Lake City, City Council to Get City Utilities Update Tonight: Is It Going to be for What Was Asked?
Posted December 7, 2020 02:25 pm
Columbia County Observer photo and graphic.
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Lately, utilities in Columbia County – Lake City have been a hot button issue. During the November 16 City Council meeting, City Councilman Todd Sampson asked for the City's Utility Director to present the current state of the City's Utilities.
As the November 16 Council meeting drew to a close, Councilman Sampson brought up the City's utility issues.
Much has been going on in the past couple of years with economic development. There has never been any report or update at the City Council or the County Commission. As reported earlier, the City has been the regional utility for Lake City and areas close by.
Things have been moving along for quite some time without any plan or direction.
Councilman Sampson told the Council, "We need to move forward in multiple directions."
City Manager Joe Helfenberger said, "We need to do a master plan."
Tonight's utility PowerPoint presentation. Does
it answer Councilman Sampson's questions. Your
reporter's notes are provided with the page
numbers he added. The presentation was
prepared by the new Assistant City Manager.
Councilman Sampson followed up, "I'd like to see, if it's possible, at the next meeting -- the utility director come forward and tell us where we're at, where we're going, and what we can accomplish. I think that would be helpful."
Councilman Sampson wanted a complete rundown, including water, wastewater (sewer), and gas.
Councilman Sampson continued, "That would be beneficial to educate us [city council] so we can make the right decisions for the taxpayers."
Mr. Sampson also mentioned that besides the Plum Creek property, the Council also "needed to know about the 47 Exchange and also about the upcoming repairs at the St. Margret's WWTP."
Mr. Helfenberger told the Council it would be done.
Mr. Helfenberger put in a confusing 12th-hour request for a utility feasibility study.
Councilman Sampson said, "I'm not sure I would want to move forward on the feasibility until we have some idea about that."
Mr. Helfenberger spoke about the importance of having a master plan in place as the City moved forward so folks would know "where we're at."
Mr. Helfenberger has been with the City for over two years. The utility issues have been ongoing.
As the November 16th meeting concluded, the Council passed a motion for what seemed like the presentation and the feasibility study.
It was unintelligible, and while the City rules require the Clerk to read all proper motions into the record, this was not done.
