The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted at its July 7 regular meeting to officially give the property at 1935 Panola Road in Ellenwood the name “Village United Soccer/Lacrosse Park.” Commissioner Bruce Holmes, in whose district the park is located, requested the name. Construction is now in progress at that site.

The board also approved a $40,746 contract for the purchase of a shade structure to cover outdoor workout equipment at Village Park. The money for that work is coming from the county’s capital improvement plan.

In other business, the board approved a resolution appointing a committee to select the at-large member of the county’s Board of Elections. That board consists of five members, four of whom are appointed by political parties.

The at-large member serves a two-year term and current member Arch Brown’s term expired June 30. Brown indicated that he did not wish to be reappointed. The motion to approve was amended to remove any items in the resolution that would restrict the commissioners from participating on the committee.

The commissioners made some changes regarding the distribution of COVID-19 relief funds to organizations in Henry County. The resolution approved by the board affects $1,630,773 remaining from an $8,457,973 allocation of which 40 percent was distributed to the county, 30 percent to small businesses and 30 percent to nonprofits.

Because nonprofits are over-extended at this point, the new resolution lowers the county portion to 25 percent and raises the nonprofit portion to 45 percent. Officials stated that this money will, among other things, be used to assist residents who continue to struggle with mortgage and utility assistance.