During their regularly scheduled meeting Monday, May 7, the Waco City Council approved renovations and upgrades to the interior and exterior of the fire station.

The council approved a resolution awarding the work to Steve Wilson, who estimated he could complete the upgrades for $4, 375. The renovations include exterior work on the trim and paint as well as the eaves and eave vents. Interior work will include replacing the bottom cabinets in the kitchen, replacing the sinks and faucets in the bathroom and kitchen, replacing the tile in the bedroom and bedroom and painting the bedroom.

“These improvements need to be done to keep things going,” said Council member Doug Brock. “The bottoms of the lower kitchen cabinets is completely gone, and something has to be done about the exterior or we’re going to start seeing wood rot.”

It was shared that Wilson has already done work on several other fire stations, such as Cash Town, Bush Mill and Buncombe. Brock said he had seen his work at these locations and approved of it. Haralson County Commissioner Vance Posey said he had seen some of Wilson’s work and that he used to work for the county and gave him a positive recommendation.

The council approved Wilson for the job unanimously.

In other news, the council received a letter and proposal from the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, asking them to pass a resolution that would allow the NWGRC to create a non-profit organization that would handle funds taken in as a part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Act.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program is meant to aid local governments in purchasing and renovating foreclosed homes and selling them to low-income families to get them off the market. It also aids local governments with the cost of demolishing condemned homes in an effort to improve the property value of homes around it.

While the program has already started, with Haralson County receiving $75,000 rather than the $430,000 it was originally allocated, the next phase in the program is to reinvest the funds the group takes in from the sale of these properties and purchase more properties and resell them.

The NWGRC hopes to create a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which will hold the titles and funds it takes in for the continued implementation of the program. According to the resolution, it would have to be approved by all participating counties and municipalities to take effect.

The council decided to table a decision until they could find out more about the resolution and the program.

Brock and City Clerk Sherri Morgan reported that the city is suffering from less water loss since fixing several water leaks and replacing several meters over the years.

“We’re slowly closing in on the problem,” Morgan said.

The next city council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, June 4.