Senoia declares Nov. month to honor American Indians
By ALEX MCRAEalex@newnan.com
Routine business dominated the agenda at Monday’s meeting of the Senoia City Council.
Mayor Robert Belisle read a proclamation declaring November as National American Indian Heritage Month in Senoia, to coincide with national observances.
A group supporting the observance appeared to thank the mayor and council and presented the mayor with a gift of squash, corn and beans, which they said symbolized gifts given by Indians to early colonial settlers to keep them from starving.
In other business:
• The council approved purchase of a Ford F-150 pickup for use by code enforcement officials. The low bidder was Mike Fitzpatrick Ford of Newnan, with a bid of $20,095.22.
• A second reading was held for a proposed change to the city code which removes a portion of the Georgia Hwy. 16 corridor within the Senoia city limits from the historical zoning overlay and places the area under the commercial zoning overlay.
The biggest impact of the change is a requirement that facades of new structures within the overlay district be faced with stucco, brick or stone.
The ordinance change passed unanimously without comment.
• Mayor and council also approved the proposed route for the 2012 East Coweta High School homecoming parade, which will be held Oct. 18. The 2012 route is being changed so as not to conflict with ongoing filming of the AMC television series “The Walking Dead,” which frequently films in Senoia.
It was also agreed that the pep rally following the parade would be held at the Stone Lodge at Marimac Park near the new Senoia Library.
• During comments from the floor, Don Rehman noted that the mayor and council will be holding a work session today to study sewage rates and the city charter. Rehman asked if the council had considered changing the charter to allow council members to be elected by district instead of at large, as is done now.
He was informed the change of representation would not be discussed at this work session. Council member Larry Owens said he did not think the city was at a point where district representation was needed, but that the council always remained open to any ideas and input any citizen wished to offer.
Mayor Belisle pointed out that “as it stands now, every citizen gets five votes on who represents them.”
• A representative of the Optimist Club of Senoia appeared and announced that the club is holding a barbecue on Oct. 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Senoia Masonic Lodge on Main Street. He said everyone was invited and thanked the council for their continuing cooperation in making the event a success.
