A2 Fayette County News
Wednesday, March 1,2023
Commissioners Approve SR 279 Realignment Project
Sydney Spencer
News Reporter
sspencer@fayette-news.net
The Fayette County
Board of Commissioners
unanimously approved
“Alternative 2” as the pre
ferred plan for the State
Route 279 Realignment
Project at its Feb. 23 meet
ing.
The chosen alternative
opts for modification of the
existing intersections to
improve operations, safety,
and capacity, while the
number of turning move
ments will remain the
same.
Discussion was tabled
at the Jan. 26 meeting to
seek further options and to
decide which choice would
most positively affect the
community.
Paola Kimbell, engineer
for Fayette County’s trans
portation committee, pre
sented both alternatives to
the board.
“The project area for the
279 realignment is at the
northeast of the county. It
is on State Route 85 going
from Corinth Road to State
Route 279. This was the
proposed alignment for our
2019 study with our pre
vious consultant,” Kimbell
said.
“We’ve had multiple
project milestones. We cur
rently are at the selection of
the preferred alignment,”
she continued. “From here,
we will have about a year to
have an approved concept
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ment of Transportation].”
Kimbell said staff pro
vided ample time and op
portunities for residents to
voice opinions on the pro
posed alternatives.
“[During] the month of
November, we had public
engagement. Throughout
the whole month we had
multiple advertisements.
We also had multiple en
gagement opportunities,
including the PIOH and an
interactive website called
Social Pinpoint, where
people could leave com
ments for both alter
natives,” Kimbell
explained.
After collecting results
from the community, Kim
bell revealed how she and
staff adjusted alternatives
based on feedback re
ceived.
“We gathered all com
ments and we noticed that
it was a 50/50 split for both
alternatives. We also up
dated our preferred align
ments due to these
comments. The biggest cat
egory was the intersection
improvement,” revealed
Kimbell.
During public com
ment, community res
idents aired opinions on
how the alternatives would
affect them. Most speakers
currently live on Butler
Road and explained how
Alternative l would affect
them directly and why they
oppose it.
Butler Road Resident
Kendall Brodigan told the
board about the negative
impact on her and her fam
ily’s physical and mental
wellbeing surrounding the
uncertainty of the decision,
while explaining how Alter
native 2 would not affect
anyone living on Butler
Road.
“Tonight, you have two
separate proposals in front
of you that are directly af
fecting me and my family.
The depression alone I’ve
had since November 2022
troubles me at times. I have
health issues, and this has
not helped my physical or
mental wellbeing. You are
deciding on an option for
the realignment of State
Route 279, either to extend
the curve on Corinth Road
next to a truck stop into a
commercial area or extend
279 adjacent Butler Road
down to Corinth Road.
Both options one and two
affect my home and land.
[With] option two, the road
behind my home doesn’t
affect anyone living on But
ler Road,” said Brodigan.
Members assured the
public that they heard their
concerns and considered
all options before making
the decision.
Peachtree City Man Arrested,
Charged in Domestic Dispute
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
PEACHTREE CITY -
On Feb. 19, Peachtree City
Police responded to a do
mestic abuse call that re
sulted in the arrest of
33-year-old Jemarlerde
Eddins.
According to Peachtree
City spokesperson Chris
Hyatt, Eddins was the live-
in boyfriend of the female
victim and her young
child. The couple had a
verbal altercation that Ed
dins turned physical and
caused damage to the
property.
“[He] took her phone
so she couldn’t call 911 and
made threats that he
would have her killed, and
did it within earshot of her
daughter, who was scared
as well,” Hyatt said.
Eddins is alleged to
have “pushed the female
victim around,” which led
to one count of simple as
sault, according to Hyatt.
In total, Eddins faces
seven charges, including
second-degree criminal
damage to property, third-
degree cruelty to children,
simple assault, interfering
with 911 call, terroristic
Jemarlerde Eddins
threats and acts, posses
sion of marijuana less than
one ounce, and driving
with a suspended license.
Eddins was arrested
and booked in Fayette
County Jail.
Fayette County's 2022 Annual Report on
Fire Services Impact Fees Going to DCA
Sydney Spencer
News Reporter
sspencer@fayette-news.net
Members of Fayette
County Commission voted
unanimously Feb. 23 to ap
prove submission of the
Fayette County 2022 an
nual report on fire service
impact fees to the Georgia
Department of Community
Affairs.
Fayette County Plan
ning and Zoning Director
Deborah Bell presented the
proposal to the board, de
scribing the annual update
the county and some towns
within it send to the DCA to
assure funds are being
spent suitably.
“This is the annual up
date that the county and
the towns of Brooks, Ty
rone, and Woolsey jointly
send to DCA to demon
strate that impact fees are
being managed, spent ap
propriately, and that we are
accomplishing key tasks
outlined in the comprehen
sive plan,” Bell explained.
“We submit this report
to DCA, they review it and
will usually recommend
approval, or they may rec
ommend some minor
amendments for the ap
proval. They usually get
that back to us within a few
weeks and we will follow up
with a resolution to adopt
that once we get their ap
proval,” Bell concluded.
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FAYETTE COUNTY NEWS
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The Staff
Leah Banks
Investigative reporter • leah@fayette-news.net
Sydney Spencer
News Reporter • sspencer@fayette-news.net
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Legals Editor, Classifieds • legals@fayette-news.net
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Bridge Turner
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The Meeting Place
Fayette County Board of Edu
cation meets the third Monday of
the month at 7 p.m.
Fayette County Commission
meets the second and fourth
Thursday of the month at 6:30
p.m.
Fayette County Planning Com
mission meets the first Thursday
of the month at 7 p.m.
Fayetteville City Council meets
the first and third Thursday of the
month at 6 p.m.
Fayetteville Planning Commis
sion meets the fourth Tuesday of
the month at 6 p.m.
Fayetteville Work Session
meeting on the last Tuesday of
each month at 9 a.m. at Fay
etteville City Hall.
Peachtree City Council meets
the first and third Thursday of the
month at 6:30 p.m.
Peachtree City Planning Com
mission meets the second and
fourth Monday of the month at 7
p.m.
Tyrone Town Council meets the
first and third Thursday of the
month at 7 p.m.
Tyrone Planning Commission
meets the second and fourth
Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.
Tyrone Downtown Devel
opment Authority meets at 9
a.m. on the second Monday of the
month.
Brooks Town Council meets the
third Monday of every month at
6:30 p.m.
