Weekly Update 06/17/2016

From Bob Schwartz, City Manager


Newton Citizen – Wade Marbaugh posted a nice article in the Newton Citizen about the resignation of Terry Smith and the appointment of Dr. Melvin Baker to City Council.

Dining Hall Construction – Oxford College and their contractor, Gay Construction, are proceeding very well building the new dining hall. I have approved their request for a variance to the construction noise ordinance (Section 18-147) for their concrete pour on Saturday, June 18th and Wednesday, June 22nd. They need to start at 3 AM when it’s cooler. Here are the reasons outlined in their request:

The reasons that support a claim of urgent need based on specific loss or inconvenience for such a variation from the allowable work hours.

  • There are no control joints in the slab. Therefore, the job requires a single continuous pour. The pour is extensive and time consuming. The construction crew will need sufficient time to complete it.
  • The pour needs to be completed when it is as cool as possible which will provide time to “work” with the concrete to achieve the desired level of finish. Thus the very early start time.
  • Finally, the re-bar cannot get too hot or the finished concrete may have bubbles, chip, or have imperfections of appearance or durability. The time of year, the sun, and ambient temperatures can contribute to the rebar getting too hot to achieve a quality concrete pour. The re-bar heat can also impact the workability of the concrete and the level of finish.

  • The impact that the denial of this request would have on the applicant's project and the surrounding properties.

  • The quality and appearance of the concrete on the Dining Hall project is critical to the long term utility of the building. The quality of the concrete pour is crucial for aesthetic concerns as well as health code compliance.

Most of the noise is likely to come from the backup alarms on the trucks. The College has already notified the nearby residents.

Underground Electric Project – More of the material continues to arrive for this project for Oxford College. Here is a picture of most of the conduit that will be used. It is stored in the Wesley Street right-of-way near the George Street Park.

LMIG – The state Department of Transportation (GDOT) has released the funding amounts for the LMIG (Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant) program for FY2017. The amount for the coming fiscal year is $23,870.46. This is more than the $18,640.86 we received last year and more than the $19,000 we budgeted for FY2017.

Water Certification – Scottie Croy attend the Georgia Rural Water Association spring conference at Jekyll Island and obtained 12 points toward maintaining his water distribution certification.

Public Works – Dustin James has resigned with a two week notice to accept a position with Snapping Shoals EMC. We have promoted Jonathan Benton to this position and will recruit to fill Jonathan’s position.

College Square Apartments – After their latest leak, College Square Apartments hired a contractor to repair their private water line.

Newton County – After Jody Reid’s request, Newton County helped with a tractor and mower to help clear the right-of-way along Mitchell Street.

Power Outage and Fallen Tree – We had a short power outage on Watson and Godfrey Street Friday afternoon. Here’s the tree that caused the problem and here’s a picture of Scottie and Dustin working on the tree.