The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted at its May 5 regular meeting to approve a resolution requesting that the District 4 Department of Public Health (DPH) open additional testing sites in the county for COVID-19.
As of the day of the vote, there were 542 confirmed cases in the county – more than any other county within the District 4 Public Health region – with 14 total deaths, according to the resolution.
One existing testing site is at Heritage Senior Center in McDonough. It is essentially the only DPH-operated site for Henry County citizens, as the second site is more than 50 miles away in Newnan.
The resolution states that COVID-19 cases in Henry County continue to rise since the Governor’s shelter-In-place order has been lifted and businesses begin to reopen. Additional testing sites located within Henry County are necessary to protect the health and safety of Henry County residents and to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, according to the commissioners.
In other business, the board approved a resolution to update the Henry County Comprehensive Transportation Plan and supported an intergovernmental agreement with the Atlanta Regional Commission proposing that both the county and the ARC share expenses.
Sam Baker, the county’s transportation planning director, pointed out that the county developed a comprehensive transportation plan in 2016, but increased population since then has affected traffic congestion and necessitated an update. Baker said the plan would “include the reassessment of the existing transportation infrastructure and the review of the transportation project list, as well as making modifications to the existing project list and addressing the transportation needs of the county going forward.”
County manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews said that the issue was brought back to the board because she and her staff know that transportation is a priority for the county.
The estimated cost for the updated plan is $625,000. The ARC is prepared to contribute up to $500,000 and the county is expected to provide up to $125,000. Funds have been requested and will be allocated from the Department of Transportation Planning’s 2021 budget.
