Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

Union City mayor to be Tyrone planner

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

A Union City businessman and politician has been tapped to serve on contract as Tyrone’s new town planner.

Ralph Moore, the 52-year-old president of Caram and Associates and mayor of Union City in neighboring south Fulton County, was hired May 19 during a Tyrone Town Council meeting. Moore said he is looking forward to the position.

“I’m excited about being with Tyrone,” Moore said. “It’s a neat little city and it’s right down the street from Union City, so it’s convenient.”

Moore’s appointment was addressed shortly after council voted 3-2 to approve the hotly-contested John Wieland proposal to build a 155-home subdivision on Ga. Highway 74 South and Kirkley Road.

The council accepted Moore’s bid at the recommendation of city staff. He will receive $50 per hour plus expenses, according to city officials, while he works on town planning matters. He is technically not an employee of the town; rather he serves as an independent contractor.

Moore said Thursday that he provides similar planning services for firms all along the Southeast, and he added that he will help Tyrone from a “technical standpoint articulate its vision for growth.” He also will assist them with “managing growth,” he said.

A number of candidates competed for the position, but town officials said they were familiar with Moore’s work and indicated that he was the right man for the job.

Moore was selected just seven months after he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and following too closely after being involved in a three-car rear-end collision on Old National Highway and Jerome Road in College Park at 9:52 p.m. Oct. 15.

According to Fulton County police, Moore, the driver of a white 2001 Land Rover Discovery, plowed into the rear of 1998 Toyota Corolla driven by Tonitra Foster, 26, of Garden City.

The impact of the collision pushed Foster’s Corolla into the rear of a 2001 Hyundai Elantra driven by Monica Prather, 18, of College Park.

The accident occurred north of the Crowe’s Nest, a nightclub in College Park. Moore told police he had been drinking and allegedly told police that “he just wanted to be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol,” when police attempted to give him a field sobriety test, police said.

Nearly two hours after he was taken into custody, Moore’s blood alcohol level was found to be .173, more than twice the maximum legal level of .08, according to police reports. He was taken to the Fulton County Jail for booking.

Moore posted bond and the charge is still pending in Fulton County State Court.

Moore’s trial is set for 9 a.m. June 27, a representative of Deputy Clerk Rita Bimbrey said.