by Robin Kemp

Tuesday, October 19 is Special Election Runoff Day for Clayton County Board of Commissioners District 1. Voters will choose between Alieka Anderson and Alaina Reaves to fill the term of the late Sonna Singleton Gregory. Anderson stepped down from Clayton County School Board District 8, where she had served as chair, vice-chair, and legislative liaison, to run for the BOC, while Reaves is an experienced Georgia Democratic National Committee member who served as an intern for the late Congressman John Lewis and First Lady Michelle Obama, chief of staff for Georgia House Minority Whip Carolyn Hughley, and deputy political director for Teresa Tomlinson’s U.S. Senate run. Only 902 voters in District 1 have cast early ballots in the runoff–that’s roughly 2% of registered voters in District 1, based on the total number of registered voters in the district, which is 43,992. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the BOC District 1 runoff.

Meanwhile, early/advance/absentee voting continues in the municipalities ahead of the November 2 general election. We’ll have more for you on the races and the candidates seeking office all week long.

Monday, October 18

  • 5:30 p.m.: The Jonesboro Historic Preservation Commission meets at 124 North Ave. The only action item on the published agenda is a certificate of appropriateness for Total Lifestyle Change’s sign panel at 177 North Main Street. The
  • 6 p.m.: The Forest Park City Council holds its work session, followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m. Livestream access is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JYlOaewzLI. The council will discuss:
    • naming Fire Chief Latosha Clemons as Emergency Management Director
    • an online language proficiency test called Parrot that the city would use to determine whether bilingual employees could get incentive pay
    • sending surplus city phones, iPads, and laptops to sister city Mirebalais, Haiti (instead of paying nearly double the original vendor quote for cellphones)
    • add Elam Church Cemetery to the list of abandoned cemeteries the city would maintain
    • discuss allowing the City Edge Project, which is run by Rev. Dr. Leon Beeler and his Gateway Restoration International Network, to manage and disburse American Rescue Fund rental assistance. The Clayton County Community Services Authority has disbursed previous COVID-19 rental assistance aid. City Edge proposes setting aside $314,000 “or whatever the council approves” of $400,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds to distribute up to three months’ rent to landlords whose tenants are behind.
    • transferring tax liens against Briarwood Forest Duplexes, LLC, 890 Conley Road (just off Jonesboro Road behind Texaco), to the Clayton County Land Bank (which meets Thursday at 7:30 p.m.)
    • consider applying to Georgia’s Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds for money to upgrade broadband service (specifically, Wi-Fi) and offset negative economic impact (for “various small businesses, travel, tourism, and hospitality”)
    • contracting with FS360, Randolph and Company, and Technique Concrete Construction for backup staff when Public Works is shorthanded. Technique Concrete has a large site under construction at Gillem Logistics Center, owns several properties around town (including Mayor Angelyne Butler’s house), and is a major donor to Butler’s reelection campaign. According to Public Works Director Bobby Jinks, “The Department of Procurement conducted a request for qualifications for on-call managing general contractor services and of the eight firms that submitted their qualifications, these three firms were selected. These firms are on an on-call basis, which means as services are needed, The City will utilize these three firms to perform specific task orders. These firms will supplement the Public Works short staffed for managing general services. The Department of Public Works will have the option to allow these firms to compete against each other or they can be in rotation for various sites throughout The City of Forest Park, as well as for the various existing City Boards. The contracts will last for 3 years with a 2 year renewal option if the City wants to continue any one of the three firms based on their performance.”
  • The 7 p.m. regular meeting will take up:
    • a public hearing and vote on keeping the existing ad valorem tax rate at 16.743 mils
    • a proclamation to the family of Mary Ann Connelly, for whom the Senior Center is named
    • voting on Fire Chief Latosha Clemons as Emergency management Director
    • approving the October 4 work session and regular meeting minutes
    • approving donation of 20 surplus city phones, along with laptops and iPads, for Mirebelais, Haiti
    • approvals for the Elam Church Road cemetery, City Edge rental assistance program, Clayton County Land Bank transfer of 890 Conley Road, state coronavirus fund application
    • approval of the open-ended, on-call managing general contractor services of Technique Concrete, FS360, and Randolph and Company. You can see the bid documents from the city’s website at https://www.forestparkga.gov/finance/page/request-proposal-call-managing-general-contractors-services. The city does not publish its bids in the local county organ, the Clayton News. Instead, it uses BidDirect.net, a private database company that publishes bids and RFPs for government agencies, as well as the city website.

Tuesday, October 19

  • 6:30 p.m.: The Clayton County Board of Commissioners holds its regular meeting, along with several zoning matters, some of which have been ongoing. On the agenda:
    • proclamations and presentaions on National Pedestrian Safety Month and Health Literacy Month
    • public comment, which is likely to include people who oppose the Jonesboro Library closure
    • a contract amendment for $3,340 in 2015 SPLOST funds to Tyler Technologies to upgrade the iasWorld Production site and modify the Community Development CAMA file
    • $127,601.74 in 2015 SPLOST funds to Summit Solutionz, Inc. of Orange, CA for “certified audio-visual products and select services”
    • prequalification of 18 contractors for 2021 SPLOST fund projects (see RFQ 21-25)
    • $1.311.983.72 over five years from the E-911 Telephone System Fund to Motorola Solutions, Inc, of Chicago for a Next Generation VESTA 911 system with subscription and smart transcription services for the Clayton County Police Department
    • amend the current contract with Piccadilly Holdings, LLC of Southlake, TX, which provides Senior Center meals, from $2,000 per month to $2,287.89 per month, using the Senior Services Department General Fund and an Atlanta Regional Commission grant. The change also will allow Piccadilly to terminate the contract for convenience
    • awarding Precision Delta Corporation of Ruleville, MS, through the Police Department General Fund, the annual contract for remanufactured ammunition for the Clayton County Police Department
    • awarding the annual consultant and software development services contract, using the Information Technology General Fund, to ComTech Global, Inc. of Columbus, OH; Experient Group of Chamblee; and HQT, LLC of Alpharetta.
    • an annual contract for ballfield lighting re-lamp and electrical maintenance, using the Parks and Recreation General Fund, to Deco, Inc., dba Davidson Electric Company
    • a request to ratify a $704,692 emergency purchase, using the SPLOST 2021 Bond Proceed Fund, for county vehicles from Woody Folsom of Vidalia, Inc. “[d]ue to a shortage in the automobile industry and the lack of availability of public safety vehicles.”
    • a third contract amendment with MLB Transportation, Inc, to provide medical transportation services
    • several permit and bond refunds, including $1,880.70 for an unidentified property in the City of Riverdale; $500 to AC Investments, Inc. (cash bond refund); $1,675 to an unidentified entity; and one item that identifies neither entity nor amount: “The purpose of this request is to issue a refund for overpayment of a permit purchased.”
    • approving Georgia Power’s moving utilities at the Battle Creek/Mt. Zion Road Widening Project between Southlake Parkway and Somerton Drive, as well as at the Battle Creek Widening Project between Valley Hill Road and Southlake Parkway
    • an amendment to the Project Year 2020 HUD Annual Action Plan “for the recapture and reallocation of funds to the Clayton County Housing Authority ($17,548.28), House of Dawn ($50,000) and Clayton County Library Services ($36,145).”
    • Resolution 2021-213 would let the county enter agreements with charities, government agencies, and professional service providers “for the rendering of financial assistance for services to Clayton County and its citizens.”
    • amending the terms and conditions of the professional services agreement with Ohio River South, the county’s lobbyists
    • an agreement with the Development Authority of Clayton County (Invest Clayton) and Roman United Construction, LLC “for the development of property to include a business incubator.” The company’s organizer is Jacque Roman of Atlanta and the registered agent is Kevin Smith of Dacula.
    • a resolution authorizing Evernorth Behavioral Health, Inc. to provide county employee assistance program services
    • board appointments for Behavioral Heath and Developmental Disabilities Region 3 Advisory Council (Davis) and the Library Board (Hambrick, held over from last time)
    • See the detailed agenda packet for all the zoning matters, including 2915 McDonough Road (276 single-family detached homes), 7135 Mt. Zion Circle (from mixed use to high-density residential with 384 units–staff recommends approval with four conditions while ZAG recommends denial), 1816 Noah’s Ark Road and 9497 Thornton Blvd. (from general commercial to medium density residential with 195 single family attached townhomes, by Genesis Townhomes–both staff and ZAG recommend denial, and public hearings are required on the rezoning and the plat requests), 1451 Ga. Hwy 138 (a conditional use permit for a 3,000-square foot convenience store, retail plaza, and gas station, as well as a 2,7000 square foot car wash–staff and ZAG recommend denial on both), and 9405/9325/9495/9447 Ga. Hwy. 54 (rezoning from Agriculture District and RS-180 to Planned Unit Development for 80 dingle-family homes and 54 townhomes, which staff and ZAG recommend approval with seven conditions).
    • Additional zoning matters include a rezoning request in District 1, by TDC Logistics Company, LLC (Transwestern) from general business to light industrial, for a 265,200 square-foot, 28.6-acre warehouse and distribution facility in Ellenwood. The address is 5490 and 5544 Ga, Hwy. 42 near Forest Parkway. A map amendment and conditional use permit also are sought. Both staff and ZAG recommend denial.

Wednesday, October 20

  • 6 p.m.: The Clayton County Community Development Department holds its Community InformationMeeting (CIM) and Proof of Interested Party Notice Received by County Staff at the J. Charley Criswell Senior Center, 2300 Highway 138 (inside Clayton County International Park). See the full Zoning Matters Calendar.

Thursday, October 21

Friday, October 22

  • TBA

Saturday, October 23

  • 11 a.m.: District 4 Commissioner DeMont Davis hosts a free home buying seminar from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Lake Spivey Recreation Center, 2300 Walt Stephens Road, Jonesboro. A mortgage can be cheaper than rent, builds generational wealth, and you can learn about a range of programs and financial assistance available for first-time homebuyers. Register in advance at https://tinyurl.com/CCHomeBuyingSeminar

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