Emma Griffin, correspondent
The Way Station Quartet from Richmond Hill High School welcomed attendants for May’s Richmond Hill City Council with a 30-minute performance as the audience filed in. The quartet, composed of Isabella Fegel, Matthew Fortier, Catalina O’Connor, and Alexis Sherry (from left to right), can be seen in full on the Richmond Hill City Government’s Facebook page.
Mayor Russ Carpenter thanked the string players for their performance before asking Richmond Hill High School senior, Katie Casey, to step forward and accept the Girl Scout Gold Award.
Carpenter stated: “Girl Scouts was founded on March 12, 1912 and has since grown into the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. The Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award in Girl Scouts, earned by fewer than 6% of Girl Scouts annually, so this award represents extraordinary leadership, dedication and a commitment to making the world a better place.”
Carpenter explained that to earn the Gold Award, a Girl Scout must identify an issue she is passionate about and then plan and carry out a project that creates a lasting impact on her community. He continued: “Katie has embodied the Girl Scout values of courage, confidence and character and serves as an inspiring role model for her peers and our community,” before presenting Casey her award.
Carpenter then proclaimed May as Historic Preservation Month for Richmond Hill. He explained that the National Trust for Historic Preservation first established May as Historic Preservation month in 1973. This recognition acts as a way to promote historic places for the purpose of instilling community pride, promoting heritage tourism and showing the social and economic benefits of historic preservation.
Carpenter stated: “It is important to celebrate the role of our history and our lives and the contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping to preserve the tangible aspects of the heritage that has shaped us as a people.”
Mayor Carpenter continued his recognition for community members by calling Richmond Hill High School’s softball team, the Wildcats, to the front to congratulate them on their recent win which made them GHSA Softball State champions. Two years ago, Head Coach Tiffany Gray helped start the softball team back up again after the program had lapsed. Gray stated: “This is only our second year of doing slow-pitch softball, and they are already state champions. We have zero seniors, nobody’s graduating, so we're going for the repeat next year.”
She concluded by acknowledging Assistant Coach Chris Jenkins, saying: “I just would like to say that all of these lovely athletes in front of you guys, are all profound leaders in the classroom and outside of the classroom.”
Finally, Mayor Carpenter handed out four “Bloom Where You Are Planted” Awards, recognizing members of the community who make an impact in Richmond Hill, “truly blooming where they are planted.”
Dawn Fegel, the first recipient, is a mother of two children adopted from China and serves as a trust-based relational intervention practitioner, equipping families with trauma-informed tools. Her heart for orphans inspired her to found Love One Inc., a local nonprofit that supports foster and adoptive families. Since 2015, Love One has helped train and support over 100 families annually and welcomed more than 250 children through adoption.
Fegel accepted the award and pointed out that it was Foster Care Awareness Day, saying: “There are 12,400 kids in foster care in Georgia. There's 500 in this area. Richmond Hill probably has about 38, but there's 500 between Effingham, Chatham, Long, Liberty, and Bryan [counties]. So there's something for every one of us to do, whether you can be a volunteer or whether you can be a prayer warrior. You can share things on social media. We need more foster homes. We need more adoptive homes. We need more donors. We also need more volunteers to just raise awareness.” She encouraged attendants to connect with Love One on Facebook and Instagram.
The next recipient, Gina Vogel, served as Director of Kids Ministry at First Baptist Church Richmond Hill. She also directs Night to Shine, a prom night for individuals with special needs, and oversees the Church's ESL ministry. “Gina is known for her heart for inclusion and tireless work building faith-based community services that uplift and support families throughout Richmond Hill,” said Carpenter.
The third recipient, Sara Lopez-Smith, runs All Things Chocolate in Richmond Hill. Lopez-Smith was born in Venezuela and grew up surrounded by culture, cocoa and a deep love of food. After losing her husband in 2017, she found healing and hope in Richmond Hill, where she now runs her sweet shop and raises her three children. “Sara brings heart, resilience and sweetness to everything she does, and she is proud to call this community home,” said Carpenter.
Finally, Morgan Anderson was recognized as the fourth recipient. Anderson was inspired by her grandfather's love of gardening, which sparked her passion for local food and community. After starting her own successful business, Anderson Mercantile, she chose to focus on the Richmond Hill Farmers Market, which she was able to turn into a nonprofit that's given nearly $50,000 back to the community. She is currently raising her children in Richmond Hill with her high school sweetheart, Forest Anderson.
Community House work
Mayor Carpenter then called for a five-minute recess before diving into the night’s agenda. The council quickly and unanimously approved the consent agenda before hearing the second reading of ordinance revisions by Planning and Zoning Director, Brian Crooks.
City Manager, Chris Lovell, then gave an update on rehabilitating the Community House, located at 10512 Ford Avenue. He introduced Mariel Hamer with Lynch Associates Architects to explain three different options for final proposals for the project. Hamer explained that her organization first became involved with exterior improvements on the existing historic community house building and updating the exterior facade of the chapel, but that the plan was updated to include interior updates as well.
All options include adding an ADA lift and an elevator addition to the building so that the second floor can be accessible to people in a wheelchair. All options are also going to involve updating the MEP systems, including HVAC and plumbing.
Option 1 would be more cost-effective (while still meeting the guidelines for the historic district) by replacing all windows trim, siding and exterior elements instead of repairing them. She clarified that this is not typical historical preservation practice but would reduce cost.
Option 2 would include the more meticulous preservation and restoration of existing components, but the cost per square footage would be much higher, given the more intensive labor.
Option 3 would be a more museum-level preservation and rehabilitation of the property, which includes entirely removing the chapel and restoring the wraparound porch.
Hamer said, “With fully removing the chapel, the average cost for square footage is significant. We're losing usable square footage.” She also pointed out that the removal of the chapel would cause the elevator addition to become more visible and prominent on Ford Avenue.
Councilwoman Kristi Cox raised a concern about Option 1 not meeting the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
“You’re talking about another $80 per foot on 11,000 square feet, so I think what this board needs to determine is what's good enough for a historic preservation,” Lovell interjected.
Councilwoman Cox emphasized the importance of clarity of verbiage to ensure that everyone involved was clear about what was expected for the project.
The council did not and was not voting on the proposals that night, so all options have the opportunity to be workshopped in the future.
Finally, the council approved additional project components for the City Hall renovation before concluding the public meeting and transitioning to a closed executive session for legal and real estate matters.