CORNELIA – Former Cornelia Mayor J.C. Irby got an unexpected surprise Saturday morning as officials gathered to dedicate the new city hall facility to him.
The new municipal building, which houses city hall and the police department, was occupied a week ago and should serve the city’s needs for the next 50 years or more, city officials said.
“The last time Cornelia built a municipal building was in 1950, and it housed city hall, fire and police until 1987 when city hall moved into the old Cornelia Library and the police moved into the former health department building a few years later,” said City Manager Donald Anderson. “The building was still used as a fire station until last year, when it was torn down for this project.”
Anderson introduced engineer Chase West of Carter & Sloope Inc., the firm that helped interview and select project architect Jericho Design Group, and designed the grading and sitework.
“By choosing this site, the city achieved three goals,” West said. “They kept the old fire station, city hall and police station from becoming abandoned buildings and becoming an eyesore for the city. They’re keeping their staff close to downtown and therefore supporting the businesses of downtown. And they’re keeping the heart of community in the center of downtown instead of moving out into the fringes.”
West said the there is about 22 feet of elevation change from the street above the new building to the street below it, but engineers and architects used that to their advantage so that each floor opens on ground level, providing better access to the building.
One thing discovered during the project was that before there was Main Street there was Junction Street that ran through the site on the lower side of the building about where Saturday’s dedication ceremony was held.
“The major telephone line for the city ran along the abandoned street right of way, left untouched for decades,” West said. “We had to relocate it before any other construction began.”
Anderson credited the mayor and city commission for having the vision to proceed with simultaneous large projects.
“There are not a lot of cities the size of Cornelia that would take on a $20-million water plant and an $11-million municipal complex within a year of each other, but these great leaders recognized the need and importance of both of these long-overdue projects,” Anderson said. “With their guidance, both projects are almost finished.”
Irby said he was pleasantly surprised by the dedication in his honor but said many people have contributed.
“I think there are a lot of people that have contributed a lot to the city of Cornelia,” Irby said. “And I’m really a little concerned that basically everybody is not included in that, because it takes an awful lot of people and an awful lot of commitments to make something like this happen.”
Irby was born in 1937 in Lithonia, moved to Royston in 1947 and graduated from Royston High School in 1955. He attended North Georgia College in Dahlonega then transferred to the University of Georgia in 1957 and graduated with a major in accounting in 1960.
“He’s been a resident of Cornelia since 1967,” Borrow said, noting Irby moved to Cornelia from Elberton.
“He’s been a great leader and ambassador for our community,” Borrow said. “He’s been a member of the Habersham County Rotary Club since 1967.”
“In October 2011, Cornelia and our community suffered a great loss when the current mayor at the time, Margaret Ballard, suddenly passed away,” Borrow said. “Almost immediately, J.C. – Mayor Irby – put his name in the hat to try to fill her shoes. He was elected in April 2012 and served until January of 2020 for a total of eight years.”
Borrow said Irby was instrumental in leading the city to its current accomplishments, both in infrastructure and updated facilities.
“Under Mayor Irby’s leadership, the city took bold steps to address needs that had been ignored and needed for many years,” Borrow said. “We knew that we were going to need a new municipal complex. We knew that something was going to need to be done. So, Mayor Irby and the commissioners, once they decided on this project, Mayor Irby said, ‘Interest rates will never be this low again. We need to take advantage of them now’, so on May 16, 2017 – over three years ago – the city broke ground on a new water plant and reservoir project which should be complete very soon and it’s unbelievable. I took a tour of it a few weeks ago. You want to talk about a municipal complex for the next 50 years or more, this water plant is going to serve Cornelia and even Habersham County for the next 50 years or so. It’s unbelievable.”
Also, under Irby’s leadership, the city replaced millions of dollars of water lines, sewer lines and sidewalks, Borrow said.
“The building that we’re dedicating today is his biggest brainchild,” Borrow said. “The city has been functioning in a 50-year-old-plus city hall which was originally used as a library. The police station is over 40 years old, which was originally the health department. Past leaders have been discussing the need for new facilities for over 20 years, but we never bit the bullet. Mayor Irby began pushing for a new municipal building in 2016, saying that it was time that Cornelia had a modern, functioning city hall.
“The goal was to have a building that would meet our needs for the next 50 years, but look like it was built 100 years ago,” Borrow said. “I think we have accomplished both of these goals. When it came time to decide who the building should be name after, the choice was clear and simple. It was the man whose leadership and vision made this project a reality. It gives me great pleasure to dedicate the new Cornelia Municipal Building to Mayor James C. Irby Jr.”
Irby previously served as president of the Habersham County Rotary Club and served two consecutive terms as chairman of the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce.
In 2015, Irby received the Habersham Countian of the Year Award from the chamber of commerce.
“The completion of the Municipal Complex is a generational event for the City of Cornelia,” West said. “The city is now positioned, better than ever, to serve its citizens for the next 50-plus years.”
Jim Cooper of Cooper & Company, the contractor on the project, also addressed those gathered, discussing the impacts of a wet winter and the coronavirus pandemic, but explaining how well things came together despite those challenges.
