The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted at its July 19 regular meeting to approve an annual contract through which the Atlanta Regional Commission will provide $746,944 for a variety of services for the county’s senior citizens. A local match of $58,784 that is available in the county’s approved 2023 fiscal year budget brings the total for the year to just over $800,000.
The annual agreement with the ARC, also known as an Aging Subgrant Contract, provides for community and home-based services such as case management and senior recreation, as well as home-delivered meals and congregate meals served in the county’s senior centers.
In other business, the board approved a $599,933 one-year contract renewal for 24/7 maintenance on the E911 department’s radio system. The funds are in the county’s budget, and officials noted that there will be a small price increase for each additional year according to the agreement with the service provider.
The board also accepted a $23,957 reimbursement grant from the Georgia Trauma Commission for the purchase of trauma supplies and equipment for the Henry County Fire Department. There is no required funding match.
A total of $218,434 was allocated for golf course maintenance. The money covers leases of up to 60 months for various pieces of equipment such as mowers, blowers and greens rollers to be used at Cotton Fields Golf Course, which is a county-owned facility.
The board approved a bid for moving services of office furniture, storage boxes and other large or bulk items for various county government departments, which would be responsible for budgeting those services as needed. Officials said this will reduce the chances of damage or injury caused by county employees doing that work.
A $65,004 grant award from the state’s Bureau of Justice Assistance has been earmarked for the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and was officially accepted by the commissioners. No additional county funds are required.
Known at the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grant, it is administered in conjunction with the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and provides federal payments to help cover correctional officer salary costs for incarcerating certain undocumented criminal aliens. The money is to be used for correctional purposes only as required by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The board voted to approve $171,332 in construction costs for drainage improvements at Village Park in the northern end of the county. The work specifically is designated for the playground and concession stand areas, and funding is in the county’s stormwater enterprise account.
Also approved was a cloud-based software service contract for various systems handling electronic plan review, planning development review, permitting, mobile inspections and code enforcement. The initial cost is reported to be $229,287 with an additional yearly cost of $168,650 after implementation.
