The Columbus Consolidated Government wishes to inform the public that the upcoming city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 23rd at 5:30 p.m. and July 30th at 9:00 a.m. will be held at the Muscogee County School District Public Education Building in the Board Meeting Room. As a result, the City Council Meeting will not be broadcast live on television but will be rebroadcast on the usual CCG-TV rebroadcast schedule. However, the meeting will be broadcast live on the CCG-TV YouTube channel. This temporary change is due to scheduled upgrades and/or replacement of existing equipment for CCG-TV in the city council chambers.

These upgrades are part of a comprehensive effort to enhance the facilities and capabilities of CCG-TV, including upgrades to the studios, control room, council chambers, council conference room, lobby, and community room. These improvements will ensure improved production quality and reliability for future broadcasts and community programming.

These scheduled upgrades will ensure that residents and stakeholders can still access and participate in the council's proceedings despite occasional broadcast interruption on traditional television platforms.

To view the July 23, 2024, city council meeting live, please visit https://www.youtube.com/live/Y_ekYpjDI3g?si=51rvsMXx7hJYokln. The recording will remain available for later viewing on the same platform and rebroadcast on CCG-TV.

The upgraded broadcast system is expected to be fully operational by August 2, 2024, enabling residents to experience the improved quality starting from the next council meeting on August 13, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.

We apologize for any inconvenience as we work to improve your viewing experience on CCG-TV.

Wednesday, July 24th, the 11th Street underpass from 7th Avenue to 10th Avenue will be closed from 9 AM to 3 PM for lighting repairs. Please plan to utilize alternate routes during this time.

Drivers are encouraged to proceed with caution in the area of the road closure and detour route. All questions regarding the closure should be directed to Blake Papenfuss at Papenfuss.marcus@columbusga.org or (706) 617-7185

Columbus Animal Care & Control announces their new campaign, “Come Save Me”.

Columbus Animal Care and Control will feature six (6) pictures and profiles of their longest residents to help them find their forever home. Anyone that chooses to adopt one of the featured animals will be able to adopt at a reduced rate of $50.00.

The “Come Save Me” campaign is an ongoing effort to save the lives of every animal that enters the Columbus Animal Care and Control Shelter, and they need the help of the community to make this happen.

If you are looking for a new pet or have room for another pet in your home, please consider adopting from Columbus Animal Care and Control. These babies deserve a loving family and home so why not let it be yours?

If you have questions about adoptions or any of the animals you see, please contact the office at 706.225.4512 or visit us in person at 4910 Milgen Road, Columbus, GA 31907.

Columbus Animal Care & Control would also like to remind everyone to have their animal(s) microchipped. A tiny microchip, placed under the skin of a pet, gives that pet their own unique code that can be scanned and matched to the owners’ contact details. If your animal(s) is/are microchipped, please remember to update your address in the microchip company registry if you move. If your animal(s) is/are not microchipped, please speak with your veterinarian, or reach out to Columbus Animal Care and Control at 706.225.4512 for details of how you can get your animal(s) microchipped.

Effective Monday, September 9, 2024, “All Household Waste must be in a city issued Black or Brown City Issued Cart”. All bulk waste that is not in the City issued, Black or Brown Cart, will require citizens to call 311 for a scheduled pickup. Scheduled pick-ups may occur on the same day as your household waste collection day or on a different day.

Making this change will eliminate the need for a second, antiquated truck with driver and two inmates, to follow the automated side loading truck to collect the ground trash that the side loading truck is unable to collect. Also, this change will allow the drivers of the second truck to return to yard waste collection, resulting in the elimination of waste collection drivers working six days per week/10 hours each day for 60 hours each week.

Our current collection system is inefficient, expensive and exhausting for our waste collection operators. This new policy/collection process will help with retention, will allow our Waste Collection division to implement the best industry standard for waste collection that is used in progressive cities across the country, reduce excessive overtime expense, and will allow our Operators to spend more time with their families.

Note: Residents who have requested to purchase a Brown Cart will start to receive them via delivery on Saturday, July 20, 2024, and in the following weeks. The $55.00 cost for the cart will be added to a future water bill received from the Columbus Water Works.

Residential Yard Waste: There is no change in the yard waste policy. However, yard waste pickup will return to your normal day effective September 9, 2024. If your original day was on Monday or Tuesday, your collection day will return to a Monday or Tuesday, no Wednesday collection. If your original day was on Thursday or Friday, your collection day will return to Thursday or Friday, no Saturday collection. Again, this change is effective Monday, September 9, 2024.

Note: A second cart system for yard waste will be offered soon. We will be ordering additional yard waste carts. Once those carts are received, the second yard waste cart system/policy will be implemented.

Bulk solid waste as well as bulk yard waste/large piles will require a call to 311 for a requested scheduled pickup. If the bulk yard waste is a cut down tree, a request for a Tree for Fee pick up is required. Our policy will not allow this type of collection without the resident requesting and authorizing the Tree for Fee Collection. As a reminder, all limbs cut for the city to collect must be no longer than four (4) feet in length and no wider than six (6) inches in diameter. Any limbs exceeding these dimensions will not be collected.

There is no change in the tree for fee policy/pickup:

Each load will cost $50.00 plus the cumulative weight of each load at $34.00 per ton. Summary: Effective Monday, September 9, 2024, the residential household waste policy will require all household waste to be in an authorized Black or Brown City issued Cart, or it will not be collected. Citizens will need to call 311 each time for a scheduled pickup of bulk waste outside the cart. These special pickups will occur on the same day as your household collection or another scheduled day. Citizens wanting to purchase a second cart (brown cart) for residential household waste at a cost of $55.00 can do so by calling 311. There is no additional charge to collect from the second cart/brown cart purchased from the city. Citizens who have requested a Brown Cart/second cart will start to receive delivery of the Brown Cart this Saturday and next week. The cost of the Brown Cart will be added to your water bill in the coming weeks.

Qualified low-income residents who have applied and been approved, based on Federal Government Poverty Guidelines, will be eligible for a brown city issued household waste cart at no additional cost. Please call 311, if a second cart is needed. The cart is not transferrable and will be retrieved if the non-transferrable cart policy is violated.

Note: A second cart system/policy for yard waste will be offered soon.

There is a nationwide technology issue affecting various companies. While there is one company involved in this issue that we do not directly use, some of our vendors do, resulting in certain services being down this morning. This problem is impacting PCs and other Windows-based devices.

City affected departments are as follows:

• Finance, Inspections
• Engineering, and Planning 
• Viewing of Public Tax Records 
• Fire Department and Finance Revenue 
• Tax Commissioner/Tag Office

All vendors are aware of the issue and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We will continue to update the affected departments as new information becomes available.

Columbus Animal Care & Control announces their new campaign, “Come Save Me”.

Columbus Animal Care and Control will feature six (6) pictures and profiles of their longest residents to help them find their forever home. Anyone that chooses to adopt one of the featured animals will be able to adopt at a reduced rate of $50.00.

The “Come Save Me” campaign is an ongoing effort to save the lives of every animal that enters the Columbus Animal Care and Control Shelter, and they need the help of the community to make this happen.

If you are looking for a new pet or have room for another pet in your home, please consider adopting from Columbus Animal Care and Control. These babies deserve a loving family and home so why not let it be yours?

If you have questions about adoptions or any of the animals you see, please contact the office at 706.225.4512 or visit us in person at 4910 Milgen Road, Columbus, GA 31907.

Columbus Animal Care & Control would also like to remind everyone to have their animal(s) microchipped. A tiny microchip, placed under the skin of a pet, gives that pet their own unique code that can be scanned and matched to the owners’ contact details. If your animal(s) is/are microchipped, please remember to update your address in the microchip company registry if you move. If your animal(s) is/are not microchipped, please speak with your veterinarian, or reach out to Columbus Animal Care and Control at 706.225.4512 for details of how you can get your animal(s) microchipped.

The Columbus-Phenix City Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization (C-PCTS MPO) is updating its Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) to reflect transportation infrastructure and policy needs through horizon year 2050. The MPO study area all of the City of Columbus/Muscogee County, Chattahoochee County, Fort Moore, and a portion of Harris County in Georgia plus the City of Phenix City, the City of Smiths Station, and parts of Lee and Russell Counties in Alabama. The study area boundary is depicted below.

The plan will address operating conditions and improvement recommendations for all modes of transportation including roadway, transit, bicycles, and pedestrians. The MTP will include short and long-term strategies and actions for the development of an integrated transportation system to facilitate the movement of people and goods. Throughout the MTP update process, stakeholder and community involvement is vital to ensure the development of a plan which achieves comprehensive and equitable transportation investment throughout the study area.

The community is encouraged to attend a public meeting to offer input into goals for the plan and to review identified deficiencies focused on roadway operations, capacity, and connectivity. Conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians plus issues related to rail crossings and the need for increased public transportation will also be discussed. Please make plans to attend the public meeting and visit https://planningatpond.com/columbus-phenix-citymtp to record transportation concerns on the interactive map and to complete a survey on transportation needs and opportunities!

C-PCTS MPO Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update Public Meeting

August 1, 2024 5:00-7:00 PM Columbus Public Library – Synovus Room 3000 Macon Road Columbus, GA 3190

– BISSELL Pet Foundation, a national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending pet homelessness, is prompting a national call for adoption once again this spring with its Empty the Shelters reduced-fee adoption event July 8-31. Columbus Animal Care and Control will participate along with more than 390 shelters in 44 states. To help deserving shelter pets find loving homes, BISSELL Pet Foundation sponsors reduced adoption fees of $50 or less per cat or dog during each nationwide event.

Columbus Animal Care and Control Will participate July 8-31 at 4910 Milgen Road, Columbus GA, offering reduced adoption fees of $50 for dogs and cats. All interested adopters can find more details online at https://www.columbusga.gov/animalcontrol.

The Lower Chattahoochee Workforce Development Board has appointed Dr. Valerie Richardson to the position of Director of WIOA. An accomplished leader with a track record of success and over a decade of experience in workforce development and community engagement, Valerie brings a fresh perspective to this critical role.

The City of Columbus and the Lower Chattahoochee Workforce Development Board conducted a national search to fill the WIOA Director’s position. The recruitment process was highly competitive, and the leading applicants went through an extensive selection process resulting in Valerie Richardson being the recommended candidate. Valerie will start in this new role on August 1.

We are pleased to announce that CPCTS MPO is developing the Metropolitan Transportation Plan MTP for the Columbus-Phenix City region. The MTP is a comprehensive framework that will address all modes of transportation, including walking, biking, transit, freight, and driving. This plan will determine how to achieve the region's transportation goals over a planning horizon of 20 years or more. The MTP process will result in a prioritized list of projects that improve mobility and access for people and goods.

We invite you to stay updated on the project documents, meeting dates, and other opportunities to share feedback on this central hub for the MTP process. We encourage you to check back often for information on new activities and public meetings.

METRA is excited to announce the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for our brand-new Linwood Park & Ride location. This is a 28-space, free public parking lot with 2 EV charging stations, 1 bike repair station, 1 bike shelter, benches, decorative rod iron fencing, and plenty of greenery, including the addition of 10 trees to our City’s tree canopy. Please join us on Friday, June 14, 2024, at 11 a.m. at 900 Linwood Blvd. as we celebrate the Linwood Park & Ride’s grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony