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Hospital Management
Pact Ending Feb. 28
By JOHNNY SOLESBEE
Managing Editor
The contract for American Medical International, Inc. to
manage Forsyth County Hospital will end Feb. 28.
The management contract was to have expired Monday,
Jan. 31, if an option to purchase agreement between the
hospital authority and AMI had not been approved, but AMI
agreed to extend its management contract until the end of
this month and the hospital authority accepted.
The action came during executive session of the hospital
authority’s regular meeting last Thursday night.
The AMI purchase option had been listed as a topic on the
authority’s regular meeting agenda, however, when Chair
man Johnny Stone called for discussion, hospital Administra
tor Joe Brandon asked that the discussion be delayed. When
the regular meeting was adjourned, the purchase option item
had not been discussed and the executive session was called
by Stone and reporters were asked to leave.
Both Stone and Brandon told The News on Friday following
the meeting that the executive session was called to discuss
matters relating to the lawsuit now pending against the
hospital and that the AMI discussion came up during the
session.
Back To The Workshop
Zoning, Land Use Plan Needs Major Repairs
By CHUCK THOMPSON
News Editor
It was written only three years ago,
but Forsyth County’s zoning and land
use resolution is back in the legal
workshop, in need of major repairs.
The resolution now leaves the county
with no authority to control large mo
bile home developments and the possi
bility of being outsmarted by
developers.
The planning commission has sent
two resolution amendments to its Feb
ruary public hearing, which would
block the development of large mobile
home subdivisions and close a loophole
all/Liuimi /iAimlnnnrc In ncnonn tkn /iAiin_
The Commission’s Challenges
Several Issues Face Forsyth In 1983 And Years After
Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part
series on Donald Glover, who was elected Jan. 10
as chairman of the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners.
By CHUCK THOMPSON
News Editor
The year 1983, like recent years, will be a
challenge to Forsyth County’s local government.
Several issues, some which have carried over
from last year, will contribute to that challenge.
As seen by County Commission Chairman
Donald Glover, the major issues of 1983 will be a
court-ordered tax re-evaluation; the location of a
new sanitary landfill site; needed changes in the
zoning and land use resolution; on-going liti
gation; continued industrial and commercial
development; the location of a county park site;
and “the need to provide the best services
It f s Costly
If Student
Is Absent
Attendance at Forsyth County’s
schools has been good, sometimes “ex
cellent”, and that’s what school offi
cials like to see because every day a
student misses school costs the local
system approximately $lO in state
funds.
Supt. B.M. (Bud) Amsler said the
state board of education’s allotments to
local school systems for teacher sala
ries as well as for buses to transport the
students depend on average daily atten
dance in the schools during the first
four months of the school year.
Amsler, in giving his report of atten
dance for the fourth month of this
school year, which has just ended, said
attendance for that month was “excel
lent” especially considering the
amount of sickness that has been re
ported in the county.
Elementary schools led the way in
Continued on Page 3A
rpur FORSYTH lfflflVG
A nil county fl Em W 9
VOLUME LXXIV—NUMBER 5
Brandon said there were some members of the authority
who had not attended the meeting of the authority and the
Forsyth County Commissioners when the commissioners told
the authority to “slow down” on the option to purchase for
AMI. Those authority members who did not attend the
meeting, Brandon said, needed to be filled in on what had
transpired and that was the reason for the AMI discussion to
be held in executive session, without reporters present.
According to Stone and Brandon, AMI only offered to
extend its management agreement with the hospital until
Feb. 28.
The management contract had been approved Dec. 30,1982
and was good only until Jan. 31, Monday, if an option to
purchase agreement were not offered by the hospital author
ity at that time.
AMI officials said at the Dec. 30 meeting that AMI would
not be interested in a management contract with Forsyth
County Hospital without an option to purchase the facility.
Another meeting of the authority is planned for sometime
this week when the authority will discuss what alternatives it
now has for operation of the hospital.
ty’s subdivision regulations.
In December, Commissioner Donald
Glover presented the commission with
a list of what he called “rough draft
suggestions” for regulating the location
of mobile homes in Forsyth County.
One of those suggestions called for
the creation of a separate zoning classi
fication for mobile homes. In the Jan. 24
commission meeting, however, County
Attorney Woody Jordan noted that cre
ating a separate zoning classification
for mobile homes would require a re
zoning each time a mobile home was
located in the county.
Jordan pointed out that the “immedi
ate. uoal of Glover’s suc
possible to (Forsyth County) residents.”
“A continuing issue that might not be resolved
for some time, is current court cases, one being
over rezoning for a proposed rock quarry,”
Glover said. Other issues, he added, would arise
in 1983.
The commission chairman plans to continue
pushing for zoning improvements in Forsyth
County, as he has done in the past.
One improvement which Glover called “very
important” is an increase in the amount of
information required of industrial developers
seeking rezonings.
Former Planning Director Lanier Bannister
recently charged that information required for
rezoning is inadequate and hinders the planning
commission on decisions involving complicated
rezonings. ____ :
■V*--
V .. . 0«ml
NEW CHAMBER PRESIDENT JOSH DUNCAN (L)
...presents plaque to outgoing president Val Shinall
I C ° aCh Jim C? oper
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1983 CUMMING, GA. 30130
gestions was the control of mobile home
developments or subdivisions. He pro
posed an amendment which would limit
future Class II and Class 111 subdivi
sions to restrictlvezonings, such as R-l-
R, R-2-R and V-C-R. Mobile homes are
prohibited under each of those three
zonings.
A Class II subdivision is any subdivi
sion consisting of six to 10 lots, while
Class 111 subdivisions contain 11 or
more lots. Prohibiting mobile homes in
these two types of subdivisions will put
an end to large mobile home devel
opments.
The commissioners sent the proposed
Couiinued an Page 3 A
Glover hopes to “improve” zoning regulations
by requiring blueprints and other documents
describing what the developers have in mind.
“This is done in every metropolitan county
except ours and many developers are surprised
how easy it is to do anything in our county when
they’re accustomed to providing this for the
other counties,” he said. “I want to emphasize
this is not a means to be used to slow down or
discourage industrial development, but to pro
tect Forsyth Countians from having to live with
some type development that the other counties
would not allow.”
Glover, who also serves as chairman of the
Forsyth County Emergency Services Coordinat
ing Committee, hopes to see the completion of a
county road directory in the coming months. The
directory would include all county roads, their
Ipg ‘ 3 f* *»*&*£s' v s? lllllf ®
Just Practicing
Randy Cox, Bald Ridge Road, Cumming, watches as his car slides down
the track during a pine wood derby race held in Cumming Saturday. The
race was attended by 54 Cub Scouts from Pack 62, representing nine
different dens. First place winner in the contest was Brian Douthat; second
place winner was Craig Tonelli and third place winner was Shane Lively.
First Place winner was presented a Scouting knife. News staff photo by
Chamber Annual Meet Sees
Slides, Hears Year’s Plans
By EDDIE STOWE
Editor of The News
Members of the Cumming-Forsyth
County Chamber of Commerce were
treated to a colorful slide presentation
showing the beauty, as well as growth
and industrial potential of the area,
during the organization’s annual dinner
meeting last Wednesday night.
Slides for the presentation were taken
by T.R. Reece and prepared for the
Georgia Department of Industry and
Trade to show prospective industrial
companies.
Chamber Executive Director “Mac”
Berston told approximately 200 cham
ber members present that the slide
presentation will be given to the state
department to show industrial pros
pects when questions are asked about
possible sites in the state.
It will be to the community’s advan
tage to have such a presentation avail
able when inquiries are made to the
state department about potential sites
' ot¥lw
40 PAGES, 5 SECTIONS —35 CENTS
grid location on the county map, and the names
of subdivisions in which the roads might be
located.
When completed, information in the directory
will be used by the emergency services to locate
fires and accident scen&.
“This information will be compiled in a way
that could easily be programmed into a small
computer if, in the future, we decide it is advis
able and affordable,” he added. “Most larger
areas already are on a computer emergency
locating system” and as the prices of these small
computers become more affordable and our
population continues to grow, we should not
discount this as a possibility for the future.”
When asked why he wanted to be a commis
sioner, Glover replied, “I can’t honestly say I
Continued on Page 3A
around the state, he said.
The slide presentation showed the
community’s road network, recreation
including Lake Lanier schools,
churches, city and county governmen
tal complexes and potential devel
opment sites.
Cathy Amos, a member of the cham
ber’s board of directors, narrated the
slide show during the meeting, held at
Otwell Junior High School.
Prior to the show, out-going president
Val Shinall introduced new officers for
the coming year. They are, Josh Dun
can, president; Charles Ingram, vice
president and president-elect, and Mike
Montgomery, secretary.
Duncan introduced special guests
attending the meeting, which included
John Chatfield, of the Georgia Depart
ment of Industry and Trade; Joe Bork,
vice president of Hensley-Schmidt, who
was instrumental in engineering stud
ies for local utility development; Sam
Dayton, executive director of the
Education’s
Deficit Seen
At $222,000
By JOHNNY SOLESBEE
Managing Editor
The Forsyth County Board of Educa
tion will end the fiscal year in June with
a deficit of $222,449, slightly less than
the $240,000 deficit recorded in the
fiscal year ending in June, 1982.
Supt. B.M. (Bud) Amsler told the
board during its meeting Tuesday, Jan.
25, that although the deficit is projected
for this year, the board will be out of
deficit in June, 1984.
The superintendent is working on a
budget now for the 1983-84 school year
and the systemwill be required by the
Georgia Department of Education to
operate next year without a deficit.
State law prohibits school systems
from operating with a budget deficit,
but a state department spokesman told
The News that the Forsyth County
System the board and superintendent
is working to correct the deficit
situation and does not face the prospect
of a cutoff of state funds if the situation
is corrected by June of 1984.
During its meeting last week, the
board adopted a deficit financing elimi
nation plan which, in effect, is a prom
ise by the board and the superintendent
that the school system will take every
measure it can to keep the deficit as low
as possible this year and to insure there
will be no deficit in next year’s budget.
Warren Post, section administrator
of the financial advisory and assistance
section of the Georgia Department of
Education, said the plan also calls for
the board of education to set the school
tax millage at “whatever is necessary”
to take the school budget out of deficit
by June 1984. The maximum levy al
lowed under state law is 20 mills.
Before the levy is established the
state department will look at the budget
for next year and will “see to it that
they get out" of deficit budgeting, Post
said.
Those attending the meeting last
week heard that the board met in spe
cial session on Jan. 6 and approved
borrowing $500,000 for 30 days until tax
receipts begin coming in from the
county.
Amsler said borrowing the money
was necessary to meet payments due in
social security taxes, retirement plans,
income taxes, etc., and would be paid
back when local tax money comes in for
the board.
In other business, the board held its
organizational meeting for the new
calendar year and re-elected Edsel Orr
as chairman.
Arthur Wright was elected vice
chairman and Leon Boling was reap
pointed as the board’s attorney,
The board also decided to keep its
regular meeting date on the third
Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. in the
school system’s central office on School
Street.
In other business, the board:
Adopted a records retention plan
as required by the state, but in so doing
pointed out that there is no money to
implement the plan.
Continued on Page 3A
Georgia Mountains Area Planning and
Development Commission; Scott Max
well, administrative assistant to Sen.
Sam Nunn, and Glenn Viers, adminis
trative assistant to Sen. Mack Mat
tingly.
Other special guests recognized in
cluded Mayor Ford Gravitt and Mrs.
Gravitt and city council members
Quincy Holton, diaries Welch, Ralph
Perry and Rupert Sexton. Also recog
nized was Chief of Police Gabe Dukas.
From the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners attending the meeting,
there were Chrairman Donald Glover
and Mrs. Glover, Commissioners Jack
Shoe make, Marcus Whitmire and
County administrator Donald Major.
Duncan also recognized Sheriff Wesley
Walraven and newly-elected state Rep.
Bill Barnett.
Members of the chamber’s board of
directors recognized were Catherine
Amos, Larry Boling, Buddy Hobbs,
Continued on Page 3A