With less than a week before the Dec. 1 runoff election to decide the victor for Villa Rica’s Ward 4 seat on the City Council, Councilman Joey Kelley and challenger Patrick Henrickson are beating the bushes to find votes.

Only five votes separated Kelley and Henrickson — 153 votes to 148 votes, respectively — after the Nov. 3 general election, with a third challenger, James Scales, receiving just 8 percent of the votes. Both Henrickson and Kelley say turnout will be key to the runoff election, which is why they are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for votes.

Both candidates have clear ideas for the direction the city should take as they discuss issues with potential voters in the waning days of their respective campaigns.

Kelley said traffic safety and congestion is one of the main issues for people living in his ward, specifically the need for improvements at the intersection of Conners Road and Mirror Lake Boulevard due to a poor design creating a dangerous situation.

“I have already addressed this issue with the city manager and some of the city staff and what we’re trying to do is that whole intersection needs to be re-engineered and redone,” he said. “We’re trying to get some funds to do that. There’s some federal money out there, and I think some state money, we’re trying to get to do that because that will be a pretty big undertaking, but it is something that needs to be done.”

Kelley also pointed out that a traffic signal is needed at Shoreline Parkway and Mirror Lake Boulevard, which he pushed to get the funding approved for during a recent council meeting. With budget cuts looming, this project was one that had been proposed to be delayed but Kelley said he believes he has the support of the mayor to proceed with the project.

“The taxpayers deserve it,” he said. “I understand there are hard times for everybody, but those people pay their taxes and they need to get something out of it. I’m going to stay steadfast on that.”

Another intersection Kelley is pushing to get improvements for is the exit ramp off I-20 at Liberty Road, which he said the city is working with Douglas County and the state to get done. Also, he said Tyson Road and Conners Road need to be repaved.

Kelley also said that street lights are needed along Stockmar Road, which he said is a relatively cheap endeavor.

“It all comes down to dollars,” Kelley said. “You can pull the records and see that the majority of the money on roads and safety improvements has been spent and you’ll find it has been Ward 4, and not just in Mirror Lake.”

Henrickson agrees with the need for traffic signal improvements in Ward 4, but he said there are also needs for speed humps in some subdivisions, street lights, cleanup up of junk cars and dirty streets that need to be addressed.

“Some of that is really simple stuff that can be fixed,” he said.

Henrickson also is pushing for the city’s collection day for yard debris to be moved from Fridays to Monday in the area around Mirror Lake because he said many of those residents do a good job of cleaning their yards on the weekends only to have the debris sit for a week before it is picked up.

“We want to get that taken care of to where it will be picked up on Monday,” he said. “If a person is going to take the time to keep their yard clean and take good care of their neighborhood, we want to make sure the city is going to back them up by getting that trash picked up as soon as possible. Some areas of the city may not do that much clean-up and they don’t have that problem like we have.”

Kelley said he’s not in favor of changing the lawn debris pick-up days for Ward 4 because he said it’s not fair to other taxpayers in other parts of the city.

“If we change that one, it throws everybody off,” he said. “He can say that he will change that, but trust me when I tell you that it doesn’t matter if I’m still in office or he’s in office, that’s not going to be changed.”

Kelley said one of the biggest issues facing not only Ward 4, but the entire city, is unfinished subdivisions developers have abandoned with incomplete roads and non-functioning street lights.

“We as a council need to come up with some way to direct the city’s staff to contact the banks who own these pieces of property now and get them up to the standards that the people pay for and give them the services they pay for.”

Henrickson, who has owned the Tin Roof Cafe in downtown Villa Rica about seven years but only recently moved inside the city limits, said he has had a lot of the city’s newer residents complain that there is a disconnect between “Old Villa Rica” and “New Villa Rica” and a lack of communication between the city’s government and its residents. He believes the city needs to be diligent in bridging this gap.

“There’s no reason why we can’t all work together,” he said. “I want to create a oneness between the newer part of Villa Rica and the older part of Villa Rica.

“I’m committed to quarterly meetings to address issues with my constituents and I will have monthly e-mail updates for my constituents who want to be informed. Many of the people in my ward want to know what’s going on with city government and I’m willing to make the city’s business the public’s business.”

Kelley said he has always been open with his constituents and plans to continue to do so.

“I have the benefit of the past,” he said. “You can look at what I said I was going to do and that’s what I did. I’ve never wavered. If someone asked me a question, I tried to give the most honest answer I can.”

Kelley said another issue important to him is bringing City Hall back downtown in the form of the proposed new municipal complex at the site of the former Avanti Motor Corp. property.

“As long as I can remember, the DDA, business owners and people of Villa Rica wanted City Hall back downtown and we as a council and the mayor invested a lot of money to make sure that happened, and I’m not going to let anybody stop that from happening,” he said.

Kelley pointed to a recent study the city conducted that stated there was adequate parking downtown and any additional parking needed for events at the new amphitheater could be handled through better signage directing motorists to off-street parking areas and private pay lots.

Henrickson vehemently disagrees with Kelley’s assertion that downtown has enough parking to accommodate the merchants and visitors and said the city’s study doesn’t take into account city court days downtown and special events that take up valuable parking spaces.

“Those who know me understand some of the issues I’ve brought before the city,” he said. “In my business, which is located in downtown Villa Rica, I have the opportunity to talk with many people from many areas on a daily basis and over the past seven years I’ve been involved in many issues that directly affect Villa Rica. There are many great opportunities in the future for Villa Rica and I would like to see them develop, including parking being accessible to downtown businesses. This would encourage and promote activity for the residents and visitors.”

Henrickson said the city isn’t doing enough to capitalize on its heritage as “The City of Gold” through tourism.

“I think the gold is in the marketplace,” he said. “We’ve just begun to tap into the tourism dollars and I plan to work to create jobs in the area of tourism. I’ve been involved with the gold mines and I’ve always been a promoter of that. I think if we create a marketing strategy and advertising that can draw big crowds at the gold mines we can create jobs there.”

Henrickson added that by promoting the gold mines it will help create other tourism-related businesses in the city and more jobs.

Those Ward 4 residents living in Carroll County will cast their votes at Powell Park and those living in Douglas County will vote at Mirror Lake Elementary School.