Wurst says he’s ‘ready to get started’

November 4, 2009

Meigs mayor-elect vows to make city hall accessible to the handicapped

Patti Dozier The Times Enterprise Wed Nov 04, 2009, 10:33 PM EST

THOMASVILLE — Among the Meigs mayor-elect’s first orders of business will be the establishment of a policies and procedures manual.

“We’re going to require them (city employees) to follow it,” said Andy Wurst, who was elected in the Tuesday election.

Wurst received 90 votes, to 63 for June Layton, and nine for Viva Bass.

Meigs city employees will be trained and taught to do their jobs, Wurst said.

The mayor-elect has no intentions of firing anyone, but he is adamant about a safe and effective working environment.

Another priority is making city hall accessible to the handicapped.

A $20,000 grant to repairs the city hall roof will not be available after Dec. 31, a situation that has resulted from a lack of state approval of Meigs audits for two years.

“It all hinges on getting these audits fixed,” Wurst explained. “If they’re not approved by Dec. 31, the money goes away.”

When asked what he will do to rehabilitate downtown Meigs, Wurst said getting an infrastructure in place is necessary, followed by recruitment of businesses.

Another of Wurst’s first acts as mayor will be to begin improvements to sidewalks with revenue from a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

The mayor-elect will take office the third Monday in January at a Meigs City Council meeting.

Also in January, he will attend his first state-level meeting for mayors. Among the municipal topics Wurst will learn about will be how to obtain funding for after-school projects.

Wurst’s wife, Doris, thanked Meigs voters who supported her husband. “They came out and did the right thing,” she said.

Wurst considers his 90 votes appreciable.

“For Meigs, that’s a landslide,” he said. “We’re ready to get started.”