Newnan looks at switching to LED Christmas decorations
By JOHN A. WINTERSjohn@newnan.com
Newnan City Council will take up a request from the Christmas Committee for increasing its budget by about $10,000 for additional Christmas decorations in the downtown area during its meeting Tuesday.
The city has budgeted $6,350 in the annual budget for Christmas decorations. The Christmas Committee wants to move from standard, short-lived and easily breakable light bulbs to “longer lasting and essentially unbreakable LED lights” for lighting various tree trunks.
“The total cost of these recommendations would be $16,975, which is $10,625 over the allocated budget,” the committee added in their request document. Also included in that increase are additional tree light strands and LED snowflakes.
Council will meet at its chambers on LaGrange Street at 2:30 p.m.
Also on the agenda is consideration of adding another health care insurance option for city employees.
“In an effort to combat the rising cost of health care coverage, the city wishes to give employees a choice between the current HMO plan or a lower cost POS 80/60 plan which would offer cost savings for the city and the employees,” according to council documents. “In addition to the cost savings, the POS plan would allow employees to utilize out of network physicians, which is not allowed under the current HMO plan.”
The POS plan would cost $386 for an employee and $1,023 for a family. The current HMO plan costs $459 for an employee and $1,218 for a family.
Council also is expected to approve the 2013 Newnan Convention Center Authority budget.
The budget calls for $364,244 in total revenue, broken down as $191,244 for charges for services and $173,000 in transfers from the city that comes from the hotel/motel tax and rental vehicle tax. Expenses include $195,294 for personnel services and benefits, $95,900 for professional and other services, $66,250 for supplies and operating charges and $6,800 for repairs and maintenance all totaling $364,244.
In other action, council will:
• Hear a request from the Newnan Police Department to continue leasing a building on Powell Street at $900 per month for certain police officers.
• Hear a request from the Newnan Junior Service League to hold their annual 5K/10K and one-mile fun run on March 2, starting at 7:45 a.m., and to utilize the southwest corner of the Court Square as a set-up area.
• Hear a request from First Baptist Church to close Madison Street from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. to distribute food from the “Mobile Food Pantry” on Oct. 26 and Dec. 28.
• Hear a request from Sirens Media to film around Newnan and specifically in Greenville Street Park on Sept. 12 from 1-8:30 p.m., Sept. 16 from 8-11 a.m. and Sept. 15 from 1-4 p.m. with a single camera and small crew.
• Hear a request from Newnan Lodge No. 299 to hold a motorcycle ride for cancer on Oct. 6 starting at 9 a.m. The request includes closing Madison Street from Jefferson Street to Jackson Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Hear a request from Angel’s House children’s shelter to hold its annual Run for Angels 5K/10K and 1-mile fun run/walk on Feb. 2, beginning at 8 a.m.
