By JEAN OUZTS

Climax Correspondent

There were several who participated in the public comments section at the Climax city council meeting on Monday night Feb. 13.

• Liza Musgrove sought permission from the council to open an antique décor and fine gift shop next door to City Hall in the house also known as the Ruth Cloud home. Tim Floyd also requested permission, on Musgrove’s behalf, to place large drainage pipes across the ditch and cover the pipe making a driveway and parking area. The council voted unanimously to grant a new business license and to allow the ditch drainage work.

• Stacy Watkins, representative for Watkins and Associates, of Tifton, Ga., gave an update on the progress of the CDBG for the city’s water system improvements. He said advertisements for bids would began shortly and hopefully work would begin by May or early June with work being completed by the holidays. He said water supply at times would have to be cut as the grant called for individual services to be replaced, with back flow preventers also being installed. Sidewalks will be dug up due to the work. This will be a city wide project for the entire city.

• Terry Cooper of S.W. Georgia Tumbling Academy, who presently leases the old school gym, requested an additional day on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., for a total of 19 hours. After discussion, the council agreed to rework the present lease to reflect the additional hours with an increase in rent.

• Mike Barber from Bainbridge requested to rent the city-owned ball field for use with the travel baseball team. Members of the team are from both Bainbridge and Cairo and Climax would be a good meeting place in the middle for the teams. If rented, the team wanted to rework the field with ball field dirt, and have the option to have field lights. The council agreed to consider Barber’s request to lease the field through July 2012.

Committee reports

The council was glad to see that councilmember Kay Hickox had reconsidered her statement last month that she would be resigning, and instead she would continue to serve her term. She apologized for the misunderstanding.

Parks and recreation: Chairman Bob Thomas reported that the park committee would be having a fund raiser spaghetti dinner to be held at the Climax Community Club on Feb. 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., dine-in or carry-out. Tickets will be $6 and can be obtained at Climax City Hall or from any member of the park committee, including Chair Sandra Thomas.

Police department: The council unanimously approved four new city ordinances as follows, and recommended by Police Officer John Presilla:

• The first ordinance sets fines and community-service times for citizens who damage any private or public property with a value of $500 or less. The fines include no less than $100 and no more than $500, and the community-service time is no less than 40 hours and no more than 80 hours.

• Another ordinance makes “reckless conduct” illegal. Reckless conduct is defined as “causing bodily harm or endangering the bodily safety of an individual by any means.” The fines range from $250 to $500.

• The third ordinance requires a permit to use any type of air gun, such as a BB gun, within the city limits of Climax. These permits are free and can be obtained at Climax City Hall by the police department or city clerk. Citizens must be at least 18 to get a permit, or be at least 16 and have a parent co-sign.

Consequences for violating the ordinance include: $25 for first offense, $75 for second offense, $125 and forfeiture of permit for third offense. Any property damage costs would also be included in the violations.

• The fourth ordinance prohibits the discharge of any “rim fire or center fire rifle or pistol of any caliber,” within the Climax city limits. Fines range from $250 to $500.

Presilla stated he was also going to have the school speed zones reinstalled on Broad Street, and drivers should be mindful of the new speed limits within the city.

The ordinance for a business license was discussed and it will be reworked to clarify what exactly qualifies a citizen to have a business license, and what will be fair to all seeking a license.

Maintenance department: Maintenance supervisor Greg Toole reported that the city burn pile had been reworked and cleaned, made bigger and moved further away from the back of the gym. This was done to meet state requirements.

Extension of present city limits was discussed: Mayor Charles Hadsock reported that he had spoken with the district engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) and was told that the city could “not just go out and put signs up and say that is the city limits.” He explained that it was a long drawn out procedure with the DOT and the State Parole involving a lot of permits that have to be purchased and quite a bit of expense involved. In the meantime, while this is being studied, the speed limits within the city limits will be controlled on Broad Street by implementing the school zones.

Hadsock also announced that scrap metal owned by the city was sold for $1,130.80.

New business

Hadsock stated that one of the biggest problems within the city was the route semi-trucks take on Broad Street. He said those trucks get tied up into the smaller streets, causing extra work by someone having to maneuver them back out on Broad Street, not to mention broken culverts and street damage.

A proposed rerouting of Highway 262 would stop a lot of the problems, he said. This rerouting would be for large trucks. The route would be from Hwy. 262 South to U.S. 84 East on the four-lane to Bert Phillips Road left across to Hwy. 262 North. The council voted unanimously to approve this proposal.

The council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution of the Decatur County Hazard migration plan.

The council approved the purchase of a stamp machine for city mail.