Charles Oliver
Dalton City Council members say they need more time to study the city’s red light cameras.
The council was scheduled to vote Monday night on whether to recommend continuing the program. But the council voted 3-0 to remove the item from the agenda pending further study. Council member Denise Wood was absent, and Mayor David Pennington votes only in the event of a tie.
Council member Charlie Bethel recommended removing the item.
“Miss Wood was leaving to go to an event, and she had some questions. I think we all probably wanted more time to digest some of the information,” Bethel said. “I don’t want anybody to be called on to make a decision when they are not ready, particularly when there’s no urgency.”
The City Council approved red light cameras at four intersections in 2006. Cameras are up and running at the intersections of Waugh Street and Thornton Avenue and Shugart Road and Highway 41. The city has been waiting for work to be completed on Walnut Avenue before putting up cameras at the intersections of that street and Airport Road and Glenwood Avenue.
The city pays Norcross-based LaserCraft $4,795 a month for each camera. The city has the right to terminate the contract at any time.
The Legislature this year passed a law that requires cities to get a permit for red light cameras on state routes. The city would have to show a safety need for those cameras.
In a memo to the council, Police Chief Jason Parker said the city can show such a need. Parker included statistics showing a decline in red light violations at Waugh and Thornton in the first six months of 2008 compared to the last six months of 2007. The cameras at that intersection began operating in July 2007.
Southbound violations dropped to 163 from 264, and northbound violations dropped to 744 from 2,318. Northbound right-turn violations dropped to 463 from 1,586.
Parker said the city would have to apply for permits for the cameras on Walnut Avenue, which is state Highway 52, before putting them in. He said the city would have to get permits for the existing cameras on Shugart and Highway 41, which is also a state route, by Dec. 31, 2009.
The council also voted 3-0 to
• Abandon part of Richardson Street.
• Create a fire lane at 104 Walston Ave.
• Approve a request by KTW Properties to annex 21.47 acres on the inside curve of the South Dalton Bypass near the southeast city limits. The property will continue to be zoned M-2 manufacturing.
• Approve an update to the solid waste management plan.
• Approve pouring licenses for Las Brisas Bar, The Italian Village of Dalton and Nathan’s Bar & Grill.
• Approve an amendment to the 2008 budget that, among other things, places $491,500 into expenditures for the early retirement of public works employees.
The council also recognized the Dalton Fire Department for winning the 2008 Fit 2 fight Relay. The department has won the award in four of the past five years.
The council also recognized October as International Alpha Delta Kappa month. The group is an honorary organization for women educators.
