December 18, 2015
Board of
County Breaks Ground on New Fire Station
Commissioners Regular Meetings January 5 at 9:00 AM January 19 at 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.
Henry County Commission Chairman Tommy Smith, and Commissioners Bo Moss, Gary Barham and Blake Prince, along with the SPLOST Department and other county and city of Locust Grove officials, were on hand for the official groundbreaking of the new fire station to replace Fire Station No. 2 in Locust Grove. The County broke ground on December 8, 2015 to make way for the construction of a new fire station in District 1, to replace Fire Station No. 2, which currently sits on property near the Locust Grove City Hall Building. The replacement fire station will be part of the city of Locust Grove’s new Court and Police Complex The new fire station is 9,973 square feet and will feature three bays, sleeping quarters, a kitchen, laundry facilities, common living area, a fitness room, staff offices and a meeting room. Fire Chief Bill Lacy offered words of gratitude for the investment being made into Henry County’s fire services. “I’d like to go on record as thanking everyone who’s helped bring this project to fruition, especially Commissioner Moss and Mayor Price,” said Lacy. “The new fire station will be 9,900 square feet, it will house our firefighters and EMTs, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we’re very excited about having this as part of our new stations in Henry County.” Continued on page 2
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December 18, 2015 Published by Henry County Communications Department The Henry County Board of Commissioners
Editor Melissa Robinson
Graphic Designer Meredith Butler Samantha Watson
Layout Designer Samantha Watson
Contributors Samantha Watson Melissa Robinson Kevin Williams
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Fire station from page 1 District I Commissioner Bo Moss also thanked those in attendance as well as the community for their support of this and other SPLOST projects. “I’d like to thank everybody for coming. This is a project that we’ve been looking to do for a year and a half or so. And I’d also like to thank Mayor Price, the Council, and some of the other folks that were instrumental in getting this project done,” said District I Commissioner Bo Moss. “I’d like to also thank the citizens of Henry County for passing SPLOST and making this possible, and public safety for all they do.” Architect for the new fire station is Bill Howell with the Howell Group of Marietta and the contractor is J.R. Bowman Construction out of McDonough. With a $2 million budget, the new station was made possible under the SPLOST IV initiative. Construction is estimated to be completed by November 2016.
Chairman Tommy Smith helps to cut the ribbon on the recently completed intersection improvements to SR 81 and Mt. Bethel Rd. in McDonough. Pictured (l. to r.) District I Commissioner Bo Moss, Chairman Tommy Smith, District III Commissioner Gary Barham, Mt. Bethel UMC Historian Diane Chumbley and SPLOST Transportation Director Roque Romero; Second row (l. to r.) Chae Yi, SPLOST Civil Engineer, Mt. Bethel UMC liaison Herman Champion, Bert Bivens, SPLOST Project Manager, Micheal Hill, SPLOST Coordinator and Daniel Taylor with Wolverton & Associates.
County Cuts Ribbon on Intersection Improvements at SR 81 and Mt. Bethel Road Members of the Henry County Board of Commissioners, along with the Henry County SPLOST Department and other officials celebrated a ribboncutting on December 8, 2015 for the completion of intersection improvements to SR 81 and Mt. Bethel Rd in McDonough. The ribbon cutting is the culmination of the longawaited SPLOST road project for the area that included the realignment of Mt. Bethel Road to Wynn Road, as well as created dedicated right and left turn lanes. The project was constructed by the Conyers firm of Pittman Construction Company in the amount of $1,338,587 and Wolverton & Associates was the engineering consulting firm. Chairman Tommy Smith, District I Commissioner Bo Moss and District III Commissioner Gary Barham were on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as members of the SPLOST Department and members of the Mt. Bethel UMC Church. The intersection improvement project was a joint venture between districts one and three and District 3 Commissioner Gary Barham said he was pleased to finally see the project to completion, after
originally being listed under both SPLOST II and III. “This has been a long time coming and I’m glad that we were able to finally get this project done. Safety was our first priority and it’s a much safer intersection for motorists, and for the church congregants,” said Barham. District I Commissioner Bo Moss thanked the citizens for making important road projects like this one possible. “We were able to complete this project one penny at a time with SPLOST revenue,” said Moss. “The intersection looks much better and it’s safer.” Herman Champion, from Mt. Bethel UMC, acted as a liaison for the church during construction of the new intersection. He said it was a long time in coming but extolled the work of the contractor and the SPLOST Department for a job well done. “It was great working with these guys and I’m so glad it’s finished. I’ve seen too many accidents here in front of our church and I know this will be much safer for everyone,” said Champion. For more information on SPLOST, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/splost.
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December 18, 2015 Henry County EMA Collecting Travel Size Toothpaste to be used in Comfort Kits for Red Cross Relief Efforts After a house fire or other displacing emergency, sometimes the only thing that might stand between despair and a sense of normalcy is a toothbrush and toothpaste, and along that vein, the Henry County Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the American Red Cross, is putting together comfort kits to be given to individuals that they serve locally. The comfort kit is a small bag of toiletry items and currently, organizers are in need of donations of new, travel size tubes of toothpaste with an extended expiration date. Individuals or groups are encouraged to assist in the effort by donating the much needed toothpaste, and recently Girl Scout Troop 316 out of McDonough led by troop leader Ty Williams, began their service project by organizing a donation drive to help the collection effort. Last month the American Red Cross hosted a training session at the Henry County Emergency Operations Center in an effort to build a team of volunteers that will support responders in Henry, Clayton and Rockdale Counties. The American Red Cross is a non-profit,
HCPD Accepts Tanger Donation On December 04, 2015, the Henry County Police Department received a $500.00 donation from Tanger Factory Outlets, located in Locust Grove. Captain Joey Smith said the donation will be used to go toward much needed equipment to aid officers in fighting crime and keeping the community safe. “Tanger Outlets has been a strong supporter for Public Safety and has provided donations several times in the past years and we are grateful for the public support,� said Smith. Officials from Tanger Outlets present a donation to assist the Henry County Police Department. Pictured (l. to r.) Deputy Chief Mark Amerman, Tanger General Manager Holly Duffey, Chief Keith Nichols, and Tanger Assistant General Managers Angie Beaver and Chloe Medina.
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Girl Scouts from Troop 316 show donations they have collected for the American Red Cross, which will be used in comfort kits for dipslaced citizens.
humanitarian organization that provides relief to those affected by disasters and helps people across the nation prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Donations of travel size toothpastes with extended expirations dates may be dropped off to Shelita Broomfield at the Emergency Operations Center, located at 526 Industrial Blvd. in McDonough, GA. For more information on the Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org.
Stormwater to Host Public Information Meetings in the New Year to Discuss Dam Ordinance Henry County Stormwater officials are looking to host a series of public meetings early next year, to receive public input regarding the creation of an ordinance to define the specifications of a special tax district for category I and II Dam rehabilitation and maintenance. The ordinance would define eligible parties, the boundaries of the district, funding mechanisms, rate methodologies, cost allocation and tax rate. Currently, Henry County, along with many other jurisdictions, have lakes that are privately owned and have major structural issues in the dams with high hazard potential. The Georgia Safe Dams Program routinely inspects the dams and finds some in need of expensive repairs, requiring the owners to bring the dams up to certain standards. This is often a result of a lack of maintenance over time or due to the Department of Natural Resources upgrading the dam to a Category 1 status. The Category I status refers to the possibility of a threat of loss of human life downstream in the event of a dam failure. In many instances homeowners and their associations do not have the funding or reserves to complete necessary repairs, so officials are taking a
proactive step in creating an ordinance to help guide communities who are interested in creating a special tax district to collect funds to make necessary repairs. “This is a program that must be voted on by the prospective communities and will in no way be a tax levied by the BOC without the consent of the affected community,� said Wade Stroud, Director of the Henry County Stormwater Department. The most recent action in creating the ordinance came this past September when the Board of Commissioners approved the award of an RFP (Request for Proposal) for Phase II, approving a consultant to study the issue and make recommendations on the most effective way to proceed with creating an ordinance. The Board awarded the contract for the study to Schnabel Dam Engineering, Inc. from Alpharetta, GA in the amount of $28,620 for Phase II. Phase I had been completed last year. Stroud said he is looking to schedule the first of at least two public meetings early into the new year, possibly with the first one to be held in January. These meetings will take place before county officials begin drafting the ordinance, in order to give the public a voice in creating the necessary ordinance.
Police Department Donates to Seniors The Henry County Police Department continues their Christmas tradition of adopting fifty seniors for the Adopt-a-Senior program run by the Senior Services Department. In addition to the gifts purchased for the adopted seniors, the Department also donated $1,100 to the Adopt-a-Senior program. Ann Marie Quincey, Administrative Assistant of Henry County Senior Services, accepting a check donation from Captain Chuck Simmons and Officers Damion Hampson and Anthony Militello of the Henry County Police Department pictured with representatives of the Latin American Motorcycle Association.
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December 18, 2015 Henry County Government Readies for Severe Winter Weather with Workshop Although the December forecast in Henry County may be sunny and 70 degrees right now, local weather forecasters have predicted the possibility of a harsh Georgia winter and few can forget about the snow and ice event of 2014 that crippled the city of Atlanta. At that time, Henry County weathered the storm well under the leadership of Henry County Emergency Management Director Don Ash and his outstanding staff, and once again, Henry County is preparing for when severe winter weather hits. Shelita Broomfield, Emergency Management Officer with the Henry County EMA, led a winter weather workshop for staff and stakeholders, where participants from Henry County Government, the Henry County CERT program, the four cities, various public safety agencies, the Henry County School system and the private and business sector, were on hand to play out realistic scenarios on how to handle a severe winter weather event. The workshop was held on December 15, 2015 at the Henry County Emergency Operations Center in McDonough, and gave those in attendance a chance
to develop and practice their roles in the event of a weather emergency. For more information on the Henry County Emergency Management Agency, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/911.
Emergency Management Officer Shelita Broomfield (left) gives advice to one of the winter weather workshop participants.
Participants in the winter weather workshop share their roles and responsibilities.
Henry County Drug Court Awarded State Grant The Henry County DUI/Drug Court, a treatment accountability court, was awarded a supplemental grant from the State of Georgia Office of the Governor/ Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in the amount of $13,500 for fiscal year 2016. The Henry County DUI/Drug Court follows proven best practices and State guidelines to decrease incarceration in the Henry County Jail and reduce DUI recidivism. Intense supervision and treatment helps to break the cycle of repeat offenders aiding them in
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getting back their lives back. The funds provided will cover $8,500 for drug testing and $5,000 for electronic monitoring. A match of $1,500 is required and these funds are available through currently funded personnel costs. For more information on the Henry County DUI/ Drug Court visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/statecourt/ duicourt. This website features a short informational video on the work that the Drug Court does every day.
County Awards Bids Capital Projects Two, much-anticipated SPLOST capital projects are moving forward with the Henry County Board of Commissioners approving the award of bids at the December 15 Commission meeting. Commissioners approved a budget amendment and the awarding of a bid for construction of the Hampton Senior/Recreation Center to Meja Construction of Peachtree City, GA in the amount of $3,293,000. Prospective vendors were notified about the posting via the Team Georgia Marketplace and by email, with seven vendors submitting bids. Meja Construction was the most responsive, low bid. District II Commissioner Brian Preston said he was finally glad to see this project come to fruition. “This is decades in the making,” said Preston. “I wanted to add some grandeur to the occasion. It’s an exciting month, and since it’s December and it’s Christmas, I think it’s a Christmas miracle and I’m just so excited.”
Commissioners also approved a budget amendment and the awarding a bid for construction of a new community park in Fairview to Sunbelt Builders Inc., of Covington, GA in the amount of $4,096,362. Vendors were notified through the Team Georgia Marketplace and by email with four vendors submitting bids. Sunbelt Builders was the most responsive, low base bid. District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes thanked staff for their work on the Fairview Community Park project. “I think this is going to be a wonderful asset not just for the north end of the county but for the entire county,” said Holmes. “Thanks much for all of your work on this.” For more information on these or any SPLOST project, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/splost.
Fire Station No. 14 Bid Awarded Commissioners approved the awarding of a bid for the construction of Fire Station No. 14 in Locust Grove to Tommy Gibson Builders of Warner Robins in the amount of $1,932,000 at the December 15 Commission meeting. Funds for the construction will be available through the SPLOST IV 2016 budget once an amendment is made to the SPLOST IV 2018 budget that will transfer $235,000 from the 2018 account into the 2016 account. This budget amendment was approved at the same Commission meeting. In related SPLOST news, Commissioners
awarded a bid to purchase four new emergency medical vehicles to Custom Truck and Body Works of Woodbury, GA in the amount of $657,920 at the December 15 Commission meeting. Funds are available in the SPLOST IV 2015 Ambulances account in the amount of $164,480 as well as the Fire Stations Capital Equipment account in the amount of $493,440. To keep up with Henry County Fire Department news visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/fire.
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