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Inside
Report release
Charlton County sheriff
complies with law.
see:3A
Government
spending
Find fiscal details for
the county board of
commissioners.
isee 10A
Today’s Poll
How will you react
if an evacuation is
ordered in
Camden?
Vote online at
tribune-georgian.com
Last Week
What are your
summer vacation
plans?
Out of town 8
Staycation 7
None 2
Fighting the flames
Submitted photo by Schonathan Crews
Crews douse a house fire Monday on Linda Street in St. Marys. Started by lightning, flames were coming
through the roof of the garage when personnel from St. Marys Fire Department arrived shortly after 6
p.m., assistant chief Tom Lackner said. A Camden County Fire Rescue life squad and the Kings Bay fire de
partment assisted.The flames damaged about half of the house, which displaced two people who were
taken in by relatives, Lackner said.
Raises in
phases
City workers get
3-percen t in crease
Johna Strickland Rush
johna@tribune-georgian.com
St. Marys employees will receive
the first half of a 3-percent raise
starting July 1 following a unani
mous vote by council Monday. The
remaining 1.5 percent will be paid
starting Jan. 1.
The action comes after council
heard the results of a compensation
study in May. A consultant found
that City of St. Marys’ salaries and
wages are 2.7 percent below the
market average minimum, 8.1 per
cent below the market average mid
point and 12.4 percent below the
market average maximum.
At a May work session, council
discussed putting three portions of
the consultant’s suggestions into ef
fect, including utilizing pay ranges
with a spread of 50 percent and a
See PAY, [page iOA;
St. Marys gaining company headquarters
Johna Strickland Rush
iohna@tribune-georgian.com
A Florida-based lumber
manufacturer wants to locate
its corporate office in St.
Marys, the city’s economic
development director Artie
“AJ” Jones III told council
Monday.
Company leaders plan to
construct an 11,500-square-
foot building at the entrance
to Osprey Cove to house 38
managerial and administra
tive workers with a payroll in
the millions.
“We’re talking somewhere
around a $3-million pay
roll,” council member John
Morrissey estimated. “This
has not hit the shores of St.
Marys for a long time.”
At Jones’ request, council
authorized offering the com
pany an incentive package to
build in St. Marys. If the
structure does not change in
size, council agreed to let the
company pay up to $20,000
for all city permits, aid-to-
construction and capital re
covery fees. Based on rough
calculations, those fees were
estimated to be nearly
$35,000.
The request sparked a dis
cussion about who receives
discounts. Council member
Greg Bird noted that in early
2012 council did not give a
reduction to Southeast
Georgia Health System
when it faced $247,106 in
city fees for permits, capital
recovery and aid-to-
construction and leaders
asked for a discount. Coun
cil offered the hospital a pay
ment plan.
“If we can give a dis
count, I’m all for it,” Bird
said. “But I think it needs
to be a policy decision. In
other words, if our fee
structure is too high,
then let’s reduce the fee
See BUILD, jpage 9A
Index
Obituaries |2A!
Opinion 4A
Upcoming Events :6A:
Library Programs :6Ai
Sports jlB;
People 3B
Classifieds j9Bi
Legals 1;i Bj
Tribune &
Georgian
P.O. Box 6960,
St. Marys, Ga.
31558
Volume 110, No. 45
26 pages* Two sections
tribune-georgian.com
© 2013, Tribune & Georgian,
Community Newspapers Inc.
1
84264
0UU03
Council eyes
alternate plan
for renovation
Jocelyn Brumbaugh
jocelyn@tribune-georgian.com
Before approving a change order on the renova
tion of its water-sewer treatment plant that would
add $17,935 to the contract with BRW Construc
tion Group, the Woodbine City Council said it
needs more answers.
Everette Sapp, public works director, was not in
attendance during Monday night’s meeting due to
training but left a written report with city adminis
trator Sandy Rayson. The report included a request
from engineers to relocate, realign and extend a
newly built UV structure at the city’s new treat
ment plant to cover an existing pump station that
needs a new roof.
This shift would also require the relocation of a
light pole and the removal of a manhole, the report
says. This portion of the modifications would cost
$15,142.
Council members Hank Higginbotham and
Robert Baird led discussion around the proposed
change, eventually asking how much it would cost
to simply replace the pump station roof, rather
than realign and shift established structures.
“Something’s not adding up here,” Higgin
botham said, questioning why the pump station
roof was not checked and included in the original
bid.
The change order also included the relocation of
a sludge building to allow room for large construc
tion trucks, costing $4,120 for additional sidewalk
and asphalt.
See PLAN, [page i OA;
Art in Kingsland
Pete Krawiec dis
plays his paintings
(above) Saturday
during the Kingsland
art walk. Across the
road, Girl Scouts Ar-
aleigh Scott and Alli
son Scott offered
pencils decorated
with duct tape flow
ers and cookies for
sale.The art walk
was held from 9 a.m.
to I p.m. in down
town Kingsland.Ven-
dors displayed
paintings, crafts and
more.
Johna Strickland Rush |
Tribune & Georgian