From the Mayor’s Desk: July 27, 2010

By CS | July 29, 2010

CENTRAL SCHOOLS:

    It was nice to have a shovel in my hand to take part in the ground breaking ceremonies for our new school complex.  What an exciting time for Central.  Plans are to have this phase of the project completed by the beginning of the 2011/2012 school year.  Here’s hoping and praying that all goes well!

CITY SERVICES ACTIVITY FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE, 2010

Public works:

          The Public Work Department issued a total of 145 work requests for the month of June.

Of the 145 total work order requests:

          111 are Completed Work Orders, which is 77% of total work requests

          34 are Pending, which is 23% of total work requests

Permits:

          There were 104 Building Permits issued.  The Building Permits include but are not limited to:  (electrical, plumbing, mechanical, commercial and building).

Planning and Zoning:

          There were 38 P&Z requests processed. 

Occupational License:

          There were 16 Occupational Licenses processed.

Building Inspections:

          406  Total Inspections

                   391   Residential Inspections

                     15   Commercial Inspections

Code Enforcement:

                   25  Code Violations Investigated

                   23   Letters of Violation Issued

SPECIAL TRIBUTE:

I would like to pay special tribute to Charlotte Fergerson, my Administrative Assistant.  Charlotte works tirelessly for the City of Central, always taking her lunch break at her desk.  She has taken very few vacation days and when she does, it is to travel to Alabama to check on her mother.

Charlotte greets our citizens and visitors very courteously and will go the extra mile to assist even if their problem does not pertain to Central.

She handles my correspondence and daily schedule, so if you at anytime you have a need to communicate with City Hall or myself, Charlotte will see that your need is addressed.

Thank you Charlotte, you have been a true blessing to me and most importantly, to the city of Central! 

COURT CASE

Up to this point I purposely avoided being drawn into the controversy surrounding the request for records made by Central City News to CH2M Hill.  The Central City Attorney had originally advised me that no one in the Mayor’s office was in possession of the requested records and the CH2M Hill attorneys claimed the records were not public records.  I felt it was best to withhold comment until the matter ran its course in the court system.  The first step of that process has been completed.  The judge summarily dismissed the lawsuit filed by Central City News and assessed all court costs against them.  The only remaining question involves the amount of attorney’s fees that Central City News will have to pay to CH2M Hill, if any, and the judge will rule on that after another hearing.  Central City News can appeal the judgment if it so chooses.  Meanwhile, now that the court has provided guidance, I will work to clarify the contract between the City of Central and CH2M Hill, to assure that all truly public records remain available, as they always have been, to any person making a request.  This is a pledge.

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Thank you and God Bless,

Mac Watts

Mayor, City of Central