About Fayette County news. (Fayetteville, GA) 2009-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2024)
INSIDE Introducing the 2024 All-County Boys’ Basketball Team, Bl Meetings Sc Events, B2 INSIDE: Introducing the 2024 All-County Girls’ Basketball Team, Bl THE TRUTH SINCE 1886 FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS f ay ett e-news, net Vol. 152, No. 15 Wednesday, April 10, 2024 $1.00 Participants of the local 2024 National Civics Bee with organizers and judges. Dylan Shoemaker/Fayette News Jawwaad Wins Local 2024 National Civic Bee Competition Dylan Shoemaker Staff Writer dshoemaker@fayette-news.net During the local 2024 National Civics Bee, con ducted by Fayette Chamber of Commerce, Bennett’s Mill Middle School student Kaden Jawwaad secured the first-place award. Jawaad was followed by competitors Maddox Green in second and William Ster ling in third, both rep resenting Whitewater Middle School. The civics bee was held on March 28 and hosted by chamber president and CEO Leonard McClarty and At lanta Gas Light Vice Pres ident Tiffany Callaway Ferrell. At least 100 local stu dents participated in an essay competition, resulting in judges selecting 20 stu dents from area middle schools to attend a final live quiz which tested the stu dents on their civics knowl edge. Additional contestants See Civics Bee, A5 Tyrone Approves Amendment to Professional Engineering Services 3-1 Leah Banks Senior Reporter leah@fayette-news.net In a 3-1 vote on April 4, Tyrone Council members ap proved an amendment to the professional engineering services agreement with Keck and Wood, Inc., for a fee not to exceed $27,000 for the design and installation of a restroom facility, related plumbing, and an eyewash station for the 2022 Public Works storage building proj ect. The presentation, by Scott Langford, caused de bate among councilmembers before a motion was made for Mayor Eric Dial to ex ecute the amended contract, with Councilmember Gloria Furr casting the lone oppos ing vote. Also sparking debate was consideration to approve the purchase of two six-pas senger carrier golf carts from Botero Golf Carts, not to ex ceed $23,990. Councilmember Dia Hunter motioned to approve the purchase with a maxi mum price tag of $19,990, seconded by Councilmember Jessica Whelan, which passed in a 3-2 vote with Mayor Dial breaking the tie. In other news: •Council approved a res olution to adopt the Fayette County 2023 Annual Fire Impact Fee Report, Compre hensive Plan Update, and the 2024-2028 Short-term Work Program Update. •Council awarded a $23,900 contract to LRS Land Services for 2024 road side tree pruning and remo val. •Council approved a pur chase of $8,942.50 for Just FOIA Open Records Soft ware, which includes on- boarding costs. •Council approved a request to procure well aban donment services from Well Waters for 969 Senoia Road at a cost not to exceed $7,000. Planning Commission Approves Sterling Ridge Minor Final Plat Dylan Shoemaker Staff Writer dshoemaker@fayette-news.net On April 4, Fayette County Planning Commis sion unanimously approved a minor final plat for the planned Sterling Ridge sub division. Wright-Chancey Ebe- nezer Bypass, LLC, repre sented by Rod Wright and Steven Jones, has com pleted requirements in ac cordance with county ordi nances to allow rezoning from single-family residen tial (C-S) to agricultural-res idential, which sets a minimum house size of 1,200 square feet, according to officials. Sterling Ridge is located at Land Lots 35 and 36 of the 7th District along Ebe- nezer Church Road, Ebe- nezer Bypass, and Ebenezer Road. Consideration of ap proval was previously tabled at the March 7 meeting due to a delay in electrical instal lation at the site. On Sept. 28, 2023, the plat was approved to change to A-R with three con ditions: 1. Each subdivision lot associated with the A-R zoning shall be limited to two driveways. 2. The remnant parcel on the southwest side of Ebenezer Bypass shall be deeded to and accepted by the owners of parcel 0715- 008 and parcel 0715-041 within six months or it shall be deeded to the county within 30 days thereafter. 3. Prior to submission of a final plats and irrespective of the number of lots in the plat(s) the developer shall be required to extend the water line between Ebe nezer Road and Ebenezer Church Road to provide water service for the lots. The water line extension shall be constructed to the standards outlined in Sec tion 12-90, which includes mandatory connection to public water system, includ ing the installation of fire hydrants. Leah Banks/Fayette News Parks & Rec Hosts ‘Touch-A-Truck’ Leah Banks Senior Reporter leah@fayette-news.net Children widely rec ognize the sounds and sights of emergency vehicles, and on April 6, Fayette County Parks and Recreation held a “Touch-a-Truck” event where participants could ex plore more about the large, vital trucks and appara tuses. This free community event provided fun and edu cational opportunities for children of all ages as they saw, climbed, and explored See Touch-A-Truck, A6 PTC Council Meeting Times Change Through June Leah Banks Senior Reporter leah@fayette-news.net In response to com munity feedback, Peachtree City councilmembers al tered several city council meeting times through June during the April 4 meeting. While meetings held on the first Thursday of each month will remain at 6:30 p.m., meetings on April 18, May 16, and June 20 will be held at 9:30 a.m. City officials stated that citizens brought awareness to various evening activities that conflict with council meeting times, leading to the suggested change. Another suggestion made to council was to hold an additional monthly meet ing at a different time to “help with civic engagement and transparency,” which would require an ordinance change if the additional monthly meeting was imple mented indefinitely. Fayette CARE Clinic Director Geneva Weaver, left, accepts a donation on behalf of the clinic. Dylan Shoemaker/Fayette News Fayette CARE Clinic Receives $6,500 Donation Dylan Shoemaker Staff Writer dshoemaker@fayette-news.net On April 3, Panasonic representatives presented a $6,500 donation to Fayette CARE Clinic, which serves uninsured and lower-in- come residents in and around Fayette County. Opening its doors in May 2005, Fayette CARE Clinic is a Georgia Vol unteer Healthcare Program partnering clinic for the Georgia Department of Pub lic Health. Clinic director Geneva Weaver accepted the dona tion on behalf of Fayette CARE. For more information about the clinic, located at 105C Bradford Square in Fayetteville, visit fayette- careclinic.com or call 770- 719-4620. Fayetteville Welcomes Economic Development Director Funderwhite On April 2, City of Fay etteville leaders announced that Lori Funderwhite, a certified economic devel opment professional, will join the city as its economic development director begin ning April 15. Funderwhite currently serves as the economic de velopment manager for the City of Tamarac in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro region of Florida. Be fore that, she was vice pres ident of economic development for World Business Chicago. “We have searched for a while to find the right leader to help us with a number of economic development projects here in the com munity, not least being the redevelopment of the High way 85 North corridor,” said City Manager Ray Gibson. “Lori has been successful with this sort of challenge in Tamarac, and we look for ward to putting her wisdom and expertise to good use here in Fayetteville.” Gibson noted that Sum ter Local Government Con sulting coordinated the search for Fayetteville’s next economic development leader. “Not only did they match us up with highly qualified candidates, but they also helped us identity the indi viduals who would provide Lori Funderwhite the best fit with our city cul ture and our existing team,” Gibson continued. “We are excited that Lori accepted our offer to join us here at the City of Fayetteville.” Funderwhite expressed she was just as excited to ac cept the offer. “Having grown up in rural Illinois with a Main Street that was also estab lished in the 1800s, I am drawn to and absolutely love the historic charm and ar chitecture of Fayetteville,” said Funderwhite. “The place already feels like home. I see tremendous op portunity to continue build ing upon the many economic development suc cesses the city has had in the past several years.” Funderwhite said her first order of business will be to contact key stakeholders in Fayetteville and work See Funderwhite, A6 INSIDE: OBITUARIES FAYETTE VIEWS A2 SPORTS A4 LEGALS Bl SCHOOL B3 CLASSIFIEDS B2 B6 CONTACT US: support@fayette-news.net - (770) 461-6317 - fayette-news.net '0 4 8 7 9 1 2 6 3 3
