The City Council held an especially meaty work session last night from 7-9 p.m. The meeting opened with a presentation by CDM — Camp Dresser & McKee — about the proposed expansion and upgrade of the Mud Creek Water Pollution Control Plant.

It was explained during the presentation that the Mud Creek Plant was built in 1977 and is currently operating at capacity. In order to meet expanding needs and existing regulatory standards, it is being proposed that the plant be expanded. CDM presented four possible options for handling the expansion, offering recommendations based on their evaluation of the challenges and proposed solutions.

The main point considered at this stage of the proposal was funding for the expansion and whether the Council will decide to vote in favor of securing the needed funding through the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) and how much of the proposed funding should come from other sources like SPLOST and utility rate revenue. The proposed upgrade would meet the city’s needs through the year 2025 according to CDM.

Following the presentation by CDM, Metcalf & Eddy presented their study and recommendations for interim upgrades to the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The Withlacoochee facility was expanded in 1986 and needs less upgrading than the Mud Creek facility, so the proposed upgrade is more modest in scope. Metcalf & Eddy proposed that replacing the screens with more advanced, efficient screens would extend the life of existing pumps used at the facility, make the facility safer to operate, and reduce the risk of potential spills and other problems associated with improper screening.

Other recommended changes include replacing some of the existing sump pumps, adding automated pump control that can adjust to changing flow levels, as well as certain Wetwell improvements. A budget accompanied the recommendations to show what the cost of the upgrade would be. With the proposed upgrade, this facility would also be able to meet the city’s projected needs through the year 2025.

Zoning requests were the next agenda item taken up by the City Council.

Anne Marie Wolff, the city's zoning and planning coordinator, made the presentations of the various zoning requests and the recommendations of the Planning Commission, along with the reasoning behind the Commission’s decisions to allow or deny the requests. City Council members used the opportunity to ask questions and raise any concerns they had regarding the requests.

Wolff then gave the first reading to Council members of proposed Land Development Regulations currently being considered for adoption with a Jan. 1, 2009 effective date. Among the issues discussed during this part of the meeting were regulations affecting billboards, underground utilities, how to handle building permits prior to the Jan. 1 effective date, and changes affecting Urban Commercial Overlay Districts.

The next agenda item was the First Reading of the Identity Theft Prevention Ordinance. The main purpose of this ordinance is to make sure the city remains in compliance with FTC regulations regarding measures that protect people in Valdosta against identity theft, especially in cases involving online and other credit transactions. Mayor John Fretti praised the Deputy City Manager Mark Barber for the work he is already doing to safeguard the personal information of people conducting business in Valdosta.

City manager Larry Hanson then addressed the MLK Jr. Corridor project and outlined the steps taken to date to ensure the timely completion of the project.

Finally, the City Council took up the question of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission and a request originating with the County to expand membership. The request will either be voted on in the regular City Council meeting or possibly postponed pending further consideration.