by Robin Kemp

The Monday Roundup is a Tuesday Roundup this week, due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day closures and celebrations. Here’s what’s on the agenda for Clayton County:

Tuesday, Jan. 18

5:30 p.m.: The Jonesboro Historic Preservation Committee meets at 124 North Avenue. On the agenda: certificates of appropriateness for a new monument sign at 157 S. McDonough Street (Parcel 13241D H003) in the Historic District and to change a historic home’s siding to all brick at 204 Lee Street (13240D D026) in the Historic Residential Overlay.

6 p.m.: The Forest Park City Council is back with a busy work session, followed by the 7 p.m. council meeting. Watch the livestream at https://bit.ly/3c28p0A or come to the meeting at City Hall council chambers, 745 Forest Parkway.

On the agenda:

  • a new Finance Director to replace Ken Thompson, who left under a cloud when Police Chief and then-City Manager Nathaniel Clark started asking questions about where federal law enforcement and other city funds. The published agenda packet did not name the candidate(s) for Finance Director, nor did it list any candidate qualifications.
  • Hiring Dr. Christopher Edens as medical director, making him responsible for EMS’ performance under the Fire Department. The city is offering him a two-year contract at $16,000 per year.
  • The Fire Department would like to apply for a $974,147.54 FEMA grant for “fire and emergency medical equipment, various training equipment, and other resources.” The city would be responsible for a 10% match.
  • City Manager Dr. Marc-Antonie Cooper is seeking an extension of the $75 per week stipend for first responders through June 30, 2022.: “With the current surge in cases of the viruses ‘omicron variant,’ I do believe that this continued relief is desperately needed to show our support for front line staff dedicated to helping provide quality services to all residents.” The cost would be $225,600, “from contingency with the understanding that it will be recovered from the next allotment of the American Rescue Fund expected sometimes 2nd quarter 2022.” General city employees would get 40 hours, Fire Department employees would get 48 hours, and police would get 60 hours. Anyone who test positive for COVID-19 would have to document it with Human Resources via a PCR test, not with a self-test or at-home test.
  • Cooper also is asking for $205,000 for a Public Health Leave Bank to cover city employees affected by COVID-19 through June 30. The hours would be “allocated in a separate bank to each full-time employee equivalent to one week’s pay based on hours and schedules worked in each area.” He also wants to be able to renew the ban every six months “for up to one additional year, if necessary.” These funds also are available from the “fund balance: and would be repaid with the next American Rescue Fund disbursement.
  • Several candidates are up for three seats on the city’s Development Authority. Terms ended December 18, 2021 for Eliot Lawrence, Trudy Smith, and Pamela Lake. Listed as candidates for the appointed board are Avery Wilson, Technique Concrete’s Billy Freeman, recent Ward 2 council challenger Cliff Pellegrine, Debra Patrick, recent mayoral candidate Delores Gunn, Rumors strip club manager Jonathan Rashmir, real estate investor Joseph Starr, 2018 Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee member Rhonda Wright, and Clayton County School Board District 4 member Victoria Williams.
  • The indoor pool named for Olympian Steve Lundquist apparently has been leaking substantial amounts of water for some time: “In 2015, a full evaluation was completed on The Steve Lindquist Indoor pool. It was recommended that the existing pool structure needed to be replaced with a brand-new shell however based on the 4 options provided, minimal renovations were completed. Presently, the renovated pool shell is losing on average 30, 000 gallons of water, weekly, through the return inlet valve, which is a metal pipe from the original pool structure from 1963. In 2021, the indoor pool was reassessed by a professional engineering firm and provided new options for a stronger pool structure that would be covered under a one-year warranty.” We’ve asked Cooper how much this leak has cost the city and will update with any response.
  • A discussion of a conditional use permit for Telithia Williams to run a personal care home at 4838 Bartlett Road (staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval; the public hearing and vote will come during the regular council meeting). County tax records show Williams has a Hampton address but owns the house on Bartlett Road.
  • A discussion of a conditional use permit for Amerco Real Estate Company to build a 13,567 square-foot mini-warehouse and storage building on a 0.6361-acre parcel in the General Commercial District at Jonesboro Road and Theater Drive, next to the existing U-Haul. (Staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval; the public hearing and vote will come during the regular council meeting). Amerco is the parent company of U-Haul; the real estate company buys “existing buildings for conversion to self-storage, existing self-storage facilities, [and] bare land.”
  • Public Works is asking to enter into contracts with three electrical contractors for on-call services. The city Procurement Office  issued a request for qualifications and chose Bell Electric Services, LLC, Brown Electrical Services, LLC, and MBEC Atlanta, Inc. Public Works can either have the companies compete for specific tasks or use them on a rotating basis “for various sites throughout The City of Forest Park, as well as for the various existing City Boards.” Each company would get a three-year contract with a two-year renewal option “if the City wants to continue with any one of the three firms based on their performance.”

6:30 p.m.: The Board of Commissioners holds its regular business meeting at 112 Smith Street, Jonesboro, including several zoning matters and board appointments. On the agenda:

  • Monthly contract modifications and changes
  • The Fire Department’s Emergency purchase of 96 cases of Quickvue at-home COVID-19 test kits from McKesson Medical Surgical Inc. of Dallas, TX (using $283,762.56 from the Fire Department general fund and the American Rescue Plan Act fund)
  • Accept a $2,500 Georgia Humanities Grant for the Clayton County Library System
  • An agreement with Atlanta Technical College to use space at 727 Airline Museum Way for truck driving training and parking
  • An entry-level police ambassador ($37,603) who would not have arrest powers or carry weapons, to handle “administrative and low risk services,” thus freeing up sworn officers for “higher priority and higher risk calls”
  • A wellness coordinator ($53,911, total compensation $73,397) for Human Resources to handle “all aspects of the Clayton County Be Safe Be Well Wellness Program”
  • Restructuring the District Attorney’s Office to delete eleven classifications and add eleven others for a savings of $26,589 in BY 2022 and $79,286 in BY 2023
  • Delete three classifications and add three in Human Resources at no additional funding level (“Resources are being reallocated and maximized to meet current needs”). The changes would save $29,274 for BY 2022 and average $2,217 annual savings in future years.
  • District 2 will have an Ethics Board appointment to fill Ashley Wright’s seat
  • Chairman Turner will have an Animal Control Board appointment to fill the late Jim Carter’s seat
  • Commissioners DeMont Davis and Gail Hambrick will each have a Library Board appointment to fill Deetra Poindexter’s expiring term and Deborah Jester’s resignation

Several zoning matters are up for consideration, including:

  • A conditional use permit for a 5,000 square foot place of worship and two 2,000 square foot learning center buildings at 6396 Hwy. 42, Rex in District 1 (Planning and Zoning and ZAG both recommend denial)
  • A future land use amendment from Low-Density Residential to Mixed Use requested by Rockhaven Homes LLC at 9373, 9362, and 9530 Poston Road, and 9265 and 9325 Tara Blvd., south of the Harold E. Banke Justice Center and the Aquatic Center in District 3. The proposed project includes 262 attached townhomes, 431 single-family detached homes, and about 10 acres of commercial development. (Planning and Zoning and ZAG both recommend approval).
  • That development also would need rezoning and a plat from RS-180 and Mixed-Use to Planned Unit Development, both of which would come with 12 conditions from Planning and Zoning. ZAG recommends denial on both.
  • A future land use map amendment from Mixed Use MXD to High-Density Residential HDR for a 300-apartment complex at 2465 Richardson Pkwy. And 2456 Mt. Zion Road near Landmark Dodge and I-75 Exit 231 in District 1. Planning and Zoning and ZAG both recommend approval. The development also needs rezoning from Mixed Use and Mixed-Use Commercial-Industrial to Multi-Family District. Both Planning and Zoning and ZAG recommend approval with six conditions.
  • Ashland Adams is seeking a conditional use permit for a cottage food home based business at 2457 Ash Rose Drive in Jonesboro in District 4. Both Planning and Zoning and ZAG recommend approval with one condition.
  • The BOC also will consider “initiation of an amendment to the Official Zoning Map” to allow rezoning of existing single-family detached subdivisions zoned as Multifamily (RM) to a new classification, RMTSF, “in order to resolve unconformity status of Single Family Detached lots developed in Multi-family zoning.” ZAG recommends approval.

A discussion of law enforcement and EMS pay adjustments also is on the agenda.

Wednesday, Jan. 19

9 a.m.:  Attention, jobseekers! WorkSource Atlanta Regional hosts Application Assistance Day until 3 p.m. at 3000 Corporate Center, Suite 350, Morrow. You can get help with job applications and you don’t need an appointment. You will need to wear a mask and follow social distancing. Call (678) 271-3554 with questions. You also can contact (404) 463-3327 or scan the QR code for information about a short-term job training program. Visit atlworks.org/eligibility for more. There will be another Application Assistance Day on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

10 a.m.: Congressman David Scott and Georgia Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Sam Nunn, along with local officials, will hold a press conference announcing $354 million in funding for help with mortgages, delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, and past-due utilities. We’ll be on the call and will report back to you.

Thursday, Jan. 20

Lake City will resume showing the interior of the Community Center to prospective renters today. However, “Accepting rental application and reserving dates for events is still to be determined. This is subject to change based on directions from the Mayor and Council.” No appointment is required, but the city and the center coordinator may have restrictions. According to Lake City’s website, “The showing dates and times are normally on Tuesdays 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM and Thursdays 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM. However, until mid-March (approximately March 15, 2022) the showing dates and times are modified to Mondays 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM and Thursdays 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Contact the City Hall prior to coming to a showing date to ensure we are doing showings that day.” Call City Hall at (404) 366-8080 with questions.

5:30 p.m.: The Forest Park Downtown Development Authority meets, likely including new appointees.

6 p.m.: The Forest Park Urban Redevelopment Authority meets, also likely including new appointees.

Friday, Jan. 21

Lake City residents who normally have garbage pickup today will have pickup on Saturday, due to the MLK holiday earlier this week. If the truck misses your pickup, call City Hall at (404) 366-8080 on Monday, January 24.

Saturday, Jan. 22

9 a.m.: District 1 Commissioner Dr. Alieka Anderson holds a Community Connections meeting.

10 a.m.: The Clayton County Youth Commission and Clayton County Police Department will hold a self-defense class for youth ages 14 through 18 at the Clayton County Police Headquarters Community Room, 7911 N. McDonough Street, Jonesboro. You must register in advance at https://tinyurl.com/YCSelf-Defense to attend. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes! For more information, call Ciara Dunn at (770) 477-3349 or e-mail ciara.dunn@claytoncountyga.gov .

Send your civic calendar items to editor@claytoncrescent.org at least one week in advance. 

Robin Kemp is executive editor and CEO of The Clayton Crescent, which she founded in 2020. She has worked for Gambit, CNN, The Weather Channel, Clayton News, Henry Herald, and numerous freelance outlets....

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