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PAGE 2A
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thursday, January 22,2004
TREES from 1A
have this tree ordinance can be
enforced,” he said.
The new ordinance also would be
in effect for all new land distur
bances, regardless of the date rezon
ing plans were approved.
John Pearson, the owner of
Paramont Grading and a major
opponent of the tree ordinance, said
the ordinance proposes to meet
many goals such as air quality
and erosion control that can just
as efficiently be met by grass and
shrubs.
He criticized the ordinance
because it requires compliance
regardless of the type of land that’s
being disturbed.
“It’s based on a total site density
factor,” Pearson said, “regardless of
whether it’s a piece of pasture or
not.”
YMCA honors Forsyth resident
Thompson with Volunteer award
By Kim Ash
Staff Writer
Forsyth County resident
Dan Thompson enjoys volun
teering his time to help young
participants in the county's
YMCA programs enjoy activi
ties and learn.
Because of his efforts,
Thompson was recently
named the Forsyth County
Family YMCA 2003 Volunteer
of the Year, according to offi
cials of the county's YMCA
program.
The 45-year-old is a native
of Ohio. He has been volun
teering for the county's YMCA
organization since the spring
of 2001, he said.
Thompson and his family
moved to Forsyth County in
2000. He is employed with
Alford Media Services and
runs its office in Atlanta, and
also travels to work at the
company's home office in
Dallas, Texas, he said.
CITY from 1A
of the property. However, a
stop work order is on that line
because of a disagreement
between the Cumming and
Forsyth County governments
over intergovernmental agree
ments.
“[County officials] say our
contract is not valid but they
want us to go ahead with the
sewer," Gravitt said.
■ The disagreement, which
has spread to affect all areas of
city-county relations, stems
from the Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) disbursement con
tract. In October 2003 the
county unexpectedly withheld
t.wo months' worth of
SpLOST revenue from the
4Hy, which by contract
receives 15 percent of the total
Sales tax revenue. In an effort
UJ.increase accountability, the
County demanded five years of
documentation for the city’s
Bunds from ia
•’•The governor wants con
struction projects completed
irf 24 months. Murphy said, to
prevent escalation of con
struction cost and subsequent
waste of predesign efforts,
ijlfrrphy said that, from a
bjisiness man’s perspective,
the governor’s plan makes
sense.
' “i think |Gov. Perdue] will
do the predesign and planning
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’’You could start off with a pas
ture and have to plant 20 units per
acre,” he said, adding that a fine of
S4OO for every tree unit that is not
met is a hefty penalty.
“If I don’t have enough room to
plant all the trees, t have to pay a
fine,” Pearson said.
He recommended each commis
sioner needs to see a site plan for a
development based on the new tree
ordinance before approving the ordi
nance.
Pearson suggested a better way to
ensure a quality tree base in the
county would be to compensate
property owners for maintaining
trees rather than penalizing them for
not complying with an ordinance.
“I think that there should be a
free market tree ordinance which
compensates a developer or a prop-
In his
free time, he
helps coach
soccer
teams for
the YMCA
and assists
with other
YMCA pro
grams.
He said
he enjoys
if J
Thompson
the feeling he gets when he
knows he's helped a child have
fun and succeed.
"When you see the impact
it has on the kids, you just
can't help but want to do it
some more," he said. "It's a
wonderful feeling."
Thompson and wife,
Tatnmie, have two children,
Laura, 15, and Joshua, 10.
Thompson said he began vol
unteering when he helped out
with his son's soccer team and
helped coach. He also serves
on several YMCA committees.
SPLOST spending in order to
receive future funds.
The city complied with the
county’s request. The county
is in the midst of an audit of
the receipts provided by the
city.
The city expects to make
$3 million in SPLOST rev
enue in 2004. The funds will
be used for historic and green
space preservation, if the
county distributes the funds,
the mayor said.
In other business:
•Quincy Holton was
appointed to serve as mayor
pro-tem for 2004. The position
rotates annually.
•The Department of
Utilities was authorized by the
council to increase the price of
a three-quarter inch residential
water meter from SBSO to
$1,050. The department sur
veyed surrounding cities and
counties and found that the
in one fell swoop so they can
get the construction started in
the following year,” Murphy
said.
The governor could not
give Murphy an estimate of
when Lanier Tech will receive
funding for the Forsyth
Campus expansion.
“We’ll just keep plugging
until we get what we need,”
Murphy said.
erty owner when he gives up land to
plant or save trees,” he said, adding
that compensation could come in a
variety of ways; such as allowing a
development a greater density, or
giving variances on buffers, or
breaks on impact fees.
“The fact of the matter is that the
free market was replanting trees
before the tree ordinance came along
and doing a better job of it,” Pearson
said.
The earliest the board may adopt
the new tree ordinance is Monday,
Jan. 26, after a public hearing to
address it. But that’s not likely to
happen, according to Brown, who
said concerns brought to the depart
ment’s attention by commissioners
during a meeting earlier this month
[Jan. 5] have not yet been added to
the ordinance.
in addition to helping with
other projects in the program,
he said.
He said the YMCA organ
izers know they can call on
him when a situation arises or
if they are in need of assis
tance.
"They can call me if they
have an issue, and most of the
time I am able to help out," he
said.
During the spring and fall
soccer seasons, Thompson
said he volunteers about four
to five hours per week, and he
said he will continue to volun
teer considering he enjoys
the work so much.
The Forsyth County
YMCA was founded about
four years ago and currently
has about 250 volunteers for
all its sports and activities,
according to a representative
of YMCA. The number of vol
unteers continues to increase,
the representative said.
new cost is still the lowest in
the area. Revenue from the
increased fee will offset the
cost of radio equipment to be
purchased by the city.
•The mayor signed a con
tract for the second bronze
statue in the Historic
Sculpture Series. Hiram Parks
Bell’s figure will stand in front
of City Hall at the edge of the
flower garden, Gravitt said.
•Allied Bancshares Inc.
received permission from the
council to construct a tempo
rary office on Market Place
Boulevard across from Kohl’s
Department Store. Starting in
March 2004, the building will
house Allied Bancshares for
one year while the future
home office is built on the
adjacent lot.
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Forsyth County.
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Instead, Brown said those con
cerns will be a part of the presenta
tion the department makes at the
public hearing Monday.
“It’s the same document that we
brought to the board’s work session
earlier this month,” Brown said
Tuesday. “We haven’t necessarily
written any text that would address
[the concerns]. We’re looking to hear
discussion from the public and the
board on those.”
Because of that, the ordinance
probably will be modified to account
for additional concerns, be reviewed
during future board meetings, and
perhaps undergo another public
hearing.
If it does, it would be the fourth
public hearing addressing the
revised tree ordinance.
Durand agreed with Brown’s
Deaths
Erwin William Anderson
Mr. Erwin William
Anderson, 87, of Gainesville
died Monday, Jan. 19, 2004.
He had lived in Forsyth
County for the
past 32 years.
He served in
the U.S. Army
Air Force dur-
VETERAN
ing World War II and was a
member of the New Hope
United Methodist Church. He
was a member of the
American Legion, Masons and
Telephone Pioneers of
America.
Survivors include his wife,
Billie Sue Mitchell Anderson
of Gainesville; daughters and
sons-in-law, Mitzi McDearis
of Cumming, Suzy and Morris
Mayo of Gainesville; son and
daughter-in-law, Billy and
Lavada Anderson of Clermont;
grandchildren, Shannon Mc-
Dearis, Ryan McDearis,
Michael Anderson. Jessie
Anderson, Cynthia Mayo,
Corey Mayo, Chad Mayo,
Stephanie Gunter, Eric
Gunter; four great-grandchil
dren; brothers, Don Anderson,
Paul Anderson, both of
Kimball, Minn.; sisters, Alice
Stelton of Kimball, Minn.,
Eva Edlund of Maple Grbve,
Minn., Alpha Erickson of
Bloomington, Minn.
Funeral services were
Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at the
New Hope United Methodist
Church in Forsyth County
with the Rev. Richard Moeller
officiating. Interment followed
in the church cemetery with
full military honors. In lieu of
flowers, donations may be
made to the New Hope United
Methodist Church Building
Fund, 4815 Dawsonville
Hwy., Gainesville, GA 30506.
Little-Davenport Funeral
Home in Gainesville is in
charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County’ News
January 22, 2004
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Ceceil Jones Griffeth
Mr. Ceceil Jones Griffeth,
80, of Cumming died Jan. 19,
2004. A native of Colbert, Ga.,
Mr. Griffeth was retired as a
technical ad
viser for Klik
Loc Corp., a
World War II
Veteran of the
VETERAN
U.S. Navy and a member of
Cumming Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife,
Cora Mae Smith Griffeth;
daughters and sons-in-law,
Joan and Wendell Langford of
Acworth, Diane and Jim
Howard of Moultrie, Joan and
Stanley King of Cumming;
sisters, Florence Lancaster and
O’Neal Caldwell, both of
Lilburn, Hilda and Pete
Upchurch of Conyers; seven
grandchildren; 11 great-grand
children; several nieces and
nephews also survive.
Funeral services willbe
Thursday, Jan. 22, at 1 p.m. at
the McDonald and Son
Funeral Home Chapel with the
Rev. Mark Harrison officiat
ing. Interment will follow in
the Westview Cemetery in
Atlanta. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to the
American Cancer Society or
the Cumming Church
Renovation Fund.
L.W. McDonald and Son
Funeral Home and Crematory
was in charge of the arrange
ments.
Forsyth County News
January 22, 2004
»»411 ■ IH• br-jjgjgir ,
Forsyth County News
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assessment.
“I think it should be adopted
Monday,” she said, “but I don’t think
they will.”
Other regulations in the new tree
ordinance include spreading the
required density throughout the area,
instead of designating one target
area for the trees, and requiring a
mixture of tree types.
•Pearson said imposing a tree
ordinance in general is wrong.
“I do not see a governing body’s
ability to tell a private property
owner how many trees they can have
on their land,” he said. “Trees grow
back; trees are a renewable resource.
“In and of itself, it is wrong.”
”It’s a growth limiting ordi
nance,” Pearson said. “The focus is
not trees, the focus is limiting
growth.”
Robert D. Kendrix
Mr. Robert D. Kendrix
(Bob), 72, of Alpharetta died
Jan. 19, 2004. He was an
active member of Concord
Baptist Church and a deacon
since 1964, music director for
19 years and assistant music
director for four years. Mr.
Kendrix was preceded in death
by his parents, Joe and Annie
Kendrix; brother, Joe Harold
Kendrix; sisters, Mildred
Chadwick and Betty Lynn.
Survivors include his wife
of 51 years, Ruby Kendrix;
son and daughter-in-law, John
and Lee Kendrix of Canton;
daughter and son-in-law,
Osamu and Bobbie Matsum
oto of Kobe, Japan; grandchil
dren, Hanna and Erika
Matsumoto of Kobe, Japan;
great-grandson, Chandler
Green of Canton; sister and
brother-in-law, Shirley and
Fred Sanders of Columbus,
Mary Cordell of Marietta;
brother, Bud Kendrix of
Alpharetta; and several nieces,
nephews, cousins, and other
relatives also survive.
Funeral services will be
Thursday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m. at
the Ingram Funeral Home
Chapel with the Revs. Troy
Milford and Jeremy Waters
officiating. Interment will fol
low in the Greenlawn
Cemetery.
Ingram Funeral Home is in
charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
January 22, 2004