Council approves Main Street recommendations

The Stockbridge City Council voted recently to approve two separate recommendations from the city’s Main Street program.

One is to move forward with a city branding initiative. A request for proposals will be issued to solicit qualified marketing firms and the initial budget is not to exceed $25,000. The other action involved the approval of a historic preservation ordinance.

Among other things, it calls for the creation of a five-member historic preservation commission to maintain an inventory of city property and recommend to the City Council certain locations and structures to be designated as historic. The ordinance also sets guidelines for designating historic districts and properties, requires a certificate of appropriateness for any change in appearance to a designated historic property, and addresses code provisions for the maintenance of historic properties.

Information: www.cityofstockbridge.com.

City handles 2 different county voting procedures

College Park offered instructions Tuesday detailing early voting options for city residents. Because the city sits in both Clayton and Fulton Counties, the ballots and early voting dates are different.

Voters who want to familiarize themselves with the Clayton County election ballot before Nov. 8 can visit the city or county websites or one of the voting locations starting Monday.

Fulton County voters can also view sample ballots for the Nov. 8 election on the county website. Early voting locations will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 17 through Nov. 5 and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Both county websites provide a list of early voting locations.

Information: claytoncountyga. gov or www.fultoncountyga.gov.

UPCOMING

Georgia State Fair. Opens Friday through Oct. 9. 4-midnight Fridays, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturdays, noon-10 p.m. Sundays, 4-10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. $5 to $10, free for children ages 4 and under, $20 to $25 wristbands for unlimited rides, $10 wristbands for unlimited rides on Oct. 4, free parking. Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1500 Tara Place, Hampton. 866-9932477, GeorgiaStateFair.org.

Commission buys church land for pond

Avondale Estates’ commission approved the purchase Monday night of one-half acre from First Baptist Church Avondale Estates for building a storm water retention pond. The cost is $100,000 and City Manager Clai Brown hopes the city can close on the property before year’s end.

Brown said he’s uncertain when the project will finish, though it will be more than a year from now. The pond will be constructed near the church’s lower parking lot.

It will serve the area upstream from Kensington Road to help accommodate 100-year storms. A new pipe running off the pond will tie into storm water infrastructure off Stratford Road and Covington Highway.

Brown doesn’t yet know how much the pond will cost. A report completed in 2012 estimated $82,000, but it would likely cost more now.

Last week city commissioners also heard a presentation from Skyline Engineering and Construction regarding new storm water infrastructure for the 78-acre Clarendon Road area, south of North Avondale Road, which saw extensive flooding during heavy rains that fell last November and December.

Estimated cost for this project is $1.2 million, which the city is still pondering.