The Jasper City Council voted first reading approval Monday night for a city traffic ordinance amendment that would allow driving of golf carts on some city streets.
The action came during a whirlwind two-hour council meeting conducted rapid-fire with much business presented. The pace slowed but twice. During one breather, council members voted their choice for the city's new flag, ending the contest between submitted designs with their pick of Bob Holfel's blue banner. On it the word "Jasper" flies centered on a dark blue field, surrounded with a wreath of stars.
The only other moment when the meeting pace slacked was during Police Chief Harold Cantrell's presentation of the golf cart amendment and discussion that followed. Cantrell said the amendment would change city traffic ordinance seven, allowing operation of low-speed vehicles on some city streets. A low-speed vehicle was defined as one unable to exceed a speed of 25 miles per hour.
Should the ordinance amendment gain final approval on second reading by the council, golf carts would become legal on city streets where posted speed limits are 35 miles per hour or less, except on roads designated as off-limits to carts.
"Mules and John Deeres would qualify as a low-speed vehicle under this ordinance," Cantrell said. "This does not permit the use of a three-wheeler or four-wheeler all-terrain vehicle," he added. "Those are not allowed under this ordinance. A low-speed vehicle is not an all-terrain vehicle," Cantrell emphasized.
Any golf cart styled vehicle driven on city streets would have to be registered and insured. Carts would not be tagged with a license plate. Instead owners would register their rides with the city clerk, paying a $12 fee for five years of riding. A pair of decals would be issued, one for each side of a registered cart.
As for rules of the road, "Everything that applies to a car applies to these low-speed vehicles," Cantrell said. Cart drivers would have to have a valid automobile drivers license. "If they get out there at night, they've gotta have headlights and taillights," Cantrell said.
State Highway 53 through the city would be off-limits to golf carts, Cantrell said. In fact, the only place carts would be allowed to cross 53 would be at its intersection with Main Street, the chief specified.
But the prospect of carts on city streets had some council members at least initially concerned, knowing that speeding automobile drivers often overtop speed limits on certain streets.
"I'm worried about putting someone on Ridgewood Drive," Councilman Jim Looney said. "I think it would be suicide."
"We do catch speeders on Ridgewood, but we've never stopped it and never will," Cantrell allowed. He identified Pioneer Road as another problem stretch for speeding.
Cantrell told the council the request for golf cart operation on city streets was put forward by two residents of Jasper's Piney Woods neighborhood. Both spoke during the meeting. Piney Woods resident, Jo Ann Finch, told the council she had no desire to operate her cart on busy streets.
"So you're not wanting to ride over to Ingles and go grocery shopping?" asked City Councilman Tony Fountain.
No, Finch returned. "We are not interested in riding at night," she said. "After dusk, forget it. This is just a pure little pleasure thing for old folks. If more people had golf carts, they would understand why we enjoy them. I just want to enjoy riding," Finch said. "We've been riding for the last year and a half, and nothing's ever been said."
Finch's friend, Cheryle Dean, another Piney Woods resident, also spoke in favor of the cart amendment. Georgia cities Ball Ground and Cave Spring already allow carts on streets, Dean said. Legislation signed into law by Roy Barnes, when he was governor, amended state traffic codes to allow carts on low-speed-limit streets, provided local government also approves, it was explained.
Piney Woods resident, Alice Reynolds, said she would like to read a copy of the city's ordinance amendment before making up her mind on the matter. Chief Cantrell said the document is available at the city clerk's office and for the next few days at the city police department.
Piney Woods resident, Pam Davis, spoke against the change to put carts in the road. "I am opposed to this," Davis began as she addressed the council. "All it would take is one person to be involved in a golf cart [and automobile collision], and there would be a death," she said. "Whether our speed limits say 25 or 35 miles per hour, we all know that people do not follow that. Please take that into consideration."
Fountain asked for Chief Cantrell's feelings about the amendment. "Streets like Ridgewood and Pioneer, I would be reluctant of it," the chief said, “and there's others. On your dead end streets and cul-de-sacs, as a general rule, it's probably safe.”
Concerning the danger posed to cart drivers by speeding automobiles, Cantrell said, “We will always have violators no matter how restrictive you try to be. With our best efforts, we will never stop all of it."
Following Councilman Jim Looney's motion, the council voted first-reading approval of the cart amendment. A second-reading approval by the council at a future meeting would pave the way for golf carts on city streets.
Much of the other important business aired before the council involved city water and sewer services either directly or indirectly. Water Department Director David Hall said the new 500,000-gallon water tank north of the Wal-Mart site went on line Monday. The tank is now full of water, charged from a pump station in the Hobson Creek section (near Antioch Church Road), Hall said.
But a new pump station for charging the tank is needed at Noah Drive, Hall said, along with 1,000 new feet of eight-inch pipeline running north from the intersection of Noah Drive and Highway 53 in front of Burger King.
City Engineer Ben Turnipseed presented a bid from Cheek Brothers of Lithonia, Georgia for building the new pump station at a cost of $136,518. Hall said a prefabricated pump station would be a cheaper alternative––nearly as long-lasting at about half the cost of a site-built pump station. But for the city to use GEFA [Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority] funding to pay for a new pump station, the station must be built on site, Turnipseed explained.
Mayor John Weaver announced a council workshop will soon be held, where Hall and Turnipseed can explain pump station alternatives in full before the council makes a decision on the matter.
The workshop will also include discussion of an 8-million dollar loan through the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Program, the mayor said. The money would go to upgrade the city's wastewater plant. Turnipseed said USDA has issued a letter of conditions to the city, part of the procedure for approving federal money to fund the project.
Of the 8-million dollars from USDA, 2.6 million would be a grant, it was explained. The balance would be a loan to be paid off by the city as a low-interest, long-term debt obligation. Turnipseed called it a big investment for Jasper but said improvement to the wastewater plant is something the city needs.
Weaver said the improvement if funded would allow the plant to flow an additional 800,000 gallons daily through the plant. That would be in water separated from sewage solids and made pure enough for release downstream.
Turnipseed also asked the council to amend a city wastewater ordinance. The change would officially allow septic tank pumping services and haulers of industrial wastewater to release their cargo into the city's wastewater system at designated places.
The dumping would be done by arrangement with the city and for a fee, Turnipseed explained. Industrial wastewater haulers dumping more than 25,000 gallons daily would also be expected to get a permit. The council voted first reading approval of the amendment. Again on the subject of trucked wastewater, the council approved an agreement with Advanced Disposal to allow that company's landfill leachate to be trucked for treatment at Jasper's city wastewater plant.
The city already has a similar agreement with a company called Waste Management, though the price agreed to for city-provided treatment of leachate water differs with each company, City Clerk Tacie Williams explained. Leachate is fouled water that seeps to the bottom of a landfill and must be drawn off for proper disposal.
Mayor Weaver told the council the city was free to break its agreement with Advanced Disposal if serving the company were to jeopardize in any way the city's ability to stay within requirements of its wastewater permit.
Yet another water issue involved Mayor Weaver's interest in acquiring a lake. Bob Fleming owns a 3.25-acre lake off of Camp Road behind Pickens County Middle School. The lake is surrounded by a subdivision. Wanting to be free of dam liability and property taxes on an underwater parcel, Fleming made an offer of the lake to the city.
Weaver sees the lake as a potential water source for the city and suggested the council might acquire it, asking Turnipseed's opinion on the matter. Turnipseed said the city should look at the condition of the dam and the drainage area around the lake before the council considers owning it. He agreed to do a study of the lake and to present his findings at the next council meeting. |
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