Hiawassee changes their November meeting ahead of the election

Hiawassee changes their meeting from Election Day to Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. The decision was made at their October work schedule.

Mayor Liz Ordiales updated the city council on a road audit conducted by the Georgia Department of  Transportation.

“It was great, we’d been trying for a year to get them out here,” said Ordiales. She said they walked through downtown and looked at all the streets and GDOT is preparing a report which would detail  how many wrecks occur at each intersection, what type of wrecks they are, and identify issues that need to be taken care of such as handicap access, drainage. It will detail what expenses are the city’s responsibility and what GDOT will pay for.

New stripes were added to Bell Road and rumble strips will also be added. That, along with new stripes on River Street, north of Main Street, will get new stripes paid for through at $20,000 grant. Ordiales said money left over on those projects would be used to work on the recommendations from GDOT.

HIAWASSEE SEES WATER DAMAGE FROM STORMS

Water meters

Ordiales went to tell the council that the water department had 15 reports of leaks, with 11 being legitimate leaks.

“That’s the beautiful thing about this, our clients really appreciate it,” she said. “We’ll check the meter if they aren’t home and turn it off until we can talk to them.”

She added that meter readings will be moved to the 25th, except weekends and holidays, starting in November. The reading in November will actually be the 23rd, and in December it will be around the last working day before Christmas. This is to align with the water authority.

Health department and City Hall schedules

The health department is offering COVID-19 testing every other Friday and city hall remains closed, except by appointment.

• The galvanized pipe project is almost completed.
• The Department of Natural Resources installed two buoys in the no-wake zone at Lloyd’s Landing.
• The city is looking for volunteers on Nov. 21 to help decorate the square for Christmas.
• The Tennessee Valley Authority approved safety poles so people can see how deep the water is in the children’s area near the old kayak ramp.
• The city applied for a Rural Zone Designation, which has three components:
  • A Job Tax Credit, which offers $2,000 per new full-time equivalent jobs created.
  • Investment credit, equivalent to 25-percent of the purchase price of the building.
  • Rehabilitation credit, equivalent to 30-percent of qualified rehab costs.

New business

• The second Alcohol Ordinance Update will be at the November 5 meeting.
• Alcohol licensing for new Bacchus owners, Ashlyn LaPorte is scheduled for Nov. 5
• Alcohol renewals are