Perry city council hears concerns from citizens at council meeting

PERRY – The Orchard development on Main Street was a point of concern at the City of Perry’s Tuesday night’s council meeting, where Bill Delrow shared a presentation.

The presentation included citizens’ concerns about overdevelopment. It also included data of the impact the development will have on traffic, sewer systems, water treatment and flooding.

Delrow first spoke about traffic concerns, saying the development will add an additional 1,000 cars in an already condensed area. He included data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Georgia Department of Transportation Police Chief Alan Everidge.

Delrow said police department data says 10 accidents, six with injuries, occured on Keith Drive and Main Street over a three-year period. The data also shows 16 accidents on Kings Chapel Road and Perry Parkway, seven with injuries.

“I go the Perry Parkway intersection daily, multiple times a day and it’s a guessing game. I’m heading towards Stonebridge, so I look to my left and I go, ‘Is that logging going to slow down? Is it going to turn?’ and then I go to my right and go, ‘Is that person going to take the turn lane or are they going to keep going?’” he said.

Delrow also brought water treatment concerns, saying during the March 18 work session, a well was shut down due to high levels of contamination. He encourages the city to see if infrastructure can support ongoing development.

Since the development will be located in a floodplain, Delrow mentioned concern with the Orchard development being built there, warning against a repeat of the same issue at Sadie Heights.

“Sadie Heights will not be repeated, it cannot be repeated. The city is staring down a barrel of one to three million dollar project to fix Sadie Heights. We can’t afford to continue to do those types of things,” he said.

Delrow’s recommendations include:

• Ensure efforts well within the control of the city be taken to address current flooding concerns.
• Ensure Sadie Heights flooding remediation efforts are completed and proven successful.
• Approve a detailed flood analysis of the area to avoid another Sadie Heights situation.
• Ensure Sadie Heights’ proposal is complete and successful before new developments.

To view Delrow’s full presentation click here.

During citizens with input, residents spoke in favor of Delrow’s presentation.

A citizen spoke to the mayor and council and shared she is a healthcare provider in the city. She said she has spoken with Mayor Randall Walker and City Manager Lee Gilmour about concerns involving healthcare providers and how the development will impact them. 

She said as the city is growing, their issues grow as well. These issues include providers having to put people out due to patient volume and crowded emergency rooms. 

Later in the meeting, Mayor Pro Tempore Robert Jones spoke to the mayor and council about a flood analysis study in the area. He also proposed a committee to be formed to look into the results. 

Councilman Darryl Albritton said before making a decision, he wanted to look over the cost of the study. Gilmour suggested passing a motion looking over the cost and deciding if the city wishes to proceed.

Councilmember Joy Peterson disagreed with the motion and said the study needs to be conducted. She also commended Delrow’s presentation and appreciated his dedication.

“No dirt needs to be moved until a study is done because we cannot take that risk. We cannot,” she said.

She believes the previous company who conducted a study of Sadie Heights, Integrated Science and Engineering, should not conduct the flood study. Peterson said because ISE knows the area well, the study should be conducted by a company new to the city.

Walker said Gilmour will bring them a proposal for the study on Orchard on Main and will present it at the next work session on May 20.

Going back to the first item on the agenda was a proclamation recognizing May 5 to May 11 as Municipal City Clerks Week. 

Walker presented the proclamation to Assistant City Clerk Keyiera Ezell and read it to the audience. The proclamation states the office of the Municipal City Clerk is the oldest among public servants and they are the link between the citizens, local governing bodies and agencies of government at other levels.

After recognizing Municipal City Clerks week, there was another proclamation recognizing National Historic Preservation Month.

Mayor Walker presented the proclamation to Historic Preservation Commission member Andrew Griffin. The proclamation states historic preservation is an effective tool for managing growth and development, revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride and maintaining community character. 

After Mayor Walker read the proclamations, there was a recognition of the outgoing Youth Advisory Board.

The board is made up of high-school aged youth who, during their time on the board, learn about their local government and the city’s operations. Communications Specialist Amber Howell shared the board contributed a lot in the last year and hopes they will continue to be engaged city residents. 

Mayor Walker thanked the board members for their participation and learning about the city’s government.

“We really appreciate the time you have spent learning about government here and we hope that you’ll come back and be the next councilmembers or the next mayor or the next city manager or those types of things in our city that you have a much better appreciation of what the city government is all about,” he said.

Recognitions continued with the employee service awards. Director of Human Resources Jenny Burdeshaw presented the awards to two fire department employees at the meeting. 

The award recognizes city employees who have worked in the city for five, 15 and 20 years. Senior Fire Marshall Darryl Kitchens was recognized for 15 years of service to the city and Senior Assistant Fire Chief Kirk Crumpton was recognized for 20 years.

Crumpton said the city has been good to him. He is currently writing a book about his career in the fire service and appreciates the city for its help over the years. 

The next item on the agenda was a public hearing involving Habitat for Humanity, an organization that helps low income residents find their own home. Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Bill Goggin spoke for a special exception request.

The organization requested an exception to reduce minimum house size on Elaine Street, as well as a blanket exception for building houses under the minimum square footage. The exception will be applied to Creekwood, Five Points, Hilltop, Oldfield, New Hope and Sandhill neighborhoods.

Goggin said they have worked with the city in previous years for different properties to build on and they have provided affordable housing for residents. He also suggested to the mayor and council to support the blanket exception because it will allow them to go into subdivisions and continue their projects. 

The recipient of the home also spoke in favor of the request and shares her excitement to be a part of the community. She said the home will make a difference in her and her son’s life and shared it will be her first time being a homeowner. 

Gilmour said he agrees with the project, but the blanket approval will establish a precedent where other groups, including private developers, will want a special exception. 

He said the administration will be comfortable having an individual review to determine the impact and benefit to the neighborhood.

Mayor and council approved the special exception, but not the blanket exception.

Mayor and council will meet again for their pre-council starting at 5 p.m. and regular council meeting at 6 p.m. on May 21. Everyone is invited to attend these meetings and the agenda can found at the city’s website.