Stonecrest TIPS committee reviews 2026 paving, park upgrades and safety projects

Chairman George Tundis opened the Feb. 11 meeting of Stonecrest's Transportation, Infrastructure, Parks & Safety (TIPS) committee and flagged an urgent watershed concern along the South River near Panola Shone, saying, "That is a very, very serious situation that we have got to address." He said donations and offers of funds from a watershed alliance are moving toward repairs and that he will bring the item back to a future agenda.

Engineering staff presented a slide deck of upcoming projects and schedules. Mr. McCoy, the engineering presenter, told the committee the notice of award for gazebo installations at Barrington Park and Salem Park was issued in December 2025 and the city is awaiting contractor permit applications. "The notice of award was issued in December 2025, and we're waiting on the contractor to submit permit applications," McCoy said.

The committee heard a broader slate of transportation and parks projects. Mr. McCoy detailed park monument and wayfinding signage scheduled for multiple parks and a gateway monument on Klondike Road; he said preconstruction meetings have occurred and that some work requires coordination with Georgia Power. He also reported installation of outdoor exercise equipment at Barrington Park "started this week" and that the project is grant funded.

On pedestrian safety near schools, McCoy said rectangular rapid flashing beacons will be installed at several school-area intersections — including Turner Hill Road and crossings near Lithonia High, Millard Grove and Salem Middle — and that council approved the contractor award in January.

On road projects, McCoy summarized design progress for intersection improvements (for example the Thompson Mill Road and Miller Road project is in preliminary design, about 16% complete) and emphasized that current city funding covers engineering and design only. "We don't have funding to improve these intersections, but we're working on the engineering and design work," he said, adding that completed designs will be "shovel ready" once construction funds are available.

The committee reviewed the 2026 street-paving program: McCoy said the paving budget is $3,000,000 and that the program is expected to cover roughly 21.8 lane miles; bids opened in February and staff will present contract approval to council. Council members asked about prioritization and the road-rating methodology; staff noted the road condition report was received in July 2024 and confirmed constituents can forward repaving requests to engineering staff.

Several projects are held up by finance or procurement steps. When asked when sidewalks along Bennington Road will start, McCoy said the project has been delayed by finance issues but that staff had met with the designer and contractor this week and are prepared to proceed once purchase orders or notices to proceed are issued.

Parks staff reported program and event updates. Miss Porter, the parks lead, said the city will host a Battle of the Drumline on Feb. 28 and a "TAP into Tech" session for seniors on Feb. 24 (the parks team posted flyers and a QR code for registration). The parks update noted a sold-out STEM program, ongoing youth and senior offerings, and steps to showcase progress (scoreboards, field fencing) through city communications and community partners.

Committee members approved administrative business by voice vote (a motion to approve minutes from Dec. 10 was moved and seconded; the transcript records 'aye' responses but does not include a formal roll-call tally). The chair closed the meeting after calling for a final motion and second.

The committee asked staff to provide a clearer progress dashboard (a Gantt or similar timeline) for project tracking, to confirm final vendor/artist details for marquee events such as "Screen on the Green," and to follow up with technical contacts or consultants (Arcadis was suggested as a possible engineering contact) where councilmembers requested more detailed design information.

Votes at a glance: a motion to approve the Dec. 10 TIPS minutes was moved and seconded and advanced by voice vote (formal tally not specified in the transcript).