by Robin Kemp
Happy Presidents Day! It’s a bank holiday but it’s not necessarily a holiday for your local governments.
There’s an old analogy between political legislation and sausage-making. The idea is that sausage might look or taste good, but knowing what goes into it could be, to be delicate about it, less than appetizing.
Remember, you vote for whomever you trust to make the sausage. The elected body’s work session is the final and most public step of legislative sausage-making. In other words, quite a bit of slaughtering and processing happen behind the scenes first. The work session precedes the meeting, where the sausage is voted upon and served up for public consumption.
That’s why it’s a good idea to know your sausage-makers, the supply chain through which they select ingredients, and the quality of those ingredients. We recommend you always grill thoroughly before consumption.
Here’s what’s cooking this week near you:
Monday, Feb. 15
- Forest Park residents and business owners can submit public comments until 4 p.m. today about tonight’s meeting. Go to https://bit.ly/2ZfHgBE, choose today’s date, and enter your information.
- The Forest Park City Council meets tonight (6 p.m. work session, 7 p.m. meeting). See the full agenda packet with supporting documents or just the agenda. To join the meeting via Zoom, visit https://bit.ly/2ZhoCt0. To join by phone, call (929) 205-6099, then enter meeting ID 895-5198-9709 and passcode 893-926. On the agenda:
- Giving more power to the Urban Redevelopment Agency (see map) to include Forest Parkway, Main Street, and Starr Park
- Approving a new city manager (Angela Redding, Police Chief Nathaniel Clark, Albert Barker, Jr., and Interim City Manager Shalonda Brown have all served in the past year.) The final two candidates were Jarvis Sims and Dr. Marc-Antoine Cooper. A third finalist, Brooke Smith, dropped out.
- Approving a new finance director (Ken Thompson went to the City of Jonesboro)
- Charging fees for planning building and zoning, fire inspection, and plan review
- The Jonesboro Historic Preservation Commission meets tonight at 5:30 p.m. to consider a certificate of appropriateness for a sign in front of 216 N. McDonough Street. Join the Zoom meeting at https://bit.ly/2MZw2yR with meeting ID 214-823-7355. Join by phone at (929) 205-6099 with meeting ID 214-823-7355.
Tuesday, Feb. 16
- The Clayton County Board of Commissioners’ regular business meeting is at 6:30 p.m. See the full agenda packet with supporting documents or just the agenda.
- Morrow’s Planning and Zoning Board is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. (third Tuesday of each month). No agenda was online as of press time.
Wednesday, Feb. 17
- Forest Park’s Ward 3 Town Hall meeting is at 6 p.m. Join the meeting via Zoom at https://bit.ly/37g1zDB. Enter meeting ID 874-3443-6598 and passcode 298-118 if prompted. To join by phone, call (929) 205-6099. Enter meeting ID 874-3443-6598 and passcode 298-118 if prompted.
Thursday, Feb. 18
- Forest Park’s Ward 1 monthly neighborhood meeting starts at 5 p.m. Join by Zoom at https://bit.ly/3qnv2TF. then enter meeting ID 830-8346-5760 and password jamesward1. To join by phone, call 301-715-8592, then enter meeting ID 830-8346-5760 and password 850-471-9671.
- Forest Park’s Planning Commission meets at 6 p.m.
- The Clayton County Board of Zoning Appeals meets at 6:30 p.m. Register for the meeting in advance at https://bit.ly/2Zg7sfA.
Friday, Feb. 19
- The Lovejoy Development Authority meets at 6:30 p.m. See the agenda online. Questions? Contact City Hall online or call (770) 471-2304.
Did we miss something?
You know how to find us! E-mail KempWrites@gmail.com with the subhject line “MONDAY ROUNDUP” or call or text (404) 547-1171. Hint: It’s always a good idea to check back and to reload your browser in case of updates. For example, we may publish the roundup dates but come back and add a quick look at key agenda items, or we might add an event. We want you to be informed!
