January 9, 2015
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Henry County Commissioners Earn ACCG Certification
Regular Meetings January 20th - 6:30 PM February 3rd - 9:00 AM Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings will air Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays on Henry TV Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Pictured (l. to r.) with the their certificates from the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the ACCG’s Lifelong Learning Academy are District III Commissioner Gary Barham, District I Commissioner Bo Moss and District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes; back row (l. to r.) Chairman Tommy Smith, District IV Commissioner Blake Prince and District II Commissioner Brian Preston.
The Henry County Board of Commissioners recognized several of their own members at the January 6, 2015 regular Commission meeting for completing the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia’s (ACCG) Lifelong Learning Academy Certified County Commissioner Program. District I Commissioner Bo Moss, District III Commissioner Gary
Barham and District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes were recognized for their outstanding efforts in completing this certification process and received plaques provided by the ACCG. To earn the ACCG Lifelong Learning Academy core certification, commissioners are required to complete eight courses as well as a two-day Leadership Academy for a total of 66 credit hours. Commissioners Moss, Barham and Holmes attended classes Continued on Page 3 the henry county update
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January 9, 2015 Commissioners Appoint Vice Chair and Approve Other Board Appointments The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved several board appointments at the first meeting of the new year, held on January 6, 2015, starting with appointing District I Commissioner Bo Moss as Vice-Chair of the Henry County Board of Commissioners. The Vice-Chairman has all rights and duties of the Chairman in the absence of the Chairman, for a term to expire on December 31, 2015. Commissioners also approved several other appointments to various Boards and Authorities, with District 4 appointments deferred until a future meeting. Harrice Moore was appointed to the Henry County Development Authority for District 5, Eugene Edwards was reappointed to the Parks and Recreation Board for District 5 and Rita Bailey is the District 5 appointee to the Henry County Library Board, with all terms to expire on December 31, 2018. Appointments to the Zoning Advisory Board
include Larry Babb as the Chairman’s appointee, Alton L. Head for District 1, Sandy Nesbit for District 2, Jim Risher for District 3 and Delander Nelson for District 5, all for two year terms. Appointments to the Henry County Water Authority include Mike Barr for District 1, Rick Jeffares for District 2, Jimmy Carter for District 3 and Carlotta Harrell for District 5, all for two year terms. District 5 Commissioner Bruce Holmes made three appointments to the Henry County Council on Aging, including Houston Nelson, Dr. Jacquelyn Bryant and Mildred Schmelz, all for two year terms. Samuel C. Chafin was reappointed to the Board of Tax Assessors for a term to expire on December 5, 2021. To see a complete list of all Henry County Boards and Authorities, visit http://co.henry.ga.us/ Board_of_Commissioners/pdf/HENRY_COUNTY_ BOARDS_2014.pdf.
Commissioner Earns Board Appointment The Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) Board of Managers has appointed Henry County District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes to the ACCG-Group Self-Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fund Board of Trustees for a one-year term that began on January 1, 2015. “I am honored to be selected for this appointment and appreciate the vote of confidence from the ACCG,”
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said Holmes. “I look forward to working with the Group Self-Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fund Board of Trustees in helping to grow and maintain this important program.” The GSIWCF’s Board of Trustees is a sevenmember board from participating counties that manages the Group Self-Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fund.
Certification from page 1 and completed rigorous coursework, which included County Government 101, County Government Law, Finance, Human Resources, Ethics, Property Appraisal and Taxation, Economic Development, Public Health and Safety and Leadership.
Henry County Airport Submits Five-Year Plan Commissioners approved a resolution for a five-year Capital Improvements Program for the Henry County Airport that will allow officials to seek state and federal funding for prospective projects. The Airport Capital Improvement Program (CIP) provides grants to public entities for the planning and development of public-use airports that are included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. The Georgia Department of Transportation requires that a five-year plan be submitted annually to identify both proposed and speculative capital improvement projects that may be implemented within a five-year time frame, however, Henry County is not obligated to fund any of the projects listed on the CIP
unless an executed agreement already exists. The County’s Airport Manager, Ron Burckhalter, and the Airport Consultant, Croy Engineering, working in conjunction with GDOT, developed and updated the five-year CIP for the Henry County Airport. “This five-year plan is required by GDOT to enable state officials to formulate the needs and wants of all of Georgia’s airports, and submit that request to the FAA for consideration of funding,” said Burckhalter. “If any funding is approved for Henry County, we come back to the Board of Commissioners to request approval of a specific project.” For more information on the Henry County Airport, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/airport.
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January 9, 2015 Henry County PD Pay Respects to Slain NYC Officers
A sea of blue descended onto the streets of New York to pay respects to fallen NYPD officers.
In a show of solidarity and brotherhood, public safety personnel from all over the country converged on New York City last weekend to pay their respects to one of two NYC officers who were killed in the line of duty on December 20, 2014. On Sunday January 4, 2015 Henry County Police Detective Sergeant Michael Hobgood and H.E.A.T Officer Jason Jones were able to attend the funeral of Wenjian Liu, one of the officers who was ambushed while on duty. Both Hobgood and Jones
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are members of the Henry County Police Department’s Honor Guard. The trip to attend Officer Liu’s funeral was made possible through the generosity of several organizations and the HCPD would like to thank JetBlue Airlines which provided airfare to New York, Brian Brakefield (Georgia Wounded Heroes) who provided lodging while in New York, and the Henry County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 95 which provided a rental car for the officers while in New York.
Henry County Police Detective Sergeant Michael Hobgood and H.E.A.T Officer Jason Jones in New York City for the funeral of Officer Wenjian Liu on January 4, 2015.
The Henry County Police Department is now using YouTube! The purpose is to work in partnership with our citizens in solving and reducing crime.
www.youtube.com/user/HenryCountyPoliceDpt
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January 9, 2015 Henry County Development Authority Unveils New Website The Henry County Development Authority unveiled its new website www.choosehenry.com and marketing plan at the December 16, 2014 Commission meeting, with a presentation by HCDA Executive Director Bob White and Board of Directors Secretary/Treasurer Geoffrey Cauble. It was nearly a year ago that White and Ben Wright, President and CEO of Atlas Advertising, made a presentation to the Board introducing Atlas as the firm chosen to create a new economic development website and branding and marketing strategy for the Development Authority. The new website is part of the HCDA’s branding initiative and18-month marketing strategy, to strengthen its mission of promoting economic development by attracting new investments and jobs and retaining and expanding existing industries. During the presentation, White and Cauble highlighted the key points and desirability of Henry County as a business destination, and revealed the
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Development Authority’s new tagline “Connecting Business in Atlanta’s New South,” which illustrates Henry County’s proximity to the city of Atlanta and both Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the Port of Savannah. Cauble said the website is particularly important as it serves as “The number one place that site selectors and companies start with when selecting a community. The first impression, if you will, for our community.” The HCDA website offers a wealth of information including but not limited to strategic advantages, incentives and financing, business site locators, demographic information, workforce and training information, small business and entrepreneur resources, retention, expansion and relocation services and much more. For more information on the Henry County Development Authority, visit www.choosehenry.com or call 770-288-8000.