Newspaper Page Text
County commissioners review ’9B, discuss priorities for this year
By Jim RHey
Staff Writer
With 1998 over, the Forsyth
County Commissioners are turn
ing their thoughts toward the new
year and the opportunities and
challenges it will provide.
Commissioner John Kieffer said
that sewer is his top priority for
the coming year. “I would like to
see us acquire at least two million
. gallons of sewer capacity through
land application on the Threatt
property,” Kieffer said. “We
should also finish the design and
construction of Central Park and
stay on top of the substantial com
pletion of our water plant.”
The Threatt property is a large.
tract in south Forsyth which the
county has condemned and is con
sidering as a potential site for
spray irrigation of treated waste
water.
Kieffer also said a top priority of
the board should be to push for
the completion of the major road
projects.
Incoming Commissioner
Michael Bennett said he agrees
addressing sewer needs should be
the top priority of the board dur
ing the coming year.
Traffic problems also top
Bennett’s list. “We have made a
lot of interchange improvements
during the last couple of years,”
he said. “We have widened exist
ing old roads for safety purposes.”
. Bennett also put a lot of impor
tance in completing and imple
menting the new master plan.
“There is a lot that needs to be
done,” he said. One of Bennett’s
ideas includes spreading commer
cial development throughout the
county instead of just in the south
ern end.
“My priority is the repayment of
bonds and road projects we have
going on now,” said Commission
Chairman Bill Jenkins.
The board has to allocate funds
* from the Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax 4 (SPLOST 4)
. in order to pay back the bond for
the water plant that is currently
Under construction.
; Jenkins said the board fully
: Intends to build parks, and that
there will be funds available for
the expansion of Coal Mountain
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and Midway parks. This would
include new baseball, football and
soccer fields.
Jenkins said that commissioners
would use a portion of the pro
posed Central Park as a park, with
the remainder of the land being
used for county buildings. “We
need to determine how much
money we can spend each year,”
he said.
Another goal that Jenkins voiced
was to bring infrastructure
improvements to the whole coun
ty instead of just the southern por
tion. “We have had more empha
sis on the south part of the county
in the last 10 years; we need to
address the cdncems of the rest of
the county.”
Continued cooperation with the
City of Cumming and the
Cumming/Forsyth County
Chamber of Commerce is impor
tant to Jenkins. “The Chamber
attracts development and high
paying jobs," he said. “People
who live in the city limits are citi
zens of the county also. As long
as I am a commissioner, I will
represent them.”
The commission has released its
list of accomplishments for 1998,
which includes:
• Completed construction of the
Georgia State Patrol Post at an
approximate cost of $750,000.
• Broke ground on Nov. 4, 1998,
for the construction of a water
treatment plant, capable of pump
ing 10 million gallons per day,
located off Antioch Road. The
anticipated cost of the project is
sl7 million. Anticipated comple
tion date is April 2000.
• Completed construction of
Sawnee Mountain Park project at
a cost of approximately $2.3 mil
lion which was paid from the
Special Purpose Local Option
Sales Tax.
• Reduced the ad valorem tax
that is levied by the commission
ers from 3.1 mills to 2.950 mills.
The current property tax levy is
the third lowest of the 159 coun
ties in the state. The only counties
with a lower county M & O levy
is Chattahoochee County with a
rate of 2.190 mills and Whitfield
County with 2.000. The average
county M&O Levy statewide is
9.686.
• Successfully passed Round #4
of the Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax which has an
estimated value of SIOO million
over a five-year period.
• Completed the construction of
the Road Department and Fleet
Maintenance Division Building at
a cost of approximately $700,000.
• Replaced all underground fuel
storage tanks with the new fiber
glass coated tanks and installed
automated fueling islands at three
locations at a cost of approxi
mately $175,000.
• Funded the new Integrated
Judicial Management System at a
cost of $600,000.
• Closed Phases I, 11, 111 and IV
of the Hightower Landfill in
accordance with EPD Rules and
Regulations. The cost for closure
of these phases was $3.5 million.
• Adopted a Tree Preservation
and Replacement Ordinance and
a Noise Ordinance.
• Completed the construction of
the Forsyth County Animal
Control Facility at a cost of
approximately $300,000. This
was a cooperative effort with Dr.
Lanier Orr through a contractual
arrangement of $225,000 for
1998 and an equal amount for
1999 that included the building
construction and animal control
services.
• Constructed a new fire station
on Hwy. 20 East (Station #ls) at
a cost of approximately $325,000.
The contractor for the project was
Eastwinds Group, Inc. and the
building was dedicated on Nov.
14, 1998.
• Completed the construction of
Market Place Parkway between
Hwy. 20 and Buford Dam Road at
a cost of approximately $900,000,
of which the Georgia Department
of Transportation paid 50 percent
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sunday, January 10,1999
Photos/Tom Brooks
Then and now: County crews prepare improvements to Shiloh
Road over Shiloh Creek (above). The new bridge replaces the
old culverts and allows improved water flow (left).
of the cost.
• Began construction on a new
Water and Sewer Department
maintenance and office facility on
Ga. 400 North at Settingdown
Road. The estimated cost of the
facility is $270,000 and the con
tractor is Pinnacle Construction
Systems.
• Sold $47,470,000 of Water and
Sewer Revenue bonds for expan
sion and improvements to the
Water and Sewer System and for
the construction of a Water
Treatment Facility.
• Purchased two new fire trucks
from Clay Fire Equipment
Company totaling $398,628.
• Supported legislation creating
the new single-county court cir
cuit known as the Bell-Forsyth
Judicial Circuit. The new court
circuit began operating on July 1,
1998.
• Began construction of a new
fire station on Old Atlanta Road.
See BOARD, Page 12A
PAGE 3A