Officials want clean work sites

Grovetown officials are hoping to keep construction sites inside the city a little more tidy.

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The city council held the first reading of a new ordinance at Monday's semi-monthly meeting that would require builders and owners to keep construction sites inside the city clean.

"It is part of an overall problem that we have had," said Mayor Dennis Trudeau.

The ordinance is one of many the city is looking to update to keep up with regulations mandated by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

The ordinance will require that construction sites be kept clean of all construction-related debris including paint buckets, remnant lumber and product packaging. It will be up to the builders of property owners to check the sites weekly and any items that need to be removed are properly disposed of.

"A lot of times, sand and stuff gets into the streets," Trudeau said. "Rain causes sand and debris to get into storm drains."

The city council members will vote on the ordinance after its second reading either at a special meeting Monday or at the regularly scheduled July 23 city council meeting.

Before Monday's meeting, city officials held the first of three tax rollback hearings before the city's 4.64-mill rate is approved to remain the same for 2007.

The city's net digest grew from more than $132 million in 2006 to more than $165 in 2007.

"We are constantly growing and that growth is causing more infrastructure costs," Trudeau said, adding that the extra revenue will be used to pay for such infrastructure costs as police and fire protection and streets maintenance.

Trudeau said that 2007 tax bills for residents of the city should remain the same unless the property was reassessed. More than $13 million of the tax digest growth was from reassessments. The rest of the growth is from new development inside the city.

The city's two remaining public rollback hearings are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday at Grovetown City Hall.