Consider buying an advertisement for your business or sending a donation to Pike County Times to support the only free online newspaper in Pike County. Donations can be sent to: The Pike County Times, PO Box 843, Zebulon, Georgia 30295. Click here to donate through PayPal. Thanks for supporting Pike County's only free online newspaper!
The county has the speed bumps marked on both sides for safety. Pike County Public Works came back in to do some more culvert work to stop standing water.
The rocks below show where Public Works did extensive work to ensure that there wasn't standing water in this area as well as digging ditches to keep water from draining and sitting in the yard below.
By Editor Becky Watts
CONCORD - Seven set of speed bumps have recently been installed in the Hilltop Community. This is the result of a long discussion between community leaders and Pike County government that began with a community block grant to improve the community and ended with speed bumps on repaved roads that will slow down traffic that is no longer having to dodge pot holes. The end result will be slowed traffic along with much needed improvements to the Hilltop Community.
In October of 2019, Pike County received a community block development grant of over $1 million dollars to provide repave roads as well as putting in flood and drainage improvements. Some dilapidated structures were removed and at least one home was to be rebuilt in order help make improvements to the Hilltop Community.
When the work from the paving and drainage improvements were done as far as the grant would allow, the county stepped in to take care of the last of the issues that needed to be addressed.
Finishing Out the Community Development Block Grant
It took a couple of years for the community development block grant to be administered with ditches being dug and pipes put in place to address drainage problems. Then the roads were repaved.
In April 2022, there was discussion in a county commission meeting about the need for speed bumps and problems at a home that needed proper ditching to divert the water from standing in a front yard. This was discussed again in a July 2022 meeting.
During this period of time until now, Commissioners Tim Guy and Tim Daniel rode through the community with Joe Parks to see what was needed, and Representative Beth Camp, Chairman Briar Johnson, and Public Works Director Todd Goolsby were involved with a discussion with County Manager Brandon Rogers on how to address problems with speeding as well as Director Goolsby and his crew from Public Works taking the time that was needed to put the final touches on issues that were not addressed by the community block grant.
When Pike County Times was given a tour of the community in the past couple of weeks, there were some significant changes that look great in the Hilltop Community!
Joe Parks showed where the seven sets of speed bumps had been placed on roads to slow down traffic that has been known to travel through the area at a faster rate of speed at times than it should be. Mr. Parks advised that the community had asked for ten sets of speed bumps and gotten seven. He said that he thought they could possibly use two more sets but that seven are definitely helping slow people down!
He praised Pike County Public Works and said that the county has done better at addressing some of their specific needs than even the company that did the grant. He showed where the county pulled ditches and put in concrete culverts to divert water that had still been pooling in some areas.
Mr. Parks said that water was backing up in the rocks on both sides of Church Street, and that the county fixed the problem. The county also dug a ditch, installed a culvert at a home, and redirected water in an area that is used as a bus turn around.
He said that this one particular homeowner still had water coming down the road and standing in her yard after the repaving part of the grant was completed. With the ditching and installation of a culvert under her driveway, this homeowner was grateful for the work that the county had done to fix her standing water problem.
And Mr. Parks showed me where the new home for Willie Mae Davis is coming along nicely. Mr. Parks said that this home may even be completed around the first of the year!
Closing
As we rode along through the neighborhood, Mr. Parks showed where the speed bumps had been placed and where he thought two more sets could still be used. As we rode by homes in the area, he would point out where children lived and reiterated that the children were the reason for the need to slow down those who might want to travel these neighborhood roads at higher rates of speed than was safe for the children who lived there.
He also told me how this was a five phase grant with the first dealing with roads, drainage, and houses. He said that there are some who still lived on a fixed income and that he is hoping to get another grant to help with their houses.
“Our parents started the foundation. Our job is to continue,” he said.
As we finished riding around the neighborhood, Mr. Parks spoke his gratitude to those who helped make these changes a reality for those who are living in the Hilltop Community.
“Thank you to Representative Beth Camp, Todd Goolsby (Director of Public Works), County Manager Brandon Rogers, all of the commissioners, and everyone who had a hand in this,” he said. “We appreciate it!”