By Eric Curl
Aug. 7, 2022 update – The Savannah City Council is scheduled to vote on the street designation at their meeting on Aug. 11. The pending votes comes even the the Housing Authority of Savannah was unable to vote on the designation at their July 13 meeting due to a lack of a quorum. The city’s naming ordinance requires the approval of the surrounding property owner, which in this case is the housing authority. The 5-member board has one vacancy following a board member’s resignation in late April and another member, Thomas Henry, was absent. The three members who were present, Chairwoman Wanda Parrish, Vice Chairman Darrel Daise and Edward Gresham (via phone), voiced support for the proposal, but were unable to take an official vote on the matter. The vote on the Stillwell Towers elevator modernization was also postponed.
July 11, 2022 – The Housing Authority of Savannah is set to consider the city of Savannah’s request for an honorary street designation in honor of U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
Cape Street, which runs through the Kayton Homes public housing community where Warnock grew up, would be designated “Raphael Warnock Way” under the proposal going before the housing authority on Wednesday. The honorary street designation is only symbolic and would not change the name of the street or impact addressing, GIS systems, or emergency responses.
The proposed designation is being considered at the request of Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, according to the housing authority staff report.
Speaking during a brief interview by phone on Monday, Johnson said that he requested the designation because he thought it was important to recognize the historic nature of having a US Senator with local roots.
“I think it’s even more historic that he is a product of public housing,” Johnson said. “I think it’s important for little boys who grow up on that block to know that greatness is not defined by where you live.”
The city’s naming ordinance requires the approval of the surrounding property owner, which in this case is the housing authority. If approved, the designation would have to be considered by the Savannah City Council before a sign is installed. The designations are temporary and effective for five years, under the ordinance, although they can be extended.
Warnock, who continues to serve as the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, is running for his first full term after being elected on Jan. 5, 2021, in a special election runoff to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Johnny Isakson. He is currently running for re-election in November against the Republican nominee, former NFL player Herschel Walker.
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In other business Wednesday, the housing authority will consider an almost $1.5 million contract to modernize the three elevators at Stillwell Towers, the 20-story, 211-unit public housing apartment building on Waters Avenue for seniors and individuals with disabilities.
The current elevator systems at Stillwell are inefficient, outdated and beyond continued economic repair, while ongoing maintenance contracts have been unable to provide reliable service, according to the staff report. This has reportedly led to frequent unscheduled elevator outages.
Otis Elevator plans to implement the project in phases and on a timeline that ensures there is at least one operational elevator available at all time. Work on the first passenger elevator and a freight elevator is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023, while completion of the second passenger elevator would follow suit in that year’s fourth quarter.
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