The Henry County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, February 2. The board made no decision in the ongoing discussion to select a site for the county’s aquatic center.
The future aquatic center is Henry County’s headlining project in the SPLOST V program. Voters approved the local sales tax in November 2019 before collections began in April 2020. The aquatic center has a $22 million dollar budget.
Discussion to select the venue’s location started in January, but board members were unable to agree on the project’s site. The board quickly ruled out two possibilities at Jodeco Road and Tunis Road, and Willow Lane at Bridges Road. The remaining options were Mill Road near Jonesboro Road and Red Hawk Park off Henry Parkway.
In January, board members voted 3-3 on the two sites. Chair Harrell, Commissioners Wilson and Barham voted in favor of Red Hawk Park at the time; whereas, Commissioners Clemmons, Thomas and Holmes voted in support of the Mill Road location.
Since then, Chair Harrell asked county staff to review the Bridges at Jodeco development for a possible site. Board members learned more about the Jodeco Road option during the February board meeting.
Bridges at Jodeco
Bridges at Jodeco is a planned 158-acre mixed-use development. The project is located at the southwest quadrant of I-75 at Jodeco Road / exit 222.
The developer is offering Henry County land to locate the aquatic center within the development. The project team offered the county between eight to fourteen acres for the facility.
Following staff review, county staff noted the project site is graded and has a detention pond already in place to serve the development. Staff stated the developer is planning vertical construction to start within ninety days.
If Henry County selects to build the aquatic center on Jodeco Road, then the planned residential and commercial uses will compliment the venue. Future restaurants will provide aquatic center patrons with dining options. The site has immediate road access off I-75 and the western parallel connector is a planned four-lane roadway through the development.
The county’s consultant, Bob McCallister, changed his recommendation from Red Hawk Park to Bridges at Jodeco. Henry County hired McCallister last summer to guide the project’s design and construction.
Board members adjourned from the meeting without taking a vote on site selection. Their next meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 16.
Survey Respondents select Jodeco Road
Moving Henry Forward included a brief survey in my last article about the site selection. Survey responses were collected between January 29 and February 2.
Thank you to the 185 website readers who participated. Out of the responses, over 60% favor Jodeco Road for the aquatic center. In second, one-third selected Red Hawk Park as the location they would like to see. Finally, eight respondents picked Mill Road and four were not sure or preferred not to answer.
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