Third No. 1 seed falls from NCAA tournament
Mercer University informational session for classes Monday
Arrest Log
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7 Sections, 68 Pages
146th year — Issue 86
Established 1865
Newnan, Georgia
ISSN. NO. 0883-2536
Sunday, March 27, 2011
$1.25 Sunday edition
Coweta’s Local Daily
SPECIAL REPORT: VISION 2011
Coweta’s future already in view By ALEX McRAE alex@newnan.com
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
John Bruce, at left, is construction general superintendent for the Piedmont Newnan Hospital project. Bruce, of the BE&K Building Group, and Michael Bass, CEO of the hospital, stand at the construction site off Poplar Road east of I-85.
There’s no shortage of road projects in Coweta County By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com 2010 was the year the Interstate 85 widening and rehabilitation project through Coweta County was, for all practical purposes, completed. It was also the year another major project began and appeared to go on interminably — intersection improvements at Lower Fayetteville Road and Georgia Highway 154. And the Greentop Road bridge was supposed to be completed in October, but the old bridge wasn’t even torn down until December. The news wasn’t all bad, of course. The Greenville Street/Spence Avenue
intersection project south of downtown Newnan was at long last finished. The major intersection improvement at Georgia Highway 16 and Senoia’s Board Street was completed, and a traffic signal at Georgia Highway 74 and Rockaway Road in Senoia was installed. Though the fourth lane on I85 still isn’t open to traffic, most of the pain of the seemingly endless construction ended in August 2010. There were still occasional lane closures for ramp work, lane smoothing and “ride testing,” but, for the most part, things were back to normal — and the
See ROADS, page 2A
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
The fourth lane created as part of the I-85 rehabilitation project in north Coweta is now on schedule to open this summer, according to Georgia Department of Transportation regional spokeswoman Kimberly Larson.
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
The new Greentop Road bridge, seen here from the railroad below, was supposed to be completed in October, but the old bridge wasn’t even torn down until December. Now Greentop Road should be open to traffic by mid-May, barring any major weather events, said Kimberly Larson, regional spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Inside
If you want to see the future of Coweta County, don’t look in a crystal ball. Just drive out to the intersection of I-85 and Poplar Road and look up. Three years ago, the site was part of a family farm that hadn’t been touched by a plow for decades. Today, the tallest building in Coweta County is rising from the red clay, and just over a year from now, when the new Piedmont Newnan Hospital welcomes its first patients, Coweta’s place as the health care hub of south metro Atlanta will be undisputed. Piedmont Newnan CEO Michael Bass knows better than most that the new facility — which will employ hundreds and have an economic impact of hundreds of millions of dollars — will mean more than just first-rate health care for hundreds of thousands of people who call Coweta and surrounding counties home. “It’s going to have an enormous impact on this whole area,” Bass says. “It’s going to change this county in ways people can’t imagine.” For the first time in recent years, that change will be for the better. From the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, the local economy boomed as Coweta earned a reputation as a promised land for those seeking the good life. The population soared from 39,268 residents in 1980 to 89,215 in 2000, passing the 100,000 mark in 2003. New businesses eager to serve the growing population couldn’t open fast enough. But in 2007, the real estate market that fueled Coweta’s boom faltered and then died as Coweta and the rest of the metro Atlanta area sank into the worst recession since the 1930s. Despite the hard times, Coweta held its own, managing to stay above water as neighboring counties drowned in red ink. Coweta’s good fortune was due in large part to a dedicated group of civic and business leaders who found ways to encourage growth without being controlled by it. Coweta held its own and appears to be on the road back to prosperity. New Census figures released earlier this month show Coweta’s April 2010 count at 127,317, and a population estimate for July 1, 2010, is 129,433.
Vision 2011 The Times-Herald
1D — Sunday, March 27, 2011
$7.5M FACELIFT Survey our road map for future By JEFF BISHOP jbishop@newnan.com When it comes to industrial development in Coweta County, a recent Community Assessment is acting as a kind of road map to tell local officials where the pots of gold are, and how to grab hold of the rainbow and yank them our way. “The Herron report, which included a target industry study, gave us a great road map for targeting industries that make the most sense for our county,” said Coweta County Development Authority President Greg Wright. Based on the recent analysis, the key industry sectors the consultants feel Coweta Photo by Jeffrey Leo
County should focus on in the future are: O advanced manufacturing, O automotive and vehicle parts manufacturing, O health care related services, O warehouse and distribution, and O data centers. “Not only do the industry sectors help us meet our goal of increasing the average county wage, but they match up well with the strategic industries of the state,” said Wright. “This is important because we can leverage our marketing dollars for maximum benefit,” he said. Coweta County will continue to be a location of interest to a wide variety of companies — and not just the priorities on
Courthouse ready for another century By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
Completion of the $7.5 million renovation and restoration project at the 1904 Courthouse was one of Coweta County’s biggest projects in 2010. Closed since Coweta Superior Court moved to the Coweta Justice Center in 2006, the landmark courthouse had been in pretty bad shape. The dome had structural issues, and the copper cladding was deteriorated and stained. The dome has since been stabilized and topped with brand new copper, and the interior of the building — modernized many times over the years — has been returned to its original appearance in most areas, complete with intricate faux grain painting on the woodwork. The courthouse is now home to Coweta County Probate Court and the Coweta Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Visitors Center. Probate Court has more space now, and the Visitors Center has seen a marked increase in traffic. There also has been a change in the type of visitors. The center still gets plenty of travelers, but now “we’ve become more of a local information center,” said Visitors Center Coordinator Pam Mayer. “That is what we are supposed to be. We are the information resource for the county — no question is too small.” The next step in the courthouse project is installing customized laser-etched brick pavers on the grounds area. The commemorative pavers are available for $50, and the proceeds go into a fund to
New radio system in works
Following move to courthouse, visitors center busier than ever
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
sarah@newnan.com Photo by Bob Fraley
8,869 in December 2010. February’s numbers showed 374 visitors in 2010 and 916 in 2011. “We’re not doing anything different,” said Mayer, who has long been a pro at giving directions, helping people find lodging and a good meal and giving visitors a “welcome to Coweta” smile. “We’re just seeing more people.” People from all over visit Coweta. So far in 2011, there have been 16 international visitors, 17 from Alabama and 16 from Florida. There also have been visitors from 23 other states — including Vermont, Minnesota, New York and Idaho. There have been 118 Georgians from outside Coweta County and 369 Cowetans. Many local folks stop at the center when they
By W. WINSTON SKINNER
winston@newnan.com Tourists are coming to Coweta County — in greater numbers than ever — and getting a taste of local history from the welcome center at the historic Coweta County Courthouse in downtown Newnan. “The new thing is being in the public eye,” said Pam Mayer, visitor center coordinator. The center moved from its longtime location in a modern building on Walt Sanders Memorial Drive east of Interstate 85 to the downtown landmark in the middle of September 2010. Since then, Mayer has watched as visitor numbers have risen, and she is expecting that trend to continue. In December 2009, the visitor center saw 6,446 visitors. That number rose to
See CENTER, page 6D
help maintain the monuments outside and artifacts inside the courthouse. The cutoff date for the first pavement order was at the end of 2010. The engraved pavers should be arriving soon, and they will replace some of the existing pavers in the sidewalks around the courthouse. The brick etching took a little longer than expected because, as it turns out, the pavers in the sidewalk around the courthouse aren’t really bricks at all. Instead, they are made of concrete. The laser
etching can only be done on actual fired brick, said Patricia Palmer, Coweta’s public affairs director. Instead of the etching, the pavers could have been sandblasted, but sandblasting doesn’t look as good as the laser etching, Palmer said. The etched pavers will be a traditional red brick; the current pavers have more of a pinkish/purple tinge. The red bricks will be interspersed among the others.
See COURTHOUSE, page 6D
See SURVEY, page 4D
PUBLIC SAFETY
The historic 1904 Coweta County Courthouse is at the heart of downtown Newnan. Following a $7.5 million renovation and restoration project, it is now home to Coweta Probate Court functions and the Coweta Visitor Center.
sarah@newnan.com
this list, Wright said. “But we know there are several industry sectors that deserve greater attention because of Wright the positive impact they can have on our economy and because they are a natural fit given the strengths of our community,” he said. A big part of the county’s success or failure will be tied to how effective it can market
The new Coweta County Fire Department headquarters Station 1 is nearing completion on Turkey Creek Road.
Fire HQ, jail expansion among upgrades More space in the jail has By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL been needed for a long time. sarah@newnan.com Over the past few years, Sheriff Coweta County is in the Mike Yeager has worked on midst of several public safety enlarging jail capacity at the upgrades, some of which have current Greison Trail facility. been needed for a long time. “We had one storage area Work is nearing completion that we actually turned into a on Turkey Creek Road on a dorm, and one storage area we new headquarters station for turned into a courtroom,” the Coweta County Fire Yeager said. Department. Next up is comThe jail has been running at pletion of renovaor near capacity for a tions to the while. Yeager said he Grantville station, had a conversation and renovations at many years ago with the Smokey Road the late Mitch Powell, and Sargent stations. longtime county attorAnd plans are ney, and they talked progressing for the about the need to relocation of Station expand the jail. 6 at Greentop Road A needs assessment and U.S. 29. The and space analysis for new station will be the jail expansion is built to the north of being done by Mark Yeager the current station, Goldman and near The Heritage School. Associates. The analysis is The county’s new 700 MHz almost complete and should be digital radio system should be brought before the Coweta operational by the end of 2011; Board of Commissioners some the two new radio towers have time in April, Yeager said. “It is up to them what the been completed in Newnan and Senoia, and a space and needs next move will be,” he said of analysis for the future expan- the commissioners. Yeager said sion of the Coweta County Jail should be completed soon.
See SAFETY, page 2D
Coweta Sheriff ’s Office and Coweta 911 are working on a unified dispatch system. Currently, those who call 911 to report non-emergency incidents to the sheriff ’s department talk to the 911 operator and are then transferred to the CCSO, where they have to repeat their complaint. “We have been talking about this for 15 years,” Sheriff Mike Yeager said. With the upcoming conversion to the new digital radio system, “now is the most opportune time,” Yeager said, “to put all of dispatch under one roof.” Yeager said he is still working with Motorola on the radios for the 700 MHz system. The county’s new 700 MHz digital radio system should be operational by the end of 2011; the two new radio towers have recently been erected in Newnan and Senoia. Getting the new digital radio system operational has taken some time. Coweta has partnered with the Western Area Regional Radio System, which includes Carroll, Heard and Haralson counties, and the city of Douglasville. The plan was to originally go with an 800 MHz system, but as time went on, the spectrum filled up and officials decided to go with 700 MHz. The system was to be funded through the 2008 fire bond. The county was also
See RADIOS, page 2D
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO COWETANS?
Involved residents, mix of suburban and rural life By NICHOLE GOLDEN nichole@newnan.com Coweta County’s involved residents, its proximity to Atlanta and the mix of suburban and rural life are the things that make it a wonderful place to live, say locals. Volunteers Lisa Sewell and Hickman Sewell Bette Hickman have both lived in other communities but have called Coweta home for many arts, moved to Coweta with her years. Both ladies were nomi- young family from Miami, Fla., nees for the 2011 Coweta in 1977. Citizen of the year. “We wanted to raise our Hickman, a longtime arts young son in a rural small town we searched for instructor and supporter of the and
approximately six months to find our small farm in unincorporated Raymond. I am very glad I was unaware of the trendy north side of Atlanta,” said Hickman. “We looked south and have never regretted it. Even today I still find it odd that anyone would not want to live on the south side of Atlanta. Over the years, Hickman said she’s appreciated the growth in Coweta as it has meant less travel to Atlanta for the family. “I am also very grateful that the growth over the years meant more local jobs while
local leaders encouraged and maintained our historic downtown and protected our green space,” said Hickman. She added that citizen input is critical to protecting this quality of life. “My relatives in Miami admire the life we have found in our adopted hometown and they enjoy visiting,” said Hickman. “I know that Newnan and Coweta County have a bright future, but I am also aware that I need to stay involved so that my sons and their children will continue to find their future here.”
Sewell, who serves as secretary of the Coweta County Car Seat Coalition, moved here with her family from New York. She enjoys the sense of calm and security, and the closeness to Atlanta without the “big city negatives.” “We found it to be very affordable; it is nice that there is a wide variety in housing prices,” said Sewell. “We loved the mix of completely rural areas of Coweta and more developed, commercial areas; we feel like we’re in another place altogether when driving down parts of Smokey Road, or
other areas where horses and cattle can be seen grazing.” Sewell added that Coweta is just the right distance from the Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport — not too far and not too close. “Aside from the one notable [adult novelty] business that caters to an unsavory market, there is a lack of low-end businesses here which makes this area more attractive to families and those interested in preserving their real estate investment, Sewell said. “When you
See LIFE, page 6D
Vision 2011 The Times-Herald
1E — Sunday, March 27, 2011
NEW CITY MANAGER TAKES HELM
Newnan in good financial shape By ELIZABETH MELVILLE elizabeth@newnan.com The city of Newnan remains in good f inancial shape — according to Mayor Keith Brady — and city leaders have managed it with careful budget planning and prudent spending. “We still have no long-term debt and a healthy unallocated reserve balance in the bank,” said Brady. “We were fortunate last year not to have to lay off or furlough anyone. Through attrition we cut back on a few positions, but none in public safety. We do not anticipate any cutbacks.” The new manager of the city’s operations is Cleatus Phillips, the city’s former community development director. Phillips took the helm this year from longtime City Manager Richard A. Bolin.
“Cleatus is doing great — he hit the ground running,” said Brady. The mayor attributes the seamless transition of leadership to the city’s succession plan. Brady said that the Newnan C i t y Council identified Phillips as a potential candidate for city manager and “put him under the microscope for Phillips several years.” “He’s already proven his worth,” said Brady. “He’s been providing council with a lot of information, managing projects and handling crises. He’s very
good at communicating.” For now, Phillips’ former position remains budgeted for, but the city has no immediate plans to fill it, according to the mayor. According to Phillips, the city, overall, had a good budget year in 2010. They collected 102 percent of their revenue and spent 94 percent of their projected expenditures. The city’s budget was approximately $16.4 million for 2010. They collected nearly $16.8 million and spent slightly more than $15.3 million. As a contingency, council has a policy requiring that half of the general fund — approximately $8 million — be reserved. The remaining balance is unrestricted. A lot of variables will affect this year’s budget, including sales taxes, which have yet to stabilize so the city can get an accurate prediction of how
much revenue they will generate, according to Phillips. “We can’t put a trend from month to month,” said Phillips. “But it improved in 2010 over 2009.” Brady added that, from year to year, sales tax revenues have come in near what was budgeted. The revenues on the permanent Local Option Sales Tax and the most recent voterapproved city-county Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax were down earlier this year but have since been coming back up. Brady says that tax revenues for the city are always going to track about a month behind the state. Also this year, the city has been pleasantly surprised to be taking in more revenue than expected in franchise checks from utilities Coweta-Fayette EMC and Georgia Power. The
mayor also said he’s seeing “a little bit of an uptick in the market from the real estate side.” Still, new construction remains nearly nonexistent and foreclosures are continuing to impact the price of properties in the market, according to Brady. Newnan is seeing an increase in renovation permits while people are opting to be frugal and hold on to their homes while they wait for the housing market to rebound. Brady said he’s seeing families grow tired of waiting and wade into the housing market in hopes that any loss they may incur during the selling process might be recouped in the buying process. Property taxes are “right in line with what we thought,” according to Brady. The ad valorem tax has not decreased,
although the city anticipates it will in the next year or two. Since the city hasn’t had money for capital expenditures, it’s been proceeding with projects that already have allocated funding through the SPLOST. “We’re doing all the right things when it comes to operations and management,” said Brady. “We’re keeping the budget intact. This is not the time to go into debt.” The city has SPLOST funds allocated to add parking downtown — although the mayor is not yet sure how that’s going to be spent or what that project will look like. The city’s major SPLOST project is the bid opening on the proposed conference center on Lower Fayetteville Road on property adjacent to the
See NEWNAN, page 7E
New leadership in Grantville From STAFF REPORTS news@newnan.com
Photo by Jeff Bishop
New Grantville City Manager Mike Renshaw, right, takes his oath from Grantville City Attorney Mark Mitchell, left, in December 2010.
Photo by Jeff Bishop
Clyburn Halley Jr. was recently hired as Grantville’s new police chief.
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Grantville has a new Downtown Development Authority, and the DDA has been looking at project ideas, including a beautification program. Members are taking some cues from nearby Hogansville, where there has been a DDA working for 10 years, said Robert Allen, Grantville DDA director.
Grantville’s electric department moved into the 21st century this spring as the entire town’s electric grid was shut off one recent Saturday morning in order to upgrade to a new stateof-the-art electric system. “If we as a city are going to provide electricity for the community, it must be first-class and competitive,” said Grantville Mayor Jim Sells as the city was powered down. “We have answered that call.” Grantville upgraded from an antiquated 4KV system to a state-of-the-art 12KV system. The new system will improve safety and efficiency, and allow Grantville to accept new customers, both large and small, Sells said. To facilitate the upgrade, most of the town was completely without power between 8:30 a.m. until 4 in the afternoon during the changeover. “It is a relief to have this upgrade complete,” said Sells. “We needed it to keep our prices in line with other utilities and also to take on the new loads that will be required in Grantville’s growing future.” It’s just one of the w a y s Grantville is moving into Sells the future with its new leadership team in place. Jim Sells was recently elected mayor, Mike Renshaw was hired as the new city manager, and Clyburn Halley Jr. as police chief. The town has a new library facility built by Coweta County adjacent to the new Little League ball park, and Coweta County Fire Department is in the midst of renovating Fire Station 11 on Colley Street in Grantville. It is the third of the county’s older fire stations to be upgraded. The project is funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. A draw to Grantville is the
See GRANTVILLE, page 6E
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Phase two of Senoia’s streetscapes project brought planted bump-outs with benches. Several downtown shops have added flair to the landscape islands as well with some of their merchandise.
Senoia keeping up pace in 2011 By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com It’s been a busy year for Senoia. A major streetscapes project brought beautiful downtown improvements, a multi-use path connecting the Rockaway Road subdivisions to downtown was built and has been well-received, the city’s two major traffic headaches were eliminated, and the longawaited new police station and municipal courtroom opened on Howard Road. Senoia won’t be slowing down much in 2011. It appears this will be the year construction finally begins on the new Senoia Area Library. The city is pursuing several annexations along Hwy. 16 at the western city limits, including the current site of Coweta Charter Academy. Work has just begun on a parks and recreation master plan, and Senoia is eyeing a major renovation to city hall. Now that city hall no longer needs to be used for court or city council or other meetings, plans are to greatly increase office space and improve restrooms. There will still be a public area in the building. City Administrator Richard Ferry said he’s recently started contacting the architects in
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Construction of the intersection improvements at Georgia Highway 16/Main Street and Luther Bailey Road in Senoia was completed in late 2010. The project consisted of installing turn lanes at all four points on the intersection south of downtown Senoia and a traffic light.
order to get proposals. Hopes are to be done by fall or winter. Unlike most of Senoia’s recent improvements, paid for through Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds, impact fees or grants, the city hall renovations will be paid for out of the city’s general fund. The project had originally been cut from the 2011 budget, but based on recent revenues and future projections, “I think we’ll be able to put it back in,” Ferry said. The renovations wouldn’t be possible, of course, without the new police and courts complex. City hall was unsuited to holding city court. It could only hold 40 people. “So people
stood in line on the street until they were called,” Ferry said. “The worst part was, you couldn’t conduct city business during those days, two days a month.” City residents who might be stopping buy to pay a water bill or get information would instead walk into a court hearing. The new court facility is working out well, Ferry said, though the parking lot might end up being a bit small. City council and planning commission meetings have more recently moved to the
See SENOIA, page 7E
Sharpsburg looks to grow through annexation bring possible grocery stores, sit-down restaurants and highsarah@newnan.com er-density residential developThe tiny town of Sharpsburg ment — and some sewer servis perched on the cusp of real ices — is in the works. growth, and officials are in the But it — like Sharpsburg’s midst of making improvements previous plan to annex Pathway to the town. Development-owned property An annexation that would west of town — may be By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
thwarted by Coweta County. Coweta County has so far withheld permission for the Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority to serve the proposed development, which would be located on land along Hwy. 16, with water. That’s despite the fact the
authority currently has an Property owners — expensive overabundance of Thompson and Charlotte water. Lewis, Frank Jr. and John Neely, A larger version of the pro- and Oakhall properties — filed posed development, known as suit a month later. Oakhall Village, was turned Last summer, Sharpsburg down by the Coweta County began annexation procedures Board of Commissioners in on the property. November 2009. The original version of
Oakhall Village totaled 186 acres, including 55.15 acres of commercial, and 208 homes. Plans called for 10 commercial buildings with a 90,000-squarefoot “anchor” and other buildings ranging from 5,000 to
See SHARPSBURG, page 4E
More of today’s ‘Vision 2011 — Special Report’ can be found on pages 1D-8D, pages 1E-8E and pages 2A, 4A, 6A, 7A and 11A. Either way, Coweta’s number is headed toward 130,000. Recent population estimates shared by the Atlanta Regional Commission for the 20-county metro Atlanta area for the next 30 years predict that Coweta’s population will soar to almost 250,000 by the year 2040. Oldtimers who have watched the
See FUTURE, page 2A
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Four-laning of the Highway 34 bypass, from Bullsboro Drive to Carrollton Highway, was Newnan’s most long-awaited road project. The widening of the Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard portion, from Bullsboro to U.S. 29, has been needed since at least the early 1990s. The city of Newnan has been trying to get the project completed since 1996.
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2A — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
LOCAL
Future already in view
Projects ROADS Continued from page 1A
FUTURE Continued from page 1A
speed limit was back to 70. The $107 million rehabilitation project on I-85 from Fairburn to Bullsboro Drive in Newnan began in late 2006, and was originally scheduled to be completed by Oct. 31, 2009. The completion date was later changed to Jan. 1, 2010. The contractor was McCarthy Improvement Company of Davenport, Iowa. The $218 million widening of I-85 from Bullsboro Drive southward to Forrest Road in Meriwether County began in 2007. The project included the new half-loop onramp to I-85 North at Bullsboro Drive and required the raising of the bridges at Lower Fayetteville and Poplar roads and Georgia Highway 16 East to accommodate the new pavement depth. The contractor was ArcherWestern Contractors of Atlanta. The northern project included the building of a fourth lane, which was necessary to keep traffic flowing on three lanes during construction. The fourth lane was to be striped as an emergency lane and used as a possible HOV lane in the future. As the project got under way, the Georgia Department of Transportation decided it would make more sense to go ahead and use the fourth lane now. GDOT petitioned the Federal Highway Administration for permission. The opening of the fourth lane to regular traffic was approved, in theory, but environmental studies were needed. The fourth lane is now on schedule to open this summer, according to GDOT regional spokeswoman Kimberly Larson. In other news, the Lower Fayetteville Road/Highway 154 project should get back on track soon, as well. The county has recently entered into an easement agreement with AT&T that will hopefully speed up the process. After months of delays, work is progressing rapidly on the Greentop Road bridge north of Newnan just off U.S. 29. The main structure of the bridge is now in place, and though the project certainly won’t meet its new March 31 deadline, relief for drivers shouldn’t be too far off. “Greentop should be open to traffic by mid-May, barring any major weather events,” Larson said. “The bridge deck should be finished by the end of March, but the roadway work will take another four to six weeks,” she said. The roadway work couldn’t start until the bridge deck and approach slabs were completed. Another waiting game in 2010 was the re-striping of parking spaces in downtown Newnan, which followed the resurfacing of the entire length of U.S. 29 in Coweta County. Paving began in August and was completed in September. Then the city of Newnan had to take care of parking space restriping. The work was delayed for a while as the city looked into “reverse angle” parking as a possible solution to motorists’ sight problems when backing out of parking spaces downtown. With reverse parking, a
whole process find it hard to believe that a county that once lived and died with its peach and cotton crops will soon be home to more physicians than farmers. Bass says that health care is a huge part of our nation’s economic future and that Coweta could not be in better position to take advantage of that trend. “Building a new hospital like this has a ‘halo effect’ and the impact goes far beyond medical care,” Bass says. “As more and more people see what we’re doing here, more and more businesses will want to be a part of it. Some people will be surprised at the businesses that spring up to support the health care facilities.” The new, 362,376-square-foot Piedmont Newnan Hospital will feature 23 emergency department/treatment rooms, along with 14 beds for post partum, 18 for critical care, and 104 for medical/surgical care. Bass says the new hospital will offer more medical specialties and attract more physicians and patients. Leasing on the medical office building going up adjacent to PNH is on schedule, and plans for other medical offices near the new hospital are already under way. And Bass points out that his facility isn’t the only one generating positive buzz in the medical community, saying, “It’s not just our hospital that will be making a difference.” Cancer Treatment Centers of America has announced it will begin construction next month on a new 50-bed hospital on Newnan Crossing Bypass, less than two miles from the PNH site. The CTCA facility — the company’s first in the Southeast — is scheduled to open in September 2012. Bob Mayo, CTCA vice chairman, recently said, “We look forward to breaking ground and becoming a visible and valued part of the Newnan and Coweta County communities.” Birmingham-based HealthSouth is also jumping on Coweta’s health care bandwagon, and recently announced plans to build a 50-bed hospital in Newnan that, according to company officials, “would provide rehab therapy to inpatients recovering from, among other things, stroke, orthopedic, cardiac and pulmonary conditions and brain injury.” “That’s three hospitals opening here within two years,” Bass says. “It’s hard to measure what kind of impact that will have, but it’s all positive. “When people visit a hospital out of town they don’t just see a doctor,” he says. “They shop and go out to eat and spend money on other things. Now they’ll be able to do all that here. And people will always want to visit the newest and best facilities. That’s what we’ll have.” Other community leaders and business officials say the health care boom has helped keep Coweta ahead of its neighbors economically during the current economic downturn. Greg Wright, president of the Coweta County Development Authority, says the new medical facilities help existing and prospective businesses get a better idea of what to expect from a community’s future business prospects. “That kind of activity is always a plus,” Wright says. “And not just because it gives
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Barricades funnel traffic on the Highway 34 bypass on Newnan’s north end. Widening of the Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard portion, from Bullsboro to U.S. 29, has been needed since at least the early 1990s.
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Wayne Kennedy, left, Coweta’s director of development and engineering, chats with Robert Hiett, government services director for Three Rivers Regional Commission and staff liaison for the Three Rivers Regional Transportation Roundtable, following the March roundtable meeting.
vehicle would pass the parking space, stop, and then back in at an angle. Following weeks of discussion on reverse angle parking in November, the city decided to put the spaces back in the configuration as they were before. Flattening the angle of the spaces to improve sight distance was decided to not be an option because of the loss of parking spaces it would create. The striping finally got under way in late November. Other projects are proceeding. Work on widening of the Highway 34 Bypass from Bullsboro Drive around Newnan’s north end seems to be progressing. The four-laning of the bypass, from Bullsboro to Carrollton Highway, was Newnan’s most long-awaited road project. The widening of the Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard portion, from Bullsboro to U.S. 29, has been needed since the early 1990s. The city of Newnan has been trying to get the project done since 1996. The $23,196,355 contract was awarded to Sunbelt Structures of Tucker in June 2009. Plans call for a four-lane divided highway with a grass median and bike lanes. Two major intersection projects are coming up soon, as well. The contract for improvements at Hal Jones Road, U.S. 29 and Greentop Road was awarded on March 15. And the bid award for the Hammock
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Road and Highway 154 project shouldn’t be far behind. Looking toward the more distant future, Coweta and municipal officials are putting the final touches on their wish list of projects for inclusion on the final investment list for the Transportation Investment Act of 2010. That list of projects will go before voters in the 10county Three Rivers Regional Commission in the summer of 2012. Projects include a number of needed intersection improvements and bridge replacements, as well as several other major road projects. The extension of the Newnan Crossing Bypass, from Turkey Creek Road four miles south to Georgia Highway 16 East, as well as the associated widening of Highway 16 from I85 to U.S. 29, and the Pine Road/Highway 16/U.S. 29 intersection improvement, will be coming in the near future whether or not the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for transportation — TSPLOST — is approved by regional voters. The federal and state funds for the projects have already been “programmed,” and Coweta will only be requesting its matching funds of $5 million for the bypass itself, $400,000 for the Hwy. 16 widening, and $1 million for the intersection. Most of the other major projects do not currently have funding identified. They include:
■ Widening of Georgia Highway 154 from U.S. 29 to Georgia Highway 54, $21 million. The project includes fourlaning and a 10-foot, hard surface multi-use path. ■ The I-85 Poplar Road interchange, $33.8 million. ■ Proposed I-85 interchange at Amlajack Boulevard, $24 million. ■ Extension of Amlajack Boulevard north from Shenandoah Industrial Park to serve new interchange, $17 million. ■ Hollz Parkway and Edgeworth Road extensions, to serve Amlajack interchange, $86 million. ■ A multi-use path along Highway 34 East from Lakeside Way to the Fayette County line. The city of Newnan is proposing a path for Bullsboro Drive to Lakeside Way. The final TSPLOST list may also include operational costs for the Coweta County Transit System and HERO driver assistance services. There is also the question of whether or not the Xpress Bus system operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority will need to be funded through the TSPLOST. Lastly, there are three projects proposed for the NewnanCoweta Airport that total $5 million. They are a taxiway to the west corporate hangers, $100,000, a bypass taxiway and run-up pads, $605,000, and a terminal building and associated site preparation, $4.4 million.
Sunday, March 27, 2011 • Record High: 85 (1991) • Record Low: 20(1894)
• Normal High: • Normal Low:
employees access to better health care. It also shows a commitment to improving quality of life.” Wright says that signs of an upswing in business expansion and development are encouraging, saying that in recent years employers have concentrated on planning for new projects but are now beginning to actively move ahead on new facilities and expansion of existing businesses. “They are moving from the planning to the decision-making phase,” Wright says. “And when they are ready to move, Coweta looks like a great place to do business.” Wright says that while medical facilities are a big draw, they are only part of a larger package that businesses consider. He says that Coweta is second to none when it comes to recreational and lifestyle amenities, low taxes, retail offerings and good schools. “Whatever they want, we’ve got it here,” Wright says. While education budgets are being cut across the state and nation, Coweta’s educational infrastructure is growing. Earlier this month, voters approved a five-year extension of the Coweta County School System’s Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that will fund capital improvements for elementary and secondary schools. Class offerings — which now include an MBA program — were recently expanded at the Newnan campus of the University of West Georgia in Shenandoah Industrial Park near I-85 and Bullsboro Drive. Construction will begin soon on Turkey Creek Road south of Newnan along I-85 for a new campus to house the Coweta campus of the West Georgia Technical College. Those facilities are transforming Coweta into a growing educational hub as well as a center for health care services. Coweta’s educational, medical, retail and recreational assets make up a package that neighboring counties envy. Frank Barron, president of Newnan’s Lindsey’s Realty and active in the Newnan-Coweta Association of Realtors, says his counterparts in nearby communities are in far worse shape than Coweta. “I talk to real estate people in other counties close to us and it’s clear we’re much better off than they are,” Barron says. “Our economy is more diverse and we’ve still got lots of advantages in terms of schools and industry and access to the [Hartsfield-Jackson] airport and that has helped a lot.” Barron says that while the Coweta real estate market is far from returning to the boom years of the mid-2000s, he is finally seeing the first faint signs of a recovery. “We still have a lot more foreclosures to work through,” he says, “but they are selling and we even have some builders putting up a few new houses for a change. Not many, but it’s better than it was. We’re seeing some progress.” Barron has lived through Coweta’s boom and bust, but says that as tough as things are, they could be worse. And he believes our coming growth in health care and education will keep Coweta moving forward. “I’m optimistic,” he says. “There’s no question that we’ve got a long way to go to get back to where we were, but we’re finally moving in the right direction again and you have to be encouraged by that.”
Sunrise/Sunset 68 • Sunrise: 7:32 a.m. 46 • Sunset: 7:54 p.m.
Temperatures ■ Today’s Forecast: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. High in • Yesterday’s high: 61° F the mid to upper 60s. • Yesterday’s low: 53° F ■ Tonight: 20 percent chance of rain.
Rainfall (in inches)
■ Monday: Partly sunny. High in the mid 60s
• Yesterday (as of 4 p.m.): 0.00
■ Tuesday: Partly sunny. High in upper 60s.
• Year-to-date: • Normal:
10.89 14.16
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Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Work on widening of the Hwy. 34 Bypass from Bullsboro Drive around Newnan’s north end appears to be progressing well. The $23,196,355 contract was awarded to Sunbelt Structures of Tucker in June 2009.
6A — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
VISION 2011
Higher ed expands
Training future nurses a big focus for Coweta
“The donation came at a perfect time,” Wright said. “We’ve got to expand.” At the University of West UWG is exploring a variety Georgia’s Newnan Center, of options, including the possithere are extra chairs in the bility of moving “to a new locanursing lecture hall, and a third tion,” Wright said. computer lab in use at testing The new replacement time. Piedmont Newnan Hospital “We’re bursting at the under construction on Poplar seams,” said Cathy Wright, Road at I-85 and the planned director of the Newnan Center. Cancer Treatment Centers of She said the nursing lecture America hospital planned on hall was built for 62 students, Newnan Crossing Bypass are and two computer labs — with fueling a need for more 30 computers each — have employees with medical been used for testing in the expertise. Those needs are past. driving course and program At times this year, however, offerings at the UWG and West there are 70 nursing students at Georgia Technical College An artist’s rendering of the courtyard of the planned standalone Coweta campus of West Georgia Technical College to be located off one time at the Newnan Center. campuses in Coweta County. Wright said 160 students are in UWG’s nursing program in Turkey Creek Road at I-85 south of Newnan. In mid-2010, the architectural contract for the Coweta campus was awarded to Praxis 3. UWG’s registered nursing pro- Coweta County began in 2005 Dawn Cook, WGTC’s vice president of institutional advancement, said in early March the firm was 80 percent complete with its work on the allied health building. Work is also well under way on architectural drawings for the first classroom building at the 38-acre site. gram locally. with a $588,000 gift from A few months ago, the Coweta County. There had Newnan Hospital Foundation already been an RN program at gave $2 million to UWG — des- West Georgia’s main campus in admitted to the nursing pro- programs at Central for institutional advancement campus was awarded to Praxis ignated for expansion of the Carrollton since 1986. gram as juniors, after having Educational Center in at WGTC, said the technical 3. Cook said in recent weeks nursing program in Coweta. Wright said students are completed their core course- Newnan: practical nursing, college seeks input from busi- that the firm was 80 percent work. dental assisting, emergency ness and industry in planning complete with its work on the The first class graduated in medical technician, health and fine-tuning its offerings. allied health building, which 2007, and there have been sub- care assisting, medical billing “Each one of our programs sequent classes each clerk, patient care assisting throughout the college has a will be funded by the West December. “We graduated 40 and patient care technician. program advisory board,” she Georgia Technical College Foundation. Work is also well this past December,” Wright WGTC and the Coweta said. said. Those advisory boards are under way on architectural County School System collabMany of the graduates are orate at CEC — offering tech- comprised of “business and drawings for the first classalready working at Piedmont nical courses to adults and to industry leaders in their room building at the 38-acre Newnan Hospital or at other high school students. Tonya respective fields,” she said. site. The classroom building local medical facilities, but the Whitlock, WGTC’s associate They help keep the school up will be constructed with state UWG grads also are working provost and director of pro- to date “in terms of technoloin Atlanta and other locations. grams in Newnan, said some gy, in terms of trends they are dollars. Other options for higher “They’re going to lots of dif- programs — including the seeing in their field,” Cook education are also available in ferent places,” Wright said. LPN and EMT course said. West Georgia Technical sequences — are limited to She said, for example, that Coweta County. College also offers a variety of adult students. Mercer University has West Georgia Tech wants its medical programs in Coweta Additional programs that students in medical programs announced plans to expand its County — with more to come. will be offered when the new to learn to use equipment they local presence in the next few One of the first two build- campus opens will be regis- really will use on the job — years to serve 1,000 students ings set to be constructed on tered nursing, medical assist- not older models that are no or more. the new WGTC campus ing, physical therapy assisting, longer in hospitals and docBrewton-Parker College Photo by Jeff Bishop planned off Turkey Creek health information technolo- tor’s offices. Companies often Tom Moat, president of the board of directors of Newnan Hospital, Road south of Newnan will be gy, home health aid, electronic donate equipment to help the also has a satellite program at presents a ceremonial check for $2 million to University of West an allied health building. CEC. medical records technician school meet that goal. Georgia President Beheruz Sethna for the UWG School of Nursing Mercer and Brewton-Parker Currently, the technical and certified first responder. In mid-2010, the architecturat UWG Newnan center in September 2010. school offers the following Dawn Cook, vice president al contract for the Coweta are both private colleges.
By W. WINSTON SKINNER winston@newnan.com
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Dr. Kay Crosby, right, chairwoman and medical director of the Coweta Samaritan Clinic, and Mark Brown, chairman of Coweta County Hospital Authority, in front of the future home of the free clinic. The county Hospital Authority agreed last November to lease the building to the clinic for $1 a year once the Coweta County Cancer Treatment Centers of America breaks ground on its new 50-bed, 200,000-square-foot, $179,767,423 facility off Newnan Crossing Health Department moves into its new facility on Hospital Road Bypass on April 1, in preparation for a 2012 opening. The site is located across from Ashley Park. later this year.
Local health care sector in for big changes By JEFF BISHOP jbishop@newnan.com The face of local health care is in the midst of massive changes unlike anything we’ve ever seen in Coweta County. Cancer Treatment Centers of America breaks ground on its new 50-bed, 200,000-squarefoot, $179,767,423 facility at Newnan Crossing Bypass on April 1, in preparation for a 2012 opening. Early next year, Piedmont Newnan Hospital will open its new state-of-the-art, 136-bed, 362,376-square-foot, $163 million facility now under construction on Poplar Road at I85. Employees of the Coweta County Health Department expect to move into their new $1.7 million Hospital Road facility by mid-May. And taking over the old health department facility at 137 Jackson St. will be another newcomer to the local medical community, the Coweta Samaritan Clinic. “We’re still in our planning stages, but we’re happy that we have found a home there, at Jackson Street,” said Kay Crosby, spokesperson for the new clinic. “We’re projecting that we’ll open there in August.” Minor renovations will be done on the building between the time the health department moves out and the Samaritan Clinic moves in, she said. “The Coweta County
Hospital Authority is supplying the building for us. They will lease it to us for a dollar a year,” said Crosby. “It’s a great location. Our patient population will already be familiar with it, and with the building,” she said. “It’s an accessible place. And though it’s no longer really functional for the health department, it’s great for us! It’s large enough even to allow us some room to grow — and we do hope to add more services after we’ve been around for a while.” The clinic will offer free or reduced price patient services to Coweta residents who meet certain eligibility requirements, she said. It will be the first of its kind in Coweta County. “Just in my practice I could see that there was a patient population that was having a hard time seeing a doctor because they couldn’t afford it,” said Crosby. “There were also a lot of other organizations who serve the needy — such as One Roof and the health department — who were seeing a tremendous increase in need,” she said. “When we started looking at the data, it actually turns out that there are about 15,000 people between the ages of 18 and 64 who do not have health insurance in this county,” Crosby said. “That’s about 19 or 20 percent of the population.” Planning for the clinic began more than two years ago. A needs assessment was done last summer, she said, and
focus groups had a chance to give their input concerning what specific local needs a free health clinic might serve. “In our early stages of development we applied for a federal grant of $80,000 — a rural health care network planning grant,” said Crosby. “With that, we heard from a number of stakeholders, and we did develop a health care network with places like the PAPP Clinic, One Roof, the health department, and Piedmont Newnan Hospital. We had input from all of those entities to make sure we would not be duplicating services.” Crosby said the clinic has “made great headway” since then. The Newnan Hospital Foundation board pledged to give the clinic $100,000 a year for 10 years. Piedmont Newnan Hospital offered to provide lab and x-ray work free of charge. Grants were given by the United Way, Kaiser, and other groups. “We were excited by all of the wonderful support we’ve received from the community,” said Crosby. “It’s very, very exciting. And we’ve already had a lot of volunteers sign up.” The clinic’s long-awaited 501c3 tax-exempt status finally came through two weeks ago, she said. “Now we just need to get all of our doctors lined up,” she said. “We don’t have a solid list yet.” She said the clinic hopes to establish relationships with
doctors from various specialties and backgrounds to help accommodate the needs to patients. There will be “two or three” paid physicians in the clinic, but many of the services will be provided by volunteers, she said. “We’ve jumped over many hurdles already,” said Crosby. “We’ve incorporated, we have developed a great board of directors, we have a facility, we have some financial support ... now we just need a lot of volunteers to operate the clinic.” She said it’s actually good news that places like CTCA and the new Piedmont Newnan Hospital are opening in the coming years, since that will attract a lot of new medical talent to Coweta County. “We still need to find more doctors that are willing to volunteer their services. They’re very busy already, but I do think we have a very philanthropic medical community here. So I think, in the end, we’ll be overwhelmed with help,” she said. “We feel very blessed.” Currently there are 97 free clinics in Georgia, said Crosby. All of them operate in a similar fashion. “There will be a screening process for prospective patients,” she said. “We’ll need to make sure they meet all the requirements. They’ll need to be residents of Coweta County, with no health insurance. They will also need to be at 200
percent of the federal poverty level, or below. “Once they go through our screening process, they will be given an appointment. And then we will become their medical home, and we will care for all their primary health care services, just as you’d have at a regular doctor’s office.” The Coweta Samaritan Clinic will be a member of the Georgia Free Clinic Network and Volunteers in Medicine, a national organization. Through the Georgia Volunteer Health Care program, any licensed volunteer who provides services at the clinic will be covered for malpractice. Doctors will also be able to earn continuing medical education points for serving in the clinic. Lou Graner will serve as the clinic’s director. “When we first started, all of this seemed so impossible,” said Crosby. “But now we’ve come so far, and we’ve been given so much support. We feel very blessed to be where we are right now.” The lease for the old health department building will be signed soon. Coweta County Hospital Authority has authorized chairman Mark Brown to execute a lease between the authority and the recently-formed Coweta Samaritan Clinic, allowing the clinic to move into the Jackson Street building currently occupied by the Coweta County Health
Department. Brown also reported the facility will be named after his father, the late Sam Brown, who served for years as chairman of the authority. The large monument sign in front of the building will read “The Sam Brown Medical Building, home of Coweta Samaritan Clinic.” Greg Wright, president of the Coweta County Development Authority, said that the Coweta Samaritan Clinic, CTCA, the new PAPP Clinic off ices, Piedmont Newnan Hospital’s new campus, the new health department, and new health education opportunities will all have key roles to play in a rapidly changing Coweta County. “There is no doubt that the growing health care industry in Coweta County will have a significant impact on the local economy now and in the future,” said Wright. “Health care jobs are very attractive for any community, but, given our location, transportation infrastructure and workforce training opportunities, we will see continued growth in health care services and opportunities. “We are fortunate to have these resources available for Coweta residents and for people throughout the region,” he said.
Sunday, March 27, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 7A
VISION 2011
Chattahoochee Bend State Park nears opening Brown’s Mill hopefully ready by July 2014 By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
sarah@newnan.com
Photo by Winston Skinner
The Lifetime series “Drop Dead Diva” revolves around Deb Dobkins, a beautiful-but-vapid model wannabe who, after dying in a car accident, is reincarnated in the body of Jane Bingum, a brilliant, thoughtful and overweight attorney. Brooke Elliott, shown here a 2009 filming at Dillard’s in Newnan, plays the lead. The show is about to start filming locally for its third season.
Coweta a popular choice for big screen By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com The filming of movies is becoming a more and more common occurrence in Coweta County, and more filming is on the way. “I think we’re still ramping up in Georgia,” said Scott Tigchelaar of Raleigh Studios at Riverwood in Senoia. “I think it is going to just keep getting better and better for a number of years to come,” Tigchelaar said. “It will eventually plateau, but I still see it on an upward climb.” So far in 2011, three movies have filmed scenes in Coweta: “The Wettest County in the World,” “Joyful Noise,” and “The Odd Life of Timothy Green.” Next up will be “Mississippi Wild,” starring Robert Duvall, Dakota Fanning, Mickey Rourke and Forrest Whitaker. Location Manager Chase Chenowith, who lives in Coweta, recently appeared before the Coweta County Commissioners to get permission for filming. Chenowith said filming locations will include the Newnan House Motel, Oaks Motel, and Travel Inn, as well as some property in Moreland. Chenowith said he was scouting for additional locations as well, and that traveling scenes would be shot on “less traveled country roads.” The Lifetime TV network series “Drop Dead Diva” will soon be returning for its third season. “They should start filming, probably, by the end of the month,” Tigchelaar said. The production has filmed in Senoia, Newnan and Peachtree City. The reason Coweta and Georgia have become so popular with the Hollywood movie set is because of the state’s income tax incentives for film productions. They were created by the Entertainment Industry Investment Act of 2008. Coweta’s State Senator Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, was the driving force behind the passage of that legislation. In 2010, Coweta County achieved the “Camera Ready” designation. There are 15 other Camera Ready communities in Georgia. The designation says that “we are friendly to the industry,” Seabaugh said. Pam Mayer, Coweta’s Visitor Center coordinator, is the county’s Camera Ready liaison. Doing away with the film tax incentives was one of many
controversial recommendations by the Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness to Georgians, which was created in 2010 to study the state’s tax structure. Seabaugh said the council recommended getting rid of all the state’s economic development tax incentives. Instead, the council recommended giving the state Department of Economic Development a pot of money to use however it saw fit in order to draw business and industry. The council also wondered if the tax incentives were really worth the cost. The various council recommendations were drafted into legislation, but none of it — as of this past week — has gained much traction during the 2011 Georgia General Assembly session. “I think the legislature understands the importance” of the incentives and “that they are going to make sure that it stays in place. A lot of legislators are feeling the effect of the industry right in their districts,” Tigchelaar said. The impact can definitely be felt in Coweta. Tigchelaar said the producers of “Wettest County” built a “huge set,” most of it from cypress bought locally. “They bought so much cypress wood” from Carl Smith and Sons in Turin and from a location in Newnan, Tigchelaar said. “They ordered tons of material.” “Wettest County” rented the former Bible Baptist Church property on U.S. 29 north of Newnan, vacant since it was foreclosed on in the summer of 2009, to function as its “base camp.” The majority of the filming is being done at Elder’s Mill. Property owners get paid when their property is the site of a movie set, and Tigchelaar said he knows that many members of the cast and crew have been eating at several area restaurants. “The Wettest County in the World” is a period piece set during Prohibition, and “they’re buying up all kinds of antiques for the film,” Tigchelaar said. “That’s great. That is exactly what they are supposed to do,” he said. Meals on sets are catered, but “they typically only cater two meals a day,” Tigchelaar said. On union productions, a union caterer must be used, but “they are going to buy locally,” he said. Crews also stay in hotels.
Chenowith said many of the big-name stars prefer to go to Atlanta at night to stay in the fancier hotels, but most crew members stay in local hotels. “I just tried to book some hotel rooms for somebody and the hotel was booked,” Tigchelaar said. “The reason was they had a bunch of film crew already there.” Besides the economic incentives, many Cowetans, and other Georgians, are having the opportunity to be in the movies. A number of casting calls for extras have been held in Coweta — with many more to come. As more and more movies are filmed in the area, production companies and services are starting to move in permanently. Riverwood Studios has entered into a long-term management agreement with Raleigh Studios, and EUE/Screen Gems has recently entered into a long-term agreement with the city of Atlanta to build a movie studio at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds. Raleigh Studios has “brought in and set up a number of production service companies,” Tigchelaar said. “That will ultimately result in more permanent jobs, more equipment being rented, more productions being serviced in this area,” Tigchelaar said. With “Drop Dead Diva” entering its third season, “people have moved to the area to work on that show,” Tigchelaar said. “A lot of locals work on that show,” he said. “It could run for six or seven years” and “spend a lot of money and employ a lot of people for that period of time.” There are a lot of people “being touched by the business,” Tigchelaar said. “Whether they spend a week as an extra, or someone rented their store or property, or they were able to sell something to the film.” “I think Coweta County is a great place to film,” Tigchelaar said. “It is strategically located close to Atlanta, but it has a lot of different looks. It was one of the first counties that got the Camera Ready designation,” he said. “There is a lot that we can offer and certainly Coweta has proven to be very accommodating to the film companies,” Tigchelaar said. “I think they appreciate that and will keep coming back.”
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Movie lights glow in the Greenville-LaGrange neighborhood south of Newnan in preparation for filming of the Disney production “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” at 155 Greenville St. March 14, 15 and 16.
In just a few short months, Coweta County’s Chattahoochee Bend State Park should open to the public. Major construction of the park’s amenities has been completed, and the volunteers of the local Friends of Chattahoochee Bend group have built five miles of hiking trails, with more to come. Things are also progressing on the Brown’s Mill Battlefield site to be developed south of Newnan. Coweta County is moving forward with work on the first phase of the battlefield plan, which will be funded with a Transportation Enhancement Activity Grant. Also, volunteer group the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield has become active, and is raising money and doing archeological research on the site. The state purchased the first tracts of what was to become Chattahoochee Bend State Park along the Chattahoochee River in western Coweta in 1999. In 2005, Coweta County decided to fund a “general development plan” for the park as a way of jump-starting progress on the park’s development. In 2006, thanks to the work of Coweta’s legislative delegation, State Reps. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, and Billy Horne, R-Sharpsburg, and State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, $7 million for the park was included in the state’s bond budget. The Friends of Chattahoochee Bend State Park was formed in mid2008. In early 2009, the group began holding cleanup days to get rid of the tremendous amount of trash and debris that had been dumped on the property over the years. A ceremonial ground breaking for the park was held in September 2009, and construction of the park’s amenities went out to bid shortly thereafter. Samples Construction was chosen as the general contractor. To stretch the money available, the state decided the Friends group would be responsible for construction of all trails. Coweta County decided to buy a portion of the Brown’s Mill Battlefield site in 2001,with greenspace funds. The county was awarded the Transportation Enhancement grant in 2007 for the development of the “westside amenity area” at the battlefield site. The county had sought a $1 million grant but received $300,000. The county is required to provide a 20 percent match. Those matching funds were in the form of paying for design engineering services for the battlefield site. In August 2009, the commissioners voted to postpone that expenditure because of the economy. In spring 2010, the commissioners voted to move forward, and a contract with MACTEC for the design was approved in August. The county has also been awarded a grant through the Georgia Recreational Trails Grant Program for trails at the site. The county recently approved moving forward with the grant procedures. The Friends of Brown’s Mill was formed several years ago, but with nothing going on at the site, the group became inactive. In February, a general meeting was held and a new board was elected. Speaking at the meeting was Dr. David Evans, a Civil War expert and author from Athens. “We were so excited,” said Carolyn Turner, who was elected president of the board. “We had about 50 people there; we were so thrilled,” she said. And it was great to have Evans there. “He has written so many
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Dean Powers, left, and Dick Brunelle work to flatten a hilly section of the riverwalk trail at the soon-to-open state park in western Coweta during a Friends of the Chattahoochee Bend State Park workday.
Photo by Sarah Campbell
State Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, speaks during orientation at one of the first trail-building days at Chattahoochee Bend State Park. Also pictured is Stephen Bush, trails committee chairman with the Friends of Chattahoochee Bend State Park.
books about the battlefield, and he is so knowledgeable about everything,” Turner said. There were also several other “important people from around the state, as far as battlefield work,” at the meeting, Turner said. Tuner, a retired history teacher at Newnan High School, and her fellow history teacher Pat Tidwell, along with Sandra Parker, Coweta’s comprehensive planner, started working together on fundraising for the battlefield site about a year ago. “We started with Market Day last summer, with candy,” Turner said. Parker is “phenomenal with cross-stitching and embroidery” and started selling embroidered items, as well. When it got too hot to deal with candy, “we decided we would do yard art,” Turner said. In addition to Market Day, they also went to the Hummingbird Festival in Hogansville and ended up raising about $3,000, Turner said. They wanted to raise more money, and it was decided to check with the Friends of Brown’s Mill. “The three ladies,” as they called themselves, met with members of the group and organized the meeting. “We elected a new set of officers and board members and since that day… I say that it is like somebody yelled ‘Charge!’ and nobody stopped,” Turner said. “Just every day, every week, it’s more and more and more.” Hopes are to have at least a portion of the battlefield site open to the public by July 30, 2014, the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Brown’s Mill. So far, they have organized two archeological digs on the site. Turner said items found recently included a piece of a handle from a grease pot,
which would have been used with a cannon. “One of the main things that we are trying to do is prove, without a doubt, the location of one of the federal cannons,” Turner said. With the discovery of the grease pot handle, ‘we feel like we’ve probably done that.” They also found a piece of brick that appeared to be from the mid-1800s. “It was handmade and not fired,” Turner said. Another thing they’re hoping to find is the location of the home of George Cook, who lived on the battlefield site. “There is a whole story about him and his family,” Turner said. “His little girl was killed during the battle.” The group has a new website, www.friendsofbrownsmillbattlefield.com. Visitors can learn about the organization and become members. Turner said the group now has about 20 official members, and one lives in New England. The website is “very, very new, and there is a very limited amount of information on it,” Turner said, but she’s “trying to add to it all the time.” “Everybody is interested and everybody is excited and saying let’s do some more.” For more information about the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield, visit www.friendsofbrownsmillbattlefield.com or contact Turner at 678-571-7718. For more information about the Friends of Chattahoochee Bend, visit www.bendfriend.org. The Friends of Chattahoochee Bend holds volunteer days the fourth Saturday of each month. Visit the website for more information.
Sunday, March 27, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 11A
VISION 2011
COWETA COUNTY SCHOOLS
Keeping pace with rapid growth still in cards us the ability to plan and respond more effectively by approving E-SPLOST for five With Coweta County’s popu- more years,” Barker said. “We look forward to working lation expected to double by with the Chamber of 2040, according to some estimates, and with millions of dol- Commerce, the Development Authority, Coweta County govlars of new business and comernment and city authorities in munity development on the Newnan, Senoia, Grantville and way — especially in the health other municipalities as we care field — Dr. Steve Barker move forward,” he said. expects to take off running The types of projects that when he assumes the position can be funded with E-SPLOST of school system superintendinclude new school construcent in April. tion or classroom additions to Growth has been the norm for Coweta County for decades keep up with Coweta’s growth, now, and all indications are that the purchase of equipment such as school buses and — now that the recession is school technology, and finally winding down — the school system will have to con- improvements to existing schools. tinue to keep pace with the A large portion of the funds county’s relatively rapid pace of from E-SPLOST are used for growth for years to come. improvement projects at exist“There are some indications that the economy is returning,” ing schools such as painting, roofing and flooring replaceBarker said recently. ment, heating and air systems, “Locally, we have Piedmont Newnan’s new hospital facility and major renovations at older schools. being completed, and Cancer Projects currently identified Treatment Centers of America on the school system’s five-year is beginning work on its site construction plan current are: here in the near future,” said ■ Technology improvements Barker. (system wide) “There are other projects ■ School bus purchases moving forward, like West ■ Textbooks/digital media Georgia Technical College’s ■ New high school and high new Coweta campus, which will have a tremendous impact school classroom additions ■ New elementary school on the county and on our ■ Transportation facility school system,” he said. ■ Paving (26 schools and sys“We will continue to plan for tem locations) growth,” said Barker. ■ Painting (14 schools and Luckily, the school system system locations) now has the tools in place to ■ Floor covering (13 schools make those plans, since the voters in early March approved and system locations) ■ Evans Middle School addian extension of the education tion sales tax, or E-SPLOST. ■ East Coweta High School “The community has given
By JEFF BISHOP jbishop@newnan.com
Photo by Jeff Bishop
Dr. Steve Barker, center, takes the helm as Coweta’s superintendent of schools on April 1. At a recent meeting with him are, left, Associate Supt. Jerry Davis, and right, Sue Brown, chairman of the Coweta Board of Education.
renovations and improvements ■ Northgate High School renovations and improvements ■ Newnan High School renovations and addition ■ Canongate Elementary School renovations and improvements ■ Newnan Crossing Elementary School renovations and improvements ■ Arnall Middle School renovations and improvements ■ Thomas Crossroads Elementary School renovations and improvements ■ Jefferson Parkway Elementary School renovations and improvements ■ Winston Dowdell Academy renovations and improvements ■ Turf athletic fields (high schools) ■ Air-conditioning at elementary multi-purpose buildings
■ Air-conditioning at middle school and high school gymnasiums ■ Land acquisition for future school sites. You can add to that list a likely major renovation or possibly even a replacement of a rustedout and aged Drake Stadium. But beyond all the obvious construction and capital needs a growing school system faces, there are many other challenges, Barker said. “Beyond construction and growth, we are going to continue our focus on improving academic achievement,” Barker said. “Over the next year, we will work on meeting state requirements for our academic plan, and that involves a great deal of community engagement as we develop a vision for education in Coweta County,” he said. “In fact, we’ve already begun
meeting with groups throughout the community, and will continue to do so for the next several months,” said Barker. “We are going to be focused on that planning throughout the next school year.” One thing the school system will need to decide soon is whether to become a charter school system or an IE2 system, as defined by the state. Mark Whitlock, CEO of the Central Educational Center and director of public policy for the school system, has been put in charge of assessing the pros and cons of each alternative. “The board has to decide,” said Barker. “We have to move down one of these paths before 2013.” Either choice will allow the school system to operate with much more flexibility than it has before, with regard to state rules, he said. “We have to decide what’s best for the district as a whole,” said Barker. “The board is already getting some facts together.” “We’re also anticipating a reauthorization of federal education legislation — the No Child Left Behind Act,” Barker said. “We’re looking forward to seeing what shape that will take.” A top priority for Barker will be getting new technology into the hands of local students. That is based on a recommendation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which recently reaccredited the school system. “We want to put a new focus on the student use of technology,” Barker said.
There’s plenty of technology available in the schools, Barker said, but it’s usually in the hands of the teachers rather than the students. “We already have a lot of technology in place,” Barker said. “The real challenge is getting that technology into the hands of the students.” A technology committee is working to address this problem, and some preliminary plans are already in place, he said. Another priority will be narrowing the “achievement gap,” Barker said, by increasing the number of students who enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The school system would like to see the SAT scores go up, he said, and “using best practices should help us do that.” Barker said he wants to continue to “strengthen business and community partnerships,” especially partnerships that allow local students to gain college credit while still in high school. Barker said he will also continue to examine broader problems in society in general and think about ways that the educational system can “be a part of the solution for all those challenges we are faced with. “I do think you can rest assured that we will continue to work every day to meet the needs of the students in this county,” Barker said. “Doing what is best for the kids — that’s what drives me.”
Athletic facilities expanded By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com Coweta County Recreation Department has been busy with upgrades to the county’s athletic facilities. A variety of improvements to the county’s soccer facilities has been in the works for the past year or so, and more improvements are still to come. In early 2011, Coweta is in the midst of the first phase of improvements at the Andrew Bailey Road recreation facility, and is building a new road exiting the Hunter Complex off Highway 16 East in order to cut down on traffic after games. Also, the boat ramp property at the Chattahoochee River has been improved and renamed Riverside Park. Last year, the county built a large field that can function as two soccer fields — and a walking track — on county-owned property adjacent to the Central Library in eastern Coweta. Those were successful, and popular, and the county has recently approved moving forward with turning the newly-named Central Park into a true soccer complex. In February, the Coweta County Board of Commissioners voted to move forward with phase one of the Central Park plans. Phase one includes enlarging the existing field to create two regulation-size fields, and building four additional fields — two full-size and two smaller
ones. There will be a 325-space parking lot, a fence, and lighting for the large field, plus a well for irrigation. Phase two, which doesn’t yet have funding, will be the building of a 4,000-square-foot “convenience center,” which includes restrooms, a concession stand, office space, a community meeting space, and a covered pavilion. There will also be lighting for two more fields. The new fields weren’t the only improvements for Coweta’s soccer players. Following the end of the spring season in 2010, Coweta County undertook extensive drainage improvements at Whitlock Park, which is located in a flood plain along White Oak Creek. “While it is no secret to anyone that Whitlock Park has drainage issues, there were also clearly some things that could be done to improve the turf and the drainage on the soccer fields,” said Patricia Palmer, Coweta’s public affairs director. Area drains and lateral drains were added to direct water into the creek. The county also raised the chain-link fence that runs along the length of the park, on the west side of the creek. In some areas, the fence was actually acting as a dam for the water, which kept the water flowing into the creek as it should, and kept some water on the fields, Palmer said. Field improvements included adding sand and soil amendment to even out the grades,
and sprigging and seeding turf in selected areas. Unfortunately, 2010’s early and virulent crop of army worms enjoyed some of that freshly-planted grass. Additional grass and armyworm treatment were needed. The county also did work on paving walkways, and added an irrigation system for fields 10 and 11. The county is working on phase one of a two-phase expansion of the recreation fields at Andrew Bailey Road. The county bought six acres adjacent to the park, and six more were donated, said Recreation Director Carl McKnight. Phase one included rough grading, and building a retaining wall, for three new fields, as well as parking lot improvements and septic system upgrades. In the summer, McKnight said, plans are to put out to bid the final stages of phase one, including lighting, fencing, “laser grading,” and irrigation and grassing. County crews also will be building an additional restroom facility. Completion of the Roy Road exit from Hunter has been delayed by a wet and cold winter. McKnight said they can begin paving as soon as things dry out. There will also be guardrails and lighting, and McKnight hopes to have the new exit road open by fall. As for the more distant future, local youth football
players might be getting new fields to play on. Fischer Crossing Development Group has proposed building three football fields on a 16-acre tract on Fischer Road at the northern edge of the developer’s property. The football fields and a daycare center are proposed for the area, which was originally slated for the decentralized wastewater treatment system to serve the Fischer Crossings development. Now that the development will be connected to county sewer, the property is no longer needed for the wastewater system.
Photo by Bob Fraley
Coweta County is working on phase one of a two-phase expansion of the recreational fields at Andrew Bailey Road. The county bought six acres adjacent to the park, and six more were donated, said Recreation Director Carl McKnight. Phase one included rough grading and building a retaining wall for three new fields, as well as parking lot improvements and septic system upgrades.
Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. Performances* by two outstanding Piatigorsky Foundation artists:
Paul Rosenthal has recently marked his fortieth anniversary of living and working in Alaska. After studying in New York at the Juilliard School and in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, he realized that neither metropolis was the sort of place where he would be able to live the life of creative freedom he craved. He was drawn to the Alaskan Frontier. He traveled to many towns and villages around the vast state playing concerts and found a warm and welcoming public. After a time, Rosenthal was asked to join the faculty of the University of Alaska, first in Fairbanks and later in Anchorage and taught in those cities for a number of years. Later the University bestowed the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters on their ex-faculty member. Rosenthal created a Chamber Music Festival in the picturesque town of Sitka-by-the-Sea which he still directs and which, thirty-eight years later, continues to attract enthusiastic performers and audiences to share the joy of glorious music in an intimate, spectacularly scenic setting. Rosenthal continues to travel and perform a great deal outside of Alaska. This season he will perform in New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas and on tour once again in Alaska.
Doris Stevenson has won lavish praise from critics and the public alike for her solo and D ccollaborative performances. She has soloed with the Boston Pops, played at Carnegie Hall in New York, the KKennedy Center in Washington D.C., Salle Pleyel in Paris and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. In addition, Stevenson hhas performed with the leading lights in string playing such as Gregor Piatigorsky, Ruggiero Ricci and Paul Tortelier. Early in her career, she was invited by Heifetz and Piatigorsky to perform with them together. T Stevenson is a founding member of the Sitka Summer Music Festival in Alaska, and has participated in S numerous chamber music festivals throughout the United States.
Evan Drachman established The Piatigorsky Foundation in 1990 in honor of his grandfather Gregor Piatigorsky. Piatigorsky deeply believed in the healing and inspiration power of classical music. He once said, “Music makes life better. Music is a necessity. It is rich. It is imaginative. It is magnificent. And it is for everyone.” * This concert is generously sponsored in part by Claude & Cheryl Vickers and Donald Nixon
Photo by Bob Fraley
In 2010 the county built a large field that can function as two soccer fields, and a walking track, on county-owned property adjacent to the Central Library in eastern Coweta. Those were successful, and popular, and the county has recently approved moving forward with a plan to turn the newly-named Central Park into a true soccer complex.
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Vision 2011 The Times-Herald
1D — Sunday, March 27, 2011
$7.5M FACELIFT Survey our road map for future By JEFF BISHOP jbishop@newnan.com When it comes to industrial development in Coweta County, a recent Community Assessment is acting as a kind of road map to tell local officials where the pots of gold are, and how to grab hold of the rainbow and yank them our way. “The Herron report, which included a target industry study, gave us a great road map for targeting industries that make the most sense for our county,” said Coweta County Development Authority President Greg Wright. Based on the recent analysis, the key industry sectors the consultants feel Coweta Photo by Jeffrey Leo
County should focus on in the future are: ■ advanced manufacturing, ■ automotive and vehicle parts manufacturing, ■ health care related services, ■ warehouse and distribution, and ■ data centers. “Not only do the industry sectors help us meet our goal of increasing the average county wage, but they match up well with the strategic industries of the state,” said Wright. “This is important because we can leverage our marketing dollars for maximum benefit,” he said. Coweta County will continue to be a location of interest to a wide variety of companies — and not just the priorities on
Courthouse ready for another century sarah@newnan.com Completion of the $7.5 million renovation and restoration project at the 1904 Courthouse was one of Coweta County’s biggest projects in 2010. Closed since Coweta Superior Court moved to the Coweta Justice Center in 2006, the landmark courthouse had been in pretty bad shape. The dome had structural issues, and the copper cladding was deteriorated and stained. The dome has since been stabilized and topped with brand new copper, and the interior of the building — modernized many times over the years — has been returned to its original appearance in most areas, complete with intricate faux grain painting on the woodwork. The courthouse is now home to Coweta County Probate Court and the Coweta Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Visitors Center. Probate Court has more space now, and the Visitors Center has seen a marked increase in traffic. There also has been a change in the type of visitors. The center still gets plenty of travelers, but now “we’ve become more of a local information center,” said Visitors Center Coordinator Pam Mayer. “That is what we are supposed to be. We are the information resource for the county — no question is too small.” The next step in the courthouse project is installing customized laser-etched brick pavers on the grounds area. The commemorative pavers are available for $50, and the proceeds go into a fund to
New radio system in works
Following move to courthouse, visitors center busier than ever By W. WINSTON SKINNER
winston@newnan.com Tourists are coming to Coweta County — in greater numbers than ever — and getting a taste of local history from the welcome center at the historic Coweta County Courthouse in downtown Newnan. “The new thing is being in the public eye,” said Pam Mayer, visitor center coordinator. The center moved from its longtime location in a modern building on Walt Sanders Memorial Drive east of Interstate 85 to the downtown landmark in the middle of September 2010. Since then, Mayer has watched as visitor numbers have risen, and she is expecting that trend to continue. In December 2009, the visitor center saw 6,446 visitors. That number rose to
help maintain the monuments outside and artifacts inside the courthouse. The cutoff date for the first pavement order was at the end of 2010. The engraved pavers should be arriving soon, and they will replace some of the existing pavers in the sidewalks around the courthouse. The brick etching took a little longer than expected because, as it turns out, the pavers in the sidewalk around the courthouse aren’t really bricks at all. Instead, they are made of concrete. The laser
8,869 in December 2010. February’s numbers showed 374 visitors in 2010 and 916 in 2011. “We’re not doing anything different,” said Mayer, who has long been a pro at giving directions, helping people find lodging and a good meal and giving visitors a “welcome to Coweta” smile. “We’re just seeing more people.” People from all over visit Coweta. So far in 2011, there have been 16 international visitors, 17 from Alabama and 16 from Florida. There also have been visitors from 23 other states — including Vermont, Minnesota, New York and Idaho. There have been 118 Georgians from outside Coweta County and 369 Cowetans. Many local folks stop at the center when they
See CENTER, page 6D etching can only be done on actual fired brick, said Patricia Palmer, Coweta’s public affairs director. Instead of the etching, the pavers could have been sandblasted, but sandblasting doesn’t look as good as the laser etching, Palmer said. The etched pavers will be a traditional red brick; the current pavers have more of a pinkish/purple tinge. The red bricks will be interspersed among the others.
See COURTHOUSE, page 6D
See SURVEY, page 4D
PUBLIC SAFETY
The historic 1904 Coweta County Courthouse is at the heart of downtown Newnan. Following a $7.5 million renovation and restoration project, it is now home to Coweta Probate Court functions and the Coweta Visitor Center.
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
this list, Wright said. “But we know there are several industry sectors that deserve greater attention because of Wright the positive impact they can have on our economy and because they are a natural fit given the strengths of our community,” he said. A big part of the county’s success or failure will be tied to how effective it can market
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
sarah@newnan.com Photo by Bob Fraley
The new Coweta County Fire Department headquarters Station 1 is nearing completion on Turkey Creek Road.
Fire HQ, jail expansion among upgrades More space in the jail has been needed for a long time. Over the past few years, Sheriff Coweta County is in the Mike Yeager has worked on midst of several public safety enlarging jail capacity at the upgrades, some of which have current Greison Trail facility. “We had one storage area been needed for a long time. Work is nearing completion that we actually turned into a on Turkey Creek Road on a dorm, and one storage area we new headquarters station for turned into a courtroom,” the Coweta County Fire Yeager said. The jail has been running at Department. Next up is comor near capacity for a pletion of renovawhile. Yeager said he tions to the had a conversation Grantville station, many years ago with and renovations at the late Mitch Powell, the Smokey Road longtime county attorand Sargent stations. ney, and they talked And plans are about the need to progressing for the expand the jail. relocation of Station A needs assessment 6 at Greentop Road and space analysis for and U.S. 29. The the jail expansion is new station will be being done by Mark built to the north of Yeager Goldman and the current station, Associates. The analysis is near The Heritage School. The county’s new 700 MHz almost complete and should be digital radio system should be brought before the Coweta operational by the end of 2011; Board of Commissioners some the two new radio towers have time in April, Yeager said. “It is up to them what the been completed in Newnan and Senoia, and a space and needs next move will be,” he said of analysis for the future expan- the commissioners. Yeager said sion of the Coweta County Jail should be completed soon.
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
sarah@newnan.com
See SAFETY, page 2D
Coweta Sheriff ’s Office and Coweta 911 are working on a unified dispatch system. Currently, those who call 911 to report non-emergency incidents to the sheriff ’s department talk to the 911 operator and are then transferred to the CCSO, where they have to repeat their complaint. “We have been talking about this for 15 years,” Sheriff Mike Yeager said. With the upcoming conversion to the new digital radio system, “now is the most opportune time,” Yeager said, “to put all of dispatch under one roof.” Yeager said he is still working with Motorola on the radios for the 700 MHz system. The county’s new 700 MHz digital radio system should be operational by the end of 2011; the two new radio towers have recently been erected in Newnan and Senoia. Getting the new digital radio system operational has taken some time. Coweta has partnered with the Western Area Regional Radio System, which includes Carroll, Heard and Haralson counties, and the city of Douglasville. The plan was to originally go with an 800 MHz system, but as time went on, the spectrum filled up and officials decided to go with 700 MHz. The system was to be funded through the 2008 fire bond. The county was also
See RADIOS, page 2D
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO COWETANS?
Involved residents, mix of suburban and rural life By NICHOLE GOLDEN nichole@newnan.com Coweta County’s involved residents, its proximity to Atlanta and the mix of suburban and rural life are the things that make it a wonderful place to live, say locals. Volunteers Lisa Sewell and Bette Hickman have both lived in other communities but have called Coweta home for many years. Both ladies were nominees for the 2011 Coweta Citizen of the year. Hickman, a longtime arts instructor and supporter of the
Hickman
Sewell
arts, moved to Coweta with her young family from Miami, Fla., in 1977. “We wanted to raise our young son in a rural small town and we searched for
approximately six months to find our small farm in unincorporated Raymond. I am very glad I was unaware of the trendy north side of Atlanta,” said Hickman. “We looked south and have never regretted it. Even today I still find it odd that anyone would not want to live on the south side of Atlanta. Over the years, Hickman said she’s appreciated the growth in Coweta as it has meant less travel to Atlanta for the family. “I am also very grateful that the growth over the years meant more local jobs while
local leaders encouraged and maintained our historic downtown and protected our green space,” said Hickman. She added that citizen input is critical to protecting this quality of life. “My relatives in Miami admire the life we have found in our adopted hometown and they enjoy visiting,” said Hickman. “I know that Newnan and Coweta County have a bright future, but I am also aware that I need to stay involved so that my sons and their children will continue to find their future here.”
Sewell, who serves as secretary of the Coweta County Car Seat Coalition, moved here with her family from New York. She enjoys the sense of calm and security, and the closeness to Atlanta without the “big city negatives.” “We found it to be very affordable; it is nice that there is a wide variety in housing prices,” said Sewell. “We loved the mix of completely rural areas of Coweta and more developed, commercial areas; we feel like we’re in another place altogether when driving down parts of Smokey Road, or
other areas where horses and cattle can be seen grazing.” Sewell added that Coweta is just the right distance from the Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport — not too far and not too close. “Aside from the one notable [adult novelty] business that caters to an unsavory market, there is a lack of low-end businesses here which makes this area more attractive to families and those interested in preserving their real estate investment, Sewell said. “When you
See LIFE, page 6D
2D — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
VISION
2011
Stimulus dollars speeding work of local Habitat affiliate By W. WINSTON SKINNER winston@newnan.com Newnan-Coweta County Habitat for Humanity is using federal stimulus dollars to make a difference in the lives of people in Coweta County. NCHH is using loan money from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program — part of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — to rehabilitate houses that were lost to foreclosure. The faithbased non-profit then sells those homes to people who otherwise would probably not be able to own their own. NCHH got $1.4 million in NSP money last year and has bought 20 houses with that
money. “Habitat historically has been known for building new homes from the ‘ground up’ — and being the very best stewards of our donors funds as we do so,� said Toni C. Rios, program manager for development with NCHH. The convergence of the foreclosure crisis and the ARRA funds has made it easier and
cheaper for Habitat to rehab an existing home than to build. “Many homes in Coweta County were being left vacant and abandoned — which contributed to the decline in property values and tax revenue, while increasing crime in our communities,� Rios said. “The economic downturn and foreclosure crisis
presented a unique situation. It became very clear that in order to be fiscally responsible to our donors and to more effectively and efficiently serve the growing number of families in need of decent, affordable housing — we had to consider rehabilitating,� Rios said. “Costs to purchase two foreclosed homes and rehab them
was often half the cost to build one new home of comparable size,� Rios said. In collaboration with the city of Newnan, the Newnan City Council, the Coweta County Commissioners and the Housing Authority of Newnan, NCHFH applied for a loan to
See HABITAT, page 4D
New radio system in Coweta in the works RADIOS Continued from page 1D awarded a $918,000 Homeland Security grant to help pay for the system. Then the county was approached by Municipal Communications, which proposed building the two towers for free if they were allowed to lease the lower portions of the towers to phone companies and others. Municipal Communications will also pay the county $100,000 for each tower, and $50,000 for each “co locating� antenna, after the first one. The lease will last 25 years. Photo by Jeffrey Leo The radio system was to be Crews from Second Time originally for the fire departAround, a tower construction company from Kentucky, were ment, with hopes that other busy off Temple Avenue in Coweta public safety agencies Newnan recently putting up one would sign on. So far, nearly all of Coweta’s new public safety public safety agencies, as well as other county agencies and communications towers.
Piedmont Newnan Hospital, have joined. The 345-foot Newnan tower is located at the county’s Temple Avenue complex. The 340-foot Senoia tower is on city-owned property near Leroy Johnson Park off Howard Road. Coweta Emergency Management Director Jay Jones said he is hoping the system will go live by August. “It is going to be a win/win for everybody — not only the public safety workers,� Jones said. “The way everybody does mutual aid, between the city and the county, everybody works together. If there is a major situation, we’ll have that communication and it will be seamless.� The radio system is just one of many fire department upgrades undertaken in the past few years. In 2010, the new Station 9 on Corinth Road outside Grantville opened, and the new
headquarters on Turkey Creek Road is under construction. Remodeling work is being done on Station 11 in Grantville. The 2008 fire bond called for two new stations. But because construction prices are so low, there will be enough money left over for Station 6. Coweta Fire Chief Johnny Teeters thinks there will also be enough bond money left to build a new maintenance facility and a training facility. Long-range plans call for a future Station 17 in the Arbor Springs/Ga. Hwy. 154 area, and a new Station 11 in a more strategic location. Now that Station 9 is operational, Teeters would like to move the Grantville station closer to Interstate 85. When that new station is built, the old Grantville station will be returned to the city. Other improvements include upgraded equipment. Because the new equipment
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Newnan Police Chief Douglas L. “Buster� Meadows says his department’s biggest addition this past year was the upgrade to its high visibility crime suppression camera system. Among features the upgrade has created “hot spots� where officers can tap into the system to review video or control a camera from a patrol car. Coweta County Sheriff’s Office used the city’s camera system to identify a suspect in a recent fatal shooting, according to Meadows.
and stations enhance the fire department’s response times and firefighting capabilities, it’s hoped that will result in an improvement in the county’s ISO rating. The rating, from the Insurance Services Office, is
used in calculating rates for homeowners’ insurance. Much of Coweta County currently has an ISO rating of 6, while certain areas more than five miles from a fire station have a rating of 9. ISO ratings are on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best.
New county fire department headquarters, expanding jail part of ongoing upgrades SAFETY Continued from page 1D he met with the consultants recently for an overview of the preliminary results. Accommodating the longterm needs of the jail will mean an additional 350 beds, Yeager said. The current plan calls for a two-phase project. Yeager said he’d like to see construction on phase one begin by 2013, with completion no later than 2015. In addition to adding extra space, phase one will include
renovating some existing dorm units. Once the new dorms are built, they’ll be able to vacate some existing dorms so they can be renovated. Right now, that’s not an option. Yeager says phase two should be built around 2020, and that it would be adequate through 2030 or 2035. Yeager has been observing the jail population for the past few years, “watching to see how our population goes up and goes down, according to court schedules and during our arraignments. What we see is, it is not going down as quickly as it is going up.� He said that
the growing jail population is not because of an increase in crime. It’s because more criminals are being caught. “What we’ve shown is our increasing arrests,� Yeager said. “I think our personnel are doing a great job at solving these cases. Unfortunately we can’t sit here and say we’re solving 100 percent, but it’s not because we’re not trying.� What he has noticed is a change in the type of criminal. “Due to this economy, we’re seeing a whole different type of person coming into the jail that we’ve never dealt with before,� Yeager said. “People that had
jobs for all these years, but their situation changed. They’ve fallen on hard times and had to resort to other means to try to support themselves and their families.� Those means include theft and various types of fraud, Yeager said. He’s also seeing a rise in domestic violence cases, which he thinks are influenced, at least in part, by the economy. Over the years, Yeager and his department have seen a lot of repeat offenders. But now, they’re starting to see a lot of people without prior criminal records. Of course there are still con-
tinuing problems with methamphetamine, and growing problems with prescription drug abuse. Finding methamphetamine labs is not uncommon, but an actual meth lab is different from what many people imagine. “A meth lab can be as small as a small cooler. It can be in a 6-by-6 shed,� he said. “We have found them cooking in bathtubs, kitchen sinks, laundry rooms, the trunks of cars.� The dangers of meth labs are well known, but a meth lab doesn’t have to explode to be harmful, Yeager said. Yeager and three others from
the CCSO recently attended a day-long summit on prescription drug abuse. Yeager said the thing that really surprised him was when the state medical examiner said 67 percent of the drug-related deaths he saw were related to prescription drugs. Only 11 percent were from overdoses of illegal drugs. Prescription drug abuse “is a bigger issue than a lot of people realize,� Yeager said. “You’ll hear of somebody that died because of an overdose of cocaine or meth or ecstasy. You don’t hear about the ones that have died from abuse of prescription drugs.�
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4D — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
VISION
Assessment our road map for the future SURVEY Continued from page 1D itself to these prospects. Wright said that he is working with other stakeholders and prospective contractors to formulate what he hopes will be an effective marketing campaign. “With the publicity generated by the community assessment and the recommendation that we update our marketing efforts for Coweta County and for the south side of Atlanta, we have been contacted by several companies that are interested in working with the Development Authority on an updated marketing strategy,” he said. “I don’t think anyone was surprised with the strengths that were identified in the Herron study,” said Wright. Overall, the consultants identified 20 community strengths and only eight weaknesses. The county needs to capitalize on those strengths and market them to industries looking to relocate or expand, he said. “The strengths can be divided into several categories: location, infrastructure, workforce, education and quality of life. These are the key factors that have been used to promote the county for years,” he said. “We will continue to promote these strengths in our marketing efforts to encourage companies, consultants and project managers to consider Coweta County as a location,” Wright said. “I think many of the county’s strengths match up well with the location factors that companies evaluate when making a decision, so it is incumbent upon us to continually sell the community as a prime location using these strengths as a guide. As the county moves forward, a key strategy will be building and maintaining relationships with site location consultants and project managers, Wright said. “These are the professionals who are in a position to recommend Coweta County to companies looking at expansion projects and for new locations.
“In the coming months, we will be moving forward with these updated marketing efforts, and I anticipate significant changes to the ways in which we market Coweta County,” he said. Wright said that, at the most basic level, his job is to help put local people back to work. This is increasingly important as the unemployment rate recently soared back up to record levels statewide. “First, on a human level, we all know someone who is out of work, and our first priority is to help facilitate job creation to get people back to work as quickly as possible,” Wright said.
‘One challenge has been with the uncertainty over the direction of the economy’ “We are fortunate in Coweta to have many resources available to help people in their job search and to help them develop their skills for future job prospects,” he said. “One challenge has been with the uncertainty over the direction of the economy,” he said. “This has kept companies off-balance and hindered their decision-making process when looking at new locations and at expansion projects. “In talking to consultants working with companies, they expect this year will be much better and companies will become more comfortable with making these important decisions as the year progresses.” Another challenge, which is related to competition, has been in publicizing projects that do make decisions to locate or expand, Wright said. “While we would love to be able to announce every project on the front page of the paper or on the website, companies have been very hesitant about publicizing their projects — whether new jobs, new equipment and machinery or new construction — because they do not want their competitors
to know they are expanding,” he said. “Over the last year, we have worked with several companies that have expanded and added hundreds of new jobs to the economy; however, we have honored the wishes of the companies and not publicized these projects,” he said. It’s important to be a team player with existing industries in Coweta County, he said. “I think we must continue to focus attention on existing industry,” he said. “Estimates are that existing business and industry accounts for up to 80 percent of new job growth in a community, and, given the level of project activity over the past year, this has certainly been the case in Coweta County. “The Development Authority has worked over the last several years to build and maintain relationships with our existing industries so that we can respond to problems, direct companies to available resources and assist with expansion projects. “Too often, communities focus on new companies locating in their communities; however, we must continue to recognize and appreciate the critical role that our existing industries play in our success as a community, and I think we do a great job in Coweta County,” he said. From an economic standpoint, the recent population projections from the Atlanta Regional Commission are good news, Wright said. Coweta’s population is expected to double to a quarter of a million people within the next few decades. “I have met with several developers over the last few months who are interested in the prospects for Coweta County and how they can help provide the buildings we need to attract more and more quality businesses and industries,” Wright said. “Not only will we continue to see an increase in retail activity, which is driven by demographics, but we will also see new and expanding job opportunities as companies of all sizes look for a great location that has the quality and the quantity of the workforce they need,” Wright said.
2011
Some positives seen in Coweta real estate sector By JEFF BISHOP jbishop@newnan.com The latest population projections from the Atlanta Regional Commission predict that Coweta County’s population will double — to a quarter of a million people — by the year 2040, which is good news for local real estate. “I think real estate is rebounding,” said John Thrasher, current president of the Newnan-Coweta Board of Realtors. “Since the storm hit us in 2008, we’ve had some tough years,” Thrasher acknowledged. “But we’re beginning to see several positive things happening.” The inventory of foreclosed homes and distressed real estate is steadily being absorbed, Thrasher said. Everyone in the real estate business hopes that that process works itself out soon, he said. Coweta foreclosure notices have been in the triple digits since the recession hit, hitting 235 this March after peaking at 307 last November. But perhaps the biggest factor that’s going to help the local real estate market is the tremendous growth that’s being projected, he said. “People are still moving in, and they’re going to keep moving in,” said Thrasher. For decades, the Atlanta region has been one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the United States. According to new forecasts from the ARC, the region will add as many people over the next 30 years as it has since 1980. The 20-county
area will grow by three million people to total eight million in 2040. “The projections are not surprising, given the interest in the state of Georgia and in the metro Atlanta area,” said Greg Wright, president of the Coweta County Development Authority. The continued growth will push the populations of two counties, Fulton and Gwinnett, past the one million mark. T o d a y , F u l t o n , Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties account for 60 percent of the region’s population. Thrasher While they will still hold the majority of the residents in 2040, their total share will drop to roughly 52 percent, as smaller counties like Coweta ascend. Coweta is one of five counties — the list also includes Forsyth, Henry, Newton and Paulding — that will see their populations double by 2040. From an economic standpoint, that’s a good thing, local leaders say. “Population growth will help all of Georgia recover from this recession,” said Candace Boothby, president of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce. “Coweta’s strengths will gain the attention of a lot of these new people and this, in turn, will allow us the opportunity to attract more of the higher-quali-
ty growth that will help Coweta continue as one of Georgia’s premier counties.” “The projected population increase is great news for real estate in Coweta County,” said Thrasher. “Housing is such a huge part of the economy. There’s a multiplier effect. “When people buy or sell a house, a lot of things happen that are associated with that,” said Thrasher. “I’m talking about furnishings, new businesses that are necessary to serve the needs of the new residents — the list is endless.” “Just look at the 12 recessions this country has faced,” said Anne Gault, 2011 state president of the Georgia Association of Realtors. “Ten of those 12 times, housing is what led us out of those recessions,” she said. “The two remaining times, it took a world war to get us out of recession. And we have had a serious, serious recession going on.” Local Realtors agree. “I’ve been through about five recessions,” said Realtor Frank Barron of Lindsey’s Real Estate. “Nothing I’ve seen before comes close to the one we’re in right now,” he said. “But I believe we are starting to see that housing and economic activity ramp back up. There are a lot of good things going on. I think we’re starting to get very positive now.”
Stimulus dollars speeding up work of Habitat
HABITAT Continued from page 2D purchase previously foreclosed houses. “We found it fiscally responsible and a benefit for our neighborhoods to rehab these homes at often half the cost of building a home,” Rios said.
Bill and Roma Johnson recently moved into a Corn Crib subdivision home that NCHH rehabbed with stimulus loan dollars. A Habitat House Blessing was held at the Johnson home on Feb. 12. Bob Peebles, NCHH volunteer and former board chairman, said the blessing for the Johnsons. They were joined by several friends and volunteers
for the celebration. The current Habitat rehab process helps neighborhoods stay sound, increases the county’s tax base and enables Habitat to provide homes for more families at a faster rate. Newnan-Coweta Habitat is slated to rehab 12 homes this year. “This is a win-win situation for all concerned,” Rios said.
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Sunday, March 27, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 5D
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Rick Hunsicker, a national expert on senior living, will explore a variety of reasons to look into other residential and lifestyle options, including a retirement community, based on the financial implications of staying in your home.
WEDNESDAYS, MAY 4, MAY 11, MAY 18 - FREE
Wesley Woods’ Annual Wisdom and Wellness Program
Bridge to Healthy Living Workshop Presented by Amedisys Home Health Services. Sessions will include workbook, tote bag with “goodies” and most importantly discussions regarding effective management of your health. Refreshments will be provided. There will be prizes each day with lunch and entertainment on the final day.
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www.wesleywoodsnewnan.com Wesley Woods of Newnan-Peachtree City is a part of Wesley Woods Senior Living, Inc. a not-for-profit corporation serving Georgia seniors since 1954.
6D — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
VISION
2011
Visitors center busier than ever
CENTER Continued from page 1A are in downtown Newnan to shop or eat. They also often accompany out-of-town relatives to the center where they get brochures — with self-guided home tour brochures being particularly popular. The Coweta numbers do not count what Mayer calls “walk-ins” — people who do not sign the guest register but ask a quick question about shopping, court or governmental offices. With city, county and federal offices downtown, Mayer and the welcome center staff have worked to familiarize themselves with where people go for which services. On a single day earlier this month, there were 48 visitors to the welcome center — including a group of four from Maine. That day, Mayer also prepared five packets for a local real estate agent to give to prospects considering a move to the local area. Coweta County has several museums that visitors enjoy. In Newnan, there are the Male Academy Museum, the History Center at the Old Atlanta and West Point Railroad Depot and the African-American Alliance Museum. Moreland has the Old Mill Museum and museums devoted to writers
Lewis Grizzard and Erskine Caldwell. In Senoia, there is the Buggy Shop Museum and the Senoia Area Historical Society Museum. Coweta also boasts two historic gardens — Oak Grove Plantation in north Coweta on U.S. Highway 29 and Dunaway Gardens in Roscoe. There also is the Brown’s Mill Civil War battlefield site planned for development south of Newnan, as well as historic downtown streets, homes and cemeteries. While visitors come to see all those attractions, the welcome center also greets some visitors who come for other reasons. Mayer gets contacted by brides planning their weddings. Some are looking for unique locations for the ceremony, while others are seeking a site for a reception. Other visitors come with a specific interest, such as the Civil War. Genealogists also stop by the courthouse where they pick up maps and information before heading out to search records or visit cemeteries. Visitors sometimes pass through Coweta on the interstate and stop for a meal or to walk around the square. Some visitors drive to Coweta for a quick visit because they have a layover at HartsfieldJackson International Airport. Even though Coweta is growing, “we’re still really rural” compared to other areas in metro Atlanta, Mayer
Courthouse ready for another century
COURTHOUSE
Continued from page 1D
Photo by Winston Skinner
Pam Mayer, visitor center coordinator, talks with Tray Baggarly, Coweta County’s event services director, at the desk at the new welcome center at the Coweta County Courthouse. said. “They want to see something Southern.” Coweta County has already been discovered by bicyclists — who enjoy camaraderie and exercise while pedaling along tree-lined roads in rural stretches. When the new Chattahoochee Bend State Park opens, Mayer expects an influx of visitors who like to hike, camp and fish. “The state parks are big in Georgia,” she said. For visitors of all types, Mayer said she and the staff try to offer a friendly smile. “We’re the face of the county. Fortunately, for my staff, it’s easy to meet and greet,” she said.
Quality of life in Coweta LIFE
Continued from page 1D compare this county to others that have a vast area of rundown businesses and seedy areas, it is apparent that there is a great deal of pride in how our county appears.” Sewell has an idea of several businesses she’d like to see here, including more ethnic markets, and said that a larger corporation would aid in the tax base and in providing quality employment opportunities. Recreational and child-care issues are also important to Sewell. “A bike trail in the new state park [Chattahoochee Bend] would be great. That is one of the attractions of Callaway Gardens for our family,” she said. “Quality child care is another area that would prove beneficial, especially as the kids age out of traditional day care and a gap exists between the summer programs and the needs of working parents.” Does Coweta have a bright future? Sewell thinks so and said that a big part of what makes the county great is its people. “This is a community where Christianity is strong, and this is evidenced in that outpouring of support that follows a disaster, or that motivates a group to serve the needy and homeless,” said Sewell. A school system and county government that have fared better than others in this economy, and dedicated public safety employees, are other aspects of good quality of life, added Sewell. “If we continue in this vein, I believe that we can overcome the current difficulties and thrive, coming out even stronger than before,” said Sewell. Mel Kendricks, longtime educator and community advocate, now works with SunCrest Home Health and also serves as an ambassador for the NewnanCoweta Chamber of Commerce. “I think Newnan has enough of the inner city and enough of the suburban flair to attract a
Kendricks
professional and diverse population,” said Kendricks. “With our state-of-the art health care system, our population and revenue
will increase.” Kendricks also called for the Family Connection program to reactivate a group similar to the former Newnan-based Alliance for Children’s Enrichment (ACE), which dissolved in recent months. It looks like Kendricks will get her wish. Family Connection, a state program that combines private and public money to help families, is working to retain its presence in Coweta. Family Connection is gathering volunteers and staff members from several agencies and programs to address the needs of Cowetans, filling in gaps in services, and avoiding duplication of services. More than 20 groups have joined the effort. Jeff Alevy, e xe c u t ive director of Alevy the Summit YMCA on Highway 34 East, said he believes that Coweta is a great place to live and in many ways maintains a small-town charm. “Residents are friendly, generous and caring,” said Alevy. “An exciting piece of our community’s development is the emergence of our reputation becoming associated with being a ‘health conscious’ community. With the new Piedmont Newnan Hospital and various other medical facilities being built, we have a tremendous economic driver and a practical opportunity to build a healthier community.”
What makes Coweta a great place to live?
770-683-LOGO (5646)
because of the family-oriented atmosphere.” -Lakisha Hill
By NICHOLE GOLDEN nichole@newnan.com Here’s a sampling of what Coweta residents had to say about their quality of life:
What is Coweta lacking?
What makes Coweta a great place to live?
“The only thing that really comes to mind is the lack of really good restaurants.” -Jeff Tarpley
“I have lived in Thomaston, and Columbus, and I really enjoyed Thomaston due to the small community atmosphere. I have to say that Coweta County offers the same thing although it is a much larger population than Thomaston. There is a sense of community and tradition here and I enjoy that quality.” -Jeff Tarpley “Shopping is very good — good variety of stores, centrally located, and plenty of restaurants, also located strategically.” -Sue Martin, Sharpsburg resident who has also lived in Kentucky, Gainesville, Fla. and Griffin. “Coweta County is a diversified community with many churches to accommodate all religions. That is a plus that we have a faith-based community. Schools are rated as the best compared to other counties.” -Helen Passantino, Prevent Child Abuse Coweta “I am 34 and from Coweta… born and raised. Coweta is a great place to raise a family
“One thing I would like to see is some walking areas — even in Griffin, we had a wonderful walking track on each side of town with beautiful streetlights for nighttime and landscaped beautifully. We have a park nearby but it is locked up unless the kids are there with a sports activity. Even though it has no ‘walking track’ we could walk around safely (no cars) there if it were open. I understand there are some on the west side of Newnan but that is a long way for us — about 15 miles.” -Sue Martin, “Coweta forgets its poor area Westside community. We have a community center that was built to help improve reading and other skills for our children. This has not happened. This facility was built in 2003. People in power did not allow this program to go forward.” -Sarah Thomas “I’d like to see small and quaint entertainment spots, maybe even some things to liven up our beautiful downtown Newnan. I would like to see an all-natural store such as Whole Foods … It would
Come Grow With Us! N
be nice to add a couple more kid spots on Bullsboro such as skating or a nice park with nice trails for biking. Let’s not change Coweta too much.” -Lakisha Hill “In my opinion, a community center is needed to serve the citizens of Coweta County. The community center would have something for everyone — free fitness programs, activity for youth basketball league, lunch and learn programs, craft classes, family-centered game rooms and meeting rooms. It would be a place where children would have a safe and comfortable place to do their homework, get a snack, exercise and play games.” -Helen Passantino
Do you think Coweta and its communities have a bright future? “I think Coweta has a very bright future especially since the construction is over on I-85. The commute to Atlanta is very convenient and traffic is as good as any area of metro Atlanta.” -Jeff Tarpley “Coweta County will have a bright future if we all come together and work toward the goal to strengthen families.” -Helen Passantino,
A look back and ahead... “I moved from California with my family to Coweta County in 1979. It has changed from the
small, quiet country town to a growing community of expansion. We see the beautiful downtown area full of vacant buildings. Different cultures and nationalities are a huge part of the general population. When we arrived, it was black and white. I see a positive in the growth for cultural diversity. Growth can have a positive effect but it can also have a negative impact. As the executive director of Community Welcome House, our program has witnessed a growth in number of individuals who have a crisis in their lives. Bringing awareness to the issues caused by growth, we must be ready with a plan to address the issues that come with it. “Of course my focus is families in crisis due to abuse. My area of need is for education to the community on abuse, neglect and domestic violence. I witness a lack of understanding and denial that it happens. Our community is a community that cares. My vision is a community that comes together for the legal, medical, dental, housing and transportation for all who need these services. In the beginning of this paragraph I stated I moved from California. The traffic and congestion was horrific there. It is becoming similar here. My vision is to have these problems solved before they become so bad they cannot be fixed.” -Linda Kirkpatrick, Community Welcome House, a shelter for women from domestic violence situations
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“The contrast looks really nice,” Palmer said. The 1904 courthouse project began in late 2007 with “selective demolition” by Headley Construction. Headley was also the winning bidder for the restoration work. A public opening of the courthouse was held in September 2010. The courthouse project, as well as many of Coweta’s other major projects, was funded through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that was approved by Coweta voters in 2006. That tax will expire at the end of 2012, and over the next few months, the county will have to begin formulating both plans and projects for the next SPLOST. No voting date for the county SPLOST referendum has been set yet, Palmer said. However, discussions have already begun with local municipalities, which also benefit from the SPLOST. One upcoming project that is not being funded by the SPLOST is a new intake facility at Coweta County Animal Control. Hogansville resident Holland Ware, through the Holland Ware Foundation, has donated $125,000 to fund an expansion at animal control. That donation was announced in November, not long after the Ware
Foundation donated $9,000 toward new “condos” for the cat room. That money was combined with money raised by 13year-old Shelby Martin, and donations from Vicki Barron and Shelter Rescue/Please Rescue Me. The state-of-the-art cat condos provide a much better environment for the cats on the adoption floor. They’re easier to clean and are more sanitary, and they’re also more comfortable for the cats. And since they’re nearly soundproof, cats don’t hear other cats meowing — or dogs barking in the other room — thus improving their emotional well-being. The large donation from the Ware Foundation will be used to construct a new intake facility. Coweta Prison Warden Bill McKenzie, who is also the director of Animal Control, met with Ware’s representative and discussed what was most needed. McKenzie told Brenda Thueson of the Ware Foundation that the most pressing need is for an intake facility “where we can control disease and give our vet more space to treat the animals.” McKenzie told the county commissioners he hoped to use the funds to build “the best intake facility in the state, and possibly in the nation.” “We are going to do our best to be the good stewards we need to be with this money and come up with a facility that everyone can be proud of,” McKenzie told the commissioners in November.
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Sunday, March 27, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 7D
Left - Right: Leigh Brown- Business Banker Mark Fritz- Commercial Banker Victoria Ellison- Business Banker Ann Hand- Business Banker
THE POWER OF
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Court Square 36 South Court Square Newnan, GA 30263 770.253.9400
Senoia 7817 Wells Street Senoia, GA 30276 770.599.8400
Thomas Crossroads 3130 East Highway 34 Newnan, GA 30265 770.254.7722
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* Subject to credit approval. Bank of Coweta is a division of Synovus Bank. Synovus Bank, Member FDIC, is chartered in the state of Georgia and operates under multiple trade names across the southeast. Divisions of Synovus Bank are not separately FDIC-insured banks. The FDIC coverage extended to deposit customers is that of one insured bank.
8D — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
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Vision 2011 The Times-Herald
1E — Sunday, March 27, 2011
NEW CITY MANAGER TAKES HELM
Newnan in good financial shape By ELIZABETH MELVILLE elizabeth@newnan.com The city of Newnan remains in good financial shape — according to Mayor Keith Brady — and city leaders have managed it with careful budget planning and prudent spending. “We still have no long-term debt and a healthy unallocated reserve balance in the bank,” said Brady. “We were fortunate last year not to have to lay off or furlough anyone. Through attrition we cut back on a few positions, but none in public safety. We do not anticipate any cutbacks.” The new manager of the city’s operations is Cleatus Phillips, the city’s former community development director. Phillips took the helm this year from longtime City Manager Richard A. Bolin.
“Cleatus is doing great — he hit the ground running,” said Brady. The mayor attributes the seamless transition of leadership to the city’s succession plan. Brady said that the Newnan C i t y Council identified Phillips as a potential candidate for city manager and “put him under the microscope for Phillips several years.” “He’s already proven his worth,” said Brady. “He’s been providing council with a lot of information, managing projects and handling crises. He’s very
good at communicating.” For now, Phillips’ former position remains budgeted for, but the city has no immediate plans to fill it, according to the mayor. According to Phillips, the city, overall, had a good budget year in 2010. They collected 102 percent of their revenue and spent 94 percent of their projected expenditures. The city’s budget was approximately $16.4 million for 2010. They collected nearly $16.8 million and spent slightly more than $15.3 million. As a contingency, council has a policy requiring that half of the general fund — approximately $8 million — be reserved. The remaining balance is unrestricted. A lot of variables will affect this year’s budget, including sales taxes, which have yet to stabilize so the city can get an accurate prediction of how
much revenue they will generate, according to Phillips. “We can’t put a trend from month to month,” said Phillips. “But it improved in 2010 over 2009.” Brady added that, from year to year, sales tax revenues have come in near what was budgeted. The revenues on the permanent Local Option Sales Tax and the most recent voterapproved city-county Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax were down earlier this year but have since been coming back up. Brady says that tax revenues for the city are always going to track about a month behind the state. Also this year, the city has been pleasantly surprised to be taking in more revenue than expected in franchise checks from utilities Coweta-Fayette EMC and Georgia Power. The
mayor also said he’s seeing “a little bit of an uptick in the market from the real estate side.” Still, new construction remains nearly nonexistent and foreclosures are continuing to impact the price of properties in the market, according to Brady. Newnan is seeing an increase in renovation permits while people are opting to be frugal and hold on to their homes while they wait for the housing market to rebound. Brady said he’s seeing families grow tired of waiting and wade into the housing market in hopes that any loss they may incur during the selling process might be recouped in the buying process. Property taxes are “right in line with what we thought,” according to Brady. The ad valorem tax has not decreased,
although the city anticipates it will in the next year or two. Since the city hasn’t had money for capital expenditures, it’s been proceeding with projects that already have allocated funding through the SPLOST. “We’re doing all the right things when it comes to operations and management,” said Brady. “We’re keeping the budget intact. This is not the time to go into debt.” The city has SPLOST funds allocated to add parking downtown — although the mayor is not yet sure how that’s going to be spent or what that project will look like. The city’s major SPLOST project is the bid opening on the proposed conference center on Lower Fayetteville Road on property adjacent to the
See NEWNAN, page 7E
New leadership in Grantville From STAFF REPORTS news@newnan.com
Photo by Jeff Bishop
New Grantville City Manager Mike Renshaw, right, takes his oath from Grantville City Attorney Mark Mitchell, left, in December 2010.
Photo by Jeff Bishop
Clyburn Halley Jr. was recently hired as Grantville’s new police chief.
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Grantville has a new Downtown Development Authority, and the DDA has been looking at project ideas, including a beautification program. Members are taking some cues from nearby Hogansville, where there has been a DDA working for 10 years, said Robert Allen, Grantville DDA director.
Grantville’s electric department moved into the 21st century this spring as the entire town’s electric grid was shut off one recent Saturday morning in order to upgrade to a new stateof-the-art electric system. “If we as a city are going to provide electricity for the community, it must be first-class and competitive,” said Grantville Mayor Jim Sells as the city was powered down. “We have answered that call.” Grantville upgraded from an antiquated 4KV system to a state-of-the-art 12KV system. The new system will improve safety and efficiency, and allow Grantville to accept new customers, both large and small, Sells said. To facilitate the upgrade, most of the town was completely without power between 8:30 a.m. until 4 in the afternoon during the changeover. “It is a relief to have this upgrade complete,” said Sells. “We needed it to keep our prices in line with other utilities and also to take on the new loads that will be required in Grantville’s growing future.” It’s just one of the w a y s Grantville is moving into Sells the future with its new leadership team in place. Jim Sells was recently elected mayor, Mike Renshaw was hired as the new city manager, and Clyburn Halley Jr. as police chief. The town has a new library facility built by Coweta County adjacent to the new Little League ball park, and Coweta County Fire Department is in the midst of renovating Fire Station 11 on Colley Street in Grantville. It is the third of the county’s older fire stations to be upgraded. The project is funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. A draw to Grantville is the
See GRANTVILLE, page 6E
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Phase two of Senoia’s streetscapes project brought planted bump-outs with benches. Several downtown shops have added flair to the landscape islands as well with some of their merchandise.
Senoia keeping up pace in 2011 By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com It’s been a busy year for Senoia. A major streetscapes project brought beautiful downtown improvements, a multi-use path connecting the Rockaway Road subdivisions to downtown was built and has been well-received, the city’s two major traffic headaches were eliminated, and the longawaited new police station and municipal courtroom opened on Howard Road. Senoia won’t be slowing down much in 2011. It appears this will be the year construction finally begins on the new Senoia Area Library. The city is pursuing several annexations along Hwy. 16 at the western city limits, including the current site of Coweta Charter Academy. Work has just begun on a parks and recreation master plan, and Senoia is eyeing a major renovation to city hall. Now that city hall no longer needs to be used for court or city council or other meetings, plans are to greatly increase office space and improve restrooms. There will still be a public area in the building. City Administrator Richard Ferry said he’s recently started contacting the architects in
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Construction of the intersection improvements at Georgia Highway 16/Main Street and Luther Bailey Road in Senoia was completed in late 2010. The project consisted of installing turn lanes at all four points on the intersection south of downtown Senoia and a traffic light.
order to get proposals. Hopes are to be done by fall or winter. Unlike most of Senoia’s recent improvements, paid for through Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds, impact fees or grants, the city hall renovations will be paid for out of the city’s general fund. The project had originally been cut from the 2011 budget, but based on recent revenues and future projections, “I think we’ll be able to put it back in,” Ferry said. The renovations wouldn’t be possible, of course, without the new police and courts complex. City hall was unsuited to holding city court. It could only hold 40 people. “So people
stood in line on the street until they were called,” Ferry said. “The worst part was, you couldn’t conduct city business during those days, two days a month.” City residents who might be stopping buy to pay a water bill or get information would instead walk into a court hearing. The new court facility is working out well, Ferry said, though the parking lot might end up being a bit small. City council and planning commission meetings have more recently moved to the
See SENOIA, page 7E
Sharpsburg looks to grow through annexation By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
sarah@newnan.com The tiny town of Sharpsburg is perched on the cusp of real growth, and officials are in the midst of making improvements to the town. An annexation that would
bring possible grocery stores, sit-down restaurants and higher-density residential development — and some sewer services — is in the works. But it — like Sharpsburg’s previous plan to annex Pathway Development-owned property west of town — may be
thwarted by Coweta County. Coweta County has so far withheld permission for the Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority to serve the proposed development, which would be located on land along Hwy. 16, with water. That’s despite the fact the
authority currently has an expensive overabundance of water. A larger version of the proposed development, known as Oakhall Village, was turned down by the Coweta County Board of Commissioners in November 2009.
Property owners — Thompson and Charlotte Lewis, Frank Jr. and John Neely, and Oakhall properties — filed suit a month later. Last summer, Sharpsburg began annexation procedures on the property. The original version of
Oakhall Village totaled 186 acres, including 55.15 acres of commercial, and 208 homes. Plans called for 10 commercial buildings with a 90,000-squarefoot “anchor” and other buildings ranging from 5,000 to
See SHARPSBURG, page 4E
2E — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
VISION 2011
NEWNAN’S SPLOST WISH LIST
Police/municipal court facility on list By ELIZABETH MELVILLE elizabeth@newnan.com Newnan’s public safety departments are continuing to weather the economic storm trying to balance budgets with the needs of their personnel and the safety of the citizens. Neither the Newnan Police Department nor the Newnan Fire Department have had much money in their budgets for capital expenditures. The police department made the most of its situation over the last year by purchasing necessities with drug condemnation funds and grant money. The fire department treated last year as a planning year for projects on the horizon and restructured the ranks of its department. Newnan Police Chief Douglas L. “Buster” Meadows said that his department’s biggest addition this past year was the upgrade to their high
Photo by Elizabeth Melville
Newnan Fire Department Chief David Whitley, center, shares statistics with Newnan City Council members at their recent retreat. He feels the numbers warrant the construction of a fourth city fire station to serve the city’s north side. At right is Police Chief Douglas “Buster” Meadows, and at left Mayor Keith Brady.
visibility crime suppression camera system. By the end of phase two of implementation, the city will have added 14 cameras to the overall system, bringing the total number of
cameras to 35. The police department hopes to have all cameras installed by July 1, according to Meadows. The project was funded partially with a federal Justice
Assistance Grant, with the remaining balance coming from drug condemnation funds. “This has proven very useful already,” said Meadows. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office used the city’s camera system to identify a suspect in a recent fatal shooting, according to Meadows. The chief said the cameras have also been beneficial in numerous accident investigations. An upgrade in camera software has created “hot spots” where officers can tap into the system to review video or control a camera from a patrol car. Now, 911 dispatchers can tap into a camera to prepare emergency responders for what awaits them at the scene. It has also added an additional hot spot at the police department to upgrade hardware and software in the department’s patrol cars remotely. This is just one example of drug condemnation funds
being used to upgrade the department’s capabilities. “Since working with ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] in 2008, we’ve gotten well over $3 million in drug condemnation funds,” said Meadows. The Newnan Police Department has also applied for and received excess property through various federal programs. The process has begun for procuring two traffic control trucks that the department will use to haul barricades, detour signs and the like. Meadows is grateful for these opportunities to improve operations at no cost to the taxpayer, especially with the city’s ongoing budget crackdown. The chief said his department has been lucky to avoid layoffs and hopes to maintain the current number of employees. “We’re not cutting our standards,” said Meadows. “We’re doing just what’s necessary.”
Newnan Mayor Keith Brady announced, and Meadows confirmed, that the city is looking at adding the construction of a new police/municipal court facility to the list of projects on next year’s city-county Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax vote. “I would love to have us all in one building,” said Meadows. “We’re functioning pretty well with what we have. Right now we occupy four buildings. A new facility would allow us to streamline operations and make our resources more accessible.” The department recently installed fingerprint access locks for employees to use to gain access to their headquarters after hours. The system remains in the testing phase. Other additions for this year include a few new police cars,
See LIST, page 4E
School’s renovation into city hall makes Turin proud By JEFF BISHOP jbishop@newnan.com Alan Starr, Turin mayor, is proud of the recent renovation of the old Walter B. Hill School building, which now serves as the new Turin City Hall. It’s just the first sign of things to come, he said. “The building is absolutely gorgeous,” he said. “It’s one of the nicest community buildings in the county, and I’ve been to all of them.” The new town hall on Turin Road is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) funds were used to pay for the rehabilitation project. Starr said the town wants to “showcase the building” and “make everyone aware of it” and its long history. The school was originally built as part of the The Rosenwald School Building Program, which began in 1912 and has been called the most influential philanthropic force that came to the aid of AfricanAmericans at that time. “The Walter B. Hill School was part of the Rosenwald initiative back in the teens and ‘20s, when they started putting African-American schoolhouses in little towns like Turin and Senoia,” said Starr. “A lot of them have been torn down. Ours was used as a storage shed for many years. But through this initiative, we’re finally making it into something to be proud of.” Preservation efforts are under way at Rosenwald school buildings across the South and Southwest. These buildings are being saved through a combination of grants, private donations, fundraising, and volunteer work. The Rosenwald Initiative, begun by Julius Rosenwald, provided seed grants for the construction of more than 5,300 buildings in 15 states, including schools, shops, and teachers’ houses, which were built by and for African Americans. Rosenwald gave Booker T. Washington permission to use some of the money he had donated to Tuskegee Institute for the construction of six small schools in rural Alabama, which were constructed and opened in 1913 and 1914. Pleased with the results, Rosenwald then agreed to fund a larger program for schoolhouse construction based at Tuskegee. In 1917 he set up the Julius Rosenwald Fund, a Chicago-based philanthropic foundation, and in 1920 the Rosenwald Fund established an independent office for the school building program in Nashville, Tenn. By 1928, one in every five rural schools for black students in the South was a Rosenwald school, and these
schools housed one-third of the region’s rural black schoolchildren and teachers. At the program’s conclusion in 1932, it had produced 4,977 new schools, 217 teachers’ homes, and 163 shop buildings, constructed at a total cost of $28,408,520 to serve 663,615 students in 883 counties of 15 states. Today many of these Rosenwald school buildings are gone, victims of changing times and communities. The National Trust for Historic Preservation formed the Rosenwald Schools Initiative to devise a plan for the preservation of Rosenwald schools. The Rosenwald school in Turin now has been completely restored for use as the new town hall and it “looks gorgeous,” Starr said. “The county has done an amazing job,” he said. “It is authentic with regard to how the school was originally built.” The new town hall/community center is “much larger than our old community center,” Starr said. “We hope to rent out the new school to bring some revenue in,” said Starr. “There’s nothing else like it around here.” Everyone who has seen the building “absolutely loves it,” said Starr. “We’re all excited about it. The Boy Scouts came to a meeting here and they just loved it. We’ve made it look like the old school house it used to be, but we’ve also updated some aspects of it for 2010. It’s more energy efficient than it originally was, for instance,” and new stainless steel appliances and large counter tops have been installed, where appropriate. But the “natural color of the pine” walls and hardwood flooring has been maintained, he said. “It’s beautiful. The county did 100 percent of that, and they are real craftsmen. I was amazed and how well they did. Tom Little was our go-to guy on most all of that stuff.” Little oversees Coweta County’s public buildings department. “A lot of people around here went to school at that school and remember it well,” he said. He said the town wants to “showcase the new building and make sure everyone is aware of it.” Toward that end, some of the trees have been cleared out, making the building more visible from Ga. Hwy. 16. “You couldn’t see it from the highway before, but you can see it now,” he said. Starr said he hopes the town can eventually construct sidewalks to link the restored school to the downtown area. He would also like to see a nice restaurant located in downtown Turin in the near future. Maybe city employees could walk
Photo by Jeff Bishop
Former students of the Walter B. Hill School gather at the old building, which now serves as the new Turin Town Hall, at a dedication ceremony and barbecue Saturday afternoon. From left are former Walter B. Hill School students Ruby Simmons, Elvia Spear, Eddie Price, Alonzo Penson, Jessie Hill Penson, Joanne S. McKenzie, Lucille Carmichal, Cornelius Hill, and Dorothy Brown.
downtown to their old building for lunch, he said. The Turin City Council is looking at ways to spark economic activity and make use of its old community building, now that the city hall offices have been relocated, he said. In recent discussions, attracting an in-town restaurant rose to the top of the list. “Have we ever had a restaurant in downtown Turin? Well, for a while we had the Wing Shack,” said Starr. “Anything other than that, it was before my time.” He admitted the old cinder block community building might have limited appeal, “but it’s solid,” and a fresh coat of paint might help to “give it some more character.” Starr said the current zoning for the building would be appropriate for something like a restaurant. “I think it’s the kind of business that would be expected in that particular area,” he said. About 100 tractors are expected to parade through downtown Turin next fall as the annual local antique tractor show and pull has grown into a regional event. At the most recent tractor event, the main streets of the tiny east Coweta town were packed with people, cars, vendors and, of course, tractors of every make and model. “It just seems to get bigger every year,” said Guy Adamson, a Turin native who now lives in Greenville, SC, but tries to make it home every year to be pulled behind his family’s Case Agri King 1370. “It used to just be the local families — the same people you’d see out at the Christophers’ place,” said Adamson. “Now it seems to be more of a regional event.” Paulette Brown, Turin clerk, has lived in town since 1988 and has enjoyed watching the event grow. Sometimes she doesn’t like all the traffic, but she did open up her yard for additional parking for the East Coweta High School band members and their parents. She said the annual event “kind of puts Turin on the map,” and takes a week or two for the city to prepare for. “Everyone looks forward to it,” said Brown. “We’re trying to get everyone involved.” Starr advises visitors to the town to stop by the new town hall and look around. “It’s kind of off the beaten path, but it’s a much nicer facility,” he said. More than $150,000 has been spent on the restoration to date, he said. Much of the labor was provided free of charge by Coweta County. “We’ve done it about the cheapest way we could,” he said. Starr said the lease of the old community center and the renting out of the new one should help fill the town coffers for years to come. “Any source of revenue we can get goes a long way in a small town like Turin,” he said. He said the town’s new comprehensive zoning ordinance should result in a “prettier” town with an improved quality of life. “We wanted to effect some future change,” he said. “We’re never going to be Peachtree City or Newnan, and we don’t even want to be. We have a different kind of landscape in our little downtown. But we can make it a little prettier. And I think we’ll get there.’
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Members of the Three Rivers Regional Transportation Roundtable leave a recent meeting held at the newly-refurbished Walter B. Hill School in Turin, now used as Turin Town Hall. Talking are, from left, Thomaston Mayor Hays Arnold, and Roundtable Chairman Maurice Raines of the Upson County Commission. The school was part of the Rosenwald initiative back in the 1910s and ‘20s to put African-American schoolhouses in little towns like Turin.
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4E — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
VISION 2011 Newnan’s SPLOST list
Sharpsburg renovates rec center/town hall
LIST Continued from page 2E Staley
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com The most visible change in the town of Sharpsburg is the extensive remodeling of the Avey and Otis Bridges Recreation Center, which also serves as town hall. The concrete building has been totally remodeled on the inside, and the exterior is now covered with roughsawn cypress. The wood is now bright and new, but the intent is for it to soon have the darkened, weathered look of most of the downtown buildings. At first, the town was thinking of letting it weather naturally, Mayor Wendell Staley said. But there are concerns about uneven weathering and damage to the wood. So plans are now to stain the wood to match the old buildings and seal it. The renovation has been very well-received, according to Staley and Town Clerk Donna Camp. The configuration of the inside is totally different, and it’s all new, from an expanded kitchen to the new sound system “right down to the new disco ball that we’ve always had for the kids,” Staley said. “Our rentals have definitely picked up” since the renovation, he said. The town is hoping to attract more nice weddings and parties. Alcohol can be served at events if the renters pay an additional deposit. There are also the regular classes at the recreation center. “There are dance classes, Zumba, art classes, quilting,” said Staley. Class participants come from all over. The project isn’t quite complete. There’s still some work left in the town offices portion of the building. The reaction to the recreation center improvement project has been very positive, Staley said. “Everybody is just blown away,” he said. “Even our most severe critics are tickled to death that something is happening in Sharpsburg.
Photo by Sarah Campbell
The most visible change in town is the extensive remodeling of the Avey and Otis Bridges Recreation Center, which also serves as town hall. The concrete building has been totally remodeled on the inside, and the exterior is now covered with roughsawn cypress, notes Mayor Wendell Staley.
We’re trying to get it started,” Staley said. In general, “people tend to make things happen where things are happening,” Staley said. “If you don’t start it, it is not going to happen.” The next phase in the town’s improvement plan is a park, and additional parking at the recreation center. The town’s tennis courts will be demolished to make way for the park and parking lot. Staley envisions a gazebotype stage, where weddings, dance recitals, choir singings, band performances and the like will be held. There will also be a picnic pavilion, and several swings with arbors, he said, and a small “tot lot” playground. The park is just conceptual right now. There’s no funding identified for it yet. “After we get through with the renovation of this building and do everything we need to do, we will reassess our financial situation,” Staley said. He’d like the town to apply for some grants for the park. The town could probably afford to build part of the park now, but “we don’t want to spend all of our money right there when there are other things in the town that need to be done,” Staley said. “We know that the park may be a long-range plan,” Staley said. But you have to start somewhere, “so we started,”
Staley said, with the recreation center renovation. The town is also planning to renovate the concrete building on Terrentine Street that houses Sharpsburg’s town library, including adding the lap siding. The project will also include some reworking of the garden at the library. All the books in the library have been donated, and it is staffed by volunteers. Staley’s wife, Margaret, who has a library degree, plans to become more active in library operations, he said. Hopes are to also have the library stay open more hours. The “volume of books is just outstanding” for a collection made up entirely of donations, Staley said. It includes a full set of autographed books by Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter. “I think that is a nice little treasure for a little library that size,” Staley said. The library also has two computers for patrons to use. Another upcoming town project is the paving of Stovall Street, a gravel road. The town has done the engineering and right-of-way work, and hopes are to have the project completed by early summer. The paving project has taken longer than Staley expected, but “with cooperation of some of the landowners, it will now be a reality,” he said. The residents “needed that street paved, but it just never has been done.”
There are several activities planned in Sharpsburg this year, as well. The first one will be a community-wide Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter. It will be held in the large open lot along Terrentine Street. “Everybody is invited,” Staley said. Some streets will be blocked off for the event. “We’re quite tickled” about the egg hunt, Staley said. Also in the works is a Christmas event with all the local churches taking part. “That is something we have been wanting for years,” Staley said. The event would eventually be held in the future park, but in the meantime, it will also be held in the large open area. “We’re even looking at building a temporary stage on those lots,” Staley said. There has been some business growth in Sharpsburg recently, as well. There is a new bakery that just opened. “She is open Tuesday through Saturday,” Staley said. “She’s only been there a couple of weeks, and already Friday and Saturday are very busy.” There are also two auctions in town. “They are doing very well,” Staley said. The two auctions are held at different times and have different types of merchandise, he said. Two buildings along Main Street are currently occupied and “we are definitely looking for other businesses to come in,” Staley said.
Sharpsburg looking to grow through annexation SHARPSBURG Continued from page 1E 10,000 square feet. Sharpsburg’s version would have 109 acres and 148 homes, including 60 condos. The plan also calls for a total of 87,000 square feet of commercial space and 41,000 square feet of office institutional space. Property owners Frank and John Neely are no longer involved. A sewer system with stream discharge was proposed in the original development. Now, plans call for a “decentralized wastewater treatment system” that will be designed and operated by Newnan Utilities. The proposal also includes two athletic fields that will become property of the city. The council unanimously approved the second and final reading of ordinances annexing and rezoning the property on
March 21. The town requested water service from the Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority for the project. When seeking permission from the county, authority General Manger Ellis Cadenhead told the county commissioners that the authority has a 12-inch main “running directly beside” the proposed development. The commissioners have yet to take any official action to respond to the request, though negotiations have been ongoing, behind the scenes. If Sharpsburg can’t get water from Coweta for the development, which is located in an area to be served by Coweta, based on the county’s service delivery strategy, water service will be sought from Turin. The situation is reminiscent of the last time Sharpsburg attempted to annex a large tract of property for homes and commercial development. In 2006, Pathway Communities, the developers
of SummerGrove and Avery Park, as well as much of the older parts of Peachtree City, proposed annexation for a 489acre mixed-use development. Twelve Parks at Sharpsburg was proposed for nearly 800 homes, a 15-acre commercial center, and a secondary sevenacre commercial tract. Pathway had received a wet weather stream discharge permit for treated wastewater, and planned a conventional sewer system — which could provide service to other parts of town as well. There was plenty of opposition to the project, and Coweta County indicated it would not provide water service. Sharpsburg and Pathway entertained the idea of getting service from Newnan Utilities, but the cost of running a water line to tap into the Newnan Utilities system was prohibitive. Coweta then officially denied the water request, and that eventually killed the Twelve
Parks proposal at Sharpsburg. But Twelve Parks itself wasn’t dead at all. Just over a year later, Coweta County rezoned property for a scaled-down version. The rezoning was for 455 acres and 625 homes, with commercial rezoning to be addressed later. Sharpsburg Mayor Wendell Staley hopes the water situation with the county will be worked out so that the Oakhall project can move forward. The development is just what Sharpsburg needs, Staley said. It’s not just the badly needed tax revenue that will come with it. It’s also all the jobs a grocery store, shops and restaurants will bring, plus the benefits of the stores themselves. The proposed annexation is a big opportunity, but it’s certainly not the only thing Sharpsburg has got in the works.
were paid for with condemnation funds. The alco-sensors were obtained for free and refurbished at little cost, according to Meadows. The police department and fire department are jointly upgrading the existing wireless mobile data system to be compatible with the county’s communication system. “This is going to unite public safety in the county and encourage the sharing of information,” said Meadows. Newnan Fire Department Chief David Whitley is also excited about the upgrade. “This is going to save us a lot of miscommunications,” said Whitley. Whitley said that the main problem before primarily existed when firefighters needed 911 dispatchers to repeat information as they were responding to calls. Now, that information will be available at their fingertips. Also, firefighters will now receive warning if they are responding to a problematic area where law enforcement off icers have responded to calls in the past. “This is going to be a great system,” said Whitley, who expects that it will be in place later this year. Once it’s implemented, firefighters and police officers will be retrained on it. According to Meadows, the system was paid for by SPLOST and drug condemnation funds. “Last year was a difficult year — it was a feel-your-waythrough year because of financial problems,” admitted Whitley. “We maintained our current budget levels and weathered the storm, but it was mostly a planning year for the upcoming year. This year will be more robust than the last.” Last year, the fire department focused on maintaining certifications by emphasizing training — especially local training that didn’t require much travel. “We were able to maintain our call volumes and we stayed under budget, but most of our capital was very limited,” said Whitley. Whitley also reorganized the department’s rank structure. They surveyed six agencies similar in size and scope before making the changes. The department now has a chief; three battalion chiefs, who were formerly captains; captains, who were formerly lieutenants; and sergeants, who were formerly pump engineers. “These were lateral moves that did not include pay raises,” said Whitley. “It gives us
better organizational structure to expand. We had been operating under the same system for 30 years.” The department only purchased that which was needed last year, according to Whitley. The f ire department replaced its incident command vehicle, which is a mobile unit that enables the department to communicate with multiple agencies and coordinate efforts when responding to any emergency call. The fire department was the recipient of a federal grant that enabled installation of exhaust removal systems on the diesel fire engines to protect firefighters from repeat exposure to harmful emissions. The entire department participated in a health and wellness program last year. Firefighters joined an initiative and received specialized training through a physical fitness program in exchange for protective equipment, according to Whitley. The department is in the process of purchasing a new fire engine using impact fees. The new engine is expected to arrive to the city’s specifications later this year, according to Whitley. The fire chief has urged the city to construct a new fire station by 2015 that would serve the north end of Newnan where statistics show the department’s resources are running “thin.” Proposed Fire Station 4 would serve the Ashley Park shopping district, the Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard corridor, Interstate 85 ramps and the Avery Park subdivision. “This will be a big undertaking,” said Whitley. The addition of a new precinct could mean the growth of the department by 10 more personnel — nine firefighters and a training officer. The city must now begin identifying a funding source, including the possibility of including it on a SPLOST vote. In the meantime, Whitley said he’s going to continue spending conservatively and urging his personnel to carefully maintain the equipment that they already have, since maintenance is the biggest expenditure for the department. “I give credit to my employees,” said Whitley. “They have doubled their efforts because they know every dime counts right now.” “We will also continue to work the most efficiently for the least cost,” added Meadows.
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6E — The Times-Herald — Sunday, March 27, 2011
VISION
2011 New leadership in town of Grantville GRANTVILLE Continued from page 1E
Photo by Winston Skinner
Viewing a video at the Lewis Grizzard Memorial Museum in Moreland are, from left, Patricia Palmer, Tray Baggarly and Dean Jackson. Grizzard is also the subject of a new, growing exhibit at the Moreland Mill.
Citizens taking interest in Moreland’s future By W. WINSTON SKINNER winston@newnan.com The town of Moreland is welcoming more visitors than ever — and seeing a new interest among area residents in the future of the town. A series of visioning meetings in 2010 brought residents together to talk about the possibilities for the south Coweta hamlet’s future. More recreation activities were suggested, and regular music gatherings on the town square have already resulted. Also under way is a concerted effort to bring more tourists to town. Carol Chancey of Reel Southern Adventure is working with the town, the Moreland Community Historical Society and the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum to create a coordinated experience for visitors. The floorplans at the Old Mill Museum — which tells the story of life in Moreland prior to World War II — and the Caldwell Birthplace on the town square have been reworked. An exhibit about LaGrange author and poet Carrie Fall Benson opened in January at the Caldwell Museum and closes today.
There also has been a renewed interest in Lewis Grizzard, a humorist, journalist and writer who grew up in Moreland. Local family members have donated a quilt, photographs and other items to an exhibit on Grizzard at the Old Mill. His widow, Dedra, has also shared such treasures as his Newnan High School letter jacket, a wicker picnic basket shaped like a pig and plaques and awards. Dedra Grizzard was grand marshal for a parade in Moreland during the first Lewis Grizzard Hometown Reunion in October. The day included a grits recipe contest and the opening of the new exhibit. Moreland holds onto its title as the place to be in Coweta County on Independence Day weekend. Churches in the community have joined forces to prepare barbecue each July for more than 60 years, and Deborah Smith is heading up preparations for the 2011 Puckett Station Arts and Crafts Festival. This year’s celebration will be on July 2. Moreland’s town government has also been busy — looking toward the future. A picnic
pavilion is being built behind the Moreland Mill, and there have been town council discussions about a periodic flea market/farmers market. The town has also made space in the mill’s meeting room available to John Suttles as incubator space for a coffee shop. In addition, the town had an engineer examine the upper floor of the mill. Chancey has suggested the space would be an ideal media center — making available books and audiovideo recordings relating to Grizzard, Caldwell and other writers on the Southern Literary Trail. Plans are also under way for the annual Moreland Heritage Day, which will be held April 30. Last year’s festivities included a parade and old-fashioned games on the square. An addition this year will be the announcement of winners in the Spintime writing competition. Participants are submitting 800-word entries on the current political situation — written in the style of either Grizzard or Caldwell. Contest rules are available at www.newnan.com/ec. Entries are due April 16.
Palmetto, Haralson nice places to live By W. WINSTON SKINNER winston@newnan.com Palmetto and Haralson are both nice places to live, and both towns straddle the Coweta County line. Palmetto, at Coweta’s northern border, is mostly in Fulton County. Although Palmetto has quaint store buildings and many older Southern-style homes, it is also near the new town of Chattahoochee Hills and is a MARTA bus ride from downtown Atlanta. Haralson is mostly in Coweta County but spills over into rural Meriwether County to the south. Palmetto’s population was 3,400 in 2000 — estimated at 4,676 in 2005. The 2000 census showed Haralson with a population of 144. Both towns are primarily residential. Plans are under way
for the 20th annual Easter Egg Hunt in Palmetto. Prize eggs will be hidden at Veteran's Park on Park Street on April 23 at 10 a.m. Haralson has a Christmas parade and celebration each year, and a fireworks display around July 4. Mayor Ted Bateman said he hopes the new town park — being developed next to the city hall building — will be ready for dedication as part of the town’s Independence Day celebration. The park will include a wooded trail, a picnic pavilion and other amenities. Eventually there are plans for an open pit barbecue facility. Movie companies have been attracted by the authentic rural charm of Haralson for years. “Moonrunners,” “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “Mama Flora’s Family” have included scenes filmed in and around Haralson,
and “The Wettest County in the World” is set to film scenes there in April. Haralson’s city council meets the second Monday of each month — except July and December — at 7 p.m. Serving on the council with Bateman are Bonita Rosemas, Fred Rudbeck and Belinda Wilson. Palmetto’s city council meets the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. — following a halfhour work session. On the first Friday of each month, city officials make themselves available to residents for casual conversation at city hall from 11 a.m.noon. John Miller is the current mayor in Palmetto. Council members are Lorraine Allen, Natalie McFadden, Laura Mullis, Lucinda Rockemore, Gregory Rusch and Leon Sumlin.
Coweta County Genealogical Society’s research library, housed in the town’s old passenger rail depot downtown. Nearby along the still-busy rail line is the old freight depot used for community gatherings and events. People are starting to check out the new Grantville public library. Emanuel Mitchell of the Coweta County Public Library System said the new library building at 100 Park Drive has driven circulation up from 147 items in January 2009 to 1,482 items in January 2011. Circulation on an annual basis at the county’s Grantville branch doubled between 2009 and 2010, from 5,301 to 10,157 items. “We’ve had a lot of accomplishments in six months,” he told the Grantville City Council. The new 5,000-square-foot facility opened its doors Aug. 14, 2010, he said, and new groups are discovering it every day. Admittedly, the country’s economic recession has perhaps hit Grantville harder than some other communities. Its foreclosure rate is the highest in Coweta County, and it has proven especially difficult to attract new businesses, like the grocery store that residents so desperately want for their town. The new leadership at Grantville City Hall wants to change all that. But the government can’t do it alone, Sells said. “We need to work together,” said Sells. “We need to have a new vision. There is not a person on this council who is not committed to making Grantville a better place to live. And let me tell you, I lay awake at night worrying about this place.” He said Grantville used to be more prosperous than it is today. Just a generation ago, Grantville featured “two pools and a basketball court” for local children, and a number of thriving businesses. “Now we have boys dropping out of school and girls getting pregnant,” Sells said. “There’s been a lack of hope, and a lack of vision.” Sells said he believes the town is ready to turn a corner. “I came to Grantville because I love it,” he said. There are many things to like about being part of a small, close-knit community, he said. “But, being a small community, we do not have what we need for our kids,” he said. He said he’s stopped by young people on the street, and their most common question is, “Hey, Mr. Mayor, when are you going to get us our basketball court back?” Such things are going to have to come from public-private partnerships, he said. During tough economic times, Sells said, “We can’t raise taxes.” “But maybe if we put our heads together, we can find a way to provide these types of things for our community,” he said. Sells said he has been impressed with some of the churches in the Peachtree City area that provide full recreational centers for local youths. “We’re talking about the kinds of facilities we can
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Grantville Utility Director Joe Jones holds a subdivision map to help guide a crew to the smaller transformers as electric crews worked throughout the day March 19 to upgrade Grantville’s electric system.
only dream about here,” he said. But maybe it’s not just a dream, after all, he said — especially with local churches and community groups approaching the council to find new ways to work together. “If we can put something like that as a cornerstone, then maybe the banks, the grocery stores, and the other businesses will come,” Sells said. “Maybe our kids wouldn’t be doing dope if they had a place to play basketball,” Sells said. “They need supervised places to go and things to do.” Just recently, at a March Grantville City Council meeting, Rev. Brad Brimlow and an overflow crowd from First Baptist Church of Grantville attended. He said the churches have not done their part to address the city’s problems. That’s going to change, Brimlow said. Recreation facilities have the power to “lift a community up,” Sells said. “That’s my vision, anyway,” Sells said. “But it’s going to take the whole community. I’ll work with anyone who’s willing to step up.” Councilman Johnny Cooks agrees that it’s time for the government to make “a real commitment” to parks and recreation, in cooperation with community groups. “We have to put the emphasis on that ourselves,” Cooks said. “We have to bring this community together and make this a great place for us and our families.” Cooks told Brimlow at the recent council meeting that Grantville has an “excellent police chief ” in the recently hired Halley. “He can tell you about all the things we’re doing” to address the drug and alcohol problems, Cooks said. “We have talked about these things,” said Cooks. “Those things are in the works.” He said that even though the new chief has only been in office for a few months, “he has done some significant things ... I think we have the right person in place to make things happen.”
In other developments, Grantville has a new Downtown Development Authority, and the DDA has been looking at project ideas and taking some cues from nearby Hogansville in Troup County where there has been a DDA working for 10 years. Robert Allen, Grantville DDA director, told the city council in February that the group had visited Hogansville to get ideas and the board was “impressed” by the projects the group has undertaken. A beautification program might give the Grantville DDA “the biggest bang for our buck,” Allen said as one area the DDA is exploring. “We want to create some greenspace in the community gathering areas,” said Allen. “We need a place to stroll. Some nice shrubbery. It wouldn’t cost that much.” Grantville City Hall has a lot of new spaces available for parking now that the area in the rear of the building has been paved. The City Hall is housed in the old Glanton School complex, named for the school’s longtime principal, Thomas Glanton. A new Grantville elementary school built by the Coweta County School System several years ago near U.S. Highway 29 also was named in recent years for the popular educator. Among upcoming community events, the Grantvillle Days Crosstie Festival is scheduled Sept. 24, 2011, with a half marathon race included. Applications for vendors and the festival parade are available by e-mail at Gdaysfestival@aol.com, or call 770-583-9013 or 770-583-9900. The annual Grantville Easter Egg Hunt will be April 23 from 8 a.m. to noon at Colley Park. B.J. Thompson from sponsor group Grantville Veterans Association recently asked the Grantville City Council to skip mowing the grass for April to make hunting a little more challenging for the youngsters. “Last year we put out over 500 eggs, and they were gone in five minutes,” he said.
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Sunday, March 27, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 7E
VISION 2011 Good finances
Senoia keeping up the pace in 2011
NEWNAN Continued from page 1E
SENOIA Continued from page 1E
Coweta County School Systemowned Centre for Performing and Visual Arts. The opening of the bids is expected in midApril. “This is our third look at this project,” says Brady to project critics. “We did not move forward the first two times because it was not a good business decision to do so. Council operates on making good business decisions. We will make our decision on whether to move forward based on all the numbers, projections, operations and management costs.” Brady has explained on multiple occasions that the money collected for SPLOST is allocated for particular projects. SPLOST projects were all first voted on and approved by the citizens. “That money can’t be used for salaries. If we’ve collected the money, it’s better used the way it was authorized — spent in the economy providing jobs, turning through the economy — than sitting in an account earning less than 1 percent interest.” The amount the city’s collecting in SPLOST funds isn’t the same as what was projected, but Brady assures that “the projects will still get done.” Newnan has used SPLOST funding to improve and add sidewalks, street improvements and culverts. “We had to cut back on some projects, but we’re adapting to the money that we have.” One of the city’s upcoming intersection improvement projects will be at the intersection of R o s c o e R o a d , Jackson Street and Sprayberry Road. The city is planning the continuation of Sprayberry Brady Road at its intersection with Jackson Street to go through the former Lenny’s Pub property and intersect with Roscoe Road/ Hwy. 70 — thus eliminating the sharp turn right onto Roscoe for motorists traveling south on Jackson Street/U.S. 29. After the Georgia Department of Transportation gave the city final design approval, the project hit a snag in the utility relocation phase after Georgia Transmission informed the city that a major power transmission line runs through that intersection that will be costly to relocate. Georgia Transmission has conducted its engineering work and should begin relocation work in the near future, according to Brady. “We’re getting weekly updates on this project,” said Brady. “It’s going to be more costly to move, but by how much we don’t yet know.” The city does not have a definitive timeline for work, but things are moving forward, the mayor said. SPLOST funds have led to the completion of two city projects in the past year. In spring 2010, the city opened a new swimming pool and pool house at Willie Lynch Park at Richard Allen Drive and Wesley Street. This spring, the city will undertake updates to the park and ball fields around Wesley Street Gym just west of downtown Newnan. “The park renovation will be a great project for spring,” said Brady. The city recently completed the next phase in its streetscapes project. The
new courtroom. There were a few bugs that had to be worked out in regard to the audio/visual systems and improved microphones. “Court is not really an interactive setting. No one really noticed that there was a problem,” Ferry said. “But when you go to a setting with an audience that wants to hear what is being discussed, we needed to go to additional and more sensitive microphones, and different speakers,” Ferry said. The new courtroom and a police station have been needed for a long time. “That was a project that was initiated back in 2003, when we began impact fees,” Ferry said. “We began stowing away money to get enough so we could build the police department,” he said. The project was also included in the 2006 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum for Coweta and its cities. “Everything seems to be going well. The building is great,” Ferry said. Hopes are that it will meet the needs of the police department for years to come. A new library for Senoia has been in the planning stages since 2006. After years of delays, it looks like 2011 may be the year the ground is finally broken. The Coweta Library System Board of Trustees recently narrowed a list of qualified contractors. The two bids the board ended up receiving were both too high, and the board is now negotiating with the low bidder, Newnan-based Headley Construction. The library will be located adjacent to the city’s Marimac Lakes Park on land the city purchased in spring 2008. It’s something Senoians are eagerly anticipating. Ferry said the two things that have caused the most buzz around Senoia in the past few years have been the charter school, which opened for the 2010-2011 school year as Coweta Charter Academy, and the library. “When you look at what we have done,” including city projects, as well as new buildings downtown and on Hwy. 16, “what raised the most buzz were the charter school and the library,” Ferry said. Even though the library is a county project, “we get tons of calls” about it, Ferry said. And when the request for contractor proposals went out, contractors and subcontractors called the city. “I think we’ve come a long way, but it all goes back to a library that has been proposed for a long time,” Ferry said.
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
New brickwork bump-outs to make crossings safer for pedestrians were added along Perry Street as part of Newnan’s latest addition to its streetscapes effort. The next phase is the Greenville Street corridor from Spence Avenue south to the city limits. The final phase of streetscapes downtown will be the Jefferson/Jackson corridor, for which engineering is being reviewed by state transportation officials.
project included construction of 1,579 linear feet of concrete sidewalk and related work along Spring Street, Perry Street, East Washington and East Broad Street. The sidewalks included bump-outs at intersections to assist pedestrian travel and decorative plantings. The next phase of streetscapes is the Greenville Street Corridor Improvement Project from Spence Avenue south to the railroad bridge at Corinth Road. Construction documents and right-of-way plans have been approved by the state Department of Transportation and the city is in the process of negotiating rights-of-way for 14 parcels. The f inal phase of streetscapes in downtown is the Jefferson/Jackson Corridor Improvement Project. The engineering has been approved and those plans are being sent to GDOT for review. Newnan is due for another SPLOST vote next fall. Before then, the city will need to meet with Coweta County officials and make their respective project lists. Brady anticipates the city will have at least two big items — a new police/municipal court facility and, possibly, the widening of Lower Fayetteville Road. SPLOST could also include the acquisition of greenspace and recreation projects. The city has long awaited the construction of McIntosh Parkway — a road planned to run east-west from the Ashley Park area to downtown Newnan, parallel to and south of Bullsboro Drive. That project has simply lacked funding, according to Brady. “It will probably show up on the next SPLOST [referendum] again, unless there’s some grant money out there,” said Brady. The mayor said the city is looking toward the future. One challenge city leaders must rise to meet is business development, according to Brady. He hopes the city will find creative ways to fill empty storefronts. “I hope we come up with a plan to help fill some of those spaces,” said Brady. “It’s not our responsibility, but we are an enabler.” One economic generator will be the addition of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America on Newnan Crossing Bypass.
The cancer hospital recently closed on the property across from Ashley Park at the south end of Newnan Crossing West shopping center and plans to begin site preparations in April. “We’re excited that they’re here, and not only because of what it means for health care, but also for the city,” said Brady. “We hope they picked us for a lot of different reasons, and we hope to live up to their expectations.” Piedmont Newnan Hospital is also under construction on Poplar Road at Interstate 85. “We anticipate a ripple effect from both hospitals that will benefit the community in more ways than just the medical side of it,” Brady said. “Although, the medical benefits are the most important, and we don’t want to downplay that. “This is an industry in and of itself,” he added. The construction of Piedmont Newnan Hospital on Poplar Road in Coweta County will also create jobs, attract residents and businesses, and contribute overall to the local economy. “We are very optimistic about the city and its future, and what it means to live here, work here and raise a family here,” said Brady. “Newnan is a great place to live. We’re going to continue to be a growth community.”
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“I think when it is done, everybody is going to be thrilled.” The charter school now operates out of Peachtree Baptist Church, just west of the city limits. The original proposed location, south of the city on Hwy. 16, was found to be not suitable. The next location, at the entrance to Heritage Pointe subdivision, had to be abandoned when the developers couldn’t get construction funding because of the lawsuit filed against the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, which grants charters for schools that are denied by their local school boards. Mid-way through its first year of operation, the charter school is already working on expansion plans, and those plans include being annexed into the city. School representatives approached the city several months ago about connecting to the city’s sewer system. Enlarging the school would require a septic tank expansion, and the associated loss of usable property. The city agreed to serve the site if the school would pay for the sewer line to be run. But with another annexation along Hwy. 16 proposed, the church went ahead and sought annexation. Eventually, the church congregation will seek a new home. The city recently began work on its third recent annexation, a small tract of land at the corner of Howard Road and Hwy. 16 the city just purchased for a future water tower. Plans are in the works for the city’s first senior living facility, Tranquil Village, which will be built on seven acres on Coweta Street that the city declared surplus. The city requested proposals for building some type of housing for senior citizens on the property and received one response. Initial plans are for an eightbed assisted living facility. The building will be built to be very easy to expand, if the need is there. In return for the land, Tranquil Village will be building and donating a building on the property to be used by local Boy Scouts. Construction of the intersection improvements at Georgia Highway 16/Main Street and Luther Bailey Road in Senoia was completed in late 2010. The project consisted of installing turn lanes at all four points on the intersection south of downtown Senoia and a traffic light. The project, funded by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, cost $1,017,617, said Kimberly Larson, district spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation. Phase two of the city’s
streetscapes project brought planted bump-outs with benches. Several downtown shops have added flair to the landscape islands as well with some of their merchandise. The second phase was made possible in part by a grant the city received more than 10 years ago, and almost lost. A “congestion mitigation and air quality,” or CMAQ , grant was awarded to the city in 2000. The plan was for a multiuse trail joining the Seavy Street Park to Leroy Johnson Park on Howard Road. The trail was postponed until after the city’s sewer system was complete. Time passed, the city purchased the Marimac Lakes property, and the trail was routed through that park as well. When the city began to seriously pursue the trail, problems with the railroads reared their head. Getting a multi-use path across the CSX line “is going to be nearly impossible,” Ferry said in 2008. It would have taken all of the $350,000 grant just for that crossing. That didn’t even count the needed crossing of the Norfolk Southern line. “The CMAQ grant was about to be tossed,” Ferry said earlier this month. “We couldn’t do it. We had two railroad crossings and neither railroad was willing to work with us.” Ferry said he was talking about the grant with Jack Burnside, who was the grant administrator for the first phase of streetscapes, and Burnside said he would approach the Georgia Department of Transportation about altering the grant requirements to create a workable project. Burnside was successful, and the city was able to complete the park linkage not with a multi-use path off the road but with striped bike lanes along Pylant and Seavy streets. Leftover money from the grant was used to augment the second phase of streetscapes. Hopes are to continue the downtown improvements with a two-part, phase three streetscapes project. The first part of phase three will be sidewalk improvements between Seavy and Travis streets. The second part of phase three will take those improvements all the way out to Hwy. 16. Ferry sees phase three, if approved, as a “great opportunity.” It will finally connect downtown Senoia to Hwy. 16. The highway registers 10,000 to 12,000 cars per day, according to recent studies, Ferry said. “But how many of them know that there is more to Senoia than just McDonald’s, Crooks, and then the carwash?”
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