JONESBORO
Volume 23, Issue 9
September 2019
COMMUNITY NEWS Councilmembers: Larry Boak Pat Sebo Bobby Lester Billy Powell Ed Wise Ricky L. Clark, Jr., City Manager Clifford Kelker, Chief of Police David Allen, Community Dev. Director Joe Nettleton, Public Works Director Pat Daniel, Asst. City Clerk Sandra Meyers, Finance Derry Walker, Code Enforcement Fincher Denmark, Legal Counsel Keith Wood, Municipal Judge Jerry Patrick, City Solicitor City Hall (770) 478-3800 Jonesboro PD (770) 478-7407 NON-Emergency # (770) 477-3550
A Message From the Mayor Dear Citizens, As Autumn begins and hopefully a more temperate climate, let’s accelerate efforts toward beautifying Jonesboro! City Council passed a Resolution declaring August and September as Beautification Months in our City. Everyone is urged to begin the cleanup process to make our City even more beautiful than it is already. Details of our N.E.A.T Program, initiated by the Beautification Commission, are contained in this newsletter, I hope you and your family or business will participate. We are excited about the Police Athletic League (PAL) Jonesboro Police Department is launching for our community youth, details to follow next month. Let’s continue to boost our young people and encourage them toward success. Please consider volunteering at one of our city schools by contacting the individual school. Architectural plans have been completed for our Broad Street Project downtown, and we will be breaking ground very soon. The project will include, among other things, a three station restaurant, microbrewery, underground lines, a City Greenspace, and sitting areas for our citizens to gather. The whole locale will be beautified with pavers and lush landscaping. I invite you to drop by City Hall for a closer look at the project. As Fall approaches, we ask that you pile leaves BESIDE the curb, making sure to keep them away from the street. We will come by and vacuum them up for you. As always, if you have any problems or questions, please give us a call at City Hall, or email me at jday@jonesboroga.com. Joy B. Day, Mayor
Candidates for City Election on November 5, 2019 For the office of Mayor: *Joy B. Day, Incumbent *Alfred R. Dixon
For City Council ( Choose 3) *Joel Aviles *Cameron Dixon *Helen Meadows *Tracey Messick *Donya Sartor *Ed Wise, Incumbent
YARN BOMBING
Yarn Bomb Contest at 4th Annual Downtown Street Festival—Calling All Creatives! Get your creative juices flowing and celebrate the 4th Annual Jonesboro Downtown Street Festival with us on October 5, 2019. Design and install yarn bombs all over our Downtown Community with location opportunities including park benches, railings, trees, and any other place you think would become beautiful if decorated with yarn. Successful entrants will receive complimentary passes to attend the Street Festival-AND-eligibility to win a prize of $1000 for the best installation. How to Enter the Contest: To secure your spot, email the completed registration form and a short description of the proposed design to: rclark@jonesboroga.com no later than September 13, 2019. You may sign up as an individual or team (complimentary tickets limited to 4 per team entry). Once your design is accepted, we will contact you with approval of your installation location and design concept. How to Yarn Bomb: Choose a space to design your yarn bomb: park bench, railing, temporary fence, bike rack; any of those choices you think would be cheered by your design. You may wrap, stitch, knit, crochet, or weave your design. Contest Rules: Yarn bombs must be completely made of commercially available, yarn, rope or soft fabric ONLY. Designs may not impede the utility of the fixture (i.e. patrons will be sitting on benches), nor pose safety or environmental hazard. The City of Jonesboro has sole and final authority to accept or reject entries and to cancel the contest in event of an insufficient number of entries: minimum 15 entries.
CITY STREETS INCLUDED IN PAVING PROJECT Through a grant application submitted by Mayor Day, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has awarded the City of Jonesboro allocation for paving under the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) Program, for the following streets: Brown Drive, Cecilia Circle, Pine Circle, Porter Lane,
Scott Drive, Souder Way, Stewart Avenue, Thornton Drive and Woodland Drive. The LMIG Program provides GDOT funding and is supplemented by a City match of 30%. Allocations are based on an acceptable grant application and centerline road miles. Paving by Clayton County under our mutual Service Delivery Strategy Agreement is scheduled to begin in October 2019 on local streets.
Calling all
Allen Hardy Joins Code Enforcement Staff
SCARECROW ARTISTS! (or wannabees...) OCTOBER 2019
Downtown Scarecrow Contest Let your Imagination Run Wild! Let’s work together to decorate our downtown for the Fall Season. Individuals, Families, Businesses, and Clubs are all welcome to join the
GREAT WORK! BEAUTY SPOT OF THE MONTH 109 Batiste Park Road
fun and enter our Mr. Hardy received his contest. Applications Residential Inspection Certiavailable at City Hall, online at fication at ICA. He looks www.jonesboroga.com, or call forward to meeting and Cable Brooks at (770) 478-3800. serving Jonesboro citizens.
CLAYTON COUNTY COMMUNITY MESSAGE As many of you may know, Clayton County, the seven Clayton Co. cities, and Clayton County Public School System lost money as a result of a 2018 change in state law. The law was changed after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a 2014 policy statement that local sales taxes on aviation fuel could only be used at the Atlanta airport. For about 20 years, the local sales tax on aviation fuel, known as Local Option Sales Tax or LOST used by Clayton County government and the cities to reduce local property taxes that fund the operating budgets and the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education or ESPLOST used by the school district to pay for new buildings and school repairs provided approximately $24,000,000 annually to the County, cities, and Clayton County Public Schools. Now that money is gone. The loss of tax revenues to Clayton County government and the Clayton cities was reduced for now by the successful efforts of the Clayton County Legislative Delegation to secure grants to replace the LOST through year 2021 ($27,000,000) and by monthly grants to the school district for ESPLOST from the Delta Air Lines Foundation ($18,000,000) through the end of 2019. The question is: what do we do once these funds are exhausted? The Clayton Co. Legislative Delegation, County and City officials and staff are continuing to meet and discuss options to restore or replace this lost money. We are working to achieve changes in Georgia law that could impact local tax money and also with Reps. David Scott and John Lewis to change the Washington D.C. mandate. We will need citizen participation in the efforts to get this money back. Letters from our citizens to Georgia's members of Congress and the General Assembly could make the difference. As this progresses, we will post names, addresses, and suggested letter content for all Clayton County citizens to use in contacting elected and appointed officials in support of our plan to replace these tax dollars.
CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY
JPD STATS July 2019
Citations: 414 Warnings: 296 Accidents: 55 Arrests: 61 DUI: 6 Property Checks: 289 Active Investigations: 63 Active Warrants: 582 Active Probation: 829 Training Hours: 81 CITIZENS: KEEP YOUR CAR LOCKED AT ALL TIMES. USE EXTERIOR LIGHTING.
HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY Mr. and Mrs. David Allen
#SHOPJONESBORO Farmer’s Furniture
A Full Service Salon & Spa 184 North Avenue, Suite 103 Schedule @
www.Royal-Elan.com
8564 Tara Boulevard (770) 478-3000 “Furnishings for Your Life” ******
Tax Facts, Inc. 114 North McDonough Street (770) 471-3103 “Let the Experts Do it!” *****
United Steel Storage, Inc.
In Memory of
Genie M. Brown
October 3-November 21
312 North Main Street (770) 603-3230 “We Make Your Company Efficient” *****
When: Every Thursday, 6-8 pm Where: Jonesboro Police Department 170 South Main Street Registration: Applications available at City Hall and Jonesboro Police Department Contact Officer Keith Kendrick (678) 332-6375 kkendrick@jonesboroga.com
W.R. Franks (Franks & Assoc)
Topics and activities include: Introduction to the Jonesboro Police, Informational classroom and Hands-on training, Overview of police operations, Investigative overview, Special Guest Speakers, Tours, and more...
Neck & Back Injury Clinic
NOTE: This is an 8 week commitment. Participants are expected to attend all sessions in order to graduate.
Dr. Rosalind J. Nation, PHD 172 North Avenue (770) 333-8960 “Clinical Social Worker” *****
121 North Main Street (770) 471-4420 “Land Surveyors Supreme” *****
1287 Highway 138, #10 (770) 478-0282 “Premier Injury Specialists”
1935-2019
Shop Local!
IN LOVING MEMORY
IN MEMORIAM
YARD OF THE MONTH Johnny & Penny Fauscett 120 South Avenue
Bill Casey (1941-2019)
Deacon Matthew Toles 1938-2019
HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE IN CITY BEAUTIFICATION?
NEAT: Neighbors Engaging. Assisting, Teaming Up!
Citizens, businesses, churches, fraternal, civic groups and *Are you sick of litterbugs? others are urged to adopt the area around their properties. *Are you fed up with seeing cups, wrappers, lottery tickets, beer This includes, but is not limited to, picking up litter, mowing cans, and other trash by the street? the grass, painting structures, planting flowers, etc. to improve You need to join the NEAT Program ! the overall perception of Jonesboro for residents and visitors. → Clear off porches and carports of clutter. Arrange items in a The NEAT street litter prevention program is an initiative sponsored by neat and decorative manner. the Jonesboro Beautification Commission (JBC). NEAT enables citizens →Consider painting your mailbox if it needs it, or get a new to actively participate the removal of trash and illegal signage along city mailbox. right-of ways. Groups choose a street or a portion of a street as their target→Repair any broken screens, shutters, etc. ed area for cleanup. Volunteers are asked to plan and execute a minimum →Park only on paved areas. of 4 cleanups per year in their assigned area/street. The City will furnish →Remove clutter from the front yard. safety vests, trash bags, and signs. The NEAT program is open to neigh→Repair, replace, or remove broken and leaning fences. borhood groups, clubs, fraternal organizations, businesses, etc. After suc→Recognize individuals for taking care of their property. cessful cleanups are achieved, a sign will be posted in your cleanup area Nomination forms (available at City Hall) are due to the recognizing your group. For more information and application , see Mayor’s office on or before September 30, 2019 at 5 pm www.jonesboroga.com or contact Derry Walker at City Hall. (770) 478to recognize the Beautification efforts in Jonesboro.
3800. See you on the NEAT trail...
HUMANE SOCIETY NEWS 7810 NorthMcDonough Street
Mark your Calendar!
4th Annual Downtown Street Festival– Saturday, October 5 →Main Street, Jonesboro Food—Music– Art—Fun Ken Ford, The Swinging Medallions & Much More!
“CITY ANGELS” ON THE MOVE!
(770) 471-9436 Meet Tybee. He is enjoying the sun while sitting on the Catico (patio for cats) at the shelter. He loves being able to feel the sun on his beautiful white fur. Come visit the cats at the shelter. Tybee is waiting for you.
AROUND TOWN
Derry Walker Billy Raymond
Cindy Haire
Our City Angels Program is available to assist senior citizens for a variety of tasks. For more information or to join our group, call Derry Walker at City Hall (770) 478-3800.
Jonesboro City Hall
Pre-Sorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid Jonesboro, GA Permit No. 7
124 North Avenue Jonesboro, GA 30236
CITY ARCHIVES
Community Calendar SEPT 2
LABOR DAY, City Holiday
SEPT 2
Hill Family Band, AOH, 6:00 pm
SEPT 3
Work Session, PD, 6:00 pm
SEPT 4
Design Review Comm., CH, 4:30 pm
SEPT 5
DDA, PD, 6:00 pm
SEPT 9
City Court, PD, 8:00 a.m.
SEPT 9
Council Meeting, PD, 6:00 pm
SEPT 11 Economic Vitality, CH, 4:30 pm SEPT 16 Historic Commission, CH,5:30 pm SEPT 20 Senior Citizen Event, LSP, 5-9 pm SEPT 23 City Court, PD, 8:00 am SEPT 23 Beautification Comm., CH, 5:30 p.m. SEPT 23 FALL BEGINS! SEPT 24 Promotions Comm., CH, 4:30 pm SEPT 30 City Court, PD, 8:00 a.m. OCT 2
Design Review Comm., CH, 4:30 pm
NOTE: Council Work Session will be held on Tuesday, September 3, due to Labor Day Holiday. PD=Police Department CH= City Hall PD=Police LSP=LeeDepartment Street Park AOH=Alpha Omega House,Museum 127 College St. FM=Firehouse
Please be considerate of others and DO NOT BURN LEAVES
Louise Kennedy Bunn Age 16
The Community News Published at Jonesboro City Hall . Written & Edited by Mayor Joy B. Day. To submit news items, (770) 478-3800 or email jday@jonesboroga.com .