Grantville hears appeal from residents for hydrants, street lights
By REBECCA LEFTWICHrebecca@newnan.com
Meriwether Street residents say they lack proper access to fire hydrants, have insufficient water flow into their homes and need streetlights installed, but the question of whether responsibility lies with the City of Grantville or Meriwether County has slowed progress on those issues.
“I’m very patient,” said Wayne Rosser, who represented Meriwether Street residents at Monday’s Grantville City Council meeting. “I’ve waited 13 years.”
Rosser expressed concerns about fire safety, citing a hydrant that “has been turned off for years” and relating a story about a recent house fire on Meriwether Street he claims might have been controlled if firefighters had access to a water supply. Meriwether Street’s children are in danger as a result, he said.
“God forbid one of those children gets harmed in a fire,” he said. In addition, Rosser told the council there are no streetlights in front of areas where children play, which residents also see as a safety hazard.
“I’m trying to prevent something before it happens,” Rosser said.
Some Meriwether Street citizens are unable to get enough water into their homes to run a tub of bathwater, Rosser contended, and Meriwether Street is notorious for its potholes.
“These citizens pay the same revenues as citizens on other side of county line,” Rosser. “We get no discounts and we get no privileges.”
Council member Johnny Cooks suggested Rosser set up a meeting with Grantville City Manager Johnny Williams to see if the city can address some of the residents’ concerns.
“We need to do some things there,” Cooks said, adding that Williams can help determine jurisdiction. “He can see what we can and can’t do.”
Larry Dunaway, who represented the Meriwether County Water and Sewerage Authority at the meeting, said he is willing to meet with Williams and Rosser about the matter.
“It would make sense to help you get these folks the service they need,” he said.
In other business, the council:
• Agreed to give the Grantville Downtown Development Authority $1,800 to create a rose garden in Colley Park. Robert Allen of the DDA submitted a proposal for the beautification project, for which volunteers will provide labor. Donated fieldstone will be used for a border.
City funds will pay for 45 three-gallon containers of “Knockout” roses, three truckloads of compost from Newnan Utilities, a soaker hose and mulch.
• Heard a proposal for DDA funding from Scott Palmer and Royce Bemis. Under their proposal, the Grantville DDA would receive 25 percent of future pouring, business and entertainment license fees, event permits and fines levied by the Historical Preservation Commission within the DDA footprint, among other fees and assessments.
Palmer said the DDA’s proposal was designed as a creative way to ensure funding that would not take money from taxpayers. Council members took the matter under advisement, asking the DDA for long-range plans and a budget proposal.
• Approved a $5,900 geotechnical engineering contract with Contour Engineering, LLC to evaluate Bohannon Road for resurfacing.
• Voted to accept a second low bid for cemetery maintenance after the low bidder did not fulfill the terms of his contract. The city plans to engage GLH Lawn Care of Newnan, which submitted a $600-per-cutting bid.
