Building Community, Not Just Neighborhoods: Commissioner Dee Anglyn III Talks Growth, Infrastructure and the Future of District 3
written by Branson Hartsfield
Henry County District 3 Commissioner Dee Anglyn III joins Voices of the Village for a wide-ranging conversation on data centers, apartments, development, State Route 81, McDonough Square, property taxes and his vision for managing growth without losing community identity.
Henry County is growing, and nowhere is the tension between development and quality of life more visible than in District 3.
During a recent episode of Voices of the Village Podcast Where Change Starts with Conversation, Henry County District 3 Commissioner Dee Anglyn III sat down for an extensive conversation about how that growth should be managed.
From rural areas surrounding Ola and Kellytown to the rapidly changing State Route 81 corridor and portions of downtown McDonough, the discussion centered on a fundamental question facing Henry County:
How do you accommodate growth without losing the character that attracted people to the community in the first place? For Anglyn, the answer begins with planning.
“I Want to Build Community”
One statement from the conversation summarized much of Anglyn’s philosophy.
“I am tired of building neighborhoods. I want to build community, and those two things look very different at the end of the day.” Anglyn said his approach has been shaped in part by a conversation dating back more than two decades.
After returning from Mercer University around 2000, Anglyn recalled sitting down with representatives connected to Henry County government and economic development. He said he asked why Henry County did not have the type of planned community development associated with places such as Peachtree City.
According to Anglyn, the answer he received was essentially that Henry County was already too late. More than 25 years later, he says he does not accept that conclusion.
Anglyn told VOTV that planning, overlays, infrastructure requirements and development standards can still help influence what District 3 looks like decades from now.
His argument is not that government can stop growth. In fact, he made the opposite point. “I can’t stop the growth,” Anglyn said. “But I can help condition it and help put restrictions in place that guide it for the future.”
Why Data Centers Became a Major District 3 Issue
One of the most significant issues discussed during the interview was the prospect of data-center development.
Anglyn said District 3 possesses many of the characteristics that can make an area attractive to large-scale data-center operators: access to water, substantial electrical capacity, major transportation corridors and undeveloped land.
But he said residents repeatedly expressed concern that such projects could change the character of their communities. Anglyn described a planning process that began with moratoriums and focused initially on the North Ola-Timber Ridge area before expanding to Kellytown and eventually contributing to broader county planning discussions.
He said those pauses gave officials and residents time to consider infrastructure, future land use and development standards rather than simply reacting to projects one at a time. According to Anglyn, the message he heard from constituents was clear: they did not want data centers in those areas.
His position, he said, was also influenced by his own connection to Henry County. “I’m from here,” Anglyn told VOTV. “I want to protect the fabric of our community and the things that we hold dear to our heart.”
That does not mean residents were opposed to every form of development. Anglyn said the planning conversations also revealed what people did want: preserved green space, trees, stronger buffers along roadways, trails, infrastructure planning, parks and development standards that maintain the area's character.
No Apartments, Multifamily or Rental Communities in the Overlay
Housing density was another major part of the conversation. Anglyn said residents participating in planning discussions surrounding the North Ola-Kellytown area expressed opposition to apartments, multifamily projects and rental communities.
His explanation centered on two points: constituent preferences and infrastructure capacity. According to Anglyn, District 3's existing road and infrastructure network was not designed to absorb certain levels of concentrated residential density. He also distinguished between development occurring inside municipal boundaries and development controlled directly by Henry County.
For example, apartment developments within the City of McDonough may geographically sit inside the broader District 3 area while remaining subject to city land-use authority rather than county zoning decisions. Anglyn said cities may be better equipped in certain locations to handle higher-density projects because of the infrastructure already available there.
What Is the Future of Ola?
Anyone traveling through the Ola area can see how much that portion of Henry County has changed. New subdivisions, schools, commercial activity and increasing traffic have transformed what was once overwhelmingly rural.
During the VOTV conversation, Anglyn acknowledged the area's growth while dismissing speculation that he had inside information concerning any effort by Ola residents to create a municipality.
He said he had no special knowledge of an incorporation effort. The larger issue, in his view, is preserving the characteristics that caused people to choose Ola in the first place.
Farmland may eventually be developed, Anglyn acknowledged. But he said a master plan can provide residents and property owners with greater certainty about what future development may look like. That means looking beyond today's zoning application and considering the next 20 or 30 years.
McDonough Square: Investing in a Community Centerpiece
The conversation then moved toward one of Henry County's most recognizable areas: the McDonough Square. Although the square falls within the City of McDonough, Anglyn explained that Henry County owns the square itself while the city leases it. That relationship requires cooperation between city and county government.
Anglyn, who said he also serves on McDonough's Main Street board, discussed working with city leadership and businesses on improvements designed to enhance the downtown area. Among the most visible additions has been the fountain. Anglyn described the concept as an attempt to create something “uniquely Southern, but distinctly Henry County.”
The fountain has since become informally known as the Unity Fountain, a name Anglyn said emerged organically from the community rather than being assigned by county government. For surrounding small businesses, beautification is not merely cosmetic. A more inviting downtown can help encourage foot traffic, community events and economic activity.
State Route 81: Growth Meets Infrastructure
Perhaps no road better illustrates the pressures created by District 3's growth than State Route 81. Anglyn recalled driving his son to Ola High School and personally experiencing the congestion that residents have complained about for years. The response has been a major widening project.
Henry County's current transportation materials list State Route 81 widening, Phase I, from Postmaster Drive to Bethany Road among the county's T-SPLOST transportation projects. The county also lists a second phase of the SR 81 widening program under SPLOST VI.
Anglyn described Phase I as an approximately $30 million transportation project funded through the county's Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax program. Henry County confirms that T-SPLOST is a 1% local sales tax dedicated to transportation projects, including road widening, intersections, bridges, sidewalks and trails.
For Anglyn, the widening is about more than moving vehicles faster. He connected transportation to economic development, arguing that congestion can affect residents, commuters and customers trying to reach businesses throughout the McDonough area.
Property Taxes: A More Complicated Conversation
The discussion became particularly detailed when VOTV turned to one of the most persistent concerns voiced by Henry County homeowners: property taxes.
Anglyn cautioned that the issue cannot be reduced to a single vote or one line in the county budget. He pointed to several pressures affecting county finances, including inflation, changing sales-tax collections, reductions in some federal funding compared with pandemic-era levels, state legislation affecting property taxation and exemptions, and increasing costs to operate county government.
Anglyn also discussed what he views as an imbalance between Henry County's residential and commercial-industrial tax base. His broader argument was that residential development creates service demands—public safety, roads, parks and other government functions while greater commercial and industrial development can diversify the tax digest.
He said county leaders have discussed the importance of achieving a healthier residential-to-commercial balance over time. Anglyn also referenced Georgia House Bill 581 and other recent state legislation while explaining the increasingly complicated environment surrounding local taxation.
Henry County's official information on HB 581 says the law modified Georgia's statewide homestead-exemption framework and authorized a Floating Local Option Sales Tax, or FLOST, whose proceeds must be used to reduce property taxes.
SPLOST, T-SPLOST and Where the Money Can Go
Anglyn also emphasized an important distinction that is sometimes lost in public debate: not every tax dollar can legally be spent on the same things. SPLOST money is generally directed toward eligible capital and infrastructure projects. T-SPLOST is specifically dedicated to transportation.
Henry County's official materials state that the county's current SPLOST VI program began collections in April 2025 and runs through March 2031, while the current T-SPLOST program is devoted to transportation infrastructure. That distinction matters when residents ask why money allocated for a major road, park or government building cannot simply be shifted to annual operating expenses. Different revenue streams come with different legal restrictions.
Rethinking the Budget and Millage-Rate Process
One of the more technical issues Anglyn raised involved the order in which Henry County considers its budget and millage rate. He said he agrees with fellow Commissioner Kevin Lewis that the timing deserves another look.
Anglyn's argument was straightforward: if the millage rate helps determine how much property-tax revenue is available, county leaders should examine whether that discussion should occur before finalizing the budget.
He described the issue as an example of commissioners finding areas where they can work together even when they do not agree on everything.
For residents watching county government, discussions like these can have significant consequences because a budget approaching hundreds of millions of dollars ultimately represents choices about services, employees, infrastructure and taxation.
Coffee With a Commissioner: Taking Government Outside the Boardroom
Not every conversation about county government has to happen behind a microphone or inside a formal commission meeting.
Anglyn also discussed his Coffee With a Commissioner events.
The purpose, he said, is to create a less formal setting where residents can voice concerns, ask questions and engage in more productive conversations with their elected representative.
That constituent feedback, Anglyn said, has directly influenced his thinking on issues including land use, data centers, housing density, infrastructure and preservation.
For him, those meetings provide another way to understand what residents believe their community should become.
The Central Question Facing District 3
The issues discussed during Anglyn's Voices of the Village appearance extend far beyond one commissioner or one election cycle. Henry County is changing.
The population is growing. Roads are being expanded. Farmland is being developed. New businesses are arriving. Housing demand continues. Residents want improved infrastructure while also questioning taxes and government spending.
At the same time, established communities are asking county leaders to protect the qualities that made them want to live in Henry County. Those goals can collide. The debate over District 3's future is therefore not simply a debate over whether growth should happen. Growth is already happening.
The larger question is what kind of growth Henry County wants, where that development should occur, what infrastructure should accompany it and what the community should look like when today's children become tomorrow's homeowners.
For Commissioner Dee Anglyn III, that distinction comes back to one sentence from the conversation: “I am tired of building neighborhoods. I want to build community.” And as Henry County continues to grow, that conversation between elected officials, residents, business owners and developers is far from over.
Voices of the Village Podcast
Where Change Starts With Conversation
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