Day: September 15, 2026

The Odum City Council met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 1, 2026.  Mayor Greg Leggett called the meeting to order and Clerk, Robbin Manners prayed the invocation.  Kevin Higgs, Kelsey Baker, and Nick Bauer were present for the meeting.  Kathy Rozier and Ron Sluder were absent.

Kevin Higgs made a motion to accept the August 2026 minutes as emailed.  Nick Bauer made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 3-0 vote.

There were no committee reports given.

Mayor Leggett informed the council of upcoming meetings that they may be interested in attending.  The GDOT Quarterly meeting, The GMA District Fall Meeting are coming up and he called on Clerk Robbin Manners to give information on the 2026 Tax Timeline and the City Christmas Party Plans.

There were no guest present for the meeting.

Old Business:

Clerk Robbin Manners updated the council on the current SLFRF Grant.  She informed them that we are waiting for the final drawdown and then we will be closing out the Grant.  All work has been completed.

Bids were opened on purchasing doors for the Odum City Gym and the Multipurpose Building on North Church Street.  After a brief discussion Kevin Higgs made a motion to accept the bid from Murphy’s Builder Supply (the only bid submitted) and to purchase the doors at a cost of $7510.96.  The purchase will be made from SPLOST V Funds.  Kelsea Baker made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 3-0 vote.

Bids were opened on Installation of the Doors at the Odum City Gym and the Multipurpose Building on North Church St.  After a brief discussion Kelsea Baker made a motion to accept and approve the Bid from Richard Thompson Home Solutions (the only bid submitted) at a cost of $7000.00 and to pay for the installation with SPLOST V Funds. Nick Bauer made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 3-0 vote.

Bids for erecting a Shelter over the stage area of the Odum Depot were opened at this time.  After a brief discussion, Kevin Higgs made a motion to accept and approve the bid from Richard Thompson Home Solutions (the only bid submitted) at a cost of $7,800 and to pay for the shelter out of SPLOST V Funds.  Kelsea Baker made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 3-0 vote.

At this time, Mayor Greg Leggett informed the council that they needed to have a work session to review some ordinance that are over 25 years old to see if they needed to be updated and to also update some of the City of Odum Polices and discuss some new policies.  After a brief discussion, the date and time were set to hold the Work Session on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026 at 5:00pm at City Hall.

At this time, Clerk Robbin Manners, read the corrections that the council suggested for the New Water and Sewer Rates and Ordinance and read the ordinance with corrections for the 2^nd time.  After a brief discussion, Nick Bauer made a motion to approve the new ordinance with the appropriate changes and to approve the new water and sewer rates as suggested by Georgia Rural Water.  The change will go in to affect beginning with the Feb. 2027 billing period for January 2027 Water and Sewer usage. Residential Customers can expect an approx. increase of $4.00 per month.  Kelsea Baker made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 2-1 vote.  Bauer and Baker voting yes and Higgs voting no.

At this time, Mayor Leggett presented prices for placing blinds on the windows at the Odum Recreation Center as requested by the Election Supervisor, Robby Smart.  The blinds will reassure the public that all voters will have privacy when voting at the Odum Precinct.  After a discussion it was decided to go with Mini blinds.  The clerk was asked to order the 12 blinds at a cost of approx… $50 each and have the maintenance workers install them before the election in November.

New Business

The Mayor informed the council that the City had been approached about declaring Nov, 2026 Family Court Awareness Month.  After a discussion, Mayor Greg Leggett asked the clerk, Robbin Manners to draw up the resolution and have it in the Oct. Meeting.

With nothing further to attend, Kevin Higgs made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Nick Bauer made a second to the motion and the motion was carried with a 3- vote.  The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully,

The Odum City Council met for its regularly scheduled meeting on August 4, 2026 at 7pm at Odum City Hall.  Mayor Greg Leggett opened the meeting and prayed the invocation.  Kathy Rozier, Kevin Higgs, Kelsey Baker, and Nick Bauer were present for the meeting.  Ron Sluder was absent.

Nick Bauer made a motion to accept the minutes from the June 2026 meeting as e-mailed.  Kelsey Baker made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 3-0 vote.  Kevin Higgs did not attend the June meeting and therefore did not vote.

Committee Reports:

Kathy Rozier reported that as of today the City has $976.25 in outstanding taxes due.  This is for past years including 2025.

Kelsey Baker had nothing to report.

Kevin Higgs had nothing to report.

Nick Bauer had nothing to report.

Leon McKinney reported that he gotten some information on changing the speed limit on North Church St. coming into the City Limit.  He read some of the steps for getting the speed limit changed.  After a brief discussion, the council advised him to find out if the City would be responsible for paying the engineering fees for the studies that are required and if so an estimate of those fees.

Ms. Barbara Randall came before the Council on behalf of her niece who is currently in the hospital and having a hardship paying her water bill.  After a discussion Kelsey Baker made a motion to give the niece a payment arrangement to bring and keep her account current and to waive any other late fees until the bill is caught up.   Kathy Rozier made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote.

Robby Smart, Wayne County Elections Supervisor, asked the council to consider putting up blinds on the windows at the recreation where elections are held because the State Board of Elections was pushing “Privacy in voting”.  After a discussion the council advised the clerk to look into the options and cost of making the windows more private and bring it back to the council in Sept.  Mr. Smart also reminded the council that beginning in January 2027, they should all be registered with the State Ethics Board and should begin submitting their own Campaign Contribution Reports and Personal Financial Disclosures. 

Mr. Bill Powell from Georgia Rural Water gave a presentation on Water and Sewer Rate Analysis and gave the Council an idea of where the City of Odum’s charges should be to keep up with the rising cost of producing water and processing sewer.  He presented a new ordinance that would list all charges and requirements for the Customers.  The Council was advised to take the ordinance home and review it for any needed changes and to bring those to the next council meeting. 

After a brief discussion about replacing doors on the Odum City Gym, Nick Bauer made a motion to place and ad to accept bids for the cost of the doors and the installation of the doors.  Bids will be opened at the next meeting.

After a discussion about building a shelter over the stage at the depot, Kevin Higgs made a motion to place an ad to accept bids on both a permanent shelter and one that would be temporary and could be easily removed when not in use.  Nick Bauer made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote.  Bids will be opened at the Sept. Council Meeting.

At this time, Robbin Manners, went over the 2025-2026 budget amendments.   Kathy Rozier made a motion to amend the budget as proposed.  Kevin Higgs made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote. 

Mayor Greg Leggett talked to the council about Municipal Insurance which is due Sept. 4, 2026.  After a brief discussion, Nick Bauer made a motion to waive the bid process and stay with our current provider.  Kevin Higgs made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote.

Mayor Greg Leggett advised the council that they needed to have a work session to update a few ordinances and policies.  The council asked for a week night session.  The mayor will set the date and notify the council.

Mayor Greg Leggett informed the council that Ebony Smith had given her resignation as part-time police clerk.  He informed the council that Ebony would stay on until the end of August and would help train her replacement.  He noted that Ebony had been a big help to the City of Odum and that he wished her well.

Kevin Higgs made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Nick Bauer made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote.

With nothing further to attend, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Odum City Council met for its regular monthly meeting on July 7, 2026 at Odum City Hall.  Mayor Greg Leggett called the meeting to order and prayed the invocation.  Ron Sluder, Kevin Higgs, Kathy Rozier and Nick Bauer were present for the meeting.  Kelsey Baker was absent.

Ron Sluder made a motion to approve the minutes from the May 2026 meeting as emailed.  Nick Bauer made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 3-0 vote.  (Kathy Rozier was not present for the May meeting and did not vote.)

Committee Reports:

Ron Sluder reported that he had met with DNR concerning grants to renovate the Recreation Complex.  He introduced Shy Duncan who informed the Council that there are a couple of grants that may help us with the renovations.  One of them is the Coastal Incentive Grant which she suggested we use for the planning stage if we are approved and the other is the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program which she suggested we use for the Construction Phase of the project if approved. Both Grants have a pre-application due date in late fall of this year. 

Kathy Rozier reported that there is $2,762.20 in outstanding taxes owed to the City of Odum. 

Kevin Higgs had nothing to report.

Nick Bauer had nothing to report.

Fire Chief Matthew Strickland reported that the 2 ½“   fire hoses have been ordered but have not come in yet.  He submitted pictures of the Air Compressor that he talked to the Council about last month.  After a brief discussion, Kevin Higgs made a motion to purchase the Air Compressor from Mr. Strickland.  Ron Sluder made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote.

Leon McKinney reported that he had been in correspondence with FLOCKSAFTEY and they are in the final stages of getting our cameras installed.

At this time Mayor Greg Leggett introduced County Commissioner Mike Gordon.  Commissioner Gordon talked to the council about a new tax law and how it would affect the Citizens of Wayne County and asked the council to consider all the options and let him know how they felt about the new tax.  He gave 3 different directions the County could decide to go and their differences. The options are to adopt House bill 581 known as FLOST (Floating Local Option Sales Tax) or LHOST (Local Homestead Sales Tax) or keeping taxes the same as they are now.

Mayor Greg Leggett tabled the first 2 items on the Old Business and called on Mr. Aubrey Mansfield to give a report on the SLFRF Project.  He stated that the project is almost complete except building a shelter over the electric panel and we should be ready to close out the grant in August.

At this time Clerk Robbin Manners presented the proposed General Fund Budget for 2026-2027 (this is the 2^nd presentation).  After a brief discussion Kathy Rozier made a motion to accept the budget as proposed.  Nick Bauer made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote.  The 2026-2027 General Fund budget is $374,910.00

Next, Clerk Robbin Manners presented the proposed Water and Sewer Budget for 2026-2027 (this is the 2^nd presentation).  After a brief discussion Ron Sluder made a motion to accept the budget as presented.  Kevin Higgs made a 2^nd to the motion and the motion carried with a 4-0 vote.  The 2026-2027 Water and Sewer budget is $205,286.94.

New Business

In new business, there were 2 items on the agenda.  After a brief discussion of these items, they were tabled until estimates could be obtained.  They will be placed on the agenda for next month.  They were doors for the City Gym and an awning for the Depot.

Kevin Higgs made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Ron Sluder made a second to the motion and the motion carried with a 4+0 vote.

With nothing further to attend, Mayor Greg Leggett adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully Submitted,