BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
LAKE BUTLER — At its regular Jan. 17 meeting, the Lake Butler City Commission was met with a full house of city residents, many with questions and comments concerning the recent water main line rupture, the land swap with Welch’s Automotive and the increase seen in some water bills.
Deputies from the Union County Sheriff’s Office were on hand for the meeting at the request of the commission.
Rondall Huggins was the first citizens to offer comments at the beginning of the meeting, thanking the commission and public works for their work in getting the water main repaired and putting in the overtime that it required. He questioned if the contractor, Kinetic, would be billed for the cost to the city of getting the water back on and was told that it was in the process of being done.
He mentioned the current mowing issue on city property, saying that a way could be found to get it done with less expense to the city. He then asked when the citizens were going to get some answers, saying that too many agenda items (for example, the budget), were getting tabled by the board.
Next to speak was Lisa Huggins, who commented on the city’s plans for beautification, citing the land swap and suggesting the city provide an open space for community activities such as poetry readings and where food trucks could set up, offering residents more variety than normally available in town.
Local Pastor Patrick Maxwell again spoke on the land swap, saying he had posted three questions on Facebook concerning the matter and saying many of the answers he had received were problematic. He said he loved the community and had many questions about the situation.
“It concerns me that no one else (businesses) was even given such an opportunity,” Maxwell said. “One person had a business that was deemed to be an eyesore and they were given the opportunity to get them off Main Street. Will being an eyesore continue to be the criteria for such actions? It was an old building from the 1950s on less than half an acre. ”
Maxwell said that the city could not really hope to recoup anywhere near what it has had to spend to make the deal work. He also said the commission needed to start streaming its meeting on the Internet so more residents could keep abreast of what was really going on.
Colise Cohen told commissioners that she lived on an unimproved street in the city that was supposed to be city maintained but rarely saw any work.
“I have heard promises about getting the road paved since 2018,” Cohen said. “The road is mainly potholes and overflowing culverts and is sometimes almost impassable. I would think that with all the frivolous spending the city has been doing they could have gotten the road fixed. I need and expect more from my city. In addition, my water bill has doubled so that now it is higher than my electric bill. ”
Acting Mayor Annette Redman, after asking City Attorney John Maines and City Manager Dale Walker for confirmation, said that the city had received a grant for paving inside the city and that her road was on the list to be done.
“We will get it done ASAP,” Redman said.
In another concern about lack of maintenance, mobile home park owner Agnes Sapp said she had been working hard to maintain and upgrade the park, but has an issue with the city as well.
“I was told that the city owns the land between the road and my fence, but they have allowed very deep mud holes to develop that sometimes bar access to the homes,” Sapp said. “There is work that needs to be done there and it is the city’s responsibility to see to it.”
The final citizen speaker of the night was Cindy Nelson, who reported that she had recently received a $409.36 water bill. She said she lived in a small home with just a poodle as a housemate and does not understand how her bill went up from an average of about $70 an month could be so high.
“I came to city hall to ask about it and was told that they would send someone out to read my meter and make sure there was no problem with the reading transmitted by it,” Nelson said. “I was then told that if it was accurate then all they could do for me was advise me to get a plumber. I saw Mr. Walker coming in to the building and tried to talk to him, but he speeded up his pace and got behind the locked door leading to his office.”
After the last citizen comment, Redman assured the audience that “notes had been taken of the concerns so they could be addressed, the commission was in the process of gathering information about any budget problems and there would be more special meetings held to discuss any issues.
