by Robin Kemp
Monday, May 24
- 6 p.m.: The Clayton County Board of Education holds its work session at 2530 Mt. Zion Parkway in Jonesboro. You can watch the meeting live via YouTube, CCTV23/Uverse 99, Facebook, or on CCPS’ website. On the agenda: Board recognitions–including a special video thanking Commissioner Sonna Singleton Gregory for her contributions to the school system– plus an executive session followed by recommendations and an update on school improvement and leadership from Dr. Ralph Simpson. In addition, here is the proposed agenda from Superintendent Dr. Morcease Beasley and Board Chair Jessie Goree:
- Emma Benton from Business Services will offer a financial report, a SPLOST Revenue Report, and a Purchasing Report for the Consent Agenda, along with placing a vote on adoption of the $687 million FY22 budget for the action agenda. If you want to give input on the proposed budget for next fiscal year, you can do so by e-mailing your comment to ccpsbudget@clayton.k12.ga.us no later than 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. All comments received by the deadline will be read into the record of the hearing, which starts at 6 p.m. on June 3. The board tentatively approved the FY22 budget on May 3 and will vote on adopting the FY22 budget on June 7 at 6 p.m. at its regular meeting. If you missed the May 20 budget hearing, you can watch it on YouTube at http://tiny.cc/CCPS-FY22
- Ronick Joseph will give a SPLOST construction update for the consent agenda.
- Dr. Jamie Wilson from Human Resources will give the personnel changes report, also for the consent agenda.
- The Board will do a first reading of Policy Series G.
- Also on the business agenda for board action are approval of the June 7 proposed agenda and the amended March 1 board meeting minutes, as well as the SPLOST Tax Anticipation Note, or TAN. According to the corporate law firm Smith, Gambrell and Russell, a tax anticipation note is a kind of credit line that has to be paid off within the year. If a government body expects a certain amount of money to come in from SPLOST, it can request an advance until the funds come in.
- 6 p.m.: The Riverdale City Council will discuss and consider a proposed agreement to renew Republic Services‘ pickup contract, as well as change a polling location from 6690 Church Street (next to the police station) to 7210 Church Street (Riverdale Town Center). The council also will vote on surplusing a marked Dodge Charger, as well as hear updates from City Manager Scott Wood and City Attorney L’Erin Barnes Wiggins.
Tuesday, May 25
- 5:30 p.m.: The Clayton County Board of Commissioners holds its work session, which will cover preliminary items for the June 1 regular meeting. Discussion items include an update from Parks and Recreation, a presentation by Chief Resilience Officer and Fire and Emergency Services Director Landry Merkison on restoring competitive testing for promotion to sergeant and lieutenant ranks, as well as changes to “Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services” under County Code Chapter 42. Commissioner Felicia Franklin will present on economic development. There’s also a discussion of the Alzheimer’s Service Center (ASC) up for discussion.
- 5:30 p.m.: The Morrow City Council will hold its work session, followed by the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Topping the work session agenda is a discussion of personnel matters. That’s followed by a review of the meeting agenda and a discussion of the first reading of Ordinance 2021-07. New business includes “thorough clean” and “People Help Exchange.” A discussion of the retirement plan is marked as “pending,” followed by the usual items on URA finances, Olde Towne Morrow’s rebranding and renovations, the Reynolds Road and Conference Center “Dark Space” planning and budgeting, and the redevelopment of the Meadowbrook property. Look also for “pending” discussions on bond refinancing and on the Morrow Station property, as well as an update on board appointments to the Morrow Housing Authority. Exhibits attached to the work session item indicate a discussion of letters of intent from “potential restaurants” and projects listed as Red House, Green House, and White House, as well as two boutiques. An item listed as “Tracking” asks, “What businesses do we want?” These include:
- Residential $275-$350K
- Commercial: Bakery, brewery, Tom Dick and Hank BBQ, Highland Bakery
- Who is looking? indicates Chris Singh, AG Builders, Hospitality Financial Group, and DJR Construction on the residential side, with “Broker Dionnie” and “Broker Chris Singh,” along with Big Mike Taco and Elfs Bakery on the commercial side.
- Dionnie E. Bolar is the owner of Property Enterprises, Inc., with offices at 260 Peachtree Street. The Georgia Real Estate Commission lists Bolar as an active broker with both Property Enterprises, Inc. and Teseniar, Morris, Bowers, and Catanzaro, LLC of Suwanee. The Suwanee office at 1300 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Suite 3209, shares an address with Vici International Real Estate, where Bolar also is listed as a real estate advisor.
- Singh is a commercial real estate broker in Jonesboro who incorporated Haley-Rose Management, LLC on March 15 with its primary office at 92 North Avenue, Suite 202 in New Rochelle, NY. That company’s business filing with the Georgia Secretary of State indicate the organizers as Jose S. Rodrigues, Jr. and Jose S. Rodrigues II of Harrison, NY.
- AG Builders Company, LLC is a Stockbridge residential and general contracting company owned by Antonio R. Graves that is listed on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website as a new single-family construction business (“except for-sale builders”).
- Big Mike Tacos is a Riverdale Black-owned taco truck business that has worked Morrow’s Food Truck Fundays.
- Elf’s Cakery is a Black-owned Stockbridge bakery that has has quite a bit of celebrity-related press (Real Housewives of Atlanta, T.I. and Tiny’s “Braxton Family Values.”
- Morrow’s regular council meeting agenda includes approval of the May 11 work session and regular meeting minutes, no new business, a first reading of Ordinance 2021-07, which would allow the city to recover costs for Morrow Fire Department emergency response calls, including a 10 percent service charge to non-Morrow residents whose bills got past 60 days, as well as expenses related to putting out fires, hazardous or toxic material releases, extractions, DUIs, intentional false alarms, arson, non-emergency standby services for “a non-emergency event/situation hosted by a non-profit or for-profit organization,” unless the council votes to reduce or waive charges. These fees would be collected by a company called EF Recovery. The prices, or “Cost Recovery Schedule,” for these services will be set by the City Council. Exemptions for services include malfunctioning alarms (twice in 30 days max), fire on city property not caused by a city employee or agent, or other jurisdictions with which Morrow has a mutual or automatic aid agreement (unless that jurisdiction allows fire and emergency fee recovery). The fees, which are billed to the liable party at a one-hour minimum, include:
- Ambulance: $50/hour
- Engine 31/32/33 Fire engine/pumper: $100/hour
- Ladder 31 (aerial with pump): $200/hour
- Command vehicles: $25/hour
- Air monitoring (multi-bas monitor): $45/hour
- Small equipment (saws, hand tools, scene lights, etc.): $55/hour
- Large equipment (generators, extrication, fan, etc.)” $65/hour
- Fire Chief: $41.03/hour
- Deputy Chief: $35.10/hour
- Division Chief: $30.05/hour
- Fire Captain: $21.77/hour
- Fire Lieutenant: $19.96/hour
- Firefighter $16.87/hour
- Consumables (excluding EMS supplies for direct patient care): Current market replacement cost; apparatus and equipment rate accounts for preparation operation, and cleaning/restocking processes
- An executive session to discuss personnel matters will follow. We’ve made it easier for you to watch Morrow City Council’s recorded meetings on YouTube with this link: tinycc/YTMorrow.
Wednesday, May 26
- 5:30 p.m.: The Forest Park Development Authority holds its monthly meeting; in-person attendance requires masks and social distancing and the meeting also will be livestreamed. On the agenda is approval of minutes from April 21, a presentation on insurance by Tony Burger and and update on the ATL Airport Community Improvement District (CID) Expansion from Leithead Consulting. Join via Zoom at http://tiny.cc/FP-DA or call in via (312) 626-6799. The webinar ID is 958-6542-0057 and the passcode is 963519.
Thursday, May 27
- 5 p.m.: The Clayton County Georgia Republican Party will meet at Battlefield Park in Jonesboro for “an informal gathering to unpack the County and District Conventions and prepare for the State Convention in June.” The meeting itself will start at 7 p.m. Arlene Charles will contact members about meal preparation, according to an e-mail from the group. For details, contact Garrett Ashley at chairmanccgop@gmail.com.
- 5:30 p.m.: Forest Park Downtown Development Authority: The agenda had not been published as of press time.
- 6 p.m.: Forest Park Urban Redevelopment Authority: The agenda had not been published as of press time.
Friday, May 28
- TBA
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