Henry County Update-Newsletter

September 14, 2022 Henry County Debuts Future Aquatic Center Board of

Commissioners Regular Meetings September 20, 6:30 p.m.

October 4, 9:00 a.m.

Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings air daily on Henry TV Charter Channel 180 at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Henry County Leisure and Public Services Cluster Lead Jonathon Penn unveiled henrycountyonline.com a video presentation of the proposed design for the new Henry County Aquatic Center for more viewing options at the September 7th regular Commission meeting. The presentation was met with a including Facebook and hearty round of applause from those in attendance.

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YouTube.

Penn, along with Capital Projects Director Lynn Planchon, updated Commissioners and said that the much-anticipated project is moving steadily and an ambitious timeline has been established to bring the state of the art Aquatic Center to fruition.

Penn could hardly contain his enthusiasm for the project when discussing the video and the project. He also said the features of the Aquatic Center will attract tournaments and other events and add a tremendous quality of life factor to Henry County’s current offerings.

“It’s super exciting. We have a lazy river, an outdoor play pool, kids’ apparatus, the wave rider which is a huge deal, food trucks so that we can service different tastes of people Continued on page 3

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September 14, 2022 PUBLISHED BY Henry County Communications & Public Information Department Henry County Government

EDITORS Nicholas Ivey Meredith Butler

GRApHIC DESIgNER Meredith Butler

LAYOUT DESIgNER Meredith Butler

CONTRIBUTORS Melissa Robinson Nicholas Ivey

SEE CLICK FIX

henrycounty-ga.com/SeeClickFix

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Aquatic Center- continued from page 1 along with the concessions, inside we have a 50-meter competitive pool to bring all types of competitions to Henry County, therapeutics recreation pool inside as well. This is state of the art, I also can’t not mention the rooftop terrace,” said Penn.

The budget for the new Aquatic Center is $22 million and those funds are available through SPLOST V. Planchon advised that the county was currently ahead of schedule on projected SPLOST V collections and additionally they would have access to other funding sources, such as impact fees. She also noted that the

Aquatic Center is expected to become self-sufficient.

The design is expected to be completed by midDecember of this year. The Construction request for Proposals (RFP) is planned to post after the first of the year, following Board approval. Officials are expecting the project to be completed Memorial Day 2024.

To view a video of the architectural design of the Aquatic Center, visit the Henry County Government YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/HenryCountyGA

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September 14, 2022 County Remembers 9/11 with Memorial Ceremony September 11, 2001, changed America forever as we as nation saw the worst terrorist attacks ever on American soil, in which thousands of innocent lives were lost.

At 8:46 Friday morning, Henry County gathered to remember and honor those lost and those left to heal and go on.

Chairwoman Carlotta Harrell began the remembrance ceremony reading a proclamation on behalf of the Board of Commissioners proclaiming September 11, 2022, as Patriot Day in Henry County to coincide with the State and National recognition of such.

County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews spoke on why the ceremony began at exactly 8:46 a.m. and asked that everyone join in a moment of silence.

“We began this memorial at 8:46 a.m., this is the exact time that American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at the World Trade Center. At this time, I would like to ask everyone to take a moment with me in silence in remembrance of those who perished on September 11, 2001,” said Hobson-Matthews County leadership, public safety and staff were in attendance for the occasion.

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The Shaquille O’Neal Boys & Girls Club of Henry County Celebrates One Year and Counting

The Henry County Board of Commissioners heard at its September 7th regularly scheduled meeting from leaders representing the Boys & Girls Club. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

The Shaquille O’Neal Boys & Girls Club of Henry County opened its doors in August of 2021 and is located in the former Henry County Middle School. It was made possible by a public-private partnership, which invested over $1 million dollars to renovate the facility and cover initial operating costs (about $530,000 per year).

In addition to the namesake benefactor and others, the partnership includes the County government, which invested an initial $300,000 for facility renovations as well as $150,000 towards operations such as staff costs, programming, and facility maintenance.

The Club had 202 members initially register. In its first year, that number rose to 370. Members have access to diverse programming that includes basketball, volleyball, flag football, dance, cheer, tennis, music education, and even STEM/STEAM education lessons.

Notably, the Club is embedded in a community center, which allows it to overlap with other services and give families even more service offerings. It also lowers the cost of rent.

For more about the Shaquille O’Neal Boys & Girls Club of Henry County and ways you can get involved, visit: https://bgcma.org/club/shaquille-oneal-boys-girlsclub/.

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September 14, 2022 Upcoming Events

Calling all contractors, developers and business owners! Do you want to connect with others in the building industry who are looking to partner with you?

Then it’s time to register for Henry County District IV Commissioner Vivian Thomas’ “Plug-In” Contracting Expo to be held on September 24 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Henry County Administration Building in McDonough. Registration is free. henrycounty-ga.com

September 14, 2022 Board Approves Agreements and Purchases

The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved several resolutions at the September 7 Commission meeting, including the procurement of blood pressure kiosks for community use as part its wellness initiative.

Commissioners approved the purchase and set-up of six Health Bot Blood Pressure Kiosks for use at six county facilities in the amount of $43,092. They also approved an additional four blood pressure monitors in the amount $28,278 to be installed at the four Senior Centers throughout the county.

The blood pressure kiosks were paid through the use of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds and will

assist in Henry County’s Health and Wellness program to track progress and measure improvements to better manage overall health.

Commissioners also approved the allocation of $25,000 from the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association Building Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Grants Program in the amount of $25,000. The Grant will be used to operate comprehensive afterschool programming in Henry County.

For more information or to view the meeting in its entirety, visit co.henry.ga.us/watchTV or log on to the Henry County Facebook page.

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County to Conduct I-75 Commercial Vehicle Lanes Traffic Impact Study

The Henry County Board of Commissioners gave the green light to Transportation Planning Director Sam Baker to proceed with a traffic impact study at the September 7th regular commission meeting.

Partnering with Croy Engineering, the County will seek to fully assess and document the traffic impacts of a plan by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to construct two truck- only lanes on I-75 North from Macon to McDonough.

Construction of the proposed lanes is slated take place from 2026 through 2031.

According to GDOT, traffic flow will be better north of exit 216 after the completion of the commercial vehicle lanes, as stated in a public information open house in December 2020.

Baker said the main objective of the study is to verify GDOT’s findings on the county’s end and to devise a plan on what the county should do considering the truck-only lanes ending at a highly busy location in the

center of Henry County.

“These two trucks-only lanes will come to an end at a very, very busy location in Central Henry County at State Route 155. North of State Route 155 on I-75, the trucks will be forced to merge into the general-purpose lanes,” Baker said.

Baker went on to explain to the Commissioners that in the study, a one-mile area around the intersection of I-75 and State Route 155 (exit 216) will be closely examined to study the land use and transportation in this area and anything Henry County should consider in light of the commercial vehicle lanes terminating at this location.

In addition, the Study will perform three different scenarios of computer simulation of traffic flow on I-75 North between exit 216 and exit 227.

“The first one will be the current traffic flow without the commercial vehicle lanes constructed, number two, what will traffic flow be like with the commercial vehicle Continued on page 9

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Traffic Impact Study - continued from page 8

lanes as being planned and the third scenario, what will the traffic flow be like on I-75 from State Route 155 up to I-675, if those commercial vehicle lanes were extended farther north to I-675,” said Baker.

Several Commissioners agreed the study was needed.

Chairwoman Carlotta Harrell expressed her concerns on where the proposed lanes would end and agreed that the study is much needed.

“I’m very concerned about where the lanes end. I’m concerned about the traffic that we already have and the traffic that we are going to be expecting to have as the truck traffic continues to increase out of the Port of

Savannah. This is a much needed study so that we have data to make our case to GDOT as well as the Atlanta Regional Commission,” said Harrell.

District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson said he needed more information before supporting the study.

“I would like to know what GDOT has before we start studying what they’ve already completed,” said Wilson.

For more information on Henry County Transportation Planning and Transportation projects, visit www.co.henry. ga.us/Departments/S-Z/Transportation-Planning.

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