About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2023)
The ADVANCE, April 19, 2023/Page 4A (Ttie Afruance Vidalia Fire and Police Departments Introduce New Members Photo by Makaylee Randolph UPGRADING CERTIFICATIONS - Vidalia Police Chief James Jermon updated the Coun cil on the recent certifications and promotions in the Department, Lto R: Communica tions Operator Jasmine Sharpe, Chief James Jermon, Officer Andrew Williams, Corpo ral Scott Howard. Photo by Makaylee Randolph MEETING BLAZE AND BYRD - Vidalia Fire Chief Brian Sikes (left) introduced the Council to the two newest mem bers of the Vidalia Fire Department: mascot Blaze the Fire Pup (center) and Firefighter Jamie Byrd (right). By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail.com Vidalia Fire Chief Brian Sikes and Vidalia Po lice Chief James Jermon informed the Vidalia City Council of recent updates in each department at the Council’s regular meeting on Monday April 10. Chief Sikes began the meeting by bringing in the Fire Department’s new mascot, Blaze the Fire Pup, who was accompanied by the Department’s newest full-time firefighter Jamie Byrd. “Blaze will be used for a lot of things in our edu cation program. You will [also] see him during the Onion Festival - he will be out on the sidewalks and at the park,” Sikes told the Council. The Chief said of Byrd, “She has been a volunteer with us for two years and she came on full-time with us three weeks ago. She is a certified firefighter, and is doing a great job. She worked her first full-time shift with us on Saturday [April 8], so we’re excited.” Sikes noted that not only is Byrd the first female ever hired full-time to the Vidalia Fire Department, she is also a recent nominee for the American Red Cross Volunteer of the Year award. New Police Additions Chief Jermon intro duced two new certifica tions and a promotion in the Police Department. Jermon commented on the difficulty the Depart ment has faced to find em ployees, and reassured the Council that improvements are being made. “It is a struggle to hire who we feel fits the mold to protect our city. It’s not easy [to be hired with us] - it is a 14-step process that we send these men and ladies through,” he explained. “We sent three future officers to the Acad emy (Georgia Public Safety Training Center) last week, and we are continuing to grow.” According to Jermon, Communications Opera tor Jasmine Sharpe recently graduated from her 40-hour course to become a certified communications officer, while Officer Andrew Wil liams finished 408 hours in a 12-week state training course to become a certi fied officer. Officer Scott Howard was recognized for rising to the rank of corporal on March 17. Jermon com mented, “He came all the way from Colorado. He answered an ad while still in college and working at Subway because he decided he wanted to be a police of ficer.” Action Items Airport Improvement During the meeting, the Council approved Sum mers Concrete Contracting (Hahira) to complete the runway 7/25 slab replace ment phase 2 and the ter minal apron Eexpansion at the airport. These projects will cost $5,406,849.89 combined ( $2,007,036.51 slab replacement; $3,399,813.38 - terminal apron expansion) and will be funded through federal, state, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. These projects will not begin until later in the year when the Airport is not at its busiest. Also, accord ing to City Manager Nick Overstreet, because the projects are being complet ed by the same company, the project’s mobilization cost could decrease, which would decrease the overall cost. Budget Adjustments Adjustments were ap proved for the reported ex penditures and revenues in the 2022 end of year bud gets for each City fund in preparation for the annual audit, which could begin as early as April 20. Downtown Master Plan The Council agreed to contract the Heart of Geor gia Regional Commission for services provided in the development of the Down town Master Plan. This contract costs $7,000 and will be funded through the City’s General Fund Hotel/ Motel monies. Zoning Denial The request from Clay Thomas to rezone a par cel of land on Maple Drive from office/residential to commercial to build stor age units was denied by both the Council and the Planning & Zoning Board on the basis of Zoning Or dinance Section 203, Para graphs 6, 15, and 20. Pinecrest Trust Council members approved paying Simp son Law, PC, a total of $18,637.50 for the Pinecrest Perpetual Cem etery Trust. The current Pinecrest funds, which to tal $12,009.40, will be allo cated in this payment, along with $6,628.10 from the City’s general fund. ARFF Truck Tires The Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF) Truck will receive four new replacement tires from Georgia Tire Com pany. These tires will cost $18,514.40, which will be funded through the Airport Fund. This expense was included in the approved 2023 budget. Events Permits Two events permits were approved — one for Thursday, April 20, through Saturday, April 22, which was submitted by Ann Owens and Heather Davis, and another for “Sweet Sat urdays,” to be held on the second Saturday of each month. The “Sweet Saturdays” event permit was requested by Downtown Vidalia As sociation Director Tonya Parker, who also requested that the Downtown area be designated as an “Entertain ment District” from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day of the monthly event. Downtown roads will also be closed from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. during “Sweet Saturdays.” Alcohol Licenses Vidalia Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Alexa Britton’s request for an alcohol beverage license for the Vidalia Onion Festi val was approved. The Floating Axe’s al cohol license was approved by Council pending the signature of City Marshal Chad Phillips, who has not yet approved the license. Burning Permit Council members approved the burning of natural wood at the Vidalia Regional Sports Complex. The date of the burn was not announced. Ordinance Changes Several first readings and one adoption of ordi nance change were con ducted during the meeting. Adoption A city ordinance al lowing barber shops and other unconventional busi nesses to gain a license which would allow the sell and consumption of alco hol on their property was approved by the Council. This ordinance was first proposed at last month’s regular meeting after sev eral downtown businesses had inquired about the pos sibility of this ordinance ad dition. First Readings First readings were con ducted for three ordinanc es: “Sip and Stroll,” “Shop ping Carts,” and “Small Cell Antenna.” These ordinances will be voted on during the meeting on Monday, May 8. Reports VOF Jake Cleghorn, Chair man of the 2023 Vidalia Onion Festival, provided Council with a final update on the festival, explaining that the Vidalia Police and Fire Department Mobile Command Center will be in place again this year, en suring safety for all patrons. He also explained that the Atlanta Braves had reached out to the Vidalia Onion Festival Commit tee and requested to return to the Festival this year with their Braves Country Road Trip, as Vidalia had the second most number of visitors to the Braves World Series Trophy tent out of the entire tour last year. The Road Trip will be set up in the Meadows Park area on Saturday, April 22, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. During this time, memorabilia will be available to view, and pa trons will have the oppor tunity to create their own customizable baseball card. GVC Greater Vidalia Cham ber President Michele Johnson told the Council that the Chamber has been very busy in recent weeks hosting a number of official ribbon cuttings and grand openings, including the Dr. Mark and Tonya Spiv ey Public Library Grand Opening, which was held on Thursday, April 13, and the groundbreaking of the Center for Rural Entrepre neurship, which occurred on Monday, April 17. In addition to these events, Johnson revealed that the Chamber and Toombs County Develop ment Authority have been speaking with several po tential investment projects, including four Korean and one Australian project. The annual Earth Day Appreciation Recycling Event will be held at the Greater Vidalia Chamber office on Thursday, April 20, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. At this event, desktops, tab lets, flat screen monitors, cable and wiring, power strips, cell phones, hard drives, DVD players, and more may all be recycled at no cost. Flat Screen TVs will be accepted, but have a disposal fee of $10 per TV. Hard drive data may also be erased on-site for a fee of $5 each. Fire Department Chief Sikes told the Council that out of the 37 car seats that were checked at a pop-up car seat check, a total of 34 were discov ered to be installed incor rectly. He emphasized that this statistic is what drives the Department to contin ue to work to educate the public on car seat safety; to help with these events three more firefighters have gained their Car Seat Tech nician certification. The Department par ticipated in the promotion of drunk driving aware ness and prevention at two events at Vidalia High School and Toombs Coun ty High School. Around $2,000 has been raised through a fund raiser partnership between local businesses and the Fire Safety Council, ac cording to Sikes. He said it is these funds that pay for amenities, such as the De partment’s new mascot. Police Department Chief Jermon informed Council that the Police De partment has also taken part in several community events, including the Teen Maze drugs and alcohol awareness event, and a local Spring Break Party event at Preferred Labs. He also shared that the Department’s K9 unit is continuing to complete training and gain hours of experience. DVA Downtown Vidalia As sociation Executive Direc tor Tonya Parker reminded the Council and attendees that the traditional “Sweet Onion Rings and Things” event, which is held on Fri day and Saturday during the Onion Festival, will feature a new menu item, fresh pork skins, and live music this year. She also stated that the annual “Sweeten Your Ride” decals are still available for purchase. The decals may be purchased at the Down town Vidalia Association Office for $10 each, and proceeds go to benefit the Sweet Onion Christian Learning Center. The Downtown Vidalia Association will now host monthly “Sweet Saturdays,” which feature sales and live music on every second Sat urday of the month. The next community input session for stakehold ers will be held on May 25. The next “Coffee Before Hours” will be held from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. at Farmers Insurance - Moon Agency on May 3. ESG ESG Project Manager Tony Hall told the Council that his Department had received 12 complaints re garding brown water in the past month. According to Hall, these brown water is sues come as a result of the McNatt Street water line repair and will work them selves out. Hall also stated that less than 3% of the water meters being read by hand in the city were completed inac curately. Recreation Department Recreation Director Scott Strickland shared that the baseball and softball season for the Recreation Department will close out during the fir st week of May. The Allstar District Meet ing will be held on May 10, during which Strickland will find out for which age groups the Department may have allstar teams. Lifeguard training will be held on May 13 and 14, and the Vidalia Aquatics Center will officially open on Memorial Day weekend. VCVB Vidalia Convention and Visitors Bureau Direc tor Alexa Britton shared that tourism is at its height for the Sweet Onion City, as it normally is around this time of the year. She reminded the Council that there will not be a board meeting for the Bureau this month. City Manager According to City Manager Overstreet, the bids for the water line re placement project have closed out, and a decision will soon be made to move forward. The water meter re placement project contin ues to move along schedule, and the City department heads will receive custom er service training from Chick-Fil-A Vidalia Owner Britt McDade in the com ing weeks. SOGA Sweet Onion Golf Au thority Chairman Andy Woodruff reflected on the new golf course’s ground breaking and thanked the Council for all of its sup port. According to Wood ruff] the groundbreaking for the golf course was one of the largest which the Greater Vidalia Chamber has had. 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