Rockdale BOC Bond Referendum Review Committee gets underway

A citizens’ Bond Referendum Review Committee, appointed by the Rockdale Board of Commissioners (BOC), has begun developing a plan for a new courthouse. The 27-member committee has been tasked with submitting its plans to the BOC by January 2019.

The BOC said it selected a diverse group of community leaders to address the $140 million bond referendum proposed to fund the project. 

During the committee’s first meeting, which was held on July 24, Sue Sanders, one of the county’s directors who is overseeing the project, discussed the process and timeline the county has outlined for a plan. The committee will receive support from Jones, Lang, Lasalle, an Atlanta-based consultant firm. The consultants and committee members will tour the current courthouse, hold forums and conduct a survey to get community input before submitting a recommendation to the BOC. The committee and consultants have been asked to address in their recommendation: location, cost, consolidation of government and judicial functions as well as a parking deck and green space.  

 “The citizens spoke strongly in favor of more citizen engagement, involvement and input on major community items that will have a direct impact on our overall population.  Myself and the Board of Commissioners all agreed that we needed to place this effort in the hands of the citizenry. We are doing that with this committee,” BOC Chairman Oz Nesbitt said.  “We look forward to this committee bringing us a workable, feasible and reasonable solution that is supported by the people of Rockdale County.”

The committee members are as follows: 

Thomas Dean, co-chairs Bill Campbell, co-chairs 

Ahmad Muddessar Art Darr

Carter Rogers Charlie Staples

Darlene Hotchkiss Deidre Murray

Demetrius Myatt Don Meyer

Donald Murphy Albert Murray

Faye Phillips Fred Straub

Garvin Haynes Jae Harrison

Janice Van Ness Jay Grover

John Bowers Ken Holmes

Maria Brown Michael Grubbs

Mike Houchard Rogers Gotier

Stacy Bonner Terry Moore

Tim Hogg

The committee began meeting bi-weekly on Aug. 7.  The meetings are on Tuesdays at the JP Carr Community Room, 6-8 p.m.  

For information on the committee, contact Director Sue Sanders at 770-278-7223.