Hogansville City Council Allows Amazon Land Purchase

After approval of the consent agenda, the May 4th Hogansville City council meeting began with Police Chief Jeffrey Sheppard introducing Pastor Mike Reeves as the police department’s second Chaplin. He will be working with head Chaplin George Bailey. Reeves has been a pastor for 31 years and presently pastors for the Open Range Cowboy Church in Mountville. “Preacher Mike”, as Reeves likes to be called ,said he looks forward to serving the people of Hogansville.

     Mayor Jake Ayers then recognized City Clerk LeAnn Lehigh as it was Municipal Clerks Week. City Manager Lisa Kelly presented Lehigh with a proclamation honoring her for all the work she does for Hogansville. Kelly stated that Lehigh keeps everything at city hall running smoothly and keeps track of all city records and helps all the city employees. Lehigh plays a crucial role in helping Hogansville during this time of change and growth.

     In new business, the council approved allowing Amazon to purchase a strip of land , for the city, to complete the Blue Creek Technology Parkway which will run from Highway 54, next to Ingles, past the new Amazon plant to Blue Creek Road. After completion of the planned roundabouts at the interstate, a lane will be available for traffic specifically for the parkway. The council then voted to extend the moratorium on the data center for 90 days, as the previous moratorium expired on May 3rd. The city has received the fourth draft from the data center group which will go to the Planning & Zoning Commission on May 21. On June 15th , the first reading and a public hearing will be held and a second reading and potential adoption of the draft will be at the July 6th council meeting.

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     Next, the council approved the property donation of 102 North Highway 29 to the city by a private citizen, represented by Pristine Realty. The small building on the property is adjacent to the proposed Clock Tower Park at the corner of Highway 29 and Highway 54, at the redlight. The council then voted to purchase patriotic vinyl banners for the downtown flag-poles and two 10×15 American flags for the Royal Theater, to help celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary. The price was not to exceed $3,500, and the banners have three year warranties. Lastly, city officials met with officials of Anchor Bank, who recently took over Community Bank & Trust. Anchor asked the city to designate a custodian for the FDIC insurance coverage and government deposits, which affects five of the city’s 19 accounts. Kelly stated this will be done and the city should have no problem with any of the accounts. 

     In her City Manager report, Kelly congratulated Chief Sheppard on his 5th anniversary as Chief of the Hogansville Police Department. She said the architect working on the Clock Tower Park is having to modify the plans due to requirements by the DOT. The same architect is working on amenities for Lake Jimmy Jackson Park, but some of the plans will be delayed until work on the lake’s spillway is completed. 

     Chief Sheppard reported that the recent blood drive was a huge success, collecting 33 pints, eight over their goal of 25. The next scheduled blood drive will be Friday, July 24th from 1-5 pm at the City Annex. For the month of April, the HPD reported zero murders, rapes and burglaries, with one aggravated assault , three thefts and two robberies. The department had 436 calls for service, worked 15 accidents, performed 489 business checks and 1,112 area checks. They had 602 community contacts, performed 9 senior welfare checks, made 223 traffic stops and issued 197 citations. Thirty seven adults were arrested, as were three juveniles during the month.