Rusk mayor unhappy with 911 addressing
McCarty: 911 response system not in sync with new addresses
BY GLORIA JENNINGS

The Rusk City Council spent most of the evening Thursday discussing 911 addressing and tax abatement. The council met at 5 p.m. Thursday at city hall to consider a 15 item agenda.

By a vote of 5-1 the council voted to continue with the 911 addressing system done by Cherokee County Appraisal District.

Sam Florian, District 5 councilman, reported he had talked with 50-60 people and only five of that group wanted to go back to the original addressing system.

Mayor Suzann McCarty said, "Mike and I did some investigation today (Thursday). It was brought to our attention that the 911 response system has not been updated with the addresses that the CCAD has reassigned.

"What this means is if you call 911 they will be directed to your old address not the one you thought you changed to.

"I am opposed to continuing with the system that CCAD is using as it is not the traditional city block system followed by most towns. This system will be difficult for visitors, delivery people and emergency responders," Mayor McCarty continued.

"If you change the address in your checkbook that doesn't mean that your address has really been changed," she said.

City Manager Mike Murray explained to the council, "I have had problems with this system. The block system should never have been changed."

Mr. Florian reported he had talked with a nursing home and to change it back would hinder their dealing with their 90 plus residents and Medicaid.

"I don't like the system and the new system, but businesses don't want to undo it," Councilman Donald Woodard said.

"One man called and said, 'Don't make me re-do this,'" he said. "I am not in favor of going back. I can't make business suffer again. We will have to do what we can to get new addresses," Mr. Woodard said.

"The city is responsible for addressing. I do not want someone to have to die before this is corrected. I know there will be some expense to repairing this system but those costs are less than going forward with a flawed system. I do not believe in passing a problem to our children to fix," Mayor McCarty said.

City Attorney Forrest Phifer explained that the city would not be deemed legally responsible if someone died before an ambulance picked them up.

Lee Flowers of the CCAD presented a schedule for putting the 911 addressing system in place:

+His staff will mail a notice to all addresses in the city. The notice should contain the new 911 address, phone number, resident name and instructions concerning posting requirements.

+There should be a deadline for posting the new number on property. This will assist emergency services in responding to the correct address.

+There should be a deadline to confirm phone number and resident information with the CCAD.

+As phone number and resident information is confirmed, the information will be submitted to Entrado via an address change form (ACF). This will result in the new address appearing on 911 operator screens during dispatch.

+The postal service will send their own notice concerning when they will no longer deliver mail to the old address. That deadline should be one year.

+Police and EMS personnel will work with CCAD to develop map resources for first responders.

+Annual CCAD budget for 911 addressing will be approximately $30,000 with the city of Rusk's cost estimated at $2,500 per year. This is based on a prorata share. The county will cover the majority of the budget due to the number of rural addresses in Cherokee Co.

During the discussion pertaining to tax abatement, Mr. Phifer presented the different ways to provide this service to local businesses and industries. He and City Manager Murray will present a proposed resolution and ordinance for the council's discussion and consideration at the next meeting. The council plans to offer tax abatements at a minimum of $750,000 for three to five years.

"The least complicated the more attractive an abatement plan is for prospective businesses," Mr. Phifer said.

The council approved new water and sewer fees. Taps will be increased from $250 each to $400 each. Fees will be established to include $25 for turn on and $20 for transfer fee. In the circumstance where a new tap is not required but a new meter and/or appurtenances are required, the fee will be $100.

The city authorized the fire department to apply for a $300,000 grant to purchase a new vehicle for transporting equipment to a fire site. In the event the grant is approved the city would be required to pay 10 percent of the grant cost. The grant is being sought to replace a vehicle that was purchased in 1990. The grant funds will come from Homeland Security. Rusk aids in fire protection in an area from Maydelle to Shady Grove, border to border of Cherokee County; and up to the seven mile hill and down to Alto or below as needed.

Mr. Murray announced the Rusk Police Department has obtained a $9,500 National Rifle Association grant. Details as to what the money will be used for were not presented at the meeting.

The council approved a contract with Schaumburg & Polk, Inc. for engineering services excluding the arbitration clause. Also, a work order was approved for Schaumburg & Polk Inc. for a new water well for the city to be located off the Atoy Road and another for a new ground storage tank at the water well. Fees for the work orders are $42,500 for engineering work at the water well and $42,200 for the ground storage tank.