A few comments by county officials regarding the location of the courthouse and whether it should be moved were all that was needed to get the McDonough City Council to state its position on the issue.

  The council voted at its June 6 regular meeting to adopt a resolution establishing a committee and putting the question on the November municipal ballot so city residents can make their opinions known as well.

  “City officials have become aware that the Henry County Board of Commissioners is considering a plan to relocate the Henry County Superior, State, and other courts as well as administrative offices from their current locations across from the McDonough Town Square and on John Frank Ward Blvd. to a new location near the Henry County Jail site in the city of McDonough,” according to the resolution.

  “The mayor and council believes that the loss of these county facilities will result in economic harm to downtown McDonough, where great effort has been made for many years to construct and maintain a vibrant and attractive central business district anchor for the city.”

  The council action calls for the creation of a “friends of the courts” committee spearheaded by Mayor Billy Copeland and comprised of “elected officials, court officials and personnel, business owners, and other stakeholders who hold or have an interest in maintaining a prosperous downtown in McDonough.”    

    The committee’s duties will include making recommendations on how to best encourage the county to keep the facilities where they are.

  No county action has been taken, and the issue is actually nowhere near that point. But in light of a recent report detailing the space limitations already being experienced by court personnel facing an ever-increasing caseload, as well as considerations regarding overall safety of the community when the Henry County Sheriff’s Office transports dozens of inmates to and from the courthouse each day, some commissioners have publicly stated that moving court facilities should at least be considered, especially when the county already owns property in the area of the jail and near I-75 that can be used for this purpose.

  The ballot question would not be binding but is intended to find out where the majority of city residents stand on the issue. There was some discussion at the council meeting regarding the costs associated with having such a referendum, but city officials pointed out that a regular election for various council seats is taking place in November anyway so there would be no additional cost.

  According to the resolution, the ballot would include this question: “Do you support or oppose an effort on the part of the Henry County Board of Commissioners to relocate the Henry County courts and other administrative offices from their current location across from the McDonough Square and on John Frank Ward Blvd. to a new location near the Henry County Jail site?”  

The vote to approve the resolution was 4-3 with Rufus Stewart, Kamali Varner and Sandra Vincent voting against. Vincent stated for the record that her vote was not an indication of opposition to keeping the courthouse on the Square, but that she believes more conversations with county officials need to take place.