By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
City to get wireless internet
Placeholder Image

The Dawsonville City Council has approved a contract for wireless Internet service and voted to reconsider two landscape bids.

The council voted 3-0 on Dec. 17 to approve a contract with the wireless provider Appalachian Broadband Technologies (ABT), based in Cleveland.

In January, ABT is scheduled tobegin the installation of receiver antennas on water towers at the historic cemetery in downtown Dawsonville and at Burts Crossing.

Service may be available to residents in mid- to late January, officials said.

We have people already begging to be signed up, Mayor James Grogan said. (City Attorney) Dana (Miles), Rich and I have been working on this agreement for some time. Its been revised a few times, and were confident in what we have.

According to the contract, the city agrees to pay for the energy cost for running the broadcast/rebroadcast points. And the city will share the cost with ABT associated with the provision and installation of poles or towers (where applicable) at those locations, to include any fees and/or building permits. ...

For each residential subscriber, the city earns $2 per month or 5 percent of the monthly billing. For each commercial subscriber, the city earns 5 percent of gross monthly commercial billing.

ABT agrees to maintain a general liability policy of $3 million during the terms of the agreement, which are for one year from the time Grogan signs the contract. The agreement automatically renews in one-year increments unless the city or ABT terminates the agreement.

In other action, the council:

Voted to consider at its Jan. 6meeting two earlier landscape bids from Hughes-Ray Company, Inc., and Premier Landscape. The vote was 2-0-1 with Council Members Jason Power and Mike Sosebee voting in favor; Angie Smith was absent, and Chris Gaines recused himself because of a relationship with Premier. Confusion over the citys Request for Proposal (RFP) left both bidders and at least one council member unsure of the projects scope. I was way off, Powers said. I was under the impression that the bids were for actual construction costs. I didnt realize it was for the architect work for the landscape (design). Peter Hill, president of Hill Design Associates Architects Inc. and a member of the Steering Committee for the Revitalization of Downtown Dawsonville, helped clarify the process for council members during the Dec. 17 meeting. Design costs are done first, then construction costs after, Hill said. At the Jan. 6meeting, the council again may reject the two lowest bids, accept them and award the design services contract, or start over by issuing a new, clearer RFP, according to City Attorney Dana Miles.

Awarded a $16,859 contract for sidewalk construction to the lowest bidder, B & B Construction. The project is funded in part with a LMIG (Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant) of approximately $17,000, with the city matching 30 percent of the cost. Total project cost is just under $21,000, according to City Clerk Bonnie Warne. The sidewalk project begins at Tucker Road on Shoal Creek and comes all the way up Shoal Creek and ties into the old courthouse, Grogan said.

Approved renewal of a long-standing contract with the state Environmental Protection Division for voluntary drinking water testing services. The service tests for coliform E. coli.