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The ADVANCE, November 24, 2021 /Page 3A
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Act. The funds were routed
through the Federal Avia
tion Administration to the
Georgia Department of
Transportation and finally
to the City of Vidalia and
the airport, explained Air
port Manager Billy Ragan.
Ragan added that only
four airports in the state
received the funding, with
the local airport receiving
the highest grant amount.
Ragan said the project to
replace 100 12.5-foot by
25-foot slabs in the air
port’s 6,003-foot-long
main runway is part of the
airport’s capital improve
ment plan. He said approx
imately 6,000 square yards
of concrete will be poured
to replace old slabs that
are being excavated from
the runway. As an obstruc
tion and safety project, the
work was a top priority for
federal funding.
The work is expected
to commence in late spring
or early summer 2022, and
will not conflict with nor
mal air traffic, or with next
year’s Vidalia Onion Festi
val air show featuring the
Navy’s Blue Angels. “The
work will begin after the
festival,” Ragan said. The
City is currently receiving
bids for the project.
Marijuana Fine Lowered
During its Novem
ber 8 session, the Council
passed an agreement to
lower the fine for suspects
who are caught with less
than an ounce of marijua
na from $1,128 to $350.
This decrease in penalty
was requested by Munici
pal Judge Malcolm Bry
ant, whom Vidalia Police
Captain James Jermon ex
plained suggested because
of the lack of payment re
ceived by the City.
“When it is a fine that
high, we rarely see the
money from the crime,”
Jermon explains. “Often,
the violators admit they
cannot pay this fine, spend
a day with a sign beside the
road, and they continue
their behavior. At least
with the smaller fine, we
are more likely to receive
the payments.”
Altama Museum
Director Requests
Funding Increase
Altama Museum Di
rector Jenn Martinez ad
dressed the Council to
provide an update on the
status of the gallery and to
request a $10,000 increase
in yearly funding to offset
increasing operating costs.
“The museum’s mis
sion is promoting artistic
expression, preserving
history, and providing dis
covery and educational
opportunities to inspire
our community,” Martinez
said as she explained the
various events that occur
at the museum and their
impact on the commu
nity. “Our prime location
in town allows us to be a
vibrant part of the com
munity and an attraction
to locals and visitors,” she
said.
Illustrating the role
the museum plays in local
tourism, Martinez pointed
out that 25% of the mu
seum’s visitors come from
outside the city.
Martinez concluded
her appeal by noting, “As
the operating budget in
creases, so does the rev
enue which the museum
brings the City.” No deci
sion has been made re
garding the budget of the
museum at this time.
Construction Projects
Council members
unanimously approved a
$24,320 construction proj
ect to make all entrances of
the Pal Theatre accessible
to handicapped patrons
as specified by the Ameri
cans with Disabilities Act.
This project will be paid
for with funding from the
Vidalia Convention &
Visitors Bureau Fund and
will be completed by MMI
Construction & Engineer
ing, the company hired for
the previous remodeling of
the property.
Through this con
struction, a single store
front with sidelights will
be built at the conces
sion entrance. Also, new
storefront windows will
be located between the
concession entrance and
the Downtown Vidalia As
sociation office. New dou
ble doors will be built to
match existing doors at the
regular Pal entrance, and
new exit doors and hard
ware will be inserted in the
hallway behind the theater.
A Standard Utility
Agreement was approved
to occur between the
Georgia Department of
Transportation and the
City to adjust water fa
cilities by moving water
lines on Highway 292. The
Council approved partici
pation in this project at a
meeting on December 13,
2020, but the new approv
al solidified the cost of the
project.
The water adjust
ment will cost $93,600.
The Georgia Department
of Transportation will
pay $53,760 of this fee,
while the City is respon
sible for $39,840 of the
total. This payment will
be funded through Special
Purpose Local Sales Tax
(SPLOST).
McLendon Enter
prises was awarded the bid
for the Local Maintenance
and Improvement Grant
(LMIG) projects. Sikes
Brothers Construction
offered a price that was
$6,676.15 less than the
quoted McLendon price,
but have already encoun
tered one delay on the sep
arate T-SPLOST Band 3
project and will more than
likely experience delays on
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the LMIG projects.
Overstreet explained
McLendon Enterprises
has ensured there are no
delays in their work on
the LMIG projects, which
he explained won them
the job. The company will
charge $196,148.65 for the
work.
Currently, the City
has received $188,159.51
of LMIG Grant Money,
but is required to match
10% of that money to add
$18,815.95 to the funding.
This combined monetary
value totals $206,975.46,
which will cover the cost of
the project. The matched
money given by the City
will be funded through
SPLOST.
Other Business
The Downtown Devel
opment Authority (DDA)
of Vidalia has received a
$10,000 grant from Geor
gia Power, contingent on
a match from the City of
Vidalia. The Council ap
proved the match, adding
a total of $20,000 to DDA
coffers for downtown de
velopment.
A packaged-to-go
beer and wine license
was granted to the Family
Dollar Store on East First
Street. This license was
unanimously approved
with the exception of
Councilman Thompson,
who abstained.
Event permits were
approved for two events.
“Christmas Pageant,” a
play and walk through
event sponsored by Vida
lia Heritage Academy will
be held on December 10
and 11, from 5 p.m. to 8
p.m. The Martin Luther
King, Jr. Parade will oc
cur on January 17 from 8
a.m. to 12 p.m. The parade
route will match that of the
Christmas Parade.
Captain Jermon in
formed the Council that
two new police recruits
will be sent in January for
training at the Georgia
Police Academy/Public
Safety Training Center in
Forsythe in January. He
also shared that the Vida
lia Police Department’s
Drug Takeback Day was
a complete success as the
Department collected 187
pounds of unused medica
tions.
ESG Project Manager
Tony Hall informed the
Council that water system
flushing appeared to be go
ing well and would contin
ue throughout the month.
Citizen Vincent R.
Drummer addressed the
Council to request further
action within the City to
battle numerous concerns,
such as homelessness, drug
trafficking and abuse, low
police salaries, high fees
for recreation department
participation, inaccessibil
ity of the community pool
for children, and the need
for more fire trucks.
Ed Smith Honored
As Sweet Onion Citizen
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
BELOVED COACH HONORED — Vidalia Mayor Doug
Roper (R) presents Vidalia Recreation Departmenl
founder Ed Smith (L) with the city's Sweet Onion Citizer
Award for November, Smith is credited with building the
city's first softball and baseball fields.
During the Vidalia City
Council session on No
vember 8, Vidalia Recre
ation Department Founder
Ed Smith was honored
with the Sweet Onion Citi
zen Award for November
in honor of his longtime
service to the City.
Smith began working
with Vidalia in 1957 when
he moved to the area after
being hired to create the
recreation department for
the Vidalia community.
He acquired a small piece
of land on Bay Street with
a swimming pool and ac
cess to an old tobacco bam,
which he used as a basket
ball gymnasium.
“Back then, the City al
located only $5,000 as the
yearly budget for the Rec
reation Department, and
Coach Smith’s salary was
only $4,200,” Vidalia May
or Doug Roper said. “From
this starting point and with
the help of donations from
the city’s citizens, Coach
Smith built the City’s first
softball and baseball fields,
thus initiating one of the
most successful small town
recreation departments in
the state of Georgia.”
Roper continued to
highlight Smith’s impact
on the youth and citizens
of the area throughout his
37 years of devotion to the
department. “We live in a
society that labels people,’
he commented. “There is
never a label that carries
more weight and honor
than that of being ‘coach.’ 1
want to thank you for youi
years of service to the City
of Vidalia on behalf of the
City Council.”
Map
continued from page 1A
tion growth since the last
census in 2010.
Instead, the new map
is expected to pave the
way for Republicans to
gain one seat on their cur
rent 8-6 majority for a 9-5
advantage.
To accomplish that,
the map looks likely to
re-flip the 6th Congres
sional District Democratic
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of
Marietta - who is Black
- won in 2018 after it had
been in GOP hands for
decades. The district, cur
rently concentrated in eth
nically diverse suburban
East Cobb, North Fulton
and North DeKalb coun
ties, now stretches into
more exurban and even
rural communities in pre
dominantly white Forsyth,
Dawson and eastern Cher
okee counties.
“We should not be
drawing maps that target
women incumbents,” said
Rep. Miriam Paris, D-Ma
con. “This congressional
map does just that.”
Rep. Bonnie Rich, R-
Suwanee, chairman of the
House Legislative & Con
gressional Reapportion
ment Committee, bristled
at the Democrats’ accu
sations of targeting. She
said it’s necessary to move
voters out of districts that
have grown larger than the
755,000 legally required
for even distribution and
shift voters into other dis
tricts that are underpopu
lated.
“We don’t draw maps
to protect incumbents,”
she said. “We draw maps
for the people.”
The other specific
complaint Democrats
raised Monday was over
Republicans adding vot
ers from heavily Black
South Cobb County to the
largely white, rural North
west Georgia district rep
resented by conservative
firebrand Congresswoman
Marjorie Taylor Greene,
R-Rome.
But House Minority
Leader David Wilkerson,
D-Powder Springs, said
there’s more to the issue
than Greene, including
the map splitting Cobb
between four congressio
nal districts, and dividing
South Cobb alone three
ways.
“This is not about
Marjorie Taylor Greene
or whoever else represents
the district,” he said. “It’s
about fairness.”
But House Speaker
David Ralston said the de
cision to extend the 14th
District to the south was
not politically motivated.
“That district needed
to pick up about 36,000
people,” said Ralston, R-
Blue Ridge. “We had to go
somewhere and find them.
... That’s a challenge.”
Democrats are expect
ed to file lawsuits challeng
ing the congressional map
and well as new Georgia
House and Senate maps
lawmakers adopted earlier
in the special session.
Ralston said he’s con
fident the maps will be up
held.
“The maps - the rheto
ric notwithstanding - are
fair. They follow the law
and the Voting Rights
Act,” he said. “I was very
proud of the process and
the work that went into
this.”
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educationa
Foundation.