Powder Springs Officials Leaving for Retreat

Powder Springs officials will set out for Brasstown Valley Resort in the Northeast Georgia city of Young Harris tonight at 6 for a retreat.

Attending will be Mayor Pat Vaughn, all five council members, interim City Manager Brad Hulsey, Chief Charlie Sewell, Director Greg Ramsey, Director Pam Conner and Finance Director Beverly Waldrip, said City Clerk Dawn Davis, who is also going.

Members of the city's engineering firm, Croy Engineering, are also going, she said.

Scheduled activities include team-building exercises, capital and SPLOST project discussions, updates from Hulsey and department heads, and a look into how next year's fiscal budget is shaping up, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.

The council may go into executive session during the retreat, and no votes will be taken, the newspaper adds.

Vaughn, council members, Hulsey, Conner and Davis will be staying two nights, while the other attendees will only be staying one, the city clerk said. Everyone will be home by Friday night.

Davis said that the engineers are paying for their own rooms, and Brasstown lets the city use the meeting facilities at no additional costs.

"Some of the food is paid by sponsors," she said. "There will be five of us traveling in one vehicle and the others will also be carpooling to save on gas cost. Also in the past, the mayor and several council members have paid their own expenses."

Powder Springs officials have traveled to Brasstown for the past three years for the retreat and went to other Georgia locations before that. Davis said she didn't immediately know how much the end cost has been to the city.