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July 30, 2008

Four-way stop coming to Dalton intersection

Charles Oliver

The intersection of Pentz Street and Morris Street could become a four-way stop as early as Thursday.

Dalton public works crews removed the traffic light at the intersection in April. Officials said the signal was the oldest one in the city. At that time, based on traffic count, they decided a two-way stop along Pentz would be sufficient.

But at Wednesday’s meeting of the city public works committee, some business owners asked the city to put a traffic signal at that intersection or at least make it a four-way stop, citing the number of accidents and near accidents, as well as people speeding along Morris Street.

Public works director Benny Dunn said there have been three accidents reported at the intersection since May, including one in July that injured four people.

“And we’ve had a lot of calls about near misses,” Dunn said.

Committee members agreed to make the intersection a four-way stop. In addition, Dunn said public works would put up signs warning people to stop ahead.

Dunn also reported that city public works crews spent more than 260 hours mowing right of ways this month. City officials are billing Whitfield County for that work, which they say the county declined to perform under the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) agreement.

City crews and community service workers also spent a combined 240 hours this month washing and straightening street signs. The city is also billing that work to the county under the LOST agreement.

The city’s total costs for July are $4,678 for sign maintenance and $12,993.45 for mowing.

The city has been doing the mowing since April and the sign maintenance since May at a cost of approximately $71,000. Dunn said the county has not yet reimbursed the city for any of that work.

Whitfield County administrator Robert McLeod did not immediately respond to e-mailed questions about the LOST agreement Wednesday afternoon.

City code enforcement gave 37 people seven-day warnings this month for not keeping their grass mowed. In all cases where the code enforcement officer returned, the grass had been mowed.

Code enforcement also gave six people seven-day warnings this month for still having Christmas lights up. In all cases where the officer has returned, the lights were gone.

And seven people received seven-day warnings for keeping chickens this month. Again, in each instance when the officer returned after seven days, the chickens were gone.

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