The City of Cartersville is buying property for $521,000. The announcement was made after a closed meeting of the Cartersville City Council Thursday night. The property is at 501 Douglas Street.
City Attorney Keith Lovell said the property was purchased to provide additional parking for the recreation center being constructed on Tennessee Street.
Another big-ticket item of a furniture purchase for the new city hall was approved. The city will spend approximately $634,300 on furniture. Officials said this was a median bid as the 16 bids ranged between $300,000 and $800,000 but was one of the few bids that matched the city’s requirements for furniture.
The city approved a maximum expenditure of $694,500 for furniture to allow for other miscellaneous items that will be needed later.
The council added several items to the agenda that included a policy additional, a sewer materials project, and an agreement with Bartow County.
The policy change related to electric service calls. City Manager Dan Porta said there wasn’t a policy regarding consequences for repeated calls. Utility department staffers stated that some customers have repeated calls because they refuse to fix their electrical problems and wanted them to bear the cost of that. One customer that owns a business with loft apartments had 12 calls in recent weeks, they said. That could amount to a safety issue in the future, staffers said.
Councilmembers approved the new policy.
The council also approved almost $25,000 for new larger sewer lines to accommodate growth in and around the industrial park and approved an agreement with Bartow County to swap properties. Officials said there will be several swaps over the coming months with the first is a building with a pump station given to the county because city officials said the county would be better at managing it.
The council also heard about the first steps in a large Mission Road sidewalk project. Under the project, sidewalks will be created from School Street to The Reserve at Pettit Creek. They will be continuous on the north side of the street and connect with other city sidewalks. The first phase is preliminary engineering with officials saying it will take several years to complete.
In other business:
- The council approved $36,570 for a compact automated side loader garbage truck. Staff said one was needed to fit into smaller areas.
- Approved a work authorization agreement with Tree Amigos. The company gave the city a $51,500 work credit for a damaged utility pole and city officials said they will be used for tree services around the city beginning at Dellinger Park.
- Approved a historic resource survey for the district downtown. This will include both grant eligible historic buildings and non-grant eligible properties.
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer for publications in the U.S, Canada, the UK and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio. She is on Facebook, X, YouTube, content on Substack, and has a podcast on Rumble.