Waycross City Manager Ulysses “Duke” Rayford addressed the deadly problem of vehicles speeding within the city during his bimonthly city report.
The speeding issue on city streets and the ongoing cleanup from Hurricane Helene were the main topics of his discussion.
“We have to make some drastic changes to protect each other from each other,” said Rayford of the speeding. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve increased our police presence and identified areas of concern. We’ve increased our ticketing and warnings. Our tickets have increased about 100 percent.
“We’ve done our best to try other techniques to slow folks down. We’ve put in additional stop signs and lights at those stop signs. For whatever reason, we still have people speeding. It’s very disappointing.”
Rayford also addressed the ongoing hurricane clean up. Referring to non-vegetative debris pickup, he explained the cost for pickup is “from $125-$175 per household to pickup hazardous materials and metal. We are not programmed to do en masse pickup like we do with vegetation.”
The contract for debris pickup between Waycross/Ware County and Crowder Gulf is for vegetation pickup and disposal only.
“We’re trying to figure out the most affordable, most efficient way to pick up things like roof tiles and building materials which might have lead paint on it,” said Rayford. “How can we pick all that up without burdening the citizens and figure out a way to dispose of it? It costs a lot of money to get rid of hazardous material.
“We are working on it. We don’t want to make a decision until we have all the facts. Please, just be patient. Once we get a way to dispose of it properly and get those costs down, you’ll get information first hand.”
The city is also taking preventative measures for upcoming weather events by using long arm saws to trim tree limbs which are a hazard to power and cable lines.
During the report, Rayford explained various methods the city uses to communicate with citizens.
The primary means are the bimonthly commission work sessions and meetings. Work sessions are held the first and third Mondays of the month at 5 p.m., at City Hall at 517 Pendleton Street. Commission meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m., in City Hall.
“I recommend citizens come to those meetings, especially the work sessions,” said Rayford. “That is when we have all our discussions.”
