Hiram City Council met on June 2 for their regular session, which followed a series of public hearings. The first was to consider a zoning application by Cobb Subs Inc. to rezone approximately .814 acres from R-2 (Suburban Residential District) to B-2 (Highway Business District). Matthew Momtahan, counsel for the applicant, spoke in support of the application. During their regular session the council adopted ordinance 2015-02 approving the rezoning application by Cobb Subs Inc.
A second public hearing was held to consider text amendments to the zoning ordinance, Article VIII, Section M, pertaining to “package store for alcoholic beverages” with no public comment. And one final public hearing was held to consider the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015 and ending on June 30, 2016, as the city’s annual operating budget, with no public comment.
Among regular meeting agenda items was the consideration of awarding the contract(s) for the Main Street Improvements project as presented in the Stevenson & Palmer Engineering Award Notice to Baldwin Paving Company, Inc. in the amount of $1,084,603.24 or Georgia Development Partners, LLC in the amount of $1,343,061.55 (including additive alternative). This item was tabled until the June 23, 2015 meeting.
The council approved the amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement between Paulding County and the city regarding sewer services within the City of Hiram. Hiram’s council officially took up the issue of providing sewer to the downtown area 13 months ago. In March the council voted to award the contract for the Downtown Sewer Service Area, Hiram Lift Station project to North Georgia Pipeline, Inc. and also to award the contract for the Hiram Central Wastewater Pipeline project to Haren Construction. The total costs to make sewer available is $2,289,684.35 not including the previously approved engineering design and construction management costs.
“This portion is the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the project that actually connects the lines to the Paulding County sewer outfall located in the back side of Mallard Glen subdivision off Arnold Lane,” City Manager Robbie Rokovitz said, in reference to an area on the city’s east side. City officials contend that the project is needed to encourage the establishment of such businesses as restaurants, which had found it difficult to secure needed health permits because of the lack of sewer service. The council approved the contract for Probation Services for the Hiram Municipal Court with Intertech and the contract for Paulding County to conduct the municipal elections of the City of Hiram in November for the amount of $7,850.00. Mayor and Council Post 1 and Post 2 are on the ballet.
The Mayor and Council also recognized Hiram resident Jamie Babecka for her accomplishments and awards in the Paulding County 4-H program and Shelby Williams, Austin Middle School, as the Georgia Municipal Association winner of the “If I Were a Mayor” contest. And finally the council approved the contribution of $100.00 to Safe Kids Paulding, coordinated by Officer Stephen Johnston, for the purchase of crayons to be donated to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.