Adel Council approves ‘civility resolution’ and opioid settlements
Mayor Buddy Duke called to order the Monday, March 6, 2023, meeting of the Adel Mayor and Council.
Council Members present were Terry McClain, Greg Paige, Walter Cowart, Celestine Hayes, and Jody Greene.
Others present were City Manager Mark Barber, City Clerk Rhonda Rowe, City Attorney Tim Tanner, Police Chief Chad Castleberry, and members of the public.
Councilman McClain gave the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of minutes
Councilman Paige made a motion to approve the minutes of Feb. 6, 2023, as presented. Councilman McClain seconded. All were in favor.
Resolution on civility
Resolution #23-01, pledging “to practice and promote civility in the City of Adel,” was presented to the Council.
Councilman McClain asked if the resolution came from the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), to which he was advised yes, it has been presented statewide.
City Manager Mike Barber said it is not mandatory and was introduced in January of this year. There are currently 12 cities that have adopted the resolution.
Mayor Duke said “it is a pledge to do what we’ve always done, to do our best and to treat each other with respect.”
Councilwoman Hayes made a motion to approve the resolution. Councilman Greene seconded. All were in favor.
Utility pole quotes for emergency warning sirens (Electric Department)
Cook County has recently been awarded a Hazard Mitigation Grant approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and issued at the state level by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) for the installation of 13 emergency warning sirens.
Mayor Duke read a letter from GEMA that was sent to the County, which states the total amount of the grant is $332,661 with a federal share of $249,495.75, state share of $33,266, and local match of $49,899.25.
In an effort to meet a portion of the local match, the Cook County Board of Commissioners has requested the City of Adel to supply and install the 13 poles required for the installation of the sirens. The City of Adel will be receiving four of the sirens to be placed in the city limits. Quotes were as follows:
• Stuart C. Irby – $5,967 for 13 poles for sirens; $2,741 for eight poles placed in inventory.
• Ace Pole Company – $6,305 for 13 poles for sirens; $2,942 for eight poles placed in inventory.
Councilman Cowart made a motion to approve the purchase of poles from Stuart Irby, with 13 being used for the emergency warning sirens. Councilman McClain seconded. The decision was unanimous.
Transformer quotes (Electric Department)
Quotes were received for four transformers and were as follows:
• Stuart C. Irby – $4,925 each, $19,700 total.
• Gresco – $8,200 each, $32,800 total.
The transformers from Irby would be delivered in August.
Councilman McClain made a motion to accept the low bid. Councilman Greene seconded. There were no opposing votes.
Executive session
Councilman McClain made a motion to enter into executive session (closed to the public) to discuss a legal matter. Councilman Greene seconded. All were in favor.
Following executive session, the meeting was reopened to the public.
Resolution #23-02 (New Opioid Settlements)
This resolution, agreeing to participate in the national Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart settlements (New Opioid Settlements) and agreeing to be bound by an anticipated memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the State of Georgia and Georgia Subdivisions regarding the national Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart settlements, was presented to the Council.
Councilman McClain made a motion to approve the City of Adel’s participation in settlements with Teva Allergan, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, based upon the MOU adopted in the first settlement with Jansen and the distributors. Councilman Cowart seconded. The decision was unanimous.
Other business
Greg Paige (Jim Battle Committee)
Councilman Paige discussed removing previous Councilwoman Vivian Sharpe from the committee and replacing with current Councilwoman Celestine Hayes.
Mayor Duke noted he had been on the committee, but that was because of his previous Council-At-Large seat. A discussion was held concerning the members of the committee being those positions of the two members from District 1 and the Council-At-Large position.
For clarification, Councilman Paige made a motion to nominate Councilwoman Hayes and Councilman Cowart to the committee. Councilman Greene seconded with all in favor. The third position is retained by Councilman Paige.
Questions by Celestine Hayes
Councilwoman Hayes questioned the letter that was sent with recent bills concerning drinking water, specifically the monitoring period of January 2021 to December 2021. She asked if that included year 2022.
City Manager Mark Barber said the violation period being discussed, from his understanding, is not water quality, but a water well that was going to be closed down the week before (they thought the well was closed and it wasn’t); so it missed getting its testing. “That’s why it is saying it can’t determine the validity because they didn’t do the test on it and the next week the well was closed,” Barber remarked. “It’s not that they didn’t sample water; it’s just that they didn’t test from that one well because they thought it was closed when they came to do the testing. It was closed the week after the testing. This happened last year.”
Councilwoman Hayes asked about the computer that was in the former city manager’s office.
Mayor Duke said the former city manager was able to take his computer and that it had been determined he could take it with him as far as he knew. During discussion, it was agreed it belongs to the City and would need to be returned or purchased, if the City determines to sell. Mayor Duke said it would be followed up on.
There was no further business, and the meeting was adjourned.
