Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsThe Dalton City Council on Monday approved a budget amendment that will, among other things, fund the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of V.D. Parrott Jr. Parkway and Abutment Road. Officials say the work could begin by the end of the week.

DALTON, Ga. — As traffic, particularly commercial truck traffic, has increased on V.D. Parrott Jr. Parkway, the need for a traffic signal at Abutment Road has grown, says Dalton Public Works Assistant Director Andrew Parker.

“There’s a lot of industry on Riverbend Drive and Riverbend Road, and the trucks come up V.D. Parrott to get onto Abutment,” Parker said. “They are having a hard time finding gaps in traffic to get onto Abutment, and if they are turning left to go south, if can be really concerning.”

On Monday, the members of the Dalton City Council voted 4-0 to move the final $331,525 of the city’s share of the 2007 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds into the operating budget to pay for a traffic signal as well as other traffic safety enhancements. Parker said public works could begin to install the traffic signal before the end of the week. Mayor Dennis Mock typically votes only in the event of a tie.

“We’ve done the studies we needed to do, and it met all the criteria we needed to justify the signal, including traffic volume and the crash history,” he said.

Parker said the department should also move soon on replacing the signal poles at the intersection of Thornton Avenue and Crawford Street.

“We recently had a tractor-trailer clip one of those poles,” he said. “We have something temporary in place, but we are going to install green, decorative mast arms there. That is now our standard,” he said.

Finally, the remaining SPLOST funds will pay for upgrades or installation of guardrails at South Thornton Avenue near Cedar Street, South Hamilton Street near Friendship House, Emery Street at Loveman Lane and the intersection of V.D. Parrott Jr. Parkway and Abutment Road.

In 2007, Whitfield County voters approved a three-year transportation SPLOST that raised a little over $51 million before expiring at the end of 2010. Among the 30 projects it funded were the widening of Airport Road from Walnut Avenue to the south bypass; the extension of Veterans Drive to Morris Street; an extension of Brooker Drive; moving the intersection of College Drive and Dug Gap Battle Road; and dozens of more minor improvements to streets and roads across Dalton and Whitfield County.

On Monday, council members also voted 4-0 to:

• Set the fee for a donation bin permit at $50 per location. Council members earlier this month passed an ordinance requiring those placing donation bins inside city limits to obtain a permit, citing the amount of debris outside many of the boxes. To receive a license, an organization must provide the city with information on how to contact the organization, and detail how and how often items will be removed from the bins and how many times the boxes will be checked for “general cleanliness, graffiti and litter or other rubbish.”

In a memo to council members, City Administrator Jason Parker said the fee was set after researching what other Georgia cities charge, as well as discussions with the Dalton Police Department about the time and manpower it will take to enforce the law.

• Appoint G. Gargandi Vaughn of Dalton’s Mitchell & Mitchell law firm as the new city attorney. A Whitfield County native, Vaughn previously served as city attorney for Dalton (1995 to 2000), Eton (1995 to 2000) and Resaca (2004 to 2010). Jim Bisson stepped down as city attorney in January after 20 years in the position.

Jason Parker said Vaughn will start after a final agreement is completed. Parker said the city received two bids, from Mitchell & Mitchell and the Minor Firm.

• Set the minimum age for obtaining an alcoholic beverage license at 21. City law previously had no minimum age.

• Certify that the Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center’s plans to provide emergency shelter are consistent with local plans. This certification is needed for the center to apply for a $60,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

• Approve a three-year, $183.50-a-month contract with Thompson Reuters for its CLEAR software for the Dalton Police Department. According to the company’s website, CLEAR allows law enforcement to search public records from a variety of databases simultaneously.

• Approve a $12,095 change order payment for ramp/apron rehabilitation at Dalton Municipal Airport.

• Table a request by Brass Holdings to annex 3.16 acres at 1556 Crow Valley Road into the city. Council members said they want to find out more about what the owner has planned for the site, which is zoned high-density residential.

“We need to find out from the city school system what impact this might have on them. We need to get input from our public works department,” said council member Denise Wood.

Council members also recognized Alan Jewell for 10 years of service on the board of the Housing Authority of the City of Dalton.

New speed limits

The Dalton City Council voted 4-0 on Monday to update speed limits within the city. Police Chief Cliff Cason said the city is required to do this periodically by the state in order for law enforcement to continue to enforce speed limits on those streets. While most speed limits will remain the same, a few areas have been changed. Those include:

• Glenwood Avenue from Walnut Avenue to Calhoun Street: dropped from 40 mph to 35 mph.

• Roan Street school zone: increased from 25 mph to 30 mph.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Grimes Street to east of Grade Drive: dropped from 45 mph to 40 mph.

• Emery Street from Ridge Street to Thornton Avenue: dropped from 30 mph to 25 mph.

Assistant Police Chief Chris Crossen said the speed limits are determined after a review by an engineering firm, which looks at factors such as traffic volume and average speeds of vehicles.