REMERTON — Plans to tie Remerton into Valdosta’s municipal water system are on hold. At the Remerton City Council meeting Monday, Utilities Director Ron Woods said the city has been unable to obtain the necessary easements. Woods said one property owner is now deceased and his property in litigation, while two other owners of property from whom easements must be obtained are out of town and can’t be reached.

On Feb. 9, Bill Kent of ASA Engineering, informed the council and citizens in attendance that he had received bids on the water looping and tie-in to Valdosta’s water system, and recommended council approve the low bid of $277,307.75 submitted by Standard Contractors. Council accepted Kent’s recommendation in a 5-0 vote. Kent said the next step in the process was to execute a contract with Standard Contractors, then hold a pre-construction meeting. Construction was scheduled to begin March 1.

At the time, Kent said there were still a couple easements to be obtained, but he was optimistic the project could be completed within the original 60-day estimate. It now appears Kent’s optimism hit a clog.

During Citizens to be Heard, Ashley Hill thanked the Council, City Attorney Brad Folsom, and Valdosta Mayor John Fretti for the actions they took to divert the Girls Gone Wild tour bus from stopping in Remerton. Hill said he has received many thanks from people throughout Valdosta that the tour bus was made to detour around Remerton and keep on going.

Jake Graffeo told the Council he and his fiancé have been unable to get more than five hours of sleep a night because of noise from the bar or bars directly behind their rental property. It was Graffeo’s first time speaking before Council.

He said the problem was not bad when they first moved in, but the noise has gotten progressively worse. He said they are forced to sleep in the front room of their rental property on a futon instead of in their bedroom so they can get at least five hours of rest before going to work and school.

Had he known the problems they would face, Graffeo said they would not have chosen to live there. He said he and his fiancé plan to get out of their lease early and leave Remerton because they can’t cope with the noise. Councilman Bill Wetherington said it is unfortunate that efforts by council to deal with noise and other issues by rewriting alcohol and noise ordinances have actually caused bar owners to retaliate by turning the noise louder than before.

Joe Belsen, who owns and operates Belsen’s PCXchange asked Police Chief Mike Terrell if any citations have been issued for noise violations since January. Terrell said no, because they have been working to get an enforceable noise ordinance passed and implement noise monitoring procedures. Terrell said the city now has the ordinance and equipment and will start citing businesses soon for noise violations when appropriate.

Council member Sherry Wood moved that Council approve making Remerton’s Police Chief directly accountable to the Council instead of the City Administrator. Mayor Cornelius Holsendolph said he thought that all city employees were ultimately responsible to the Council anyway, and that if the police chief answered to the City Administrator, it was probably to resolve staff issues. Wetherington said it was the wording in the police chief’s job description he objected to, which made it appear he or she was accountable to the City Administrator and not the Council. Wetherington said he did not think it appropriate that the police chief should answer to one person instead of to members of the Council. The motion was unanimously approved.

City Clerk Lisa Mashburn gave the city financial report and also said the city has collected the majority of business license renewal fees from Remerton businesses.

Wetherington displayed the volume containing the city’s codes and ordinances and thanked staff for all the work they did to get it done.

Council member Lydia Day said she and Ryan Gordon recently completed their Georgia Council training in Athens and said she found it very interesting. Day also said she thinks the city should take steps to save money wherever possible because of the poor economy.

Wood thanked staff and all department heads for their help and cooperation toward finishing the city budget. Council then went into executive session to discuss personnel and property issues.