Fulton County residents concerned over high-voltage power line project

Community concerned over power line plan
Residents say they're concerned a plan to build high-voltage power lines between their neighborhood and the Fulton County Jail could affect their health, safety, and the value of their homes.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Residents in Atlanta's historic Howell Station neighborhood are pushing back on a plan by Georgia Power to build high-voltage power lines in the area.
On Tuesday night, Georgia Power held a town hall meeting to answer questions and share more details about the plan.
Some residents of the neighborhood say they are concerned about the impact the lines will have on their health, safety, and home value.
The backstory:
Fulton County Commissioners approved the plan to sell over 2.5 acres of land to Georgia Power as part of their consent agenda on March 19 without discussion.
The plan would build the high-voltage power lines between the neighborhood and the Fulton County Jail.
According to county documents, the county will receive over $3 million for the use of the land, with that money going to repairs at the jail.

Fulton County Commissioners approved a plan for Georgia Power to build high-voltage power lines between a Howell Station and the Fulton County Jail. (FOX 5)
Residents told FOX 5 they knew nothing about it and only learned of the plan when they confronted crews beginning to cut down trees in April.
RELATED: Fulton County's quiet approval of power lines draws backlash from residents
What we know:
At Tuesday night's meeting, a Georgia Power representative laid out the plan, saying the project included the installation of 12 sets of power poles that will carry two transmission lines through the community.
The lines will start at the Jefferson St. substation and go to the Northwest substation.

Fulton County Commissioners approved a plan for Georgia Power to build high-voltage power lines between the Howell Station neighborhood and the Fulton County Jail. (Fulton County)
MORE: Children in Howell Station neighborhood speak out against power lines
What they're saying:
The Georgia Power spokesperson said that they regretted that the project caught the community by surprise and said the company is committed to sharing updates about its progress moving forward.
Still, they said that the project would be one that would help the area.
"This line truly benefits the entire west metro region," Georgia Power executive Misty Fernandez told the crowd. "The line that it is replacing that runs along Jefferson Street is also a line that's at capacity."
The other side:
Residents previously told FOX 5 that they were concerned about how the removal of trees for the project would affect their quality of life.
"Without this tree buffer, it's not going to be a place people are gonna want to be raising families anymore. Which is really sad because this is a family neighborhood," Jen Upton said. "Now, we're going to have not only high-voltage power lines like 70 or so feet from where my kids sleep, but also full exposure to the jail."
Neighbor Arthur Toal wanted the company to think about different ways to reduce the impact of the power lines.
"I would like them to spend extra money to reroute the lines to a less impactful alignment or to bury the lines," he said.
What's next:
Right now, there are no more public meetings scheduled.
The Howell Station Neighborhood Association leaders hope to schedule a follow-up meeting in the near future.
The Source: Information for this story came from a report by FOX 5's Brooke Zauner and previous FOX 5 reporting.