city news
FEBRUARY 2019
1
Fayetteville resident Thomas Dorsey tells the story of his former slave ancestors Pages 6-7
THE LATEST
Master Path Plan assessment summary now online Fayetteville officials have for months been surveying the public about where they would like to see sidewalks and multi-use trails throughout the city, and the results of those surveys have been compiled and presented in a new Master Path Plan Assessment report. The report was first presented to the public during an Open House event at Fayetteville City Hall on Jan. 31, and now that report has been published on the City’s website. Downtown Fayetteville around the courthouse square received the most attention. Respondents noted a desire for better crosswalks, more sidewalks, and bicycle facilities in and around downtown. This need will grow as the downtown redevelopment plan continues. The Hood Road bridge over Whitewater
FEBRUARY 2019
2
Creek was identified as an opportunity. Rebuilding this bridge for pedestrian, bike, and golf cart use would provide excellent eastwest connectivity for Fayetteville. Other routes that received significant attention include: • SR 85 south • SR 314 • Redwine Rd • SR 92 near Helen Sams The Ridge Nature Preserve and Pavilion shopping center were both identified as important origins and destinations. City Planner LaShawn Gardiner says the official survey period is over, but she also said anyone with further input may e-mail her directly: lgardiner@fayetteville-ga.gov.
NE
City extends annexation, PCD moratoria
A Planned Community District moratorium initiated by the Fayetteville City Council in November 2018 has set to expire in February 2019 has been extended until Aug. 1, 2019 to allow City staff more time to review and study the City’s development standards, processes and procedures. The goal is to ensure that new development proposals are consistent with the City’s new Unified Development Ordinance. Fayetteville City Council members have also extended the City’s annexation moratorium, which was enacted in August 2018. That moratorium will also be extended to Aug. 1, 2019. The extension of this moratorium will allow City leaders to continue working with Fayette County government leaders in reaching agreeable terms by which properties located in adjacent portions of unincorporated Fayette County may be annexed into the City of Fayetteville.
W
Late Councilman Glenn Brewer honored by state legislature State Representative Josh Bonner on behalf of the Georgia House of Representatives paid tribute to the late Glenn Brewer, who served as a Fayetteville City Council member from 1991 to 2007 and who passed away on Feb. 23, 2018. Brewer also served as Fayetteville’s city manager in the late 1980s. Brewer’s daughter Kathaleen Brewer is currently a City Council member. Rep. Bonner noted in his remarks to a February Fayetteville City Council meeting audience that he first met Brewer while Rep. Bonner was a student at Fayette County High School nearly 30 years ago. Brewer participated in a “Fayette Portraits” program to help students learn and write about the community’s history. Brewer was himself a history maker as a United States Navy veteran, who is credited with being the first diver to swim under the North Pole. He also received numerous other military distinctions.
B
S
R
Four new “Mayor’s Committes” have been formed to help Fayetteville City Council members better understand and engage with services being provided by the City. These committees include Public Srevices, Public Safety, Finance & Administration, and Community & Economic Development. The committees are advisory in nature, and they will be comprised of current City Council members. The members will be tasked with reviewing matters pertaining to their committee’s scope and reporting back to the full City Council with any necessary recommendations. City staff leadership will meet with and advise the committee members. Chairing the Public Services Committee is Councilman Harlan Shirley, and he is joined by Councilwoman Kathaleen Brewer and Councilman Paul Oddo. Chairing the Public Safety Committee is Councilman Scott Stacy, who is joined by Mayor Pro Tem Rich Hoffman and Councilman Harlan Shirley. Chairing the Finance & Administration Committee is Councilman Paul Oddo, who is joined by Mayor Protem Rich Hoffman and Councilman Scott Stacy. Chairing the Community & Economic Development Committee is Mayor Pro Tem Rich Hoffman, who is joined by Councilwoman Kathaleen Brewer and Councilman Scott Stacy.
E F
FEBRUARY 2019
The City of Fayetteville celebrated 10 years as a designated Tree City USA earlier this month by hoisting a special “10 Years” flag at City Hall for Arbor Day, which is Feb. 15 in Georgia. A commemorative proclamation was read at the Feb. 21 City Council meeting as well. “The City of Fayetteville continues to promote the conservation and protection of the natural environment in Fayetteville,” said City Planner LaShawn Gardiner. “The City encourages the planting of new trees and continued care of existing specimen trees.” The special Arbor Day proclamation highlights the facts that trees are a renewable resource that can reduce erosion, lower utility bills, moderate atmospheric temperature, clean the air, produce oxygen, and provide habitat for wildlife among other benefts. Trees also beautify landscapes.
UPCOMING EVENTS
City Council approves new slate of Mayor’s Committees
I
Fayetteville celebrates 10 Years as a designated Tree City USA
3
fayetteville-ga.gov/events
Feb. 28 - Handcuff the Scruff 4-7 p.m., J. Sam’s Barbershop Police officers who have been growing their beards for the No-Shave November charity event will be in attendance at J. Sam’s Barbershop in Downtown Fayetteville to get a clean shave. We will have catered food, games, and giveaways. All proceeds go to the Piedmont Fayette Hospital Cancer Center to raise cancer awareness and support programs. Mar. 12 - Info Series Class: Fraud Prevention & Identity Theft 6:30 p.m., Fayetteville Municipal Court Join the Fayetteville Police Department for this free event as we share information on the different ways criminals try to defraud you and how to best protect yourself. Refreshments will be provided, and there will be a Q&A session to follow. Detective Sergent Shawn Albea will be the featured presenter.
THE LATEST
SPLOST-funded repaving continues in Fayetteville Following the first signs of warmer February weather, repaving crews got back to work in Fayetteville on a list of residential streets. Funding for this extensive repaving project was made possible by the six-year, one-penny Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax passed countywide by voters in 2017. Altogether, $7 million of Fayetteville’s projected SPLOST receipts have been earmarked for transportation projects, with about $4.5 million set aside for repaving dozens of City streets. Several residential streets were repaved in 2018, and many more are scheduled for repaving this year, including Grady Avenue, Helen Sams Parkway, South Jeff Davis Drive, and Jimmie Mayfield Boulevard. Repaving and other construction updates are posted regularly on the City’s website, (fayetteville-ga.gov), Facebook page (@ fayettevillega-gov), and Nextdoor social media account.
Recent milling operations on Williamsburg Way
FEBRUARY 2019
4
Mayor delivers 2019 State of the City Address to in-person and online audiences Mayor Ed Johnson on Feb. 7 delivered the third-annual State of the City Address. The speeches over the years have all been video recorded, but the 2019 event was the first to also be streamed live on the Internet. City staff members from the IT Department and the Communications Team set up network of mobile phones and a tablet computer to broacast these meetings on Facebook LIVE. Starting just before 6 p.m. on each City Council meeting night, the live broadcast begins on the City’s Facebook page, @fayettevillega-gov. Viewers may interact by making comments, asking questions, and even sharing the broadcast with their Facebook friends. Immediately after each broadcast, the recordings are preserved as videos that may be accessed from the City’s Facebook page at any time. To see these council meeting videos, visit the City’s Facebook and click on the Videos tab to the left. Council meetings take place at Fayetteville City Hall on the first and third Thursdays of each month, and they begin at 6 p.m.
FEBRUARY 2019
5
Isaac Dorsey
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Tom & Isaac Dorsey:
FORMER SLAVES FROM FAYETTEVILLE SERVED OTHERS AROUND THE STATE Perhaps it is not the typical story, that a slave gains freedom and chooses to remain in the same community. Perhaps it isn’t normal that the freedman would become a property owner, businessman and philanthropist, but Fayetteville isn’t your typical commuity, and Thomas Dorsey wasn’t your typical man. He and his son Isaac, with the help of their influential white neighbors, would start a movement in Fayetteville that helped fellow former slaves around the state.
FEBRUARY 2019
6
This modest building to the left of Edgefield Baptist Church was originally the UBA lodge founded by Isaac Dorsey with help from his father Tom. Church Street in the heart of Downtown Fayetteville is an unassuming and relatively quiet neighborhood, except perhaps for the sound of traffic cutting between Lanier and Georgia avenues. One may never guess that a building still standing there was once upon a time a beacon of hope to recently-freed slaves living here, around the state, and across the post-Civil War South, who rather suddenly had to figure out their own financial futures. Some might guess that the Edgefield Baptist Church building would be the notable structure, but it is actually the smaller, more simply-designed building located immediately to the south of it that gained widespread notoriety in those days. That building, starting in the late 1800s, housed the Union Benevolent Aid Society chapter, the first in Georgia, which would spin off dozens more across the state. Former slaves who were “good sober-minded Christians” were invited to join the society by paying a 60-cent initiation fee followed by weekly dues of 10 cents. A member in good standing who fell sick could expect to receive a 50-cents-per-week benefit, and beneficiaries of a deceased member would receive $140 toward burial expenses. Fayetteville resident Thomas Dorsey, whose great-great-grandfather co-founded the local UBA chapter, says the organization was modeled after other national organizations established to help former slaves “take care of themselves and be responsible in society. “If you read the bylaws, there are a lot of don’ts,” Dorsey explained. “You had to be exemplary in your lifestyle. You can’t drink. No cussing and all of that.” Establishing the UBA chapter in Fayetteville was Isaac Dorsey’s idea, and it came to fruition in 1883 with the help of his father and other community leaders. Isaac, born into slavery in 1857, was the son of Tom and Silvey Dorsey, the former having been owned by Fayetteville’s Dorsey Family, and the latter having been owned by Fayetteville’s Holliday Family. Both of those families were at different times owners and occupants of the antebellum home that now serves as the Holliday Dorsey Fife Museum just off the Old Courthouse Square.
Tom Dorsey was “one of the oldest and most respected colored citizens of Fayette County. He was raised by S. D. Dorsey and remained here after he was set free.” - from a 1908 Fayette News obituary Research on the lives of the Dorsey Family continues, including their work with the UBA. A copy of the UBA bylaws booklet was recently given to Fayetteville’s Holliday Dorsey Fife Museum. One recent February morning, Fayetteville resident Thomas Dorsey, the great-great-greatgrandson of Tom (actually Thomas) Dorsey, dropped by the Holliday Dorsey Fife Museum to visit with museum staff and other City employees, and to update them on his research into the lives of his Dorsey ancestors. Museum managers Thomas Lee and Nicole Gilbert have been working alongside Dorsey to research his family history. Dorsey said work continues in the nearby Fayetteville City Cemetery to identify and clear gravesites on the back side of the property set aside for slaves, freed black people and their descendants. Dorsey noted that many of his Dorsey ancestors are buried there, including some buried as late as 1980 with financial assistance from the UBA once based on Church Street. Tom and Silvey, of course, are buried there, as is their son Isaac. Dorsey’s research into his family history began about 40 years ago when as a teenager he had a conversation with his grandfather Paul Dorsey. The younger Dorsey was asking about his grandfather’s father, and then he wanted to go up the line from there. “He knew Isaac,” Dorsey recalls, noting that
FEBRUARY 2019
7
Isaac Dorsey was Paul Dorsey’s (1905-1987) grandfather. “Isaac was born in 1857, and he died in ’21.” Dorsey kept asking, “And who was his father?” And that led Dorsey’s grandfather to tell him about Tom. “Did you know him?” Dorsey asked. “No, I didn’t know him,” his grandfather replied. Dorsey says his grandfather would have been two or three years old when the original Thomas Dorsey died in 1908, so he didn’t remember him, but he knew of his reputation, and those are the stories he passed down. And those are the stories Dorsey is still collecting, preserving and passing along to his own children and to whoever else takes an interest. “Tom was a faithful servant blacksmith,” Dorsey says, explaining that Tom and his owner Solomon Dorsey remained friends well after slavery was abolished. In fact, Solomon was instrumental in helping Tom purchase a residential property on Church Street as well as the parcel that would eventually become home to the UBA lodge his son founded. Dorsey says his namesake continued blacksmithing as a freedman, and he believes the location of the blacksmith shop would have been somewhere between Church Street and Fayetteville’s iconic water tower. Historical research has revealed that Solomon Dorsey was born in 1825 and Tom Dorsey in 1829, so the two were close in age. Originally, Tom was owned by Solomon’s father but was given to Solomon when they moved to Fayette County in 1842. Dorsey points to Tom Dorsey’s obituary in a 1908 edition of Fayette News that calls him “one of the oldest and most respected colored citizens of Fayette County.” The obituary continues: “He was raised by S. D. Dorsey and remained here after he was set free.” As Dorsey and the museum learn more about this chapter in Fayetteville history, they say they will continue to share their findings with the community. An exhibit at the museum is in the works to document the lives of Tom Dorsey, his family and their legacy.
Thomaston-based Tidal Wave Auto Spa joins Fayetteville business community The much-anticipated Tidal Wave Auto Spa has opened in Fayetteville on Hwy. 85 at the Hwy. 314 intersection. Quietly opening in late 2018, the company was joined by City staff and Fayette Chamber of Commerce representatives for a February ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Fayetteville location is the 27th across several states, and it is the third in the Southern Crescent. Thomaston-based Tidal Wave also has locations in Sharpsburg and Newnan. According to company spokesperson Alyson Ford, Tidal Wave was founded in 2004 by current owners Scott and Hope Blackstock. She said the Blackstocks have instilled in the company a sense of community service, and she said they will be involved here in the Fayetteville community. One of their signature community fund raisers takes place annually on the third Friday of September when each location donates 100 percent of that day’s proceeds to a local charity. Ford says the company leans toward supporting children and adults with special needs. “With the generous support of our customers over the past 10 years, Tidal Wave has donated over $350,000 to these charities,” Ford said. Tidal Wave also offers other fund-raising opportunities to groups throughout the year. FEBRUARY 2019
8
Welcome New Fayetteville Businesses - January 2019 ENCHANTED BRANDING & PUBLIC RELATIONS 500 LANIER AVE W STE 403 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: CHRISTAL JORDAN PHONE: 678-479-0297 TYPE: PUBLIC RELATIONS, MARKETING, BUSINESS CONSULTING START DATE: 01/30/2019 GEORGIA CENTER FOR CPR, LLC 220 LANIER AVE STE 6 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: ASHLEY MONIQUE CAMPBELL PHONE: 470-222-5982 TYPE: CPR/AED, FIRST AID TRAINING START DATE: 01/30/2019 SUPREME AUTOBROKERS ONLINE, LLC 500 LANIER AVE W STE 910H FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: STANLEY GRIFFIN, SR. PHONE: 678-595-0874 TYPE: AUTO BROKERS (OFFICE ONLY) START DATE: 1/18/2019 TERESA ACKERLY @ ZEN MASSAGE 840 GLYNN ST. S STE 334 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: TERESA ACKERLY PHONE: 770-719-4936 TYPE: MASSAGE THERAPY START DATE: 01/18/2019 770 GLYNN ST. N LLC D/B/A XHALE CITY 770 GLYNN ST. N STE E FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: JALESSA ALLEN PHONE: 770-742-3775 TYPE: TOBACCO & VAPE STORE START DATE: 01/17/2019 WENDY’S NAILS AND SPA SHOP (NEW LOCATION/ NEW NAME) 140 KATHY AVE STE E FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: TRUC UYEN HUYNH PHONE: 678-675-7338 TYPE: NAILS, WAX, FACIAL, RETAIL SALES START DATE: 1/16/2019 SPROUTZ CHILDRENS RESOURCE CENTER D/B/A GROWING MINDS 100 BRAXTON CT. FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: VINIKA MITCHELL KINARD PHONE: 678-270-6774 TYPE: EDUCATIONAL SERVICES TEACHERS & PARENTS/SCHOOL START DATE: 01/15/2019 JAXMAX, LLC 500 LANIER AVE W. STE 202B FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: MARIO JACKSON PHONE: 404-547-6969 TYPE: TRANSPORTATION (BOX TRUCK) OFFICE ONLY START DATE: 1/15/2019
DK ENGINE PARTS, LLC 172 N. 85 PARKWAY FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONACT: DAVID DEBUC & KEVIN BELL PHONE: 404-762-9344 TYPE: WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION START DATE: 1/15/2019 J&M AUTO CARE (NEW OWNER) 442 GLYNN ST. S FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: DARLA FENDALL PHONE: 770-460-7587 TYPE: CAR REPAIR START DATE: 1/15/2019 SHANKS HOLDING GROUP, LLC 320 LANIER AVE W. STE 212 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 300214 CONTACT: SHAKEDRA SHANKS PHONE: 770-825-6688 TYPE: REAL ESTATE & INSURANCE START DATE: 1/15/2019 THE PROGRESSIVE COUNSELING AND THERAPY CENTER (NEW LOCATION) 101 BECKETT LN. STE 202 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: WILLIE CAMPBELL, SR. PHONE: 678-592-9454 TYPE: OUTPATIENT COUNSELING SERVICES START DATE: 1/14/2019 DIVERSE ENTERPRISES AND SOLUTIONS, LLC (NEW LOCATION) 101 BECKETT LN STE 202 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: WILLIE CAMPBELL, SR. PHONE: 678-592-9454 TYPE: PROPERTY MANAGEMENT START DATE: 1/14/2019 HUMAN SERVICES MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC. (NEW LOCATION) 101 BECKETT LN STE 202 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: WILLIE CAMPBELL, SR. PHONE: 678-592-9454 TYPE: SOCIAL ASSISTANCE START DATE: 1/11/2019 ROSS AUTOMOTOVE GROUP, LLC 500 LANIER AVE W. STE 910 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: DE’JAN ROSS PHONE: TYPE: AUTO BROKER (OFFICE ONLY) START DATE: 1/11/2019 IPT AUTO DEALERS 355 LANIER AVE E STE A2 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: RONNIDA STROMAN PHONE: 678-489-7496 TYPE: AUTO BROKER (OFFICE ONLY) START DATE: 1/10/2019
FEBRUARY 2019
9
DAEDALUS INVESTMENT GROUP D/B/A PRIDESTAFF 1240 HIGHWAY 54 W. STE 303 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: MERVIN WALKER PHONE: 678-228-8896 TYPE: RECRUITMENT & STAFFING START DATE: 1/4/2019 JOHNNY’S PIZZA FAYETTEVILLE, LLC (NEW OWNER) 230 GLYNN ST. N. FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: BRANDON THOMAS PHONE: 770-461-4225 TYPE: FULL SERVICE RESTAURANT START DATE: 1/3/2019 TRUE CHIROPRACTIC 120-D COMMERCE CIR FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: DR. JOSHUA POOLE, D.C. PHONE: 770-299-8838 TYPE: CHIROPRATIC OFFICE START DATE: 1/3/2019 ALLSTATE INSURANCE D/B/A C LEGACY ENTERPRISES, LLC 560-B GRADY AVE FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: SHAYRIKA CHENAULT PHONE: TYPE: INSURANCE START DATE: 1/3/2019 PENN STATION GYM 1240 HIGHWAY 54 W. STE 502 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: PENN IVANOV PHONE: 954-494-4655 TYPE: FITNESS STUDIO START DATE: 1/1/2019 DOLLAR TREE STORES INC. #7704 894 HIGHWAY 85 S FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: NICOLE TAFT PHONE: 678-561-9185 TYPE: RETAIL VARIETY STORE START DATE: 1/1/2019 NORTHSIDE FAYETTEVILLE IMAGING (NEW LOCATION) 1260 HIGHWAY 54 W STE 204 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: MIKAELA BARRETT PHONE: 770-719-3754 TYPE: MEDICAL IMAGING START DATE: 1/1/2019 MY LEGACY HEALTH SCRUBS & MEDICAL APPAREL 455 GLYNN ST. S STE 208 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: LAKISHA HENDERSON MOORE PHONE: 229-255-6008 TYPE: UNIFORMS, MEDICAL APPAREL, ACCESSORIES START DATE: 1/1/2019
City staff in mid-February welcomed FACTOR’s annual ENCORE group at Fayetteville City Hall, where these senior members of the community learned more about what’s happening here in the city.
Fayetteville was awash in business ribbon cuttings over the last few weeks. In addition to the Tidal Wave ribbon cutting (see Page 8), Minuteman Press (middle photo) welcomed all to its new location in Togwatee Village across the highway from Piedmont Fayette Hospital, and Social Suite (left) opened its doors, also in Togwatee Village.
FEBRUARY 2019
10
Mayor Ed Johnson spoke to a very interactive crowd at the Fayette County Public Library about Fayetteville’s downtown redevelopment plan. During that visit, the Mayor also met NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison (above) and visited with library staff and supporters (right).
Participants in the local REACH Program (Reaching Educational and Career Heights) gain work experience on a regular basis at Fayetteville City Hall. They are pictured at left in the City Council Chambers with Mayor Ed Johnson.
FEBRUARY 2019
11
Welcome to the new Main Street Fayetteville website DowntownFayetteville.org
FEBRUARY 2019
12