The agenda for the Dec. 1 meeting of the Fayetteville City Council will be brief. Perhaps more significant than the few agenda items is that it will be the last meeting for long-time Mayor Kenneth Steele, who served both on the City Council and as mayor since the mid-1990s.It will also be the last meeting for outgoing councilmen Wilson Price and Al Hovey-King, both of whom have served multiple terms on the council.
As for Steele, his recent defeat by Greg Clifton means the Dec. 1 meeting will be his last as an elected official. The Dec. 15 meeting will likely be cancelled.
Steele first joined the Fayetteville City Council in 1994 after being appointed to serve the unexpired term of Post 1 Councilman Robert Sprayberry who resigned to run for the Fayette County Commission.
In 2000, Steele was elected mayor and, at the end of December, will have served three terms in that position. Steele is the second-longest serving Fayetteville mayor in a half-century. Prior to winning elected office, Steele served on the Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission.
The Dec. 1 meeting will also be the last for Councilman Wilson Price who was defeated in November by pastor Ed Johnson. Price has served two terms beginning in 2004.
And the meeting will be the last for Councilman Al Hovey-King who opted not to run for re-election. Hovey-King was first elected to the City Council in 1988 and served through 2005. He was re-elected in 2007.
As for the agenda, the council is expected to sign off on the agreement with the Georgia Dept. of Transportation (DOT) to construct new turn lanes at the intersection of Grady Avenue and Ga. Highway 85 South.
DOT will fund $108,000 for the project with the city contributing approximately $20,000 from previous 1-cent sales tax revenues or from impact fees. Construction is expected to begin in January.
Also at the meeting, the gazebo at the county offices across from City Hall is expected to be renamed for the late Lane Brown, who for years was associated with the Fayetteville Downtown Development Authority and served as the board chairman of Fayetteville Main Street.
