The Hall County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday to deny a proposal for new street lights along Spring and Skelton roads following community opposition.
Commissioner Jeff Stowe placed the motion to deny the street light proposal after the commissioners hosted two separate public hearings.
Concerns were expressed by residents during both hearings of added tax burdens to those with property bordering the streets and an overall failure of the plan to truly address the reported speeding problem.
One solution that multiple residents brought up was to construct several speed tables that would prompt drivers to slow down throughout the area.
Stowe noted that while speed tables might be a good idea, they can be expensive. He also expressed hesitancy to fund the speed tables because then those building future speed tables in other places will want the county to fund those projects as well.
Stowe said that the county will return to the drawing board to figure out how to more adequately address traffic and speeding problems on Spring and Skelton roads.
Original story published March 17 at 4:00 p.m.:
The Hall County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing Thursday to give residents a chance to express opinions on a proposal for new street lights along Spring and Skelton roads.
The proposal by Hall County is to execute a resolution for the expansion of a Special Tax District to be used to fund the street lights along the two roads in an effort to improve pedestrian and motorist safety, according to county documents.
Georgia Power has previously indicated all the added street lights will reportedly utilize existing utility poles, and "there will not be an installation cost for traditional lighting fixtures," the report says.
If the project is approved, Hall County will be responsible for monthly utility costs, which will be divided up among the properties fronting each roadway and added to the owner's property tax bills "as a street light assessment," the executive summary reads. Additionally, each property owner will be required to pay a $12 administrative fee every year.
One Hall County resident spoke out in favor of the street lights, citing the need for increased visibility, as the resident's son died due to a vehicular hit-and-run incident last year on Spring Road.
Five residents spoke against the project, citing concerns about late-night drug dealings, additional tax burdens, rising rent costs, a failure of street lights to solve the reported speeding problem in the area and lights attracting more homeless individuals.
Many concerns regarding the project were centered on residents' beliefs that adding street lights would fail to adequately solve any of the problems currently existing in that area.
Thursday's meeting was the first of two public hearings on this matter. The second hearing will take place on March 28 at 6 p.m. at the Hall County Government Center.
A diagram of the proposed street light locations can be viewed in the above photo gallery.
