New Dublin Youth Council sworn in

With their right hands raised in the air, the new members of the Dublin Youth Council took their official oaths before the Dublin City Council last week.

Those selected to be in the Dublin Youth Council this year are from Dublin High School, East Laurens High School and West Laurens High School.   

This year’s members are Aiyanna Boston (secretary/mayor pro tem, from DHS); Makaela Bridges (historian, from DHS); Kelis Lawrence (mayor, from DHS); Harmoni Walker (city planner, from DHS); Melina Watson (historian, from ELHS); Sydney Wyatt (Ward 1, from DHS); Aissata Diallo (at-large, from DHS); Brenna Grimes (city manager, from WLHS); Kamia Hardy (Ward 3, from DHS); Mariah Johnson (Ward 4, from DHS); Zakaya Kennedy (Ward 1, from DHS); Agnes Koranteng (Ward 2, from DHS); Joel Koranteng (city attorney, from DHS); Sariah Lewis (at-large, from WLHS); Jadah Philyaw (historian, from WLHS); Nehemiah Snell (historian, from DHS); Brandi Bailey-Williams (city clerk, from WLHS); and Ah’Kaylah Williams (at-large, from WLHS). 

Juvenile Judge Penny Snipes swore in the group.

“I want to be the first to welcome you,” she said. “It is quite impressive to be chosen. You are our future. Use this opportunity to learn, do justice, be fair and do good work.” 

City Council members thanked the youth council members for being a part of the group.

“I want to congratulate you and tell you it is an honor to represent our community,” Councilwoman Sara Kolbie said. “Although you weren’t elected to these positions, you volunteered for them. It is so important to understand the impact of community service.” 

Councilman Bennie Jones, who served as mayor pro tem during the meeting, said the city of Dublin has had a youth council for about 10 years.

“Youth council was a brainchild of mine,” Jones said. “When I first got on council I wanted to get youth involved. We went around and saw how other youth councils were being formed and doing in different parts of the state. I would like to thank the youth council for actively working.” 

Jones pointed out that Darrius Knight, a former Youth Council mayor for the Dublin Youth Council, had an internship with U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

“We have seen some great young people come through here,” Jones said. “Darrius was the mayor for the youth council here, twice. This kind of opportunity may open the doors and you’ll get to interact with people.” 

He encouraged the youth council not to be afraid to make bold suggestions.

“The sky is the limit,” Jones said. “It was members of the Dublin Youth Council who suggested the water park at Southern Pines. They pressed about wanting a public pool. That is why we want young people to get involved. Your opinion matters.” 

In other board meeting news, the council: 

• Approved two pumps for the waste water treatment plant from Seal Distributors for more than $97,000.

• Approved a LUCAS CPR device for the Northside Fire Station from Stryker in the amount of $20,237.77. 

“This is a CPR device that can be utilized by first responders,” said Dublin City Manager Josh Powell. “It is often that the fire departments are first to respond to a scene of an accident and they can put this on a victim who needs CPR.”

The money was raised through donations from the Community Bank ($10,000), Fairview Park Hospital through Widow’s Oil Ministry ($10,237.77).

“I want to thank Community Bank, Fairview Park Hospital and Widow’s Oil Ministry for making this donation happen,” Kolbie said. 

• Heard the first reading on an ordinance to amend the hotel height limit requirements to go as high as 75 feet in the business district zones at the I-16 interchange for hotels only.

“We’ve had four applications for different hotels to locate out at the I-16 interchange near Highway 441,” Powell said. “It will be exclusive to that particular location and situation.” 

The second reading and public hearing will happen at the noon, Sept. 17 meeting.

• Heard a first reading on an ordinance to amend the FY’ 26 budget. The second reading and public hearing will occur during the noon, Sept. 17 meeting.

• Approved roll-off dumpster fees as follows: disposal fee per dump $185/dump; landfill dumping fee per ton $36/ton; daily dumpster rental fee (charged after 14 days of service) $5/day; and damage fee as determined by city manager.

• Approved the purchase of CemSites Cloud Software for the city’s three cemeteries. The software which places are vacant.

• Approved the initial project assessment for the Rural Workforce Housing Grant. The Department of Community Affairs has published a funding opportunity for a grant that is related to infrastructure cost for housing projects that meet certain criteria.

“Part of the process for this is we would have to submit an initial project assessment, which is a notice to the DCA that we intend to make a formal grant application,” Powell said. “The grant would be up to $2.5 million to cover the infrastructure cost which would be water, road, drainage and sewer.”

Powell said the city has been approached by a developer for a proposed project that would happen along Woodlawn.

• Approved an amendment to the contract with Dublin Construction Co. about the renovation of the city’s public works street division building, on Madison Street. The total cost will be $3,240,532.

“We purchased this building with the idea to move them where they are to this location,” Powell said. 

• Approved a resolution to authorize an agreement with Women In Need Of God’s Shelter (WINGS) for the lease of city property.

• Approved a resolution to authorize the application of a $20,000 safety grant with Georgia Municipal Association. 

“This will allow us to install cameras on some, if not all, of the city vehicles,” Powell said. “This is meant to be a safety grant to track driving behavior, and it will help for training purposes. It can also help with what other drivers may have done in an incident we maybe involved in.” 

• Heard from Rae Bloodworth who informed council members that she no longer supported Flock cameras because she has concerns about who has access to the information, who it is shared with and what protections are in place.

“I have submitted an open records request to better understand how the system is being used,” Bloodworth said. “I respectfully ask the council to review these concerns and keep the public informed.”