Henry County Update - Newsletter

October 8, 2015

Board of

Commissioners

Commissioners Appoint New County Manager

Regular Meetings October 20 at 6:30 PM November 3 at 9:00 AM Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings air daily on Henry TV Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Henry County Manager Lyndon L. Bonner.

The Henry County Board of Commissioners appointed Lyndon L. Bonner to the position of County Manager, to begin serving immediately. The action came during the regular Commissioner meeting held on October 6, 2015, after commissioners reconvened from executive session.

Bonner, who is from Ocala FL, received his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Florida and a Master’s of Business Administration from Webster University in Missouri. With more than 20 years of government administration experience, serving as both a city manager and county administrator in rural communities as well as large urban jurisdictions, he most recently served as the City Manager for the City of North Miami Beach where he managed 422 Continued on page 3

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October 8, 2015 Published by Henry County Communications Department The Henry County Board of Commissioners

Editor Melissa Robinson

Graphic Designer Meredith Butler Samantha Watson

Layout Designer Samantha Watson

Contributors Samantha Watson Melissa Robinson Kevin Williams

henrycounty-ga.org

Commissioner Bruce Holmes To Host Town Hall Meeting Focus on rail transit opportunities in Henry County

District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes will hold his monthly Town Hall Meeting on Thursday evening, October 22, 2015 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Global Impact Christian Ministries in Stockbridge. This month’s meeting will feature a discussion on mass transit and its impact on economic development, jobs, new industry and quality of life for Henry County Citizens.

The special guest speaker will be Keith Parker, MARTA General Manager and CEO, who will discuss his role with MARTA and key issues surrounding mass transit and public transportation.

According to Holmes, several companies, such as Mercedes Benz-USA, have recently cited the close proximity and availability of public transportation options as a deciding factor in where to headquarter a business. He will address for citizens the needs and opportunities for expanded transportation options in relation to future economic development in Henry County, and along with Parker will answer audience questions.

The Town Hall Meeting is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend. Global Impact Christian Ministries is located at 125 Red Oak Rd. in Stockbridge, GA 30281.

Nine Recruits Graduate from Fire Academy

New graduate, Kourtney Cheek, celebrates her graduation from the fire academy with family.

Bonner from page 1

The recruits at their graduation ceremony.

The Henry County Fire Department is excited to announce their new graduating class, recruit class 15-01. After a 16-week intensive training program, nine firefighter recruits graduated on September 25, 2015.

Fire Chief Bill Lacy, Division Chief of Training Ike McConnell and Deputy Chief Brad Johnson spoke at the ceremony and welcomed Kourtney Cheek, Jesus Favela, Bryan Glass, Scott Groover, Patrick Harrison, Owen High, Mario Hooper, Noah Hudgins and Desmond Walker to the Henry County Fire Department.

For more information on the Henry County Fire Department visit, www.henrycounty-ga.org/fire.

employees and oversaw a budget of $111 million. He also served as County Administrator for Okeechobee County, Florida, as well as Interim Assistant County Administrator for Sumter County Florida. Earlier in his career, he was City Manager for several years in Bunnell, FL, and worked as Director of Public Services in Dunnellon, FL.

The county manager search was conducted internally and initially attracted 27 candidates for the position.

For more information on Henry County Government or to view BOC meetings online, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org. Commission meetings are also available on Charter channel 180 and AT&T U-verse channel 99.

Fourth Annual Commissioner’s Masked Ball Set for November 1 Proceeds to benefit the Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation

District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes will be hosting the Fourth Annual Commissioner’s Masked Ball on November 1, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. in the Egyptian Ballroom of the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

Honorees of the event include former WSB news anchor Monica Pearson, Henry County Solicitor General “Trea” A. Pipkin III, Laura Turner, Rojini Lazarus, McDonough Councilwoman Sandra Vincent, Dr. Rita Bailey and Justin Lamert. Shaunya Chavis Rucker will host as Mistress of Ceremony.

Tickets cost $60 each and all proceeds of the

event will go to the Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that works to foster meaningful and positive outcomes for young people through athletics, healthy living, education, leadership and mentoring.

Tickets may be purchased at www.cbhyf.org or www.cbhyf.eventbrite.com.

The Fox Theatre is located at 660 Peachtree St NE, in Atlanta. For more information, call 404-3100460 or 770-597-7544. Attire is formal black tie and mask.

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October 8, 2015 Henry County Elections Office moves to new location

The Henry County Elections Office has been moved to a new, temporary space located at 40 Atlanta St. in McDonough due to water damage and structural issues at the Elections Office located at 345 Phillips Dr. in McDonough.

County officials determined the move was necessary for the health and safety of both the employees and citizens and wanted to make sure the move was complete before early voting begins on October 12.

“In the interest of the safety and welfare of citizens and employees, we made the decision, in coordination with the State, to move the Elections Office,” said Interim County Manager Cheri HobsonMatthews. “We felt the issues with the Phillips Drive building warranted an urgent move, but I fully expect a smooth transition and early voting will take place as scheduled.”

Early voting begins on Monday, October 12, 2015 and a complete list of locations and early voting times are available on the county website at www.henrycounty-ga.org/elections.

henrycounty-ga.org

Forty Roads to be Resurfaced in Henry County

The use of SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) annual contracts and a budget amendment for SPLOST IV were approved at the October 6 Commission meeting for the resurfacing and surface treatment of various roads in districts one through five.

A dirt road surface treatment for Turner Circle will be completed by the Henry County Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) using annual contracts with Blacklidge Emulsions, Inc. for liquid asphalt emulsion and Faultless Business Center, Inc. for dump truck rentals. The labor and equipment to perform the treatment work is included in the D.O.T. budget but the additional cost of $22,504 will be covered by $12,900 from the North Bridges Road budget and $9,604 from the East Knight Road budget.

The resurfacing of three roads in district one, fourteen roads in district two, fifteen roads in district three, five roads in district four and two roads in district five will be completed by the Henry County D.O.T. using annual contracts with E.R. Snell and C.W. Matthews Contracting Company for plant mix asphalt, Blacklidge Emulsions, Inc. for liquid asphalt emulsion and Faultless Business Center, Inc. for dump truck rentals. The labor and equipment to perform the surface treatment work is included in the D.O.T. budget and the funding for resurfacing is budgeted in the respective district project accounts.

To see a full list of the roads undergoing resurfacing, visit http://www.co.henry.ga.us/pdf/FY2016_SPLOST_RESURFACING.pdf.

Henry County H.E.A.T. Unit Recognized at Annual State Dinner

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety hosted its annual Governor's Challenge Awards banquet on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 where the Henry County Police Department’s H.E.A.T. Unit was recognized by the state agency. The banquet is held every year to recognize law enforcement agencies across the state, in several different categories.

The awards program was designed to award outstanding achievements in highway safety enforcement and education. Agencies are evaluated and recognized for the approach and effectiveness of their overall highway safety programs, as well as for other initiatives, such as innovative problem-solving in their communities, using public information activities and creating departmental policies that support their traffic enforcement. This year, Henry County Police Department's HEAT Unit received the third place award for their category. Congratulations for a job well done.

The Henry County Police Department’s H.E.A.T. Unit attended the GOHS Governor’s Challenge Awards banquet last month.

Pictured are (l. to r.) are Lt. Howard Waddell, Officer Matt Palmer, Deputy Director of GOHS Jim Andrews, Sergeant Scott Cumbie, Officer Kelly Horne and Officer Jason Jones.

Friends of Henry County Library Book Sale

The Friends of Henry County Library System book sale will be held Saturday, October 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the McDonough Public Library in the Administration Building basement.

The fall sale will feature a large selection of Christian fiction, inspirational non-fiction, sci-fi and fantasy fiction and children’s books, CDs, DVDs and audiobooks. All the proceeds will benefit the Henry County Library System’s activities and programs.

For more information contact Cassandra Ryan at ryanc@mail.henry.public.lib.ga.us or 678-432-5097.

Give Burns the Boot Initiative is a Success

The Henry County Fire Department raised $4,171.38 for community safety/burn prevention programs during the last Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation’s “Give Burns the Boot” collection.

The Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation partners with fire service organizations and burn care communities to provide fire safety and prevention education, support medical facilities and assist burn survivors in their recovery.

“Give Burns the Boot” is an annual initiative in which more than 100 fire departments throughout the state join together and collect funds to benefit the foundation’s mission and programs. The initiative is incentivized with an investment credit program through which participating fire departments receive ten percent of the funds they collect to be used towards fire safety/ burn prevention programs in their community.

To learn more about the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation and its programs visit, www.gfbf.org.

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