Grayson City Council Approves Comcast Settlement, Elects New Mayor Pro Tem

The Grayson City Council and mayor met Tuesday (Jan. 21) for their first meeting of 2014. 

It was also the first meeting held by the new mayor, Allison Wilkerson, and two new councilmembers, Trent Arnold and Linda Jenkins. 

Here's a breakdown of the evening's events: 

-The council approved 4-0 the settlement agreement between the city and Comcast that Grayson had been tackling for months. 

According to City Clerk Laura Paul-Cone, Grayson residents who are also Comcast subscribers pay a franchise fee, or rent, for the right-of-way where the company has wired its cables. This fee is supposed to go to the city of Grayson, but, as former Mayor Jim Hinkle discovered last year with his own bill, Gwinnett County has been getting these funds from certain residents. Grayson had originally projected that it would receive nearly $30,000 in the settlement, but the figure ended up being $9,697 due to the fact that the actual number of Grayson residents who are Comcast subscribers was fewer than expected. 

-Councilwoman Laurie Anderson was unanimously voted to be the city's new Mayor Pro Tem. 

-The council also approved for the mayor and city clerk to sign the Main Street Georgia Memorandum of Understanding.

-The contract for Eagle Secure Shredding was approved so the company can shred old city documents. 

-The city of Grayson recently approved the purchase of a mobile stage from Loganville, so this month, the council approved plans to move forward with repairing the stage. They plan to paint the stage and add a skirt on the bottom in time for Grayson Days in April. 

-Finally, the council approved a monthly $70 expense to Jim Moff, the city's code enforcement officer, as reimbursement for half of his cell phone bill regarding city business.