Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

2A Clje Ik-ralti <©a?rttr Tuesday, August 24,2021 THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER Swarming defense Lamar County defenders swarm Pike quarterback Gage Lee (10) during Friday’s big road win. Closing in on Lee are (l-r) Christian Bostic (9), CJ Allen (3), Channing Buckner (5), Donavan Sanford (18 on ground) and Ray Talmadge (54). The Pirates did not earn a first down until the third quarter, according to unofficial stats from the game. THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER Dialed in Trojan defensive coordinator Greg Busby (left) and head coach Travis Ellington were stud ies in intensity during Friday’s Battle of Potato Creek. Lamar routed Pike County 28-7 to give Ellington his first career win. LC travels to Crawford County this week. NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY OF BARNESVILLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROJECT (CDBG) CDBG Grant #19p-x-085-2-6047 The City of Barnesville has completed its FY 2019 CDBG project, CDBG #19p-x-085-2-6047. The following activities were completed: The City rehabilitated and replaced aging and failing sewer and water lines within the Phase One Jackson Street Target Area to include Jackson Street, First Street, Washington Street and Jenkins Street. A total of 64 residents were served by this project, with 95% being low to moderate income. Notice is being given that a Public Hearing will be held on September 1, 2021 at 12:00 PM at the Barnesville Civic Center, 685 Forsyth Street, Barnesville, GA 30204. The purpose of the healing is to inform citizens of the availability of the final quarterly report, to review project accomplishments, and to receive citizen comments. All citizens are invited to attend this healing to discuss the project. The City will hold the public healing in accordance with acceptable social dis tancing and other COVID-related guidelines. The City of Barnesville is committed to providing all persons with equal access to its services, programs, activities, education and employment regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability or age. For reasonable accommodation or if you need an alternative format or language, please contact Niki Sappington at 770-358-0181 or niki.sappington@cityof- barnesville.com prior to September 1, 2021. The City has reviewed the Department of Community Affair’s Analysis of Impediments and is providing the following link for review https://www.dca. ga.gov/sites/default/files/analysis of impediments 2016.pdf Milner Library controversy continues; Lighthouse also KAY S. PEDROTTI kayspedrotti@gmail.com Although Flint River Regional Library Services director Natalie Marshall clarified some ques tions about financing of the Milner Community Library last week, some city council mem bers still want more information. Marshall said the agreement with the state of Georgia for receiv ing about $780,000 with a 20-year capital outlay bond was made about 2005. She described the library as a “true, active community center,” and added that the campaign to obtain funding and build the library was a “great achievement” by members of the Friends of the Library Milner and the previous city administration. She said also that the city is as sumed, as a part of the Georgia Public Library Service of the Board of Regents, to have an obligation to continue financial sup port for operation of the library after construc tion, for the length of the bond. Mayor pro tern George Weldon, now serving as mayor after Andy Marlowe’s resignation, has been on the council and a part of the library board since the begin ning efforts of Friends of the Library Milner. Some council members including Skip Seda insisted on “seeing the contract” before releas ing any more money to support the facility. Nine pages of copies of initial agreements, furnished by Marshall, were emailed to all council members and The Herald Gazette, but pages 2 and 5 were miss ing; Marshall said later that the documents were MARSHALL A. WELDON given to Grose “as 1 received them from city hall at that time.” In an interview two days after last week’s meeting, Weldon said that former city admin istrator Wayne Patterson had gathered all the documents on the library situation “three years ago” and Weldon did not know whether the copies were still in city hall. In the inter view, Weldon said the city created the library board as one of the steps toward obtaining the state grant. He said former mayor Joe Bostwick and the council ap proved a $50,000 appropria tion from SPLOST funds in 2005 to aid in the con struction costs; another SPLOST appropriation brought the total city support at that time to about $109,000, said Weldon. About $216,000 from local donors went into the matching funds also; during and since the construc tion, local donors have offered “thou sands of hours” of work and many kinds of books and other donations. There is still controversy over wheth er SPLOST funds went into the library account at the Barnesville-Lamar County portion of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. The library board financial report at the meeting was praised by SEDA can make a deci sion about city funding. In other busi ness, council again postponed a vote on whether to settle on a price for Lighthouse Restaurant operators to buy the building from the city. The lease for the operators has been ex tended beyond the Aug. 31 deadline. Discussion resumed on the posi tives and negatives of the city’s ownership of the building; the “re-forming” of the Downtown Devel opment Authority, which at present owns the Lighthouse building but has no members; and whether the city has the legal right to “turn around and sell” the facility to another buyer if negotia- Michael Floyd as contain ing “better information than before” but still not helping determine whether the city council GROSE tions don’t work out for the operators’ purchase. The operators have of fered $180,000, to which Seda and others have said that amount is “not enough” and “not fair market value.” Woodall Estates devel opers were unable to be present, so no discussion ensued on the state of streets and roads in the new subdivi sion. Expenses in curred by the Civic Committee mem bers for the police benefit festival for signs, banners, tro phies and portable bathroom facili- will be submitted for city reimbursement. Council approved the “Master Water Meter Project,” to be financed with CARES funds. The new meters will insure that all Milner water us ers will be billed for the exact amount of water used, no more and no less, Grose said. The meters do not require hands-on readings by city staff, she added. Persons with hearing disabilities may contact the Georgia Relay Service, at (TDD) 1.800.255.0056 or (voice) 1.800.255.0135 if they require assistance. FRONT-LOAD DUMPSTERS ROLL-OFF DUMPSTERS DUMPSTER RENTAL SIZES DUMPSTER RENTAL SIZES 4 YARD W 3 W 4’6 8 YARD W 4'6 W5’6 1 0 YARD uj , nS0IBI IgPiP 15 yard 20 YARD | 30 YARD 40 YARD AM WASTE OF GEORGIA, LLC 623 MAIN STREET ZEBULON, GA 30295 SALES: (678) 588-5408 OFFICE: (770) 884-0088