Eatonton City Council held its first of two regularly scheduled monthly meetings on Aug. 6. It opened with a presentation by Lyn Romine, chairperson of the council-appointed Eatonton Historic Preservation Commission.
Romine described this coming Saturday’s Georgia Trust tour of approximately 20 historic homes and sites within Eatonton and in nearby Putnam County locations. She said the Trust had already sold approximately 550 tickets and expected to exceed 600 by the weekend.
“I just think this is such a positive thing for Eatonton to get people here. People live at the lake, and they never come in, or they go by on the bypass and never take the time to go on the side streets,” Romine told the council. “I just think this is going to be a great introduction to a lot of people, and the Georgia Trust people said they were really impressed with the local support, that 25 percent of the reservations made have been local, which is really good because these invitations go out statewide.”
She also mentioned that with so many out-of-towners visiting Eatonton for the first time, the Trust’s visit presents an excellent opportunity for local residents to showcase their town and hospitality, too.
“So, if you see a lot of strangers on Saturday, please smile and make them feel welcome,” Romine said. “This is a great chance for us all to really show off our town and let people know what a great place we all live in.”
Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce CEO Maggie Milner followed with a mid-year update of 2024 Chamber efforts, focusing primarily on tourism initiatives in essentially the same presentation she made a week earlier before the Putnam County Board of Commissioners (The Eatonton Messenger, Aug. 8, 2024, A1).
Turning to new business, the city council then approved three temporary downtown road closures for special events this fall and winter.
First, the annual Gatewood Schools Swamp Stomp 5K Run/Walk and Fun Run was unanimously approved for Sept. 22, beginning at 1:30 p.m. for registration, followed by a 2:30 p.m. start for the on-campus Fun Run, and finally, the 5K through city streets beginning at 3 p.m.
Next, Eatonton Main Street's request to close streets bordering the back sides of the courthouse square for the annual Mistletoe Market on Nov. 9 was unanimously approved. The same was true of the temporary closing of several downtown streets for the annual Santa Claus parade, scheduled for Dec. 14 this year.
The council then heard from Eatonton Fire Department Chief Jamey Williamson about an agreement to be signed with the U.S. Forestry Commission that will be renewed about every three years.
Williamson said the agreement essentially defines cooperation between the Forestry Commission and county and municipal fire services. The Putnam County Fire Department had already signed a similar agreement.
The council unanimously approved its renewal.
City Manager Gary Sanders then described to the council an agreement to be signed with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Homeland Security for a flood mitigation study on Willie Bailey Drive and the Pleasant Hill neighborhood in Eatonton.
“This is another recipient- subrecipient agreement with GEMA for the $30,000 total project cost, the $22,500 federal share, and a $7,500 federal share for the flooding mitigation study,” Sanders explained to the council. “We had the kickoff meeting on July 18th, and the next step in that process is to execute the agreement with GEMA. Then, we’ll have our documents to procure engineering services for this study. So, these do take a long time. As we mentioned, this was a 2020 grant application, and we’re in August 2024. So that’s just the way these things move.”
Council members unanimously voted for approval for Mayor John Reid to sign the agreement on behalf of the city.
Finally, several council members commented on how smoothly the upcoming SPLOST 10 renewal negotiations with the county had gone. Now, they are turning their attention to reminding voters that its renewal on the ballot in November is important for both the city of Eatonton and Putnam County to be able to continue all services that citizens have come to expect and rely upon.