Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 12E
s- FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday. Storch 29. 1999
City Council of Cumming
“Over a century of cumulative municipal leadership experience”
H. Ford Gravitt, Mayor Lewis Ledbetter, Council Member John D. Pugh, Council Member
Quincy Holton, Council Member Ralph Perry, Council Member Rupert Sexton, Council Member
HThey first appeared in the V
ff Astern United States about ■
ISa ‘ /<> ~V I \ ’'(./'t- A I V'
B The Street Clock was 1 .
to stand out ;igaiiist I
p crowded buildings and sig- ■
i. „• nage., and they were frequently K
P placed in front of train sta- B
g tions, banks and other public ■ gs
- locations They were created B |g|
■ as both a public service and 1
an attractive way to display the |
L name of an establishment or 0
the name of a town.
Today, the Street Clock stands “
for a respected way of life in
America. It is a symbol of
-pride, stability and sense of
is J^- a dig ~
* Quincy Holton
“Castleberry Road”
“The Castleberry Road Project should be
completed by the end of March 1999 and Old
Buford Road Project by March 31,2000.
Upon completion of these two very large
projects, traffic problems should be alleviated
Ralph Perry
“Old Buford Road”
“Right-of-Way Acquisition for property on
Old Buford Road is complete and a contract
has been let to Merritt Construction by the
Georgia Department of Transportation. The
completion date is set for March 31,2000, for
1.22 miles of widening reaching from the
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Rupert Sexton
The Fairgrounds”
“We hope to start building a new multi-pur
pose building near the fairgrounds this year. The
interior will be the size of four basketball courts.
It will house a Park and Recreation Office and
provide for individual meeting rooms. In the cen
ter of the building, there will be a stage for enter
tainment venues during Fair week and through
out the year. The building is planned to seat
approximMely 4,000 people. +
■. ■ t
for the most part, helping traffic flow more
smoothly downtown and re-establishing
counter-clockwise traffic around the square.
: Even after this is complete, we will still be
I studying methods of moving the traffic more
efficiently, while taking into the consideration
: the concerns of the merchants on the square.
1 Castleberry Road will become increasingly
Lewis Ledbetter
“New City HaU”
“Within the ‘Splost’ funds, money was set
aside for a New City Hall. The present City
Hall was built in 1974 and has served the citi
zens well. However, with the present growth
we are experiencing, it is no longer large
enough for all the services we provide and the
general day-to-day operations.
square to the intersection of Highway 20 and 9.
The cost is $3.1 million for the project, which
consists of two northbound and two south
bound lanes with a turn lane in the center, curb
and gutter and road straightening.
This will help us get traffic safely through
Cumming and do away with the one-way
streets around the square by having
Northbound and Southbound lanes. This will
John Pugh
Cemetery Renovation
"The rock wall and wrought-iron fencing
which now protect the Cumming Historic
Cemetery is complete. We have worked on it
over the past two years and now this portion is
finished. These renovations have been funded
through the Special Purpose Local Option
Sales Tax monies. We felt like we should make
At the fairgrounds, the little General Store
has proven to be far more successful than we
anticipated. We are discussing the idea of build
ing a larger one, maybe to the same dimensions
: of general stores that were in the area in the
early 1900 s.
The “Fourth of July Parade” will be held on
■ July 3 this year ending at the fairgrounds. The
Street Dance will be held on July 2.
The North Georgia Quarter Midget Racing
Association will host the Grand National Quarter
Midget Races this year, here *t the fairgrounds
Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
“Sidewalk Project*
“The sidewalks have received more positive
response than any other project the City has under
taken in several years. In this day and time when
everyone is told by their doctor
to get out and walk, it became
very important to provide a
way our citizens could actually
do this. Os course, where possi
ble, the sidewalk project is cou
pled with lighting to make it
safe to walk after sundown and
the benches along the way for a
short rest
Walking stones are being
installed around the square and
other standard design side
walks a little further out. All
together, we are putting in
about four miles of these walk
ways - that’s a lot, but is a pro
ject that affects all our people,
residents and visitors alike, and
provides pedestrian paths for
business and leisure.”
Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
“Street Clock 1999*
“We are really excited about our new town
clock. There are similar clocks over the State of
Georgia and the Southeast However, this one was
custom made for the citizens of our town and bears
the city’s charter date on its face. It’s four faces will
demonstrate to all those who pass by that the peo
ple who live here take pride in their community and
also serve as a signature piece to help set the pace
for the continued planned development of
Cumming, Georgia.
As the crowning touch to the Park at Pilgrim
and Main, the Cumming Street Clock, situated in
Plans are to build a new structure at
Castleberry and Maple (former site of Russell
Corporation). A portion of the existing Russell
building will be incorporated into the new facil
ity. We are looking to build a 34 story struc
ture containing 32,00042,000 square feet, suffi
cient to handle growth over the next quarter
century.
Some ideas on the architectural style
include that of the second courthouse that
also help with the Highway 20/9 Intersection
congestion.
We are working to secure state and federal
• money for sidewalks and streetlights for the
entire Old Buford Road district and should
know by mid-summer if we are successful. We
are confident and very excited about the possi
bility. This will be a beautiful street in our city
when all is in place.”
a special effort to take care of this cemetery
since it is the final resting place of many of our
city’s founding families. We sincerely hope the
citizens are as proud of the results as we are.
There is still some repair/cleaning work to
do within the cemetery with regard to the
granite stones. We will be contacting families
in the area who have members buried here for
permission and participation in the clean-up
effort
July 16-25. We are very proud that an event of
national status has chosen Cumming as host city
The 1999 Annual Cumming Country Fair and
Festival will be held the dates of October 7-16
Charlie Daniels will perform and be on hand for
tiie fair. “Harvest Moon Singings” will again be a
part of the historical presentation at the village
churches. In the last quarter of the year,
Millennium Celebration Activities will begin.
Many exciting things are planned for 1999. It’s a
great time to be a part of Cumming, Georgia!”
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important with the construction of the new
multi-purpose building near the fairgrounds.
We expect this to truly be a multi-purpose
building and with a seating capacity of 4000,
meet needs in the areas of sports, entertain
ment, the arts and large-scale business and
social gatherings throughout the year.”
the park’s center, standing watch over the town,
will proudly serve to welcome all who come into
our city via this busy intersection.”
,**?«
Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
“Downtown Renovation* ;■
place that will function on a long-term basis -a
foundation on which we can safely and progressive
ly build.” SS
Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
“Y2K”
“The people of Cumming do not have to worry
about the Y2K with regard to water and sewer ser
vices, utility billing and Police Services.
We have taken the necessary precautions and
are confident the city will continue to efficiently '.j
function.”
''iMt
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burned in 1973 with the purpose in mind to
preserve some of the structural design of the *
past in cooperation with state-of-the-art func- >4
tion. We expect to have architectural plans prg-.
sented to the Mayor and Council in about siif«7*
months with a projected completion date sonse ‘
time in 2001.
The present City Hall structure will be uti- '
lized for Police, Fire and Municipal Court ;
Services.”
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In the late spring, we will have a dedicaticfci"»
service and install bronze name plates on the’ \
stone walls at the entrances, officially naming "j
the grounds, “Cumming Historic Cemetery.” A
Directory of Names is being compiled by the **
Historical Society and will soon be available at.-
the Library.
Shortly after the official dedication, we
apply for National Historic Registry status.” -
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“We’ve had the town torn up
for the last 18 months, putting
in underground utilities, paving » v
stones, lights around the
square, traffic signalization and <;s,
mass arms. Hopefully in early #
April, the square will be near- %»'
ing completion. We can see
everything coming together by
the end of March. This will %
facilitate building the communi- ’
ty around the square. I have
lived in Cumming all my life
arid know the history of the ’.« h
town’s street development.
There has been little change
over the past 50-75 years. I can
see what we are doing efficient- , /
ly serving the citizens over the , .
next 50-75 years. As the county
seat of the fastest growing
community in the nation, it is '
our goal to put infrastructure in