The Collins City Council started out on a positive action in the January 4, 2024, meeting.  Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) representative Artiffany Stanley presented Collins Mayor Charles Rushton with a check for $5,300 as part of a GMA grant for safety and liability purposes.

The group’s first conversation surrounded the usage of Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds to repair holes in the city’s Julian Street, which was quickly approved. The council also discussed how to best utilize money for the city’s Transportation Investment Act (TIA) projects. According to the council, County Engineer Dennis Odom has been recruited to assist the council with its repairs, although he personally suggested reaching out to an engineering firm instead. The council voted to reach out to both J&T Engineering and Hofstadter and Associates to discuss future plans.

The council also announced that a storm drain for the city’s Church Street was officially on backorder, and that a representative from T&K Hicks has vowed that company employees will stop whatever they’re doing to install the drain when it arrives. Additionally, the council mentioned that old backhoe had been sold through gov.deals for $3850.

Citizen Michael Meeks, who has repeatedly appeared at council meetings to voice his frustrations, devoted several minutes to arguing that the city had an obligation to remove an illegal building constructed on his property, which he stated had begun to flood his building on a regular basis. The council responded that he had purchased his property with the referenced building already on the adjacent property.