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Chamber of Commerce invites questions of Council members
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| Members of the Lake City City Council answered questions Thursday morning during a breakfast at the Hampton Inn & Suites sponsored by the Lake City/Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. Council members (from left) are John Robertson, Eugene Jefferson, Michael Lee, Mayor Stephen Witt and George Ward. JOHNNA PINHOLSTER/Lake City Reporter |
Breakfast covered a variety of topics from EMS to utilities.
By JOHNNA PINHOLSTER
jpinholster@lakecityreporter.com
The Lake City/Columbia County Chamber of Commerce presented its members with a chance to address issues and concerns with Lake City City Council members Thursday morning.
The breakfast, hosted at the Hampton Inn & Suites, covered a variety of topics ranging from the payment for EMS services to the future of the city’s utility department.
Chamber Board of Directors member Chris Bullard moderated the event while Mayor Stephen Witt, Councilmen John Robertson, Michael Lee, Eugene Jefferson and George Ward fielded questions.
Questions about the utility department and the new wastewater treatment facility planned for construction on the Butler Tract property kicked off the gathering.
Ward said the contract to acquire the Butler Tract should be finalized by the end of June and that preliminary engineering on the project has already begun.
He went on to say that it would be three to five years before the plant came on-line.
The further along the city moves with the development of the new state-of-the-art facility the more capacity the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will release for the St. Margaret’s Street Wastewater facility, Lee said.
George Miller of Spring Fresh Cleaning asked how many people the water treatment plant and the wastewater plant will be able to support.
While no one on the council could provide exact numbers, Robertson said the Price Creek Water Treatment Plant will be able to support Lake City and the expanding community for the next 20-25 years. The wastewater facility will be built at a 3-million-gallon capacity with the intention of expansion, the same as the water treatment facility, he said.
Attorney Bill Haley asked the council about the status of the Lake City Fire Department and whether or not the idea of consolidating the city and county departments was still being discussed.
Lee said that while the city has asked the county if it would like to take over fire service for the entire county, once again the fire service within the city and county is the best it has ever been. He said county residents may be hesitant to consolidate fire service because their rates would go up. Currently residential fire rates for the county are $73 while the city pays $153.
The rate for the city would be $212 if the city did not subsidize the cost for all the exempted properties located within the city limits through the general fund.
James Montgomery asked the council if they had met with the county to further discuss the EMS service payments the county said they are owed by the city. He went on to ask if the council believed the county would actually cease to provide EMS service within the city on Oct. 1.
Robertson said he had not heard anyone from the county government publicly state that the EMS services would be withheld from city residents on Oct. 1.
City Attorney Herbert Darby has been tasked with finding a legal representative versed in this area to help the city decide if its residents actually are being double taxed for the service, Witt said.
The city has also yet to see a breakdown of the expenditures for the county’s ad-valorem taxes as requested by the city, Robertson said.
The breakfast, hosted at the Hampton Inn & Suites, covered a variety of topics ranging from the payment for EMS services to the future of the city’s utility department.
Chamber Board of Directors member Chris Bullard moderated the event while Mayor Stephen Witt, Councilmen John Robertson, Michael Lee, Eugene Jefferson and George Ward fielded questions.
Questions about the utility department and the new wastewater treatment facility planned for construction on the Butler Tract property kicked off the gathering.
Ward said the contract to acquire the Butler Tract should be finalized by the end of June and that preliminary engineering on the project has already begun.
He went on to say that it would be three to five years before the plant came on-line.
The further along the city moves with the development of the new state-of-the-art facility the more capacity the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will release for the St. Margaret’s Street Wastewater facility, Lee said.
George Miller of Spring Fresh Cleaning asked how many people the water treatment plant and the wastewater plant will be able to support.
While no one on the council could provide exact numbers, Robertson said the Price Creek Water Treatment Plant will be able to support Lake City and the expanding community for the next 20-25 years. The wastewater facility will be built at a 3-million-gallon capacity with the intention of expansion, the same as the water treatment facility, he said.
Attorney Bill Haley asked the council about the status of the Lake City Fire Department and whether or not the idea of consolidating the city and county departments was still being discussed.
Lee said that while the city has asked the county if it would like to take over fire service for the entire county, once again the fire service within the city and county is the best it has ever been. He said county residents may be hesitant to consolidate fire service because their rates would go up. Currently residential fire rates for the county are $73 while the city pays $153.
The rate for the city would be $212 if the city did not subsidize the cost for all the exempted properties located within the city limits through the general fund.
James Montgomery asked the council if they had met with the county to further discuss the EMS service payments the county said they are owed by the city. He went on to ask if the council believed the county would actually cease to provide EMS service within the city on Oct. 1.
Robertson said he had not heard anyone from the county government publicly state that the EMS services would be withheld from city residents on Oct. 1.
City Attorney Herbert Darby has been tasked with finding a legal representative versed in this area to help the city decide if its residents actually are being double taxed for the service, Witt said.
The city has also yet to see a breakdown of the expenditures for the county’s ad-valorem taxes as requested by the city, Robertson said.
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