The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at its Sept. 17 regular meeting to approve the purchase of 77 vehicles at a total cost of just over $2.5 million for use by public safety departments. A separate resolution and vote approved a three-year lease-purchase plan to pay for the vehicles.

  Seven 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe four-wheel-drive special support vehicles for the Henry County Fire Department – three for administration staff and four for battalion command staff – are being purchased for $252,575 from Hardy Chevrolet Buick GMC of Dallas.

  A total of seventy 2020 Ford Explorer pursuit utility vehicles are being purchased for $2,308,740 from Wade Ford of Smyrna. Forty are for the Henry County Police Department’s Uniform Patrol Division, ten are for the HCPD’s Criminal Investigations Division, and 20 are for the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.

  These purchases were touted as vital to meet a growing need to replace the county’s aging fleet. Deputy county manager Brad Johnson told the board that there are 80 cars in one department with more than 150,000 miles on them.

  In other business, two new appointments to the Henry County Zoning Advisory Board and the Henry County Development Authority were approved. Both will represent District 1 and were appointed by that district’s commissioner, Johnny Wilson.

  Donald Veum has been named to the ZAB and David Crow has been tapped to take a seat on the HCD board. Both appointments were effective immediately and are to fill unexpired terms which end Dec. 31, 2020.

  The commissioners approved a conditional use request for an outdoor adventure park, reversing a previous denial by the ZAB. The plan is for a park featuring ziplines to be developed on a 141-acre site on Iris Lake Road, just east of Hwy. 42 between McDonough and Locust Grove.

  Several local residents spoke to the commissioners in favor of the project, saying that it would provide an outdoor activity that preserves the property rather than allowing several hundred homes to be developed there. The conditional use was approved with 20 conditions, mostly referring to safety issues.

  The board approved the renewal of a community-based instruction and vocational training program for the 2019-2020 school year. The program, operated at local parks and recreation facilities, gives students an opportunity to gain in experience in a “real” work environment, according to officials, by performing mostly light custodial duties under the supervision of Henry County Board of Education employees. Young people in the program gain experience in production, proper safety techniques and appropriate work behavior. The Henry County Parks and Recreation Department has been involved in the program for several years.

  Also approved was a resolution authorizing a contract for transportation services provided to the county’s elderly and disabled population for the current fiscal year. Operating under the Georgia Department of Human Services Coordinated Transportation System, the service allows for transportation to people participating in programs offered by Senior Services, Developmental Disabilities, Henry County Counseling Centers, Department of Family and Children Services, and the Georgia Department of Labor. The state DHS contracts with Henry County Transit for the service, which is fee-based so no matching funds are required. The county county could collect up to $590,362.24 during the contract period, according to officials.

  The board approved a resolution authorizing payment of $451,408.52 for the county’s annual Microsoft volume license agreement. According to county officials, the county uses software by Microsoft for every aspect of its information technology infrastructure; every desktop computer, server, database and network device connects through Microsoft software. The current volume license agreement was about to expire, necessitating the vote to update the agreement. The pricing is through a state contract, according to a county staff report.