THOMASVILLE — Incumbent Barwick Mayor Ned Simmons was returned to office Tuesday with a safe victory margin of 54 percent of the vote.

Simmons received 57 votes. Challengers Scott McCammon and Walt Yost received 19 and 29 votes, respectively.

Simmons was elected to a second mayoral term, following in the footsteps of his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom served as Barwick mayors.

Tammy Cone, with 69 votes, handily defeated Greg Parker, who garnered 23 votes, in a race for a Barwick City Council seat.

I.J. McCann also won a Barwick council seat. McCann received 53 votes to 29 for Stephen Hobbs Sr., who was vying for the same post.

Simmons is concerned about Barwick City Hall.

“Our city hall is a voting precinct. It is not handicap-accessible,” the mayor explained.

The city has been warned by the state about the building’s lack of handicap-accessibility.

Barwick, which is divided by the Thomas-Brooks County line, will receive $147,000 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) revenue from Brooks County toward city hall improvements and an unspecified amount of SPLOST funding from Thomas County government.

Simmons wants to set up a workshop to receive input from citizens and city council members about how to approach the city hall project, which would include police department improvements. He wants to secure services of an architect.

“The banks will work with us,” Simmons said. “We won’t get all that money at one time.”

The mayor pointed out a Barwick ordinance that calls for owners of unkempt buildings to maintain the property, or the work will be done by the city at owners’ expense.

Police will enforce the city law, Simmons explained.

In response to accusations about city hall finances, Simmons said city hall records are open to the public for inspection at all times.