Grant recalled for devotion to Dalton

Published 12:09 pm Thursday, February 6, 2025

Longtime Dalton City Council member Bobby Grant was a man of few words. But when he spoke, people listened, said former council member Mike Robinson, who served with Grant.

“Bobby always weighed things carefully before he took a position,” Robinson said. “He asked questions and got the information, so you knew when he said something it was going to be meaningful.”

Grant passed away Monday. He was 87. He served 12 years on the council.

A Dalton native, Grant worked 43 years in the printing industry. In a 2008 interview upon his retirement, he said he was approached a number of times over the years to run for office, but said it wasn’t until he was older, and his schedule more flexible, that he became interested.

“I ran just because I wanted to get in there and do a decent job and watch the taxpayers’ money. Sometimes you can watch it. Sometimes it gets away from you on projects. But overall, I think it has been a good 12 years,” he said.

Grant said “one of the better things that the mayor and council started” during his tenure was the streetscaping of downtown Dalton. That included replacing aging sewer and water lines and stormwater infrastructure, moving utility lines underground and installing decorative mast arms for traffic signals.

Grant said downtown Dalton not only looked better but the project helped attract businesses and jobs back to the area.

Grant pointed to a number of projects the city completed during his time in office. Those included a new fire station, the police services building, Heritage Point Park, a new City Hall, adding 500 feet to the airport runway and new automatic landing instruments and lights to the airport, as well as resurfacing the vast majority of city streets.

Robinson, who served with Grant on the city’s Public Works Committee, said making sure Dalton had the infrastructure it needed was a key goal for Grant.

“He was devoted to the city and to the council,” Robinson said.