Higgston City Council to Hold Special Election

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The city of Higgston will be holding a special election in the coming weeks as Mayor Donna Powell announced to the Council that Councilman Mason Powell submitted his resignation during the regular monthly meeting of the Council on Tuesday, March 19.

The young councilman submitted his resignation through a formal letter, which he left for the administration to read in his absence. In the letter, Powell stated that his resignation would be effective immediately. He did not share why he decided to resign.

The date of the special election to fill the now-vacated seat will be held within the next few weeks, as Mayor Powell did not share the anticipated qualifying or voting dates.

Also, at the meeting, the Council discussed the possibility of moving its monthly meeting dates from the third Tuesday of each month to the fourth Tuesday of the each month to allow the city attorney to be present during meetings. Currently, the city attorney serves both Uvalda and Higgston, and is unable to attend meetings to answer any questions or share information on legal procedures, but shared if the meeting date was changed, he would attend. A formal vote will occur on this matter at the next meeting on April 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Council members approved allowing the city attorney to consult with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regarding the possible usages of a grant received last year. The grant was approved by the Council’s previous administration to be used to install a splash pad at the Higgston City Park. Yet, Mayor Powell said that the city attorney would not allow the money to be spent without a document from the DNR detailing how the funding could be used. Mayor Powell told the Council that she had spoken with the DNR several times but had no success obtaining the grant document and now believes that the city attorney should speak with the DNR representatives to learn more about the matter.

The Council also approved delaying payment to contractor Danny Shepherd for his work on the Higgston City Park parking lot, which he began and then halted after confusion arose regarding the DNR grant. The leaders discussed the possibility of using other funds to pay the $4,200 debt and voted to direct the city attorney to look into other funding resources. The issue will be discussed again at the next meeting.