Americus City Manager Diadra Powell held a discussion open to the public on April 29 th . Terri Crawford expressed “concerns about the downtown area and the historic district. The sidewalks are horrendous. I have fallen on Church Street where there was actually a paver missing.”

Crawford mentioned that the closure of the South Lee Street bridge put more pressure on the historic district. She added this caused potential problems for pedestrians. “Somebody is going to get hit, because you cannot walk the sidewalks.” She addressed the Downtown. “In the Downtown area, we have not enough lights in the parking area, in Jackson, when you got those extra-long pick up-trucks there’s no way for two cars to get through. So I would suggest that either no parking on one side of Jackson and leave it two lane, or make it a single lane street.”

Powell responded. “We are working to address that.” Powell mentioned that a crosswalk was a consideration but the police chief noted that parked cars could block signage. “The other thing that we talked about was possibly having compact cars only parking on Jackson, that way you could utilize the entire street.”

Powell addressed Lee Street. “Lee Street is a State road and so we don’t have a whole lot of say-so other than saying our citizens are not happy. We’re not happy with it either.”

Ethan Wolfe commented. “I live outside the City but I come to the City a lot. West Church Street, from the railroad all the way to South Lee needs help.”

Powell responded: “If it rains, that particular intersection is completely covered. You can’t see the lines, you can’t see anything there it’s just a pool of water. For us, that is a safety issue.” She also mentioned Jones Street. “When it rains, Jones Street has a pool of water that flows out to Lee Street. So those are the types of things that they are trying to address.”

Wolfe commented on a steel grate on Oak Avenue. Powell responded, referencing infrastructure issues. “My priority right now is the two sink holes that we have.” Powell also mentioned a list of streets that were approved for resurfacing.

Powell addressed questions about the state of sidewalks. “I would like to get rid of all the pavers.” She mentioned how they shift over time.

Powell mentioned that both of the City’s street-sweepers were down. Citizens commented on how some streets have both City and County residences due to some residents having wanted to avoid annexation.

Luneda Brown brought up communication between the City, County, and different departments, and the potential for issues considering how checkered City and County residences were. Powellvresponded: “99 percent of the time, if there is an emergency, especially if it is a medical emergency, our fire department is going to respond even if the County responds.”

Powell mentioned that E-911 determines whether it is a City or County call. “If it is a fire call, both probably City and the County are going to move.

A citizen asked if recyclables were really recycled. Powell responded that she had heard in a meeting that recyclables and trash were put in the same place, but that the sanitation contract was up for bid.