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VOTE from 1A
Cherokee County. Last year. Cherokee
County took in more than half a million
dollars from Forsyth County coffers in
housing costs for county inmates.
If approved, the proposed location of
the new 102,200-square-foot jail would
be on county owned property around the
facility’s current location in downtown
Cumming.
The cost of building the new jail is
projected at $20.7 million. It would
house 350 inmates.
However, opponents have questioned
the need for a facility where most of the
offenders would be imprisoned on mis
demeanor charges.
R. Gray Smith, the Town Hall
Meeting director of the Forsyth County
Republican Party, said a better alterna
tive could be to confine those who are
awaiting court dates to their homes.
“Make the non-violent prisoners pay
for their own ankle bracelets and confine
them in their homes until court." Smith
said.
The bond also includes an estimated
$8.3 million for a new sheriff’s head
quarters on the Cumming square
which would include an underground
tunnel to the courthouse and a com
bined $2.3 million for the two precincts.
While the proposed location of the
new sheriff’s headquarters would remain
on county owned property, the exact
location of the new precincts has not
been pinpointed, according to officials at
the sheriff’s office.
COURTHOUSE
If the bond is approved, the new pro
posed courthouse calls for a 120.000-
square-foot building on property which
the county would have to purchase in
Cumming, where Wachovia Bank and
Goodson Drug Company are located.
A nearby parking deck is also pro
posed with an allocation of 300 spaces.
Projected construction costs are $24
million for the courthouse and $5.6 mil
lion for the parking deck.
Plans indicate probation, juvenile
and magistrate courts which are cur
rently located in separate facilities
would be moved into the current court
house while superior, state and civil
court proceedings would be moved into
the new facility along with county
records.
Clerk of Courts Douglas Sorrells has
said more space is needed for the coun
ty’s court files; county records date back
to 1832 and are in several locations
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Attention Members or Decendants
of Graduating Classes
1923 - 1955
Cumming High School
Since advertised in the Forsyth County News, the theatre seats for
the Cumming Playhouse are being spoken for quite rapidly. In an
attempt to assure that the history of the Cumming High School is
fittingly represented we would like to suggest the following:
The Cumming High School graduated Seniors from 1923 - 1955. If
you are a member of one of these classes or a descendant of those
who graduated these years and would like to purchase a chair in
honor of that year’s class, we would encourage you to do so. There
may be groups of members/descendants from a particular class that
would choose to share in the cost ($275.00).
A section is being set aside with 33 seats (1923 - 1955). The city
feels it would be most appropriate to have each of these classes
represented with the following inscription:
Cumming High School
Graduating Class of 1923 (or appropriate year)
Dedicated 2004
Please also be reminded, that we continue to look for memorabilia
from those years to display in the designated Library of the restored
Cumming School. If you would like to donate a collection of items,
they can be displayed in a sealed shadow box and designated as i.e.:
"The Edith S. Wright Collection" with credit given the donor. All
items will be catalogued and inventory maintained via computer.
The utmost care will be given to the protection of these pieces of
Cumming's educational history. We are interested in trophies,
awards, athletic or academic letters, class rings, uniforms, year
books, photos, basketballs, pennants, play programs/scripts,
graduation and other photographs along with the story behind each
item during the years of 1923-1955.
If you have an interest, please contact:
Linda Heard at City Hall, 100 Main Street, Suite 235, Cumming,
Georgia 30040.
(770) 781-2010 e-mail lindawheard@citvofcumminc.net
including the courthouse attic, a storage
facility on Pilgrim Mill Road, and a
portable unit in the courthouse parking
lot.
Arguments
The opponents of the bond
including Smith, south Forsyth resident
Anna McManus, board of elections
member Brant Meadows, and John
Pickering, the president of the
Federation of Forsyth Homeowners
do not challenge the need of the facili
ties but say the process the county gov
ernment has used to arrive at the referen
dum is faulty.
“I don’t have any question that we
need serious upgrades,” Smith said. "But
1 don't think all options were considered
here.”
”I’ve done the math. In actuality,
including the interest on a $65 million
bond, the real tax burden to the property
owners would likely exceed SIOO mil
lion.
"That doesn’t include final land
acquisition costs ... and other miscella
neous costs with operating the facility.
This is the third time this has been
brought before the voters of the county. I
feel that we're not getting the real fig
ures.”
McManus responded similarly.
"I don't think there’s any argument
over the need of the facilities,” she said.
"This is the third time we’ve done this. I
feel like this is an orchestrated effort to
throw this down the throat of the voters."
Meadows and Pickering said the
county needs a master infrastructure
improvement plan.
"We've got to have a more responsi
ble government.” Pickering said. "Until
we can put together a comprehensive
plan that we're willing to stick to l'm
tired of writing a check."
Meadows said past failures that have
increased county costs such as the
current parking deck in Cumming which
underwent extensive repairs only a few
years after construction was complete
and the purchase of the Threatt property
in south Forsyth that resulted in exten
sive court battles continue to haunt
the county.
"We need to make sure we spend our
money wisely and get our money’s
worth," Meadows said. "The county has
not consistently shown they have that
ability"
In December, the county election
board had asked the board of commis-
sioners to reconsider the referendum and
separate the items into two questions.
The board chose to remain with the
recommendation of a task force which
had studied the issue. Os the four com
missioners only south Forsyth repre
sentative A.J. Pritchett did not support
placing the items on a single ballot.
Commissioner Charles
Laughinghouse sided with Pritchett, but
voted for the single ballot saying it is
better to give the voters a choice on the
issue.
County officials who support the
issue have said it’s past time to improve
the facilities.
Sheriff Ted Paxton, whose office
originally wanted the jail and courthouse
posed in separate questions to the voters,
has said waiting is no longer an option
because the county is going to continue
to grow, and the law and judicial servic
es need to be equipped to handle it.
Finances
While the total amount county tax
payers will owe on the bonds will be
more than $65 million, exactly how
much more will depend on the interest
rate that’s applied.
According to County Chief Financial
Officer Jeff Quesenberry, projections for
that interest rate are in the neighborhrxxi
of 4 to 4.5 percent.
"We should be between the 4 to 4.5
percent rating," Quesenberry said. "That
would be about three-quarters of a per
cent better than an individual could get."
That means taxpayers will owe
around SIOO million if the bonds are
allowed to mature through the 20-year
period and not paid off earlier.
Critics say the $65 million is decep
tive without informing voters of the
additional costs —a charge dismissed
by Roger Crow, chairman of a commit
tee supporting the referendum called
Let’s Build It.
Crow compared the $65 million to
buying a house or a car. and said when
asked how much a person paid for it. the
answer does not add the interest.
"The same thing is true here." Crow
said.
Past failings
Similar bonds failed in 2000
where the questions for the courthouse
and jail were separated and 2001.
where they were placed on the same bal
lot.
In addition to chairing the campaign
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, February 29,2004
committee, Crow also headed a grand
jury task force that studied why the
2001 election failed.
The study resulted in a recommen
dation to the board of commissioners
that the county conduct the election
and ensure the public receives enough
information about the election.
In addition, it was recommended
the county construct the jail and court
house on the square.
The campaign committee provides a
Web site at http://www.letsbuildit.net to
disseminate information to the public
along with an email address to submit
questions.
The committee originally also had
planned to conduct five informational
meetings. However, due to scheduling
conflicts, those were reduced to two—
one of which was canceled after it
snowed last week.
"The school system closed their
buildings." Crow said of the meeting
which was to be at South Forsyth
Middle School. “I was terribly disap
pointed that that couldn’t take place.”
Smith said there was no notification
the meeting had been canceled. He said
there were a dozen people who had
come to the school to attend it.
"No one was there to tell us it was
canceled," Smith said. "There were a
dozen cars out front waiting to get
information on this.”
In addition to the committee’s meet
ings, the Forsyth County Republican
Party conducted a Town Hall meeting
where the public posed questions to
various individuals including Sorrells,
Paxton. Laughinghouse and County
Solicitor Leslie Abernathy.
Smith, who hosted the meeting, said
Crow also was invited to sit on the
panel.
“(Crow] did speak [at the town
hall],” Smith said, "but he declined to
be a panelist."
The meeting was conducted at
Cumming City Hall. Mayor H. Ford
Gravitt suggested the bonds be paid
with proceeds from voter-approved
county sales taxes rather than property
taxes.
However. Gravitt's proposition
would not become a viable option until
2008 because voters approved extend
ing the sales tax last year for specific
projects. If Tuesday’s vote passes, the
county government could elect to pay
off the bonds in the future with the
sales taxes if voters again elect to
extend the taxes in 2008.
Director of
I
911 center
on leave
I
‘Personnel issue’ ;
prompts action
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office confirmed
Thursday that 911 communica
tions director Miles R. Butler
has been placed on administra
tive leave.
“Miles Butler is on admin-t
istrative leave while we look
into a personnel issue. Miles
has not been suspended, nei-j
ther permanently or temporari
ly,” Sheriff Ted Paxton said.
"There is no new 911
Director. Miles Buller is still
the director of 911,” Paxton
said.
The sheriff’s office and
Forsyth County Human
Resources Department will not
release the cause for investiga
tion, citing that personnel
issues under investigation are
not public record. Butler
declined to comment when
called at home on Wednesday.
In addition to his position
as communications director for
the 911 center, Butler worked
part time for the Fire
Department until Jan. 5. 2004.
Butler said at that time that his
departure from the Fire
Department was the result of a
mutual agreement. An investi
gation that began on Nov. 21
resulted in his removal from
the fire department, the coun
ty’s human resources director,
Pat Carson, previously stated.
Neither the sheriff's office
nor county personnel office
would comment on whether a
relationship exists between
Butler's removal from the fire
department and his administra
tive leave from the 911 center.
Butler previously worked
for the county as public safety
director until his position was
eliminated by the board of
commissioners in 2001.
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