A plan to rename two McDonough streets was discussed at the most recent City Council meeting and will likely be addressed again at the next meeting.

Community development director Charles Reese made a presentation at the June 2 workshop meeting regarding two streets along the downtown one-way pairs. The recommendation was for Jonesboro Street/Keys Ferry Street to be renamed Mary Childs Street, while the section known as Geranium Drive would become Hattie Barnes Street.

Barnes and Childs were honored in March by the council with proclamations in recognition of their service as midwives in the Blacksville community. It was shortly after this event that a request to have streets named after this mother-daughter pair was received by city officials, Reese said.

Showing a map that indicates where the affected streets are located, Reese said that while they have been problematic for quite some time, the Georgia Department of Transportation is now mandating the name changes. The roads are now and will remain state routes.

Mayor Sandra Vincent noted that the mandate is due to the fact that the current names compete with other existing streets. She added that incorporating the proposed new name would be a great opportunity to add another historic element to the city.

Earlier in the meeting, Jim Dunn of the Veterans Support Group expressed concerns that the name changes would impact that organization as well as other businesses and property owners on Jonesboro Road. Vincent told him that the affected areas would only impact one property owner, and that person has expressed support of this action.

The Veterans Support Group property was later identified on the map and it was confirmed that the site would not be impacted. Any street renaming process that impacts other properties would require a petition process and public input, Vincent said.

During the ensuing discussion, council member Scott Reeves said he had received phone calls from citizens who shared Dunn’s concerns, and he suggested that all street renaming requests be handled the same way. Vincent replied that when no homes are involved, they are typically handled at the administrative level without any requirement for public input or council action. She said she placed it on the agenda in an effort to maintain transparency.

After asking Reese to provide the council in the near future with the relevant code section that governs this process, Vincent called for a motion to approve the renaming of the two streets. After further discussion, it was determined that the issue would be brought back for consideration at the next council meeting, which is scheduled for June 20.