The Washington city government met in a retreat last week to get updates, and vote to move ahead, on several projects and initiatives ranging from remodeling the community center to redeveloping an entire section of Washington.

In the rural setting of the fellowship hall at Ficklen Presbyterian Church, Mayor Willie E. Burns met with council members Pamela L. G. Eaton, Rev. G.L. Avery, Anna Norman, Ray Hardy, Nathaniel Cullars, and Maceo Mahoney; along with City Administrator Mike Eskew, City Attorney Barry Fleming, and City Clerk Debbie Danner.

For the first part of the retreat, Wilkes County Commission Chairman Sam Moore and County Clerk David Tyler were participating guests.

A single citizen attended to keep an eye on his government at work.

The day opened with a presentation by Michael Jones on the preliminary plans for the remodeling and improvements to be made to the Edward B. Pope Community Center. The long-studied plans would raise the capacity of the center to 500, adding four meeting rooms for 50 to 75 people each. Other changes the remodeling will see include enclosing the hallway, building a new entranceway, reducing the size of the stage, and adding a complete sound system. A marquee sign on the street and an enlargement of the parking lot are also in the plan.

The renovation has a preliminary budget of $640,000.

After the presentation and extensive discussion, the council voted to proceed from the concept stage to full construction drawings of the building, so that bids can be let by May. Council members agreed that local contractors would be used as much as possible.

Next, Andy Crosson, executive director of the CSRA Regional Development Center gave a presentation to the city leaders about studies and initiatives the RDC was undertaking on behalf of Washington and Wilkes County.

The RDC is conducting a complete housing assessment, he said, of all the residences in the city of Washington. When the data is compiled it will be made available to address needs in the area. The housing assessment will open up other funding opportunities.

To illustrate the amount of data that had been compiled, Crosson went into extensive detail comparing Wilkes County to its surrounding neighbors: workforce, unemployment, per capita income, family size, spending potential, and more.

Crosson updated the leaders on various local projects in which the RDC had been active, such as financing the Fitzpatrick Hotel, community development block grants, One Georgia grants, services for the aging, and loan programs.

Christian Lentz of the RDC brought the city leaders up to date on joint planning initiatives and on redevelopment plans for the Whitehall corridor.

Lentz discussed the state Department of Community Affairs requirement for cities and counties to update their joint planning initiatives by June 2007, requiring that a comprehensive plan, a solid waste management plan, and a service delivery plan be in place by then.

Completion of the plans allows local governments to retain their "qualified local government" status, which in turn allows access to state grant and loan programs. It also help the local governments guide their growth and development over the next 10 years.

The leaders discussed various aspects of the joint planning initiative, especially the service delivery strategy, which is expected to be contentious.

Lentz then went on to discuss the redevelopment plan for the southwest portion of Washington under the Georgia Urban Redevelopment Act. The plan will look at housing redevelopment opportunities, addressing nuisance properties, improving the appearance of gateways to the city, and using the process to promote economic development and job creation.

After an extensive presentation and discussion about the redevelopment plan, the leaders moved on to the city's potential use of prisoner labor from the soon-to-open Wilkes Facility of the Whitworth Parole Center.

City Administrator Eskew said that the city would be able to obtain from the Wilkes County Board of Education two of their cast-off small buses to transport the prisoners. The prison would modify the buses for prisoner transport at cost, and the city could make use of 10 to 12 prisoners, four days a week, for $38,000 per annum.

The leaders extensively discussed prisoner work schedules, supervision, and the effect on city employees.

In a related issue, Eskew brought up the matter of paying the $165,000 cost of extending water and sewer lines to the prison site. With the debt coming due in August, he said, he had discussed with county officials the possibility of gradually retiring that debt.

After discussion, the council agreed to begin paying on an annual basis to retire the city's portion of that debt.

The city leaders next turned their attention to the International Paper property that local governments had been trying to purchase for years. After ignoring all offers and attempts at highlevel intercession, IP said two months ago that it would be willing to entertain an offer from the Payroll Development Authority, Eskew said.

A One Georgia grant will be requested, he said, to cover the purchase the property and he, Mayor Burns, County Commissioner Sam Moore, and County Clerk David Tyler were meeting with state officials at the end of the month.

The PDA has sent International Paper $25,000 in earnest money for the transaction, and council members voted to pay the county for the city's half of that money.

The city leaders also discussed the possible sale of city land off Skull Shoals Road. The council agreed to have a forester get an assessment of the value of the property so that it could be properly priced.

Leaders also reviewed individual internal assessments of their actions in light of a group of core beliefs that the council members agreed to in a retreat two years ago.

A review of the city's wireless internet service, discussion on adopting the GMA's "City of Ethics" standards, city workmen's comp insurance, and further discussion of the joint city/county service delivery strategy concluded the retreat.