For the second time in three years, members of the Stockbridge City Council took official action to express disapproval of one of their own.
John Blount was censured by his peers at the council’s August 16 meeting. An official resolution was read into the record by Mayor Anthony Ford after the council met in executive session, and the ensuing vote was 3-0 with neither Blount nor LaKeisha Gantt present.
A statement released August 19 by city officials noted that the council had become aware of multiple employee concerns regarding Blount, and an independent investigator determined that he had made multiple city employees feel uncomfortable. Blount is in his second term on the council, which expires at the end of 2023.
Elton Alexander, who cast one of the votes to censure Blount, received the same treatment from his fellow council members in 2018 and again in 2019.
In other business, the council approved a contract with an outside company for management of the city’s new amphitheater. The vote was unanimous.
Conditions included in the agreement with Georgia Alliance Stockbridge LLC include the addition of liability insurance coverage by the vendor, the city having final approval of the naming rights sponsor, and an 85-15 split in favor of the city on sales of food, beverages and alcohol. The amphitheater, located adjacent to City Hall off East Atlanta Road and North Henry Boulevard, is scheduled to open for its first public event in September.
Nearly $200,000 was allocated for needed expenditures in the city’s public works department. A 20-year-old generator at a pump station is being replaced after it was determined that half the parts needed to repair it are obsolete. The public works administrative building is getting new information technology network equipment, and design work is being commissioned for portions of the wastewater treatment plant’s office building and chemical building. An update is also being done to the GPS data collection and GIS mapping program for the city’s water distribution and sanitary sewer collection systems.
The council approved an early voting schedule for the November elections, which for Stockbridge residents will include the mayor’s office and two council seats as well as the countywide transportation SPLOST referendum. The Merle Manders Conference Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays beginning October 11, and will also be open two Saturdays for voting during that month.
The council also voted unanimously to declare a COVID-19 state of emergency in the city and also to approve and adopt Henry County’s emergency order.
