The Blairsville City Council and Mayor Jim Conley took care of some annual housekeeping business in their first regular meeting of the year on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Usually, the council meets the second Tuesday of every month, but the city’s charter stipulates that the first meeting of each year fall on the first Tuesday in January.
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To kick off the meeting, the council voted to re-appoint Marvin Harkins as city attorney and Kaye McCann as city clerk and election superintendent, with no discussion necessary.
Continuing with the annual housekeeping, the council also agreed that Councilman Robert “Buddy” Moore would remain as the mayor pro tempore – the designated backup person for Mayor Conley should he become unable to perform his official duties for any reason.
In similar fashion, council members opted to keep in place the same liaison positions as 2024. Each councilperson and the mayor act as a liaison between City Hall and various departments or interests of the city.
Rhonda Mahan will continue in her role on the Blairsville Downtown Development Authority Board; Moore at the Blairsville Airport; Tony Dyer at the Police Department; Kayla Hemphill in the Streets position; and Mary Ruth Cook at the Water/Sewer Departments.
And Mayor Conley will remain as the city’s liaison on the Union County Historical Society Board.
The council greenlit another appointment, putting Abby Weaver on the DDA Board at the recommendation of DDA Director Kristen F, Bentley. Weaver is a Union County native who owns The Josephine Boutique in Downtown Blairsville.
Currently, the DDA is looking to fill the board seat recently vacated by Courtney Waller, who was appointed last month to the Union County Development Authority Board.
Speaking of economic development, the council approved its usual distribution arrangement of Hotel-Motel Tax dollars: 40% to the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce; 25% to the Blairsville DDA; 25% to the Historical Society; and 10% remaining at City Hall.
In other business, council members decided to put off a decision to accept Crossing Creeks RV Park sewer infrastructure.
Crossing Creeks has built sewer lines and a lift station to connect to the city’s sewer system, and the infrastructure is now hooked up and in use.
In exchange for the sewer access, Crossing Creeks will be turning the infrastructure over to the city at no cost, and city ownership will allow maintenance employees to swiftly address repair issues in the future.
To reduce the city’s initial liability, the RV park has coordinated a maintenance bond “or other surety” as part of the agreement to cover potential repair costs for 12 months after the city takes ownership.
However, a sticking point in the city’s acceptance of the sewer infrastructure arose in the Jan. 7 meeting.
Crossing Creeks appeared ready to present the required $250,000 in bond/cash mix last week if the council agreed to finalize the arrangement.
But Councilman Moore said it was his understanding there was a contractor payment discrepancy on Crossing Creeks’ end, and he wanted more information before the city settled up with the development. Ultimately, the rest of the council agreed to table the matter for now.
Among other business, the council authorized its $11,000 annual contributions to the Union County Fire Department and the Union County Public Library; hired Kevin Potts as Assistant Airport Manager; and made a new Police Department hire in Joseph Patterson.
