Two applicants are up for consideration to replace former Columbus Light & Water board chairman Andrew Colom.
The two applicants are Tiffany Sturdivant and Hilbert Williams, according to the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the Columbus City Council. The council can make an appointment to the board Tuesday.
Colom resigned from the board on Jan. 21. He said he wanted to pursue other interests.
Sturdivant
Sturdivant, 28, is a nurse. She applied to the CL&W board in 2014, though the council ultimately did choose her and appointed current board member Michael Tate instead.
Sturdivant told The Dispatch last week her concern over high rates for CL&W’s residential rates drove her to seek the appointment in 2014. The same concern inspired her to seek a spot on the board again with Colom’s vacancy. She said she sees people struggling with utility bills through her work in home health and private nursing.
“One of the most troubling things is people are not able to afford their utility bills,” Sturdivant said. “I want to look at ways that we can make it more affordable. I know that there are plenty of grants out there from the TVA. I want to know how we can restructure what we’ve got going on at Columbus Light & Water in regards to making electricity affordable for citizens.”
Sturdivant also hopes to bring a renewed focus on customer service, through CL&W’s tellers and meter readers, to the board, should the council choose her for the vacancy. She said she’s heard a lot of complaints from residents about poor customer service from rude employees.
Sturdivant said she wants to look into ways to keep electric rates for residents in check. That includes making sure technicians are properly trained to avoid wrongly charging people too much for their usage.
Williams
Williams, 56, is a broker with Crye-Leike. He’s previously served on the Golden Triangle Development LINK board and the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce board.
He told The Dispatch he’s had a deep involvement with economic development, and as such knows some of the challenges that face CL&W. The biggest, in Williams opinion, has been the loss of the city’s industrial base over the past two decades.
“The best thing that I can offer Columbus Light & Water is an intimate knowledge of the city and where it needs to go in terms of electrical power,” he said. “It’s crucial. There is no large industrial base in the city anymore. We’ve lost probably five large companies that used to use a large amount of our electrical power. If we don’t have an industrial base, the people that are living in homes are going to pay for it.”
He said that loss was a detriment not only because it hurt CL&W’s revenue, but because the hit to local tax revenue means less money to maintain infrastructure and offer quality product to customers.
Williams also questioned the financial wisdom of CL&W’s $650,000 loan to the city for the Gilmer Inn purchase while the department is facing a budget shortfall.
While Williams hopes all of his experience will be an asset if the council selects him, he still wants to take time to get caught up on the issues facing CL&W before pushing for any significant changes.
“For the first six months, all I’m going to do is try to learn,” Williams said. “I’m not going to have an opinion on anything until I figure out what’s best. Why should I go in there and try to tell those guys what to do?”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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