Here’s what’s happening with your government this week. Democracy is not a spectator sport. We don’t tell you who to vote for or how to vote. But we want you to know how to engage with your elected officials. When citizens don’t show up at meetings, politicians do what they want. The more people who attend public meetings, the likelier elected officials are to pay attention to what voters want. It’s that simple.

VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS TUESDAY, OCT. 11

Speaking of voting, the last day you can register to vote in the November 8 General and Special Election is this Tuesday, October 12. Visit the Georgia My Voter Page at the Secretary of State’s Elections Office: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/ , where you also can find out who your elected officials are and check your current voter registration status.

If you’re registered to vote in Georgia, you also can apply for an absentee (paper) ballot . You have until October 28 (11 days before the election) to get your absentee ballot application to the Clayton County Board of Elections office.

MONDAY, OCT. 10

  • 6 p.m.: The Riverdale City Council has cancelled its regular meeting “due to a lack of agenda items.”
  • 6 p.m.: The Jonesboro City Council holds its regular meeting. (agenda packet). Citizens may give input on two public hearings, one for a conditional use permit for a beauty / spa school by Yaritza Francisco Hernandez, property owner, and Elyse Whisby, applicant, at 186 North Avenue, Suite 104, as well as a conditional use permit for a medical training institute by Patricia Okwuosa, property owner, and Connie Judge, applicant, at 242 Stockbridge Road. Citizens also can take part in the regular public comment period. The council also is expected to vote riasing themillage rate 2.25 mils to 9.25 mils total, as well as:
    • CUP for workforce training by Total Lifestyle Change Inc., property owner, and Dr. Lenore Coleman, applicant, at 177 North Main Street
    • Variances allowing condominiums in an offfice building at 145 N. Main Street, which would give the owner, Jonesboro Office Park LLC, permission not to meet minimum tract size, minimum setbacks, minimum floor area, or provide garages or driveways.
    • CUP for a medical training institute at 242 Stockbridge Road
    • CUP for a beauty / spa school at 186 North Avenue, Suite 104
    • approval of a long-term renewal of Conditional Use Permit application for a food truck park / court, by Don Flanders / Sardis Creek, LLC, property owner, and Tan Bowers / Atl Food Truck Park, applicant, at 8271 Tara Blvd.
  • 6:30 p.m.: The City Council of Lake City holds its work session at 6:30 p.m., followed by the business meeting at 7 p.m., at City Hall, 5455 Jonesboro Road. Walking in Authority Teen Council will make a presentation at the work session. The council will discuss the traffic calming ordinance, as well as the Auditor’s Report for fiscal year 2021 and the upcoming Clayton County Municipal Association meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. October 20.

TUESDAY, OCT. 11

  • 4:30 p.m.: The Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration holds its regular meeting in person only at the Clayton County Election Center, 7946 N. McDonough Street, Jonesboro. (agenda) Members of the public may comment for three minutes, for a total of 30 minutes. Anyone who was not able to comment will be allowed to do so at the next meeting. The board will take up numerous matters about the upcoming November 8 General and Special Elections, including the Vote Review Panel and recommended approvals of poll managers and assistant poll managers. as well as the December 2022 Vote Review Panel for any runoff elections.
  • 5:30 p.m.: The Clayton County Board of Commissioners holds a work session, followed by the regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. and a special called meeting at 7 p.m. The work session will consider a partnership with Strayer University that would give county employees a 25% tuition discount, as well as offer 50 Fellow for Justice full scholarships each year for employees who work in social justice. The work session also will discuss retired county employee benefits, a proposed tennis center development with “Absolutely No Out-of-Pocket Expenses from the County” that “will be the Largest indoor Tennis Facility in the entire South East [sic].” Other presentations include barriers to affordable housing, CID update, FY23 Commissioners’ Report from the Finance Department, and Retail Strategies Group. The special called meeting is for a vote on retired employees’ benefits and to approve State Sen. Gail Davenport’s use of the Flint River Community Center’s Black Box Theater on Sunday, Oct. 16 for a a street-naming ceremony in honor of longtime resident Jesse Blalock.
  • 6:30 p.m.: The Morrow City Council holds its work session, followed by the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m.. A key work session agenda item to watch: “Summary of Accomplishments and Findings of the Finance Committee and Summary of Finding, Resolution, and Cost of Action of the Sanitation Waste Company Investigation.” The regular meeting includes votes on several purchases:
    • $79,260 for two police vehicles
    • “surplus and sale of all four [police] vehicles”
    • $215,200 (with $107,600 down) for Christmas decorations from Universal Concepts of Cumming “from the funds of marketing and rebranding the District”
    • $25,000 for “The Morrow Station Monument Sign to mount the electric message signs from Omni Business Solution.” (Another company, 2001 Art Sign of Atlanta, came in $250 cheaper than Omni, which got IT staffer Vuong Tran’s recommendation.)
  • 6 p.m.: Invest Clayton (Development Authority of Clayton County) meets at the Lake City Community Center. (agenda) Expect updates on the OA/Gilbert Road Project and the DNR Building and property. Invest Clayton also welcomes a new staffer, Tiffany Lamkin, who finished an internship with Invest Clayton in August.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12

  • 5:30 p.m.: The Forest Park City Council holds a Special Called Meeting (agenda packet) for the first reading of an ordinance to set the property millage rate at 16.743 mils. That is the same rate as last year, but property values have risen since then. If you want to comment on the millage rate, you will need to show up before the meeting starts. If no one shows up, the meeting will end almost immediately. You can watch it on YouTube but you won’t be able to make a public comment for or against the millage rate.

THURSDAY, OCT. 13

  • CORRECTION: The City of Forest Park had announced on its website that Mayor Angelyne Butler’s annual State of the City Address was scheduled for this evening. However, city spokesman Javon Lloyd told The Clayton Crescent the event has been postponed until the beginning of 2023.

FRIDAY, OCT. 14

  • 12 p.m.: Forest Park City Hall closes at noon for Employee Appreciation Day.

Check back for updates throughout the week!

URGENT APPEAL

The Clayton Crescent depends on the support of Clayton County residents. We need 1,000 new monthly supporters at the $6 level continue operations before October 31.

Immediately following that deadline is our annual November pledge drive through NewsMatch. For every dollar donated in November, The Clayton Crescent earns matching grant funds through the Institute for Nonprofit News. However, we need to raise enough money BEFORE then in order to make up for a shortfall in grantmaking this year.

Your support in October is critical in bridging the gap between the November NewsMatch drive and the time we actually receive those funds. Otherwise, The Clayton Crescent will shut down our nonprofit news operations on October 31, 2022. And that would be a blow to democracy, because corruption thrives in news deserts. Without The Clayton Crescent, Clayton County will become an official news desert. It’s time to step up.

Make your gift today at https://donorbox.org/clayton-crescent. Click on the “Monthly” tab, enter $6 (or more if you are able). Then make sure that five of your friends do likewise.

Thank you in advance for supporting the only serious, award-winning news organization that focuses on what matters in Clayton County.

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