Two spending measures considered by the Henry County Board of Commissioners were shelved because of concerns over how the COVID-19 situation could affect the county’s economy in the months to come.
A proposal to enter into a lighting services agreement with Georgia Power for streetlights along Jonesboro Road west of I-75 was tabled so it could be considered at a later date. A plan to assign $2 million from the county’s fund balance for sidewalks in District 5 didn’t make it that far, as a motion to table failed with a 3-3 vote. Both actions took place at the board’s April 7 regular meeting.
In response to a request from Dee Clemmons, county staff reached out to Georgia Power and received a preliminary design estimate of about $8,000 per month for approximately 140 area lights (280-watt LED lights) stretching from I-75 to the Clayton County line, the entirety of which is in Clemmons’ district. The costs would be paid monthly out of the county Department of Transportation’s budget, according to a staff report.
There were concerns, however, as to whether the money should be spent now for a project like that. Johnny Wilson noted that there should be a countrywide evaluation, as other roads likely need similar attention, and Gary Barham agreed with that position.
Clemmons said that it was a safety issue because of the high number of accidents in that corridor. “This is not about the lights or a particular district,” she said. “This is about public safety.”
Board chair June Wood said she also was concerned about the safety issue but she felt the item should be tabled because of the timing. Clemmons agreed with that and made the motion to table, adding that the board needed more information from the Henry County Police Department about the accidents in the area and that there should also be citizen input on the issue. The motion passed.
Bruce Holmes, who made the request for $2 million to be taken from fund balance for sidewalks, did not back down from that after the discussion on the previous measure. He made his case amid technical issues that made his statements difficult to be seen and heard at times.
“The citizens in north Henry have been advocating for this for a number of years,” he said. “I hope we can finally get this done for them.”
Wilson and Vivian Thomas both expressed concerns about this amount of money not being allocated over all five commission districts. Clemmons suggested tabling the issue as the Jonesboro Road lighting matter was done, saying that both are public safety issues. She then retracted her motion to table when it was noted that Holmes had tried to make a motion but couldn’t be heard because of technical problems.
Holmes moved to approve the expenditure, but that motion died for lack of a second. Clemmons then came back and moved to table, “so we can all get on the same page on this and get the citizens’ input as well,” as she put it.
Wood and Thomas voted with Clemmons in favor of the motion to table, but Wilson, Barham and Holmes voted against it, so no action was taken at all.
The regular public comment portion of the meeting, which could not take place as usual because it was a teleconference, consisted of the county clerk reading aloud a single letter which had been submitted in advance. That person expressed concerns about the sidewalk issue, having seen it on the published agenda, because of the suggested use of fund balance money to pay for it.
