City Of Trenton Approves Animal Shelter Floor Plan

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

A number of SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) items were discussed and/or approved at the May 13th meeting of the City of Trenton Board of Commissioners, but first, the commission and fire department recognized firefighter Cody Doyle’s completion of treatment for throat cancer.

Doyle and his family were presented with a check from the pancake breakfast and t-shirt fundraisers that the fire department organized. A number of families and friends of the fire department showed up to support the Doyles. Ansel Smith (assistant fire chief) thanked the local businesses and individuals who sponsored the pancake breakfast.

The first SPLOST item the commission discussed was a security camera system for Jenkins Park. The commission approved using the same company that installed the city hall cameras, Integrated Networking Technologies. The total cost (including installation fees) is $30,150.49.

As the commission has discussed in the past, Alex Case (mayor said vandalism to the park bathrooms includes broken stall doors and sinks, damage to paper towel roll holders, and beer cans, bottles, and other trash on the back softball field (by Sunset Drive).

The camera system will be monitored at the 911 call center, and it has the option of setting up an alert system for movement captured at unusual times (such as the middle of the night).

Mike Norris (police commissioner) asked if law enforcement officers could watch the cameras from their patrol cars, but Case explained that the login steps and need for bandwidth would make this ineffective.

All commissioners agreed that these cameras have been needed for a long time, and Monda Wooten (street commissioner) said, “It’s lucky we haven’t had a bad situation there yet, the homeless people, all the drugs going through that park.”

The second SPLOST item was lights/light pole repairs/replacements at the park. Case explained that the city bought two poles and three sets of LED lights using insurance money after storms caused damage. Southeast Lineman Training Center is volunteering to set the poles once the ground is dry enough, but the city is awaiting a scope of work from the electricians.

At this meeting, Case simply wanted to discuss the possibility of replacing all lights in the park, which would cost a total of $24,948 before taxes/fees, so no vote was taken yet.

The third SPLOST item was about the 2015 SPLOST funds allocated to the animal shelter. The commission approved the floor plan for the building and will set up a workshop with the county board of commissioners. As a joint project with the county, the shelter plans will also have to be voted on by the county commission.

Case explained that the earmarked funds from 2015 must be used soon or they will be lost. He said that a number of county and city commissioners are in favor of the plans.

He also noted that they will need a veterinarian on staff which will be a challenge, adding, “The building’s the easy part; it’s the budgeting for it for the rest of the time within our city and our county. That’s going to be the hardest part. We do have a very preliminary budget that we’re still working on.”

He noted that Wooten and numerous other volunteers have worked extensively in the county to help with animal rescue. Wooten gave a shoutout to Audray Luck (who attended the meeting along with a friend and a rescued dog) for her animal rescue efforts and fundraising work. Wooten said, “This is not costing the taxpayer anything. This is just because her group has taken this on and said, ‘I live here in this county, and I want to see change, and I’m willing to be part of the solution.’”

Case also noted that the city ordinances currently require residents to register animals, but this has not been enforced. He wants to see it begin to be enforced.

The fourth SPLOST item was first discussed at this month’s Dade County Board of Commissioners meeting. The Trenton-Dade Fire Department requested $30,207 from the city to cover half of Station Four’s cascade compressed air/tank system. The county approved their portion of this expense at the May 2nd meeting. (See the May 8th Sentinel.)

The fifth SPLOST item was related to a fireworks tax grant that the fire department received. Smith explained that the award ($19,926) will be used for five sets of turnout gear, but $2,214 is needed to reach the $22,140 total. The commission approved this expense.

The commission then approved a repair to the fire department’s Ladder One truck. This will come from the general fund. Jerry Kyzer (fire chief) said that the truck is having engine problems, but they need permission to dig deeper to find the issue. Diesel Plus offered a quote of $28,773.89 (before tax) to diagnose and fix the problem. If the cost goes above that amount, the company will notify the city before continuing.

Norris read the police report. In April, the Trenton Police Department answered 211 calls for service, conducted 1,578 business checks, responded to eight animal complaint calls, three domestic disturbance calls, three trespassing calls, nine suspicious person/activity calls, and worked 26 traffic crashes. From 110 traffic stops, 85 citations were issued.

Lucretia Houts (fire and utility commissioner) reported that the Trenton Fire Department answered 113 calls in April, 15 of which were fire related and 53 of which were canceled en route.

With paving season ready to begin, Case noted that asphalt costs went up about $7 per ton.

Mindy Haworth (library manager) gave the library report and announced that she is stepping down as library manager in order to spend more time with her family. She will continue working until a replacement is found and trained, so she anticipates being at the Dade County Public Library through July. She said she is sad to leave and has enjoyed working in this community, but she realized that she needed more time with family.

Lastly (under new business), the commission returned to a final SPLOST request that is tied to the ARPA sewer project. Dewayne Moore reported that installing the bar screens that filter out debris will soon be completed. Case showed photos of all the trash that comes through the sewer system and is blocked by the bar screens.

The total amount in the ARPA fund ($492,126.21) is going to this project, but the latest bill was $531,775. The city is still waiting for the final bill, so they approved nearly $117,000 from SPLOST to cover the remaining balance.