304 calls made to MPD during the three-month period. There were 407 reports of offenses and incidents. There were 44 felonies reported and 89 misdemeanors reported. There were 23 felonies cleared and 64 misdemeanors cleared There were 24 criminal citations issued and 80 non-criminal citations issued. There were 61 traffic accidents within the city limits and 297 warning citations issued.
The commissioners approved a statutory deed for the acquisition of land for the location of the new utilities/public works building. This land, located on Harvey Greene Drive, behind the county's Emergency Management Department, is owned by the county. The city has proposed buying the land for the nominal price of $10. During the Board of Madison County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 13, the county commissioners approved the sale of the land to the city.
The commissioners voted to move forward with a grant application for the funding of upgrades and improvements to City Hall for the City of Madison. City Manager Jerome Wyche expressed concern over the age of the building and the fact that water leaks into the building after heavy rains, due to flat nature of the building's roof. It is Wyche's concern that if repairs and upgrades are not made to the building that a mold problem could develop.
The next regular meeting of the Madison City Commissioners is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will take place at Madison City Hall, located at 321 SW Rutledge St., in Madison.