Cumming’s mayor and council on Tuesday night accepted a recommendation from the utility director to delay a proposed 32-cent increase to water and sewer rates.
The increase was scheduled to take effect in July, however Jon Heard told officials that won’t be necessary due to greater-than-anticipated revenue flows.
The rate hike had been scheduled as the second in a one-year period.
Last June, city base water rates rose by 32 cents, plus an additional 32 cents per every 1,000 gallons used. That same jump was set for July.
Gravitt said he appreciated Heard and his staff being good stewards of utility funds, which prevented the need for an increase.
“I’m glad you suggested not doing this right now, especially in these hard economic times,” he said.
• Approved a recommendation from Heard to advertise bids for a new wastewater pumping station that will replace the Lanier Beach South Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Heard said Lanier Beach facility was built in the 1970s with an anticipated life span of about 20 years.
The new pumping station was budgeted for the 2011 budget, Heard said.
Bids will be brought to the mayor and council next month.
• Designated $2,000 for the next 12 months to fund the utility’s toilet rebate program, which gives rebates to homeowners switching from older, less efficient toilets to low-flow models.
• Detailed several projects the city would like to have funded through a proposed extension of the 1-cent sales tax.
A referendum on the issue could be held as early as November.
The city receives a portion of the 1-cent tax revenue from the county.
The proposed projects include improvements to roads such as Kelly Mill and Sanders, Hwy. 9, and Elm, Camilla, Church, Maple, Resthaven and Tolbert streets.
The city’s “wish list,” which totals about $33.6 million, also includes improvements to City Park.
• Awarded a bid for about $8,300 to PL Striping for restriping of all city-owned parking lots, including the Cumming Playhouse, Fairgrounds and Dobbs Creek Recreation Center.
City manager Gerald Blackburn said some of the lots had not been repainted in more than 10 years.
• Agreed to a request from Cumming Police Chief Scott Burgess to buy a police vehicle for $28,250 from Brannen Motor Company in Unadilla.
• Signed an ordinance with the state that will update the Department of Transportation on speed limits along about 20 streets in the city.
• Reviewed the city of Cumming’s Fourth of July activities schedule. The Cumming Fairgrounds will open at 6 p.m. July 3. There will be vendors and activities leading up to the fireworks display at 9 p.m. The annual parade will begin at 10 a.m. on July Fourth.
• Announced the opening of “Big River — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” on July 7 at the Cumming Playhouse. Some proceeds from the show, which runs through July 31, will go to the Bald Ridge Lodge, a home for displaced boys.