Two weeks before Macon Water Authority President and CEO Ron Shipman died last month, he presented his employees with challenge coins purchased out of his own pocket.
The motivational trinket to boost morale and teamwork was Shipman’s personal gesture toward each staff member. It serves as a “pungent remembrance” of the man who led the authority since late 2022, said Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Bill Howell, who represents the county on the authority.
During the March board meeting, members shared a moment of silence and personal remembrances of how Shipman touched their lives.
“I had a guy call me the day after Ron passed away, and he was literally in tears telling me about (the coin), and that he said, ‘I really liked getting that,’ how much it meant,” said Howell, who shared the story at the conclusion of the meeting. “I want to do it this way, so it will be on the record that Ron was a true humanitarian and a true leader, a true servant leader, and I just want to share that with everybody in case you didn’t know.”
In the days following his death, there was a lot about Shipman that came as a surprise to MWA Dist. 3’s Dwight Jones, such as Shipman’s private foundation begun with his wife, Anita, to fund scholarships in honor of Shipman’s parents who died when he was a teen.
Jones saw how beloved the retired Georgia Power executive was to that utility and the people of Thomson where the Shipmans built a home 25 years ago.
“When you look at those who’ve known him a long time, he’s just always been a diligent person. He’s been a constant professional,” Jones said. “I hated it for him, but he sat there in that chair many, many meetings and took unsubstantiated and malicious attacks, and he took it as a professional with aplomb. And I just think he’s somebody to aspire to be like.”
Howell admitted he felt guilty for encouraging Shipman to come out of retirement to lead the authority.
“Ron had a way of bringing community together, regardless of anything. He saw everybody as equal, and he was probably the most calm person I’ve ever seen in the midst of a storm,” Howell said. “Ron walked into a real mess when he walked in here. But I’ve seen the employees turn. I’ve seen employees get behind him, appreciate him, and more than anything, I’ve seen the employees really suffer now that Ron’s gone.”
Chair Gary Bechtel called Shipman a dear friend whom he spoke with almost daily.
“Ron took this position very seriously, and he worked day-in-and-day-out to build a culture at the authority that values performance and family,” Bechtel said. “I’ve heard from so many MWA employees that went out of their way to tell me how much they respected Ron and how well he treated them. From my standpoint, I will miss his leadership and his encouragement.”
Macon-Bibb Mayor Pro Tem Valerie Wynn said she and Shipman became fast friends.
“He brought all kinds of people together. In my mind, it didn’t matter who you were, what you did, or anything. He was just the nicest man, and most capable, and most concerned about how the Macon Water Authority ran and did a great job with that. It just breaks my heart that he’s not here,” Wynn said.
District 4’s Frank Patterson said Shipman could be counted on and he admired his integrity and honesty.
District 1’s Elaine Lucas said she wasn’t aware of all the boards and authorities Shipman was a part of and expressed gratitude and condolences to his family.
Meter milestone, new lake fees
One of Shipman’s priorities was to upgrade meters to the latest Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI, technology that transmits data directly to the authority every four hours.
Although Georgia Power was already using the AMI technology years ago, MWA’s prior administration upgraded to Automated Meter Reading, or AMR, meters that require an employee to drive by the meter to pick up data.
Interim Executive Director Michel Wanna reported that more than 83% of the county’s meters were now reporting through AMI software and transmitters that were recently installed.
“Realy, this is an achievement, and I’m proud of the fact, and I wish Mr. Shipman was here,” Wanna said. “Some leaks, they go for 30 days unnoticed. And also, when we have a break, we can tell now where we lose pressure.”
Those formerly silent leaks can be flagged by customer service, and soon the ratepayer will have access to the system by using the software associated with their account.
“They can go on this software through the network, and they can see that day, how much they consumed, as far as water. What went through their meter? How’s their meter behaving?” Wanna said.
Over the next two years, the authority will replace about 2,200 of its large commercial meters.
The process takes longer than residential upgrades because crews have to coordinate schedules with major industries and other commercial users so that they could be without water during installation, or devise bypasses in the system to keep business running.
The authority also changed to a per-car fee policy for public fishing at Javors Lucas Lake, the county’s water reservoir.
Attorney Jay Strickland explained there are legal benefits to not charging per person, but per vehicle.
“There’s something in Georgia called the Recreational Property Act, and that provides certain limitations of liability for landowners that provide access to natural resources. And one of those limitations is based on, you can’t charge an entrance fee, okay, but you can charge parking fees and some other fees,” Strickland said.
MWA charges fees to cover the cost of providing security at the reservoir, which amounts to nearly $30,000 annually.
The Outdoor Recreation Committee approved a $15 parking fee for vehicles, although Lucas and District 2’s Desmond Brown favored a $10 fee this year and raising it to $15 next year.
The $15 fee is expected to only cover half the cost of hiring private security.
“This is a loss leader, y’all. Either way we do the fees, we’re still losing money on letting the public fish, to the tune of about $15,000,” Strickland said.
“Probably more,” Wanna said.
Jones wants to allow public access to the reservoir, but as finance chair is worried about the spending deficit.
“My concern, though, is, due to the failure of the rate increase sometime back, you now have had to suspend work on the plant expansion at Rocky Creek for lack of funds. And I just question, should we be subsidizing something like fishing when we’re not meeting our core mission of providing water and sewer services to the public?” Jones asked.
He also questioned the wisdom of the non-profit Macon Water Alliance dispersing $25,000 for bill-paying assistance, when financial regulations only mandate $10,000.
Jones, who contributes his MWA salary to the Alliance, said allocating more than is required could be risky as foundations usually sustain the fund by reserving a certain amount of money, or corpus, for investment purposes.
“Because you’re robbing your corpus, you’re making your entity unsustainable for future grants,” Jones said. “I would just caution the board spending more than you’re required to.”
The Alliance will present checks of $20,000 to the Macon-Bibb County Economic Opportunity Council and $5,000 to the Department of Family and Children Services.
Representatives of those organizations are required to report back to the Alliance quarterly on how the money is spent.
“We want to make sure our money’s going to serve as many people as possible. There’s need out there,” said Wynn, who also was tapped to replace Shipman as one of the authority’s pension trustees.
The board will make check presentations at a future meeting and plans to discuss data center requirements in May.
At the close of the March meeting, Lucas announced her leukemia is in remission following months of treatment that her doctors say she tolerated very well.
“I am so grateful, so thankful to all the people who have reached out to me, who have prayed for me. This is one giant step that I am so grateful for, but I’m still in treatment. My treatment will not be as regular as it has been, and it won’t be as extensive as it has been. And so I am just so thankful, and y’all continue in your prayers for me,” Lucas said.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
