It’s official. A one-cent sales tax for transportation improvements in Henry County will be on the November 2 ballot.
The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted at its July 20 regular meeting to approve a resolution calling for a voter referendum on the T-SPLOST. The vote was 5-1 with Bruce Holmes in opposition.
Sam Baker, the county’s transportation director, informed the board that the county and its four cities completed the requirement set forth by the state to put it on the ballot, including an intergovernmental agreement passed by the commissioners as well as four city councils.
Should the voters approve the measure, total revenue collected under the tax over the designated five-year period is expected to be in the neighborhood of $245 million. County attorney Patrick Jaugstetter pointed out that any money collected will be distributed, pursuant to the intergovernmental agreement, among the five municipalities under a predetermined formula to address approved project lists.
Under this plan, Henry County will receive 68.88 percent of the proceeds. The remainder will go to Hampton (3.45 percent), Locust Grove (3.51 percent), McDonough (11.41 percent) and Stockbridge (12.75 percent).
In other business at the July 20 meeting, the commissioners approved $959,417 for an emergency roofing job at the county jail. The repair is necessary due to water infiltration, according to a county staff report, and the work by Garland/DBS will include a 30-year warranty.
Also approved was a $69,989.50 change order regarding playground safety surfacing at Nash Farm Park. A new playground at the park was approved in March, and it was requested later that the surfacing be added. The park improvements are included in the county’s SPLOST program.
A number of significant expenditures regarding Atlanta Speedway Airport in Hampton were addressed, including $1,501,922 for taxiway fillet widening construction, $65,612 for construction inspection and materials testing, and $36,640 for runway identifier lights. These projects are eligible for either 75 percent state reimbursement or 100 percent federal reimbursement, which means that the county is responsible for $391,883.50 out of the more than $1.6 million total cost. The county’s share will come from its capital improvement plan. The commissioners also voted to accept a $59,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act on behalf of the airport.
The board voted to accept a $50,000 Emergency Management Performance Grant from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. It includes an in-kind labor match, according to officials, and the county’s emergency management agency met all necessary qualifications to receive the funding. Also accepted was a donation of 150 full-size mattresses and frames from Zinus USA, which has a facility in McDonough. These are intended for use at various Henry County Fire Department stations. Their monetary value is reported to be $75,000.
The fee schedule for the Henry County Parks and Recreation Department was updated for the first time since 2015. The Officials said the approved changes were necessary to be consistent with surrounding counties. They include youth and adult athletics, sports camps, day camps, arts camps, after-school recreational programs and classes, field rentals, park and event center rentals, other facility rentals, and annual memberships. Some programs include a surcharge for out-of-county residents.
A mixed-use rezoning for a 20-acre piece of property was approved unanimously with conditions. The site is on the west side of Hwy. 42 North, just north of Campground Road, and a portion of the property currently houses Southern Crescent Rehabilitation Traumatic Brain Injury Center. The purpose of the rezoning is to establish a mixed age-restricted single-family residential and institutional living development, according to a county staff report. Also approved was an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan to change that site’s future land use map designation from industrial to mixed use.
Another land move approved with conditions a rezoning from R-3 (single-family residential) to RA (residential agricultural) for an 11.65-acre piece of property east of Brannan Road, west of Palmer Road and south of Campground Road. The purpose of the rezoning is to allow a residential lot division on septic resulting in five lots. The site was originally zoned for a residential subdivision in 2004 but could not be developed as intended under that zoning because sewer is not available at the site.
Paving the way for a 215-lot conservation subdivision, the commissioners voted to approve with conditions a rezoning from RA (residential agricultural) to R-2 (single-family residential) with sewer for a 183-acre tract south of the intersection of Campground Road and Bryans Drive, just east of Hwy. 155 and north of downtown McDonough. A conditional use request to allow a conservation subdivision on the property was approved by the Henry County Zoning Advisory Board in March.
The board approved the acquisition of about 1.15 acres at 398 North Ola Road in McDonough for $190,000. The site is directly across the road from Ola Middle and Ola High schools, adjacent to the J.B. Henderson Center and in front of the North Ola Park ball fields. Also approved was the appointment of Sherrhea Mason-Bryant to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities board for a term that is scheduled to expire July 20, 2024. Board chair Carlotta Harrell’s appointment of Bridgette L. Foresyth to the Recreation Board required no vote, being made according to the guidelines of Senate Bill 22. That term expires Dec. 31, 2024
