The Locust Grove City Council took action at its February 1 regular meeting to adopt a change to the standard operating procedure for its police department, a move deemed necessary because the city is without a police chief for the first time in more than 20 years.

Jesse Patton retired effective February 1, city manager Tim Young told the Times late last week. He spent nearly 33 years with the Locust Grove Police Department, having joined the force in May of 1988, before his 21st birthday.

In two decades at the department’s top post, Patton oversaw a force whose growth mirrored that of the city overall. Today there are about two dozen officers in the department.

The vote by the council regarding the police was intended to clarify the chain of command in the absence of a chief. Young said the city will conduct a search, both inside and outside the department, for Patton’s successor.

In other business, the council approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the city and the Georgia Department of Transportation regarding the proposed new interchange on I-75 at Bethlehem Road. As part of the MOU, the city committed $1 million to the project.

City officials have been united in favor of the interchange for some time, and have made their support known, while the Henry County Board of Commissioners has been unable to come to an agreement on the issue.

The Locust Grove council also approved an ordinance to adopt revised specifications and details pertaining to water and sewer services, as well as the final plat for the first phase of the Bunn Farms subdivision on Peeksville Road west of South Ola Road.

A resolution was approved to purchase a temporary easement at Peeksville Road and Hwy. 42, part of an ongoing project intended to connect Peeksville to Cleveland Street.