PERRY, Ga. — Perry’s Mayor and Council met on March 21, and covered ground on short term-rentals, a new wastewater treatment facility and recognized multiple honors and accolades for city staff and the community.
Kicking off the meeting was public comments from two citizens relating to short-term rental properties. With three set to appear in their neighborhood, Amy Shumaker addressed Mayor and Council at the meeting.
After speaking to her neighbors, Shumaker told council that nobody she spoke to supports the rentals appearing, and is afraid of property depreciating due to the nature of the rental’s use. As short-term rentals pop up around town, Shumaker was also concerned about the impact to the city.
“Once you start doing them, it’s going to be really hard to undo,” Shumaker said.
Shumaker is hoping to bring a petition to Council’s next meeting, and posed a question to council in closing.
“If y’all had a house next door to yours and it wanted to become a short-term rental property, would you really feel comfortable with it? Because I know I don’t, and neither do my neighbors,” Shumaker said.
After Shumaker addressed her concerns, Mayor and Council moved on to recognizing new employees at the city, including a new Special Events Administrator, two new firefighters, and four new additions to the police department.
The Perry Area Historical Society was also recognized in a proclamation made by the City. The society received the 11th Annual Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities.
In the proclamation, Mayor Randall Walker explained the impact the organization has in the community, the award given, and encouraged the community to celebrate history. After the proclamation, Ellie Loudermilk, president of the historical society, thanked Mayor and Council and expressed a sense of pride in the society.
“These people here build some of the best bridges between history and tourism in the city of Perry,” Loudermilk said.
Speaking on the award, Loudermilk said she was proud to be a Perry resident, excited for the society’s nomination, and said the society made history while also preserving it.
“As we stand now, nobody else in middle Georgia has received this award,” Loudermilk said. “That just makes me all the more proud that our efforts in this community are being recognized.”
After the proclamation, City Council moved to rezoning. The City de-annexed land along Airport Road, rezoned land from general industrial use to single-family residential along Smith Drive, and rezoned a plot of land from single-family residential to a residential townhouse on Kingston Village Drive.
The Council also opted into a national settlement against Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart. In a 20 billion settlement nationwide against the companies, payments to each participant will be spread out over several years, in hopes to help mitigate the impacts of opioid use in the community.
Finally, the council moved to new business, approving a loan agreement between the city and the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority in the amount of $50 million to fund construction of a new wastewater treatment facility. Opening bids for contractors will take place in September, with completion of the project estimated by January of 2026.
Council also approved a resolution clarifying the locations of Clinchfield Circle and Beckham Circle. Clinchfield Circle will start at Main Street, intersect at Forest Hill Drive, then end at Beckham Circle. South of Clinchfield Circle, Forest Hill Drive becomes Beckham Circle, circles towards Evergreen Street, intersects at Clinchfield Circle, then ends at at Massee Lane.
Finally, the city adopted a resolution announcing the city’s goal to promote diversity in the workplace, saying in their proclamation, that “[the city] recognizes and supports the value of women in its workforce and encourages women to become part of the city’s workforce.”
After new business, the meeting was adjourned. A full look at the agenda and supporting documents can be found at perry-ga.gov/escribe-agendas-minutes. Perry’s next council meeting will take place Tuesday, April 4.
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