Henry County Update - Newsletter

April 21, 2017

Board of

Commissioners

Commissioners Recognize Youth Flag Football Team

Regular Meetings May 2, 2017 9:00 AM May 16, 2017 6:30 PM

Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings air daily on Henry TV Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Commissioners recognized a local flag football team at the April 18 Commission meeting for their participation in the Pro Bowl NFL Flag National Championships and proudly representing the Atlanta Falcons Football Team at the Pro Bowl held earlier this year.

Commissioners presented members of the Georgia Elite Sports Academy’s Georgia Elite Football Team with a Certificate of Achievement in honor of their accomplishments.

Georgia Elite Sports Academy founder and coach Tyron Williams addressed the Board on behalf of the organization. “I want to thank the all of the Commissioners and especially Commissioner Dee Clemmons who has been absolutely incredible as it relates to our plight to have a home in Henry County. So good to be in front of this Board right now celebrating these young men and their achievements,” said Williams.

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April 21, 2017 Published by Henry County Communications Department The Henry County Board of Commissioners

Editor Melissa Robinson

Graphic Designer Meredith Butler

Layout Designer Melissa Robinson Meredith Butler

Contributors Melissa Robinson Erika Richards Kevin Williams

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Commissioners Approve Use of CDBG Funds

Commissioners approved two amendments to the 2016 Annual Action Plan for the Community Development Block Grant. The action came during a public hearing at the April 18 Commission meeting.

The city of Stockbridge utilized CDBG funds to acquire and install playground equipment in Memorial and Clark Park. The project is partially finished and in order to continue the completion of both parks, an additional $37,500 is needed.

The second amendment regarding funding allows a total of $100,000 be allotted to low-tomoderate income homeowners to assist with the repair or replacement of broken septic systems. Those eligible homeowners would go through an application process with the Henry County Community Development Department to apply for funds. Community Development will work in cooperation with the Health Department, Henry County Code Enforcement and Stormwater in determining need.

Community Development Director Shannan Sagnot made the presentation to the Board after the required public notification and 30-day public comment period.

Commissioners Support Additional Judge Position

Support for a Judicial Needs Study regarding the creation of a fourth Superior Court Judgeship for the Flint Judicial Circuit was voiced after Superior Court Chief Judge Arch McGarity made a presentation on the need for an additional judge in the court system at the Board of Commissioners April 18 meeting.

In McGarity’s presentation to the Henry County Commission, he detailed the need for the fourth position and explained that growth in the county over the years necessitates help in the judiciary branch

of government. He stated that over the past several years Henry County’s population has increased and continues to grow annually at a rate of 2.3 percent.

More businesses have also moved into the county, impacting both criminal and civil litigation in the county.

The state average of civil case filings is 1,200 per judge but currently the county’s case filings are 1,369 per judge which is 14 percent higher than the state average. Additionally the criminal court caseload per judge is 378 comprised mostly of serious criminal acts.

The Flint Judicial Circuit in Henry County has had three Superior Court judges since January 1, 2006 and has been recommended by the Judicial Council of Georgia for a fourth Superior Court Judgeship to be added. The next step in the process is the Judicial Needs Study to be conducted by the Administrative Office of the Courts for the State of Georgia.

Congressman David Scott’s 14th Annual Jobs Fair set for April 28th

Congressman David Scott will hold his 14th annual Jobs Fair at the Georgia International Convention Center on Friday April 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This year’s job fair is expected to have more than four thousand positions available, as well as provide information sessions and forums for small businesses and veterans.

Employers expected to be in attendance include: AT&T Charter Communications, Delta Airlines, Lockheed, Emory University, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FedEx Ground, Georgia Power, KIA Motors, The United States Department of Veterans Affairs, UPS, And many more!

Attendees are encouraged to take MARTA to

the Airport station and board the free ATL SkyTrain to the Convention Center or take MARTA to College Park station and board a special MARTA bus shuttle to the event.

The Georgia International Convention Center is located at 2000 Convention Center Concourse, College Park, GA 30337. For more information, please visit www.house.gov/davidscott.

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April 21, 2017 Henry County Recognizes April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Representatives from Southern Crescent Sexual Assault and Child Advocacy Center in Hampton accepted the Sexual Assault Awareness Proclamation. Pictured in the first row (l. to r.) District IV Commissioner Blake Prince, SCSAC Director of Programs & Services Christine Wooten, District II Commissioner Dee Clemons, SCSAC Director of Development Melissa Tinsley Cates, and Executive Director Gayla Nobles; Second row (l. to r.) District Attorney Darius Pattillo, District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson, and District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes; Third row District III Commissioner Gary Barham.

The Board of Commissioners recognized April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month with a proclamation on April 18, at the scheduled Commission meeting.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is a national campaign to bring awareness and educate the public on how to prevent sexual violence across the nation.

The proclamation states, “WHEREAS, Henry County stands with organizations, such as the Southern Crescent Sexual Assault and Child Advocacy Center,

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in their outreach in supporting programs to help establish a supportive community by working together to strengthen the lives impacted by sexual abuse…”

This year’s aim for Sexual Assault Awareness Month is for individuals to use their voice to change the culture.

For more information about sexual assault awareness and prevention, please visit http://scsacinc. wix.com/scsac.

Notices of Property Value to be Mailed April 21

John Selfe, Henry County’s Chief Appraiser, wants property owners to be aware that Real Estate Notices of Value for 2017 are being mailed to owners on April 21, 2017. Property owners may see an increase in appraised value due to any increases in the real estate market during 2016.

The Assessors are required

by Georgia Law to respond to the real estate market when it goes up or down. As the market decreased in prior years, the Assessor’s Office responded with lower appraised values. As the market goes up, the appraised values also go up.

The Assessment Notice will reflect an estimated tax bill. This estimate is based on current values and last year’s millage. The final millage is subject to change when the Henry County Board of Commissioners, Henry County Board of Education and individual cities establish their 2017 millage.

The 2017 Notice of Value will also be available online beginning April 26, 2017 at www.qpublic.net/ga/henry as well as through the County’s website at www.henrycountyga.org. The last day to file an appeal is June 5, 2017.

2017 Henry County Paint Recycling Event When: May 6th 2017 Where: 347 Phillips Dr. McDonough, Georgia 30253 Time: 9 AM – 3 PM We will accept unused paint, still in its original container and not mixed with anything We will not accept “mystery cans” There is going to be a small CASH ONLY fee associated with this event (see below for details) Questions? Call 770-288-7266 or email jsayago@co.henry.ga.us

CASH ONLY

Latex 5 Gallon Bucket $12.00 2 Gallon Bucket $5.00 1 Gallon Can $3.00 1 Quart Can $1.50 1 Pint Can $1.00 Oil 5 Gallon Bucket $12.00 1 Gallon Can $4.00 1 Quart Can $2.00 1 Pint Can $1.00 Spray Can $1.50

This event is hosted by The Henry County Stormwater Management

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April 21, 2017 Save the Date for Henry State of the County 2017

Henry County Chair June Wood, will present the 2017 Henry State of the County address on Wednesday, May 10 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Georgia Council for Quality Growth (CQG) luncheon to be held at the Merle Manders Conference Center in Stockbridge.

Tickets for CQG members and Henry County Chamber of Commerce members may be purchased for $45

and tickets for non-members are $65 each.

The State of the County is hosted

by Council for Quality Growth, in partnership with Henry County, and the Henry County Chamber of Commerce.

To register for the event please visit www.councilforqualitygrowth.org Sponsorships are available, and if interested please contact Amanda Janaskie at 770-813-3381.

Local Emergency Planning Committee Meets

Do you or your employees know what to do after hazardous materials situation in the workplace?

No fear, the Henry County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), shared tips on how to be prepared and proactive at one of their regular scheduled meetings held on Thursday, April 13 at the Henry County Emergency Operations Center in McDonough.

Captain Lucas Harmsen with the Henry County Fire Department stressed that having emergency response and evacuation plans in place for industry and commercial companies is essential to the success of resolving an emergency.

In the event of an incident happening at a company, the company employees can turn to their emergency response or evacuation plans and decide who is going to be in charge, making sure everyone is henrycounty-ga.org

accounted for, and when to call 911.

The Henry County LEPC organization was formed in August 1999, to respond to hazardous chemical environments, develop a comprehensive emergency plan for the community, receive information about accidental chemical releases, and collect, manage and provide public access for information on hazardous chemicals in the community.

Members include public officials, industry representatives and private citizens.

All companies are encouraged to attend LEPC meetings and new members are welcomed. To join the LEPC, please call 770288-6600 or email lepc@co.henry.ga.us for details.

The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 9 at 8 a.m. at the Henry County Operations Center located at 526 Industrial Blvd. McDonough, GA 30253.

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April 21, 2017

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April 21, 2017 Fortson Public Library Hosts Butterfly Bleu Poetry Night

Flutter over to Fortson Public Library on Thursday, April 27, at 6 p.m. to enjoy Butterfly Bleu Poetry night.

Participants will be able to share their favorite poems and experience the metamorphosed library, to recognize the third annual celebration of National Poetry Month.

All ages are welcome to join the event.

Butterfly Bleu Poetry Night will be held at Fortson Public Library, 61 McDonough Street Hampton, GA 30228.

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In support of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Paint Henry Blue, Fortson Public Library will also be holding a donation drive for April and all donations will go to A Friend’s House, Inc.

Requested donation items include high efficiency laundry detergent, dryer sheets, gallon or quart size zip lock bags, 50-gallon black trash bags, tissue boxes, and cough drops.

Items may be dropped off at the Fortson Public Library, located at 61 McDonough St. Hampton, GA 30228, from now through April 30, 2017.

Henry County and Friends “Give Burns the Boot”

Foundation is a non-profit organization that partners with the fire service and burn care community to provide fire safety and prevention education, support medical facilities and assist burn survivors in their recovery.

For more information on “Give Burns the Boot” drive, please visit http://www. co.henry.ga.us/Fire/.

The Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation in collaboration with the Henry County Fire Department will hold the 28th annual “Give Burns the Boot” drive on Friday, April 28, May 5, and May 12. Firefighters will be located at various intersections, and around local shops in the county to collect donations.

The Georgia Firefighters Burn

Book Sale for Henry County Libraries

Friends of the Henry County Libraries will be having a book sale on Saturday, April 22 from 9:00 a.m. until noon at the Henry County Library Administration basement.

This event is cash only and books are priced $1.00 or less.

A l l proceeds benefit the Henry County Libraries.

The book sale will be held at the McDonough B r a n d located at 1001 Florence McGarity Blvd.,

McDonough, GA 30252.

Fairview Public Library will also be hosting a Nutrition and Wellness class on Tuesday, April 25 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Learn more about how the type and amount of food you eat affects your mind and body at the Fairview Public Library located, at 28 Austin Rd, Stockbridge, GA 30281.

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April 21, 2017 HCWA to host Open House at Tussahaw Water Treatment Facility on April 29 Event preludes National Drinking Water Week

As a prelude to National Drinking Water Week, the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) will host an Open House at its award-winning Tussahaw Water Treatment Facility on Saturday April 29, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

During the Open House, the public can take a guided tour of the Tussahaw Plant, which was the “Plant of the Year” in Georgia last year, as judged by the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP). Educational materials and information on the HCWA, its drinking water facilities, and its treatment processes will accompany the plant tours, and lunch will be provided. The Tussahaw Plant is located at 199 Preservation Drive, accessible from Highway 81 to Keys Ferry and then Stroud Road.

The Tussahaw Plant Open House also will feature displays from various departments of the Authority and partners who work with the utility, as well as businesses and public services who depend on HCWA water supply and drinking water for their dayto-day operations.

Students from Henry County Schools are participating in a rain barrel design competition to promote the importance of water conservation, and their creativity will be on display during the Open House. Rain barrels designed by students from Union Grove, Luella, Locust Grove, Hampton and Dutchtown High Schools, as well as Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, will be judged by HCWA staff and the winners will be announced at the event.

The Authority also invited employees, customers and local citizens to participate in a “Celebration of Water” photo contest, with entries to be displayed in the lobby of the Tussahaw Plant throughout the year, in addition to being considered for inclusion in the annual Henry County Water Quality Report, which will

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be published this summer.

The Tussahaw Water Treatment Facility is a two-time winner of the GAWP “Plant of the Year” Award, receiving the industry honor in 2011, in addition to last year, for facilities with treatment capacities from 15 to 50 million gallons per day (MGD). The Tussahaw Plant has a current treatment capacity of 16.1 MGD, and with another 24.4 MGD of capacity at the HCWA Towaliga Water Treatment Facility, the Authority has a combined 40.5 MGD of permitted drinking water production capacity for its system.

Finished drinking water produced at the HCWA Tussahaw and Towaliga Water Treatment Facilities can be stored in 15 holding tanks throughout the system, including a clear well at each of the respective water plants. Finished drinking water is distributed to HCWA customers throughout Henry County and neighboring jurisdictions via approximately 1,300 miles of transmission mains and pipelines. HCWA Water Treatment Facilities are operational 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, thanks to the Authority’s staff, which includes trained and state-certified plant operators.

National Drinking Water Week, which is May 7-13 this year, is an annual recognition of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). For more than 35 years, AWWA and its members have celebrated Drinking Water Week as a unique opportunity for both water professionals and the communities they serve to join in recognizing the vital role clean, safe drinking water plays in daily life.

For more information on the HCWA Tussahaw Plant Open House, contact the Authority staff at 770957-1380, or log onto the Authority’s website at www. hcwa.com.

HCWA hosting Fishing Tournament at its Tussahaw Reservoir on

The Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) is The Tussahaw and the Upper Towaliga Reservoir hosting a Fishing Tournament on Saturday April 29, are the two reservoirs open to the public during this from 7:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at its Tussahaw Reservoir. year’s HCWA Regular Fishing Season, which began on Henry County residents, property owners, and March 1, and continues through the end of November.

Authority customers will be competing in the HCWA HCWA hosting Fishing Tournament at its Fishing Tournament for prizes that will be awarded to Tussahaw Reservoir on April 29 the biggest catch of the day, as well as spots within the During the 2017 HCWA Public Fishing Season, top 15. Teams entering the Tournament will include one permit holders will have access to the Tussahaw child between the ages of 6 and 17 and one adult, for and Upper Towaliga Reservoirs the cost of $10 per boat. Lunch on Wednesdays, Fridays, will be provided.

Saturdays and Sundays, The Tussahaw from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Reservoir is accessible Permits to fish these to the public through the select HCWA reservoirs HCWA Public Use Area at are available to HCWA Tussahaw Island, which customers, as well as is located on Collins Henry County residents Way off Peeksville Road. or property owners, for Tussahaw Island has boat $45 at the Authority’s ramps for anglers to access headquarters. An HCWA the reservoir, including one accessible to citizens with fishing permit is valid for one full calendar year from disabilities. Note: access to the Tussahaw Reservoir the date of purchase, and permit holders can bring a is not available through the Tussahaw Water Plant guest to fish with them for free. campus, which will be hosting an Open House also on “The Fishing Tournament and Regular Fishing April 29, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Season provide opportunities for kids and families

The 1,466-acre Tussahaw Reservoir is the to enjoy the outdoors and the public use facilities we largest and latest of the five reservoirs within the have constructed to benefit the community,” says Lindy HCWA network of raw water supply. Construction Farmer, HCWA General Manager. on the Tussahaw Reservoir began in 2004, and the For more information on the HCWA Fishing reservoir began supplying raw water for drinking water Tournament, or concerning fishing during the 2017 production at the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant Regular Season, contact the Authority’s staff at 678beginning in 2007.

583-3930, or email Jeffrey.Scott@hcwa.com.

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April 21, 2017

“AMERICA’S PREMIER EVENT”

L ARGEST USTA WHEELCHAIR TENNIS TOURNAMENT IN THE NATION

Right here in McDonough 100 WHEELCHAIR PL AYERS T FR AC TH U..S TR RA AV VE EL LIIN NG GF RO OM MA CR RO OS SS ST HE EU S..A A..

C CO FO NA RA OM MP PE ET TIIN NG GF OR RN AT TIIO ON NA AL LR AN NK KIIN NG GS S

COME READY TO BE AMAZED!!!

April 20 – 23, 2017 9AM – 6PM DAILY Richard Craig Park McDonough, GA 30253 For more information contact: Harlon Matthews 770-288-7293, hmatthews@co.henry.ga.us

Inside Wal-Mart locust grove

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Commissioners Approve Name Change for Airport

During the Board of Commissioners meeting on April 18, Commissioners approved changing the name of Henry County Airport to Atlanta Speedway Airport.

Henry County has partnered with the Atlanta Motor Speedway and AMS officials have given a licensed consent to use their landmark name. The name change will bring instant recognition to the airport which will help bring more traffic through the airport and more economic development and business to Henry County.

Airport Manager Michael Toney said that in his research he had found a great boost of economic development in communities where a speedway and an airport are in close proximately. He reference Daytona and Talladega and said that both of those airports thrive in their partnership with the speedways.

“From a marketing standpoint and a flightpath plan standpoint I think you get instant name identification and instant name recognition with the Speedway with Atlanta as the identifier. Another thing is that most of the improvements that occurred in those airports or around those airports, for example safety improvement on the runway or extensions, and things of that nature, were really driven by the fact that they had the Speedway there and the Speedway drove the traffic coming to the airport,” said Toney

District II Commissioner Dee Clemmons said she wants the airport to live up to its potential and wants it to be able to benefit from the Atlanta Aerotropolis and the CID that are funding programs and projects around airports, to be an integral part of the aviation and transportation industries in the state of Georgia.

“We have a jewel in the airport in this county and I think the last time we checked, our airport is making about $6,000 a year and that is unacceptable in Henry County,” she said. “So these efforts that we are talking about tonight are to move our airport forward, turn it around and make it an economic engine that is generating funds at least to be self-supporting.”

Commissioners lauded Clemmons for her innovative ideas to make the airport a viable and successful asset for the county.

Formerly known as Tara Field, Henry County purchased the airport in 2011 and is working diligently to make upgrades and enhancements that will help it become a viable economic engine for the county.

The airport’s name change to Atlanta Speedway Airport is subject to Federal Aviation Administration and Georgia Department of Transportation approval.

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