Albany officials amend wrecker towing policy

ALBANY — Albany city commissioners voted Tuesday to revise the city’s non-preference wrecker towing policy to a “two-tiered” system that will require emergency personnel to determine whether towing equipment significant enough to remove heavy vehicles involved is needed at accident sites.

The new policy will allow towing companies to operate and be a part of the city’s emergency rotation without purchasing towing equipment powerful enough to remove such vehicles as semis. The vote came despite Albany Fire Department Chief Ron Rowe’s recommendation to utilize a “one-tier” system that would require all companies in the rotation to purchase the heavy equipment.

“We’ll be able to work with either of these policies that you vote on,” Rowe told commissioners in a pre-meeting briefing. “But our recommendation is that we have a ‘one-tiered’ system. It has nothing to do with individual towing companies but with our ability to clear the road after an accident. A one-tiered system would take the human element out of the process.

“With a two-tiered system, E-911 personnel who are not on the scene must determine whether they should call a provider that has heavy equipment or one that does not. There will be errors.”

The wrecker policy became a hot-button topic when Commissioner Bobby Coleman pushed to allow companies without required equipment to operate, citing his desire for “inclusion.” Commissioner Roger Marietta opened the discussion about the policy change Tuesday in the pre-briefing when he said he wanted to change his support to a two-tiered system because “the fire department doesn’t care which one we support.”

Rowe quickly responded Marietta’s comment.

“I’ve told you that we can work with whichever option you decide, but we definitely do care,” the fire chief said. “Our priority is to move vehicles from an accident scene as quickly as possible. That’s what we’re charged with. We recommended the single-tier policy because it gives us the quickest response time.”

Asked by Commissioner Bob Langstaff if he’d found other cities that use such a two-tier approach, Rowe said he’d researched “from Texas east” and had not found another city that did.

The issue has driven a competitive wedge between wrecker services in the city, with companies that have followed city requirements by purchasing the expensive heavy equipment saying it’s not fair for other companies to get away with not meeting those requirements. Some estimates say such heavy towing equipment can cost as much as $250,000.

Langstaff expressed concern during a work meeting that, with ownership of the heavy equipment taken off the table, local wrecker companies that owned such equipment could sell it, leaving the city with no service capable of moving wrecked heavy vehicles.

When Commissioner B.J. Fletcher suggested the two-tiered system appeared to offer “the best of both worlds” for smaller and larger companies, she asked Rowe, “Am I looking at this wrong?”

The fire chief responded, “Yes, you are, if you want me to be perfectly blunt.”

Rowe reiterated the need for quick removal of wrecked vehicles, leading Commissioner Tommy Postell to remark that a one-tiered system would be a “monopoly that would be put in place to satisfy the fire department.”

Rowe responded, “You’re not satisfying the fire department, you’re satisfying the fire department’s ability to do what we’re charged to do.”

Still, the board voted 5-1-1 to approve the two-tiered system with Langstaff voting against and Coleman abstaining.

Also at the meeting, the board:

— OK’d alcohol licenses for Cheddar’s Casual Cafe at 1111 N. Westover Blvd., the Sandtrap Bar and Lounge at 1412 Radium Springs Road, and Elements Coffee Co. at 2726 Ledo Road;

— Voted to roll back the city’s millage rate to account for changes in the countywide tax digest;

— Approved plans to restructure the Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority and Downtown Development Authority boards;

— Declared the Hampton East Apartment Complex property at 1336 Mercantile Drive surplus property to facilitate a $1.1 million sale of the property to Flint River Salvage;

— Gave City Manager Sharon Subadan and staff authority to move forward with planning of a joint city/county recreation complex adjacent to the Paul Eames Sports Complex;

— Reached agreements for professional services with judges Willie Weaver and Ralph Scoccimaro;

— Established a 120-day moratorium on outdoor vending regulations in the Riverfront District;

— Approved the city’s SPLOST VII projects list and an intergovernmental agreement with the Dougherty County Commission to move that process forward; and

— Agreed to a memorandum of understanding with Pretoria Fields LLC that will allow Dr. Tripp Morgan to move forward with construction of a craft brewery downtown.