Council discusses updating speed-detection permit to include Historic 441 (SR 385)

The Demorest City Council added a discussion about the city’s speed-detection permit to the Feb. 3 agenda and heard from Sgt. Steven Squires on whether an annexed stretch of Historic 441 (SR 385) is authorized for speed enforcement.

Sgt. Squires said the police department is updating its permit to use radar and LiDAR devices on authorized roadways. He told the council that Historic 441 — the section from the hospital entrance to Habersham Mills Road at the north city limits — was not included on the approved roads list after it was annexed into the city’s jurisdiction. He said the most recent approved list, filed with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Department of Public Safety, had been signed by a previous administration and does not include that segment.

To add the corridor to the permit, Sgt. Squires asked that two forms be signed and notarized by the mayor and council so the police department can maintain an accurate, updated approved-roads list. The transcript records the discussion but does not show a formal vote to submit the updated paperwork; the item was placed on the agenda for discussion after the council voted to amend the agenda.

Next steps: the council will provide the signatures and notarization the police department requested so staff can update the permit filing with GDOT and the Georgia Department of Public Safety.