The biggest news from Monday night’s Eatonton city council meeting came in its final few minutes.
The seven-member council, plus Eatonton Mayor John Reid and city attorney Chris Huskins, returned from a brief, private, executive session to announce the city has agreed to purchase the former Putnam County Elementary School at 314 S. Washington St.
“Thank you all for helping this come to fruition,” Reid said following a unanimous public vote by councilors authorizing him to sign a $150,000 purchase agreement with the Putnam County Board of Education. “We now have ourselves a city campus.”
Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell and City Fire Chief Jamey Williamson each confirmed gratitude and eagerness after the council’s decision and announcement. They each cited the deteriorating roof over both their spaces at 214 W. Marion St. as an urgent problem, as well as the limited and outdated nature of the space. Each said they look forward to working with the council on renovation plans for the former elementary school.
No timeline or budget was announced to begin, conduct, or complete the extensive and expensive modifications that will presumably transform the outdated school into a modernized city government and services center.
In related news, the Putnam BOE will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony this Thursday at 5 p.m. for its recently completed Putnam County Elementary School, located at 126 Sparta Hwy., southwest of the existing county middle school, across Highway. 16 from Putnam General Hospital.
In other city business, the council unanimously approved a request from Eatonton resident Laura Pilafas on behalf of the Georgia Council for Recovery to close South Madison Avenue from West Marion Street to the old Hotel Eatonton, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 22.
The closure will accommodate parking the “Recovery Bus” streetside for approximately 30 minutes. The parking authorization will officially be in effect until 9:30 a.m. Sept. 22, though if the bus leaves early, South Madison Avenue will reopen as soon as possible.
While in Eatonton, the Recovery Bus will provide addiction recovery literature and information to interested visitors, as well as host a yet-to-be-named person describing their recovery journey, with additional remarks from Pilafas and potentially a city council representative.
Later, the Eatonton Council confirmed it will also issue an official proclamation declaring September as Addiction Recovery Month, as requested by Pilafas during the July 1 council meeting.
The council also heard multiple requests from Eatonton Main Street for temporary street closures at various times on August 22 and September.
26, Oct. 31, Nov. 8, and Dec. 13. According to City Administrator Gary Sanders, these dates will respectively accommodate two downtown Farmer’s Markets, “Candy Mania” in relation to Halloween, November’s Mistletoe Market, and the annual Eatonton Santa Claus Parade in December.
The council unanimously approved all related temporary road closures for Eatonton Main Street.
Sanders also mentioned a late request, dated July 17, from New Life Christian Outreach to temporarily close Agnes Jenkins Drive in front of the church on Saturday, July 19. The request was made at City Hall and approved there by Mayor Reid; however, Ward 3 Councilmember Janie Reid emphasized the need for New Life to be aware of the requirement to obtain prior authorization through traditional channels.
“Most of the New Life street closings are around some holiday or evening,” she pointed out. “So, I’m thinking they may have a calendar already, so we’ll all know in advance when they have to close there.”
All councilors agreed, then unanimously ratified the mayor’s prior action to approve the temporary Agnes Jenkins Drive closure.
The Eatonton City Council will next meet at 7 p.m., Aug. 25 at the Putnam County Commission Room 203, 117 Putnam Dr., Eatonton.
The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday and the third Monday of each month.