Statesboro council approves alcohol license, budget amendment and multiple contracts

The Statesboro City Council on May 4 approved a series of routine and operational items, including an alcohol license for a downtown restaurant, a second budget amendment for fiscal 2026 and several vendor contracts.

Mayor Jonathan McCollum opened the meeting and the council moved quickly through the consent agenda and public hearing items before approving the key motions. The council approved the consent agenda (work session and capsule meeting minutes from April 23) by voice vote.

In a public hearing, the council considered an alcohol license application for The Slider Joint (applicant Travis Phillips) at 22 West Vine Street under the City of Statesboro Alcohol Ordinance, section 6-13. No members of the public spoke for or against the application; council members approved the license by voice vote. Mayor Jonathan McCollum offered congratulations to the applicant.

Council adopted Resolution 2026-18, the second amendment to the FY2026 budget, intended to "true up" appropriations and revenue anticipations across city funds. A staff member identified in the packet as Jackson described the amendment: "As is customary throughout the course of fiscal year, this item is the second budget amendment to true up the figures from each fund, and as noted, in the memo from finance... everything is in order." The motion passed on a voice vote; the transcript records an affirmative "Aye" but does not record a roll-call tally.

The council approved a three-year contract with Judicial Alternatives of Georgia, Inc. to provide probation and pretrial supervision services for municipal court. A staff speaker noted operational details and a change in the supervision fee: "the monthly supervision rate went from $40 to $45," and the transcript indicates that cost is borne by the defendant. The council approved the contract by voice vote.

Public works items approved included a $364,778.46 low-bid award to 5 Point Services to replace the tipping floor at the landfill transfer station, funded from the solid waste disposal reserve. Staff explained the need for replacement after approximately six to eight years of wear and described plans to replace the floor in sections to limit downtime: "there there could be a day or 2 where we have to really shut it down, but we'll make sure everyone's aware of that."

Council also approved a construction contract to complete ENG 114 at Reno Drive (pavement and drainage improvements) funded by 2023 TSPLOST funds. The transcript lists a contractor number and a contract amount with garbled numeric formatting; the recorded amount in the packet/meeting text is $316,000.78. Staff said the project had been on the books for years and will bring the dead-end street up to standard.

Each of the above items passed on voice votes recorded in the meeting as "Aye." The transcript does not include roll-call vote tallies or named vote records for individual council members.

What happens next: items that require implementation will be handled by city staff per the approved contracts and budget adjustments; the council scheduled a budget work session on May 12, and the draft data center ordinance referenced in the meeting packet will proceed to the planning commission for review.