PREVENT Polk County Roads and Drainage Division from implementing proposed design options #1, # 3, or #4 for North Galloway Road (CR 542 A) and Swindell Road due to the negative impact on New Home Baptist Church for current operations and long-term sustainability.  

New Home Baptist Church is a historic property that was built and organized by the community, for the community in 1912.  This is the fourth attempt to decrease the footprint of New Home Baptist Church.  The “preferred plan” will impede current church functionality, impact long-term sustainability and will forcibly reduce resources previously donated to the church.  In the event the proposal for the “roundabout”- option #3 is selected, New Home Baptist Church would be forced to sale it’s pastorium.  Our pastorium is the vital resource used to attract and compensate current and future church leadership.  This will decrease the footprint of New Home Baptist Church in the community and its ability to continue outreach.  The long-term and widespread negative effects will be felt for years to come.  Additional impacts to the functionality of the church include decreased access to our south parking lot and the west entrance to our cemetery.  

New Home Baptist Church would like to propose an alternate improvement option that limits the impact and degradation of resources for New Home Baptist Church and our community.  This alternate option will also seek to solve the proposed concern of traffic crashes and will attempt to reduce the risk and amount of traffic crashes at the intersections on North Galloway Road.  The alternate proposal would require lowering the current speed limit on North Galloway Road to allow for the placement of two traffic signals at both intersections of Swindell Road North/North Galloway and Swindell Road West/North Galloway Road.  

By signing this proposal, you are acknowledging your disapproval for taking any more land from New Home Baptist Church, and instead, installing a traffic light at the corner of N. Galloway Rd, and W. Swindell Rd verses the “preferred plan” Option #3 “roundabout”.  You are further standing against the proposals that would negatively affect the long-term sustainability of your community and New Home Baptist Church.   Please stand with us as we work to limit the impact the county’s proposals on your community and our church.