Mayor gives council Grovetown refresher course
Grovetown's newest city council members already are learning about the issues that they'll have to face during the next four years.
And they've got a familiar teacher - Mayor Dennis Trudeau.
Mayor Dennis Trudeau says the city's water needs will be a major issue in 2002.
Staff
There's the upcoming construction of two new subdivisions, a need for more water and sewer services and the threat of a weakening economy.
"We need to be putting our thinking caps on and be thinking about these upcoming developments," Trudeau said. "The economy has changed and our sales tax revenues are showing it. We're not getting what we used to."
George James and Bruce Stoddard were elected in November to serve a four-year term beginning in January.
Trudeau said with the construction of a new 265-unit subdivision near Old Berzelia and Harlem Grovetown roads and a 500-unit subdivision off Robinson Avenue near Gordon Highway in the making, "this will give us a serious problem for how we handle wastewater."
A proposed remedy for the city council to consider is to build a new sewer lift station, Trudeau said.
A plan to widen and improve certain city roads - including the widening of Robinson Avenue to Fort Gordon's Gate 2 - also was discussed.
Stoddard said he was glad the mayor took the time to tell city council members where the city stands.
"This kind of gets us up to speed," he said.
As for James, who last served on the city council 10 years ago, he was ready for a refresher course.
"What we're seeing so far are concerns about managing our growth and making sure that we're going to be able to handle it," he said. "And Grovetown has grown tremendously from when I last served. There wasn't probably 2,000 people in the city then. Now it's jumped to 6,000."