At the March 5 Lee Town Council meeting, council members discussed amending the contract with Jordan and Associates, to add a five-month time extension to the CDBG grant for extending sewer hookups to residences in Lee. The contract was set to expire in April, but will now run until September 2013.
Without the extension, the grant money would have to be sent back to the state, and the state would have to figure out how to reallocate the money from the 2009 grant.
Mayor Eddie Bell had asked how many more residents could be persuaded to jump on board during the extra five months. Upon learning that the state would rather have the town of Lee use the money than deal with the headache of deciding what to do with it if it were returned, council members discussed sit-down visits with residents to answer questions and explain the situation more thoroughly, and agreed that the extra five months would give them more time to canvass residents. Currently, about 27 have already agreed to the hook-ups.
“Seems like a no-brainer to me,” said Doug McNicol of the time extension, agreeing that the extra time was needed to go knock on doors. “Sooner or later that septic tank will go bad, and the health department is going to say ‘You can’t fix it.’”
The council voted unanimously in favor of the five-month extension.
Next up, the Council considered a request from the Florida League of Cities that the town sign a proclamation April 17 for “Military Family and Community Covenant Day.”
Since April 17 falls on a Wednesday, when many people would be working and involved in church activities after work, there were questions as to what kind of event a community the size of Lee could stage in midweek, as well as whether it would be better to do the signing during Lee Day, which falls on the previous Saturday (April 13). Doug McNicol also pointed out that Lee already did a pretty good job showing support to veterans and military families without having to sign anything. The Council voted 4-1 in favor of the signing in conjunction with Lee Day, when a lot of people would be in town. The Council also approved a funding request from the Lee Volunteer Fire Department for extra expenses related to Lee Day.
A request from the Tax Doctor to hold a customer appreciation event in Lee was tabled until the next meeting, because the business owner, Meshalene Love-Taylor, was not present.
The Council voted to adopt a resolution supporting the Consultants Competitive Resolution Act, and City Manager Sarah Anderson announced that since the Dept. of Children and Families had closed its Madison office, there was now a dedicated laptop that local residents who needed food stamps and other assistance could use at Lee Town Hall. Since these families often lacked transportation to out of county location, Anderson said it was a needed service for Lee residents, and expects it to be used by about five people a month, which would not impose a great burden on the town hall. The rest of the time, the laptop would be safely locked away.
In other items, the town of Lee has put in a request with the postal service to have the Annett Bus Line address located in Lee. The business was assigned a Madison post office address, even though it operates mainly in Lee.
By Friday, March 8, broadband capability will be coming to Lee, and Thursday, April 11, the town will be hosting the Suwannee River Water Management District meeting at Divine Events.
Finally, in order to comply with a new regulation that requires town water be tested every day for chlorine level rather than Monday through Friday, the Council approved a new work schedule for the Public Works department that would accommodate the requirement without incurring overtime expense for city employees.
The council then adjourned the meeting.
