Albany City Commission opts out of SGRITA agreement

ALBANY — With Tuesday’s municipal election in the rearview mirror, the Albany City Commission got back down to business Wednesday morning with a special called meeting and a rescheduled work session.

The called business meeting was necessary because of a pending deadline related to the city’s involvement with the South Georgia Regional Information Technology Authority. The city has a Dec. 9 “opt-out” deadline written into its original agreement with SGRITA that requires 30 days’ notice. Failure to opt out of the agreement by Monday would have obligated the city to its original agreement for a period of 25 years.

“I believe it’s in our best interest to opt out of the original agreement and negotiate a new agreement that’s more equitable to the city,” City Manager Sharon Subadan said. “We want to continue our relationship with SGRITA, and the resolution I’m recommending today will allow us to opt out of the original agreement and give me the authority to negotiate a new agreement that I would bring back to this body.”

Ward IV Commissioner Roger Marietta, after asking if Dougherty County is a part of the SGRITA collective and being told it is not, said he wants to see improved Internet capabilities in Albany.

“I’m more interested in seeing wireless capability in downtown Albany,” Marietta said. “I agree that it’s to the greater good to help SGRITA, but I’d like to have an agreement spelled out that we provide free wireless downtown to help the poor with smartphones to search for job opportunities.”

The commission voted 5-0 to opt out of the agreement. Commissioners Jon Howard and Tommie Postell were out of town attending a meeting on Wednesday.

Subadan said the city is working to improve its fiber optic capabilities separate from the SGRITA agreement.

“The SGRITA project has done a couple of things: It’s shown us that we’re capable of taking on and completing a large-scale project, and it’s taken us into a new market area for our fiber services,” the city manager said. “Separate of that, it is our intent to expand our fiber capabilities in the city. We will have access to high-speed Internet.”

Mayor Dorothy Hubbard noted that the SGRITA board was aware of the city’s plan to opt out of its initial agreement with the collective and negotiate a new agreement.

During Wednesday’s brief work meeting, the commission gave tentative approval — pending a final vote at its November business meeting — to travel expenses and OK’d Utility Board recommendations on purchases for the utilities Light Division. And, as they had at the Dougherty County Commission’s Monday meeting, Albany Police Department Chief Michael Persley, Dougherty Sheriff Kevin Sproul and Dougherty County Police Chief Jackie Battle introduced new Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit Commander Maj. Prurince Dice to the board.

Marietta asked Subadan to place expansion of the city’s local bid preference to include the entire Metropolitan Statistical Area and to start discussion of lowering utilities rates in the city on future commission agendas.