The Forest Acres City Council officially celebrated the completion of its clock project with a dedication ceremony then continued the party during its monthly meeting on July 13.

At the 4 p.m. dedication, city officials recognized First Citizen’s Bank for its contribution to the upkeep and maintenance of the area’s landscaping and cited councilor Charles Fetner for pushing the project through to its completion.

Located in front of the First Citizen’s Bank at the corner of Forest Drive and Trenholm Road, the area contains landscaping, a brick flower bed, and a four–sided clock.

It took nine months for officials to work through various easements and red–tape issues before the project was finally given the green light in June.

At the celebration were members of the garden club who originally established the landscaping at the corner 10 years ago. Members of the club attending were Betty Lewis, Bernice Folson, club president Shirley Smith, Nora Anne Frye, and Drucy Siokos.

At the council meeting later, city administrator Mark Williams said the project is 98 percent complete, only lacking “City of Forest Acres” lettering for the front of the brick wall and a trash can, both of which are on back order.

“I think we are finally at a point where we can take that off the long–term agenda,” said Mayor Frank Brunson said with obvious relief.

The council noted particularly it was pleased that everything was in place prior to Fetner’s 80th birthday.

In other business, the council heard:

• Williams’s report the design for the Gills Creek Walking Trail was essentially complete and the route has been marked out. “All we need to do is walk the trail to check its alignment, and then we will move forward,” Williams said.

• The new radio equipment at the Richland Mall is to be installed next week, which will help with communications within the structure.

• The Forest Acres Neighborhood Association has been gathering trash along the city’s roads. The next scheduled cleanup is Sunday, July 18 at 8 a.m. Others reported they have seen people regularly picking up debris on days other than the designated cleanup day. “I pick up trash all the time when I walk,” said Fetner. “Everytime I do it, it makes me mad.”

• An approved request by Williams to obtain $2,500 to upgrade the city’s website. They discussed the possibility of having a system that would allow meetings to be streamed live on the Internet.

The meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m. In attendance at the meeting were Charles W. Fetner, Georgia Dukes, Curtis Rye Jr., Shell Suber and Mayor Frank J. Brunson.