by Robin Kemp
Happy Labor Day and L’Shanah Tovah! Rosh Hashanah, which marks the Jewish New Year 5782, begins at sundown. The image on today’s roundup is a labor union cartoon in honor of the holiday, which President Grover Cleveland declared in 1894 as an olive branch to organized workers who were fighting (and dying) to end abusive workplace conditions. We don’t get a day off around here, though. Early and advance voting continues all week, including this weekend, at four locations around the county. Lots of action happens Tuesday. We’ll update the roundup throughout the day, so be sure to check back!
Monday, Sept. 6
- Labor Day: Government offices are closed today. Monday meetings have been moved to Tuesday, so expect overlap.
- 6 p.m.: The Jonesboro City Council was scheduled to hold its work session. However, it’s Labor Day and no agenda appears online. We’ve asked whether the meeting had been rescheduled, but everyone’s off. Also scheduled for today is a hearing on a proposal to move the polling place from the Police Department to Lee Street Elementary, 178 Lee Street, for the November 2, 2021 municipal election. Anyone who wants to speak on this matter “should attend,” according to a post on the city’s website. The webpage said a copy of the legal notice was attached but no attachment was on the page. Checks of “polling place,” “polling,” “Jonesboro,” and “Jonesboro election” did not turn up a legal notice on GeorgiaPublicNotice.com.
Tuesday, Sept. 7
- 8 a.m.: The polls are open for early/advance voting leading up to the September 21 Special Election for School Board District 8 and Board of Commissioners District 1. Ballot drop boxes for paper absentee ballots are inside each polling location. You have to get your paper ballot in the box before the polling place closes at 7 p.m. You can vote at any of these locations:
- Historic Courthouse, 2nd Floor, Elections and Registration, 121 S. McDonough St., Jonesboro
- Morrow City Hall, 1500 Morrow Road, Morrow
- Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center, 3299 Rex Road, Rex
- City of Forest Park Senior Center, 5087 Park Ave., Forest Park
- 5 p.m.: The College Park City Council holds its work/executive session, followed by the 6 p.m. workshop and 7:30 p.m. regular session. You can attend via Zoom or watch the meeting live via Facebook or YouTube due to COVID-19. You can e-mail a comment with your name to pcomment@collegeparkga.com no later than 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 7. Be sure to write in the email that you are “signing up to virtually attend the meeting to give my public comment live.” The city will consider and vote on a proposed homestead tax exemption for seniors, bids for road construction at Sky Train Way and Hospitality Way, and purchasing electric vehicle charging stations for the Global Gateway Arena.
- 6 p.m.: The Forest Park City Council holds its work session, followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m. You can watch via YouTube (https://bit.ly/3c28p0A) or attend in person (masks and social distancing required) or via Zoom. The council is set to approve the LCI plan for remaking Main Street and to send that plan to the Atlanta Regional Commission. Also up for consideration: possible mural locations, approval of the survey on how to spend American Rescue Funds, and updating the city’s zoning and sign ordinances. Residents–especially homeowners and businesses–should look closely at the zoning changes to understand how they will be affected. The new zoning regulations are at the end of the agenda packet. ED. NOTE: Councilman Héctor Gutierrez says he never suggested that his wife should paint a mural for the city. The Clayton Crescent regrets the error.
- 6 p.m.: The Clayton County Board of Education holds its regular meeting. Teacher turnover is on the agenda, along with setting up a 403(b) plan for the board to be able to issue a $1,000 incentive payment for teachers’ retirement accounts (which it cannot do directly). The graduation/events facility at the old Sears at Southlake Mall will be paid for with SPLOST VI funds and planning is in the very early stages. The school system is also involved as a partner in another large real estate deal, the Flats at Mt. Zion, along with the Housing Authority of Clayton County through a nonprofit set up on March 23 for that purpose, HACC AH NPI, Inc. Michael Bryant and HACC are listed as the incorporators and Kenneth M. Neighbors is listed as the attorney-in-fact.
- 6:30 p.m.: The Board of Commissioners holds its regular meeting. Expect action on the proposed removal of Housing Authority of Clayton County Chair Michael Bryant (and read up on the BOC-HACC saga involving Wade Starr, Jr. and Hightower).
Wednesday, Sept. 8
- 8 a.m.: The polls are open for early/advance voting leading up to the September 21 Special Election for School Board District 8 and Board of Commissioners District 1. Ballot drop boxes for paper absentee ballots are inside each polling location. You have to get your paper ballot in the box before the polling place closes at 7 p.m. You can vote at any of these locations:
- Historic Courthouse, 2nd Floor, Elections and Registration, 121 S. McDonough St., Jonesboro
- Morrow City Hall, 1500 Morrow Road, Morrow
- Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center, 3299 Rex Road, Rex
- City of Forest Park Senior Center, 5087 Park Ave., Forest Park
Thursday, Sept. 9
- 8 a.m.: The polls are open for early/advance voting leading up to the September 21 Special Election for School Board District 8 and Board of Commissioners District 1. Ballot drop boxes for paper absentee ballots are inside each polling location. You have to get your paper ballot in the box before the polling place closes at 7 p.m. You can vote at any of these locations:
- Historic Courthouse, 2nd Floor, Elections and Registration, 121 S. McDonough St., Jonesboro
- Morrow City Hall, 1500 Morrow Road, Morrow
- Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center, 3299 Rex Road, Rex
- City of Forest Park Senior Center, 5087 Park Ave., Forest Park
Friday, Sept. 10
- 8 a.m.: The polls are open for early/advance voting leading up to the September 21 Special Election for School Board District 8 and Board of Commissioners District 1. Ballot drop boxes for paper absentee ballots are inside each polling location. You have to get your paper ballot in the box before the polling place closes at 7 p.m. You can vote at any of these locations:
- Historic Courthouse, 2nd Floor, Elections and Registration, 121 S. McDonough St., Jonesboro
- Morrow City Hall, 1500 Morrow Road, Morrow
- Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center, 3299 Rex Road, Rex
- City of Forest Park Senior Center, 5087 Park Ave., Forest Park
Saturday, Sept. 11
- 9 a.m.: The polls are open for early/advance voting leading up to the September 21 Special Election for School Board District 8 and Board of Commissioners District 1. Ballot drop boxes for paper absentee ballots are inside each polling location. You have to get your paper ballot in the box before the polling place closes at 5 p.m. You can vote at any of these locations:
- Historic Courthouse, 2nd Floor, Elections and Registration, 121 S. McDonough St., Jonesboro
- Morrow City Hall, 1500 Morrow Road, Morrow
- Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center, 3299 Rex Road, Rex
- City of Forest Park Senior Center, 5087 Park Ave., Forest Park
Sunday, Sept. 12
- 12 p.m.: The polls are open for early/advance voting leading up to the September 21 Special Election for School Board District 8 and Board of Commissioners District 1. Ballot drop boxes for paper absentee ballots are inside each polling location. You have to get your paper ballot in the box before the polling place closes at 5 p.m. You can vote at any of these locations:
- Historic Courthouse, 2nd Floor, Elections and Registration, 121 S. McDonough St., Jonesboro
- Morrow City Hall, 1500 Morrow Road, Morrow
- Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center, 3299 Rex Road, Rex
- City of Forest Park Senior Center, 5087 Park Ave., Forest Park