Warner Robins City Leaders Discuss Transit System, Switch to Natural Gas for City Vehicles

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Warner Robins city leaders devoted an entire day to talks about the city’s future.

Those talks ranged from how SPLOST money will be used to the possibility of a switch to natural gas for the city’s vehicles.

One of the most pressing topics of discussion to Mayor Chuck Shaheen is the city’s transit system–or lack thereof.

“I went to a presentation about transit and bringing transit to Warner Robins,” says Shaheen.  “We’re one of the largest cities in that study that doesn’t have transit service.”

Shaheen says it’s worth taking a look into alternative ways of travel to give those without cars the same opportunities as everyone else.

Another possible change when it comes to travel is a switch to natural gas for the city’s vehicles.  Thomasville City Manager Steve Sykes told those in attendance his city recently made the switch and is already seeing its benefits.

“They’re (Thomasville) recognizing roughly a $300,000 a year savings,” says councilman Mike Brashear.  “That’s just on their garbage fleets.  So we’ll take a look at that, and we could translate that into a greater savings for the city of Warner Robins.  It’d be cleaner air, plus we’d save the citizens a whole lot of money.”

Deeper looks and extra time to discuss items like these is exactly why this worksession took place.

“I think it’s always good for them to get in a less formal and time-constrained situation,” says city attorney, Jim Elliott. “They can sort of go off on a tangent, if necessary, to discuss things–they always do.  I think, ultimately, at the end of the day, better decisions are made when that happens.”

No official decisions were made during Friday’s worksession as it was mostly informational.

Even with an entire day devoted to hashing out some of the city’s biggest priorities, some council members say some of the ideas they talked about still need more time for discussion.