By JEFFREY POWELL
The Freeport City Council held their second regularly scheduled meeting of the month on Thursday, Jan. 28, at city hall. The meeting was well attended and all of the council members were present as was Mayor Russ Barley.
After the council took care of a few housekeeping items City Clerk Becky Podraza briefed attendees about the possibility of changing regularly scheduled meeting times. It was proposed that Tuesday meetings be moved to 9 a.m. and Thursday meetings be moved to 6 p.m.. Meetings are currently held on the second Tuesday and fourth Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. City Attorney Clayton Adkinson suggested the city adopt a resolution to make the changes. Once the resolution is adopted the change will have to be advertised as is required.
Under the planning and zoning department a new housing area in Hammock Bay named Meadows was approved. Hammock Bay developer Jay Odom was on hand to make a brief statement concerning this new addition.
Under the engineering heading Preble-Rish Vice President Cliff Knauer updated the council on several ongoing projects in the city. He asked the city to accept a bid tabulation for sewer upgrades. The upgrades will include a lift station and force main. The council accepted Knauer’s suggestion and approved going forward with the project.
During the Parks Department briefing council members looked over prices for monthly lawn care and those proposed prices. They also discussed having Walton County Parks and Recreation Manager Shane Supple help with field maintenance and preparation in the absence of Freeport Parks and Recreation Manager Dana Weiler. Weiler is temporarily sidelined with medical issues.
While this issue was being discussed a member of the audience asked if he could address the board. Scott Roessler asked the council why “convicts” were being used to work in the Freeport Regional Sports Complex.
Roessler, a Green Beret and Hammock Bay resident, expressed his concern in no uncertain terms that while he is deployed he is worried for his family’s safety in his absence. He said his home is approximately 800 meters from where the Department of Corrections (DOC) inmates work on the fields. “This scares the daylights out of me,” said Roessler. “What is the risk versus gain here?”
The use of inmates to help with maintenance has been going on for several years. They only work while the park is closed and leave if citizens want to use the facility. The contract with DOC is currently being looked at and the supervisor will soon attend a meeting and brief the council on particulars of the agreement.
Dan Curry of the Freeport Area Youth Sports Association asked and received a waiver of costs for use of the football fields for the upcoming season. He thanked the council and expressed his intent to be a good steward of the area.
The next Freeport City Council meeting will be on Feb. 9.