DUBLIN, Ga. — Dublin Mayor Joshua Kight says 2023 is the 'year of action.' Kight says his first year in office last year was used for planning, budgeting, and getting personnel in place. Mayor Kight's main goals for the city include safety, community development, and beautification.
"We want to be a great small town," Kight said.
One of Mayor Joshua Kight's main concerns is neighborhood safety. That includes safety from criminal activity as well as speeding traffic. The city council adopted a neighborhood traffic slowing project.
"Is going to reduce the speeds of cars using neighborhoods as pass through," Kight said.
The project will help get traffic speeds in neighborhoods down to 20 to 25 mph. Kight says they plan to change the design of the streets by putting in speed bumps and rubber pallets and narrowing the roads.
"We've done studies in the past year showing that cars are just going too fast in those neighborhoods, and we're going to get those speeds down. So, if you live in the neighborhoods, you'll see the city engineers and the street department out there working on the streets to make them safer," Kight said.
Another safety measure more security cameras. That includes a pilot CINGO personal home camera system.
"If you are in a neighborhood that has suffered from a lot of property crime. You could qualify to get a free home security system, and all you have to do is agree that if you are a victim of a crime or someone on your street is a victim of a crime. You would share that camera footage with the police department," Kight said.
For community development, the city plans to renovate the Oconee gymnasium.
"At the minimum, we are going to get that facility modernized. So, it is a cleaner facility for the people who live in that community," Kight said.
Lastly, beautification. The city hopes to hit its goal of planting 1,000 new trees by the end of the year.
"And each community was working to develop parks with playgrounds and green spaces. So, people will have a safe place to gather as a community," Kight said.
Kight says safety is the foundation of any healthy neighborhood. He says the city will continue to try different programs to increase security. The city of Dublin recently invested in a Flock camera program.
The cameras take photos of car license plates and can help track down criminals. They're currently being used in Houston, Monroe, and Baldwin counties.