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COVINGTON, Georgia. – A county commissioner recently convinced other board members to delay approval of a donation of land for a new park until he can meet with the owner about certain donation conditions .
The Newton County Council of Commissioners voted on Sept. 21 to delay action by 30 days on accepting a donation of 4 acres of land from John Addison Jr. for a county park on Brown Bridge Road.
District 4 Commissioner JC Henderson said the County Director’s request to approve a park land donation plan in his district showed “great disrespect” for him, as he felt that it was not included in the final decision-making process.
But county manager Lloyd Kerr said Henderson had been part of the negotiation process “from the start” and could have asked for changes ahead of a scheduled vote on accepting the site on September 21.
Kerr said Addison had requested that ownership of 11869 Brown Bridge Road be transferred by October 5 with a series of conditions Addison wanted.
“Time is running out,” Kerr said.
Henderson said he was keen to work with District 2 Commissioner Demond Mason and District 3 Commissioner Alana Sanders on the overall development of the park because of its location near the intersection of their three districts.
Debate on the issue included a tense exchange between Henderson, Kerr and President Marcello Banes about the events leading up to the request to accept the donation.
Henderson said he didn’t agree with the terms already negotiated for the donation and wanted the opportunity to negotiate them himself with Addison.
He said Kerr should have contacted him to find out his position on the project before submitting it to the board.
“If the filing is going to offend anyone, I’m sorry,” Henderson said.
“I just received a document that says, ‘There you go, this is how we’re going to do it,’” he said. “Personally, I think it’s a big disrespect for me. Maybe not for me but for the headquarters of District 4. “
Henderson added that the county has made an effort to ensure all commissioners are aware of other county projects in their districts, such as fire stations.
“But when it comes to District 4 – JC Henderson – it doesn’t work that way,” he said. “I ask for the same respect that we give to all the other Commissioners around this horseshoe.”
Kerr replied that Henderson “had been involved from the start”.
“This is not a new problem for you, Commissioner. You’ve known that for a long time, ”Kerr said.
“The only thing we do now is take ownership. The conditions have not changed. No plan has been made on the property, ”Kerr said.
“To make the donation, he wanted to see certain things on the property,” Kerr said.
He said that he, Banes and Henderson met Addison at the property’s website and “talked about several things.”
“You and I just remember things differently. You and I and the president were there, ”Kerr said.
The conditions set by Addison for the donation included the start of construction of the new park within 12 months; Addison being included in the park planning process; and the park is named after his parents, John Addison Sr. and Ruth Addison, Kerr said.
The property also includes a 111-year-old house that Addison wants the county to convert into a facility for an educational “resource center” named after her mother, who was a longtime Newton County teacher, Kerr said. .
Banes told Henderson that the three county officials met with Addison about the donation both at the Brown Bridge Road site and at the historic courthouse.
Banes also denied Henderson’s claim that he told Henderson he would “take the project” from the commissioner if he did not agree to the terms.
Sanders defended Henderson and said other commissioners wanted to discuss similar county plans with voters before the full committee approved them.
“I believe in the courtesy of a commissioner that we have done for everyone so graciously,” she said. “We just… drop it off and be back in 30 days.” “
After the meeting, Henderson said he had worked with Addison for about two years on plans for the donation and wanted more public involvement in the negotiations – which he said had included Addison funding the construction of the resource center.
Kerr told the council of commissioners on September 21 that accepting the donation would allow the county to combine the land with an adjacent 11-acre site the county already owns and develop a new park.
Ownership of the property would also give the public access from a main thoroughfare to the proposed park, rather than passing through a residential neighborhood.
“We believe this will be a great asset to the county and, in particular, to the neighborhood in this region as well,” Kerr said.
Addison did not return an email for comment.
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