Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26,2012
FROM 1A
Plan
to £<•'> started before the sales tax
revenues are collected.
The current, sixth round of
SPLOST will not expire until July
2013, at which point the seventh
round will begin.
That tax extension expires July
2019, and current estimates proj¬
ect it will bring in about $203 mil¬
lion oven the six-year span, said
David Gruen, county finance
director.
“With an expected receipt of
proceeds to begin in August 2013,
to continue this project from this
point forward to construct the jail
and courthouse, you need a fund¬
ing plan, which means you need
to borrow money,” Gruen said.
Based on a construction sched¬
ule starting this July, the county
would need to borrow a minimum
of $50 million to begin work
before the sales tax revenue starts
coming in, he said.
Gruen estimated the cost of bor¬
rowing the money at less than $5
million, with the bonds paid off
by July 2019.
He added that securing a fixed
rate bond is a favorable option,
since interest rates are lower than
2 percent.
The sample schedule indicates a
40-month project duration, ending
in October 2015.
Based on the financing model
proposed, funds for other
approved projects are estimated to
become available in July 2015.
An exception to that schedule is
the county animal shelter, which
FROM 1A
Code
The county’s director of
planning and community
development, Tom Brown,
made an administrative call
that bees did fall under the
definition, since his
research showed the insects
are domesticated.
“That sparked some
debate, some dialogue over
is that really the intent of
our ordinance,” Brown said
during Tuesday’s work ses¬
sion.
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commissioners have also indicat¬
ed a desire to start sooner.
Gruen presented two options for
funding the estimated $3 million
project. The\ included borrowing
from the county's reserves or
seeking a bond through the public
facilities authority.
"This amount of money, 1 feel
comfortable with out of the gener¬
al fund," said Gruen, who added
that the reserves are about $4.5
million, above the county policy
of keeping 25 percent of the bud¬
get total.
He presented a schedule for
repaying the funds from reserves
w ith interest, though at a lower
rate than if borrow ed from a bank
The cost of borrowing ranged
from $30,000 to $210,000,
depending on the time of repay¬
ment.
An advisory committee has
been meeting nearly every month
for the past year to recommend
the best courses of action for a
county shelter, said Deputy
County Manager Tim Merritt, a
non-voting member of the group.
At this point, Merritt said the
committee is hesitant to move any
further until the commission
determines when to fund con¬
struction.
Commissioners directed the
county attorney to return at the
next work session with a resolu¬
tion allowing the money to be bor¬
rowed from reserves to get the
project started with the best bal¬
ance of interest payments and
starting time.
Construction is anticipated to
take 18 months, which would
mean completion in fall 2013, if
started this summer.
A presentation by Marc
Conlyn, past president of
the Forsyth County
Beekeepers Club, showed
the honeybee is not aggres¬
sive unless provoked and
contributes many benefits to
the environment and the
economy.
“Because the honeybee
does so much for us, by
way of pollination, we need
to do more for them,"
Conlyn said.
A few dozen local honey¬
bee supporters, clad in yel¬
low, attended the meeting.
They applauded when com¬
missioners voted to start the
Other action
Also at Tuesday's work session, Forsyth
County commissioners:
•Approved the names for two south Forsyth
green space parks as recommended by the
parks and recreation board.
The Echols property will be called Haw Creek
Park, and the Harrison property named Caney
Creek Preserve.
The naming of the McClure property was
delayed for two weeks for further consideration.
• Reviewed an update to the systemwide rec¬
reation master plan, which sets guidelines for
parks and recreation through 2017.
Commissioners postponed accepting the
plan to allow staff to do additional research on
issues related to finances.
• Discussed the likely extension of the water
contract between the city of Cumming and
Forsyth County.
The county buys most of its water from the
city, which has a permit to withdraw from Lake
Lanier.
Commissioner BrianTam agreed to meet
with the water and sewer director to gather
more information.
The commission will discuss the issue again
at its next work session.
•Asked to hold a work session on Feb. 7
instead of Feb. 14, as originally scheduled.
• Set a Feb. 16 public hearing for proposed
changes to the ethics ordinance, clarifying con¬
flict of interest transactions.
• Reviewed an overview of potential changes
to zoning procedures intended to streamline
the process.
• Set public hearings for proposed changes
to the unified development code that would
alter the calculation for the requirement to con¬
nect to sewer, as well as eliminate the need for
a water system for lots with approved ground
water wells.
Note: All votes 5-0 unless otherwise noted.
Alyssa LaRenzie
process of changing the code.
Commissioner Patrick
Bell made the motion to
exclude honeybees from the
definition of livestock,
though he added that indi¬
vidual homeowner associa¬
tions may still prohibit the
hobby.
Though commissioners
unanimously supported ini¬
tiating a change, Chairman
Jim Boff noted that Brown's
call should be respected.
“[Government officials]
are sometimes in an odd
position of having to make
an interpretation about
something, and Tom did
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Phone 770-887-6480
Genera) InformationVoice Mail. 770-889-1365
E-mail: rcscueigiforsythpets org
Web site: www.forsythpets com
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that to the best of his abili¬
ty," Boff said. “It's not fiec
essarily something we all
agree w ith.
“I think $ve need to, at a
minimum, respect the posi
tion that some of us get put
in.”
The process of changing
the code should take about
one to two months, he said.
Until then. Bell added
that beekeepers will be
allowed to continue their
hobby without concern of
being cited by code enforce- j
ment.
No dates have been set
for the public hearings. !
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Teens can
apply for
D.C. tour
By Crystal Ledford
cledford®forsythnews.com
Sawnee EMC is accepting applications
from high school students for this year’s
Washington Youth Tour.
Each year the corporation chooses tw o stu¬
dent delegates to attend
Cindy Badgett, director of external affairs
for Sawnee, said applicants must be between
the ages of 16 and 18.
They must also attend school or live w ithin
the Saw nee's seven-county service area.
This year's tour is set for June 14-21, and
the application deadline is Feb. 29.
According to a release from Sawnee, the
tour includes meetings w ith state and nation¬
al leaders and leadership training, as well as
visiting all the major sites of the nation’s
capital.
Students also meet and discuss views with
students from other states while learning
about history, government and careers in
public service.
Badgett called the week a “fast-paced,
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see how
America works.”
“It is not just a week of sightseeing,” she
said in a statement. "Student delegates have
the opportunity to meet other students from
across the nation, meet their congressmen
and make memories of a lifetime."
The two students from Sawnee’s service
area will join some 1(H) others from across
Georgia for the all-expenses paid trip.
The Washington Youth Tour has been a
tradition since then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson
inspired its creation at a meeting of the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association in 1957.
Since then, more than 40,000 students
have attended the event to learn about elec¬
tric cooperatives, American history and U.S.
government.
Learn more
• For more information or to apply
for this year's Washington YouthTour,
contact Cindy Badgett at (678) 455-
1399 or cindy.badgett@sawnee.com.
•Applications can be found at
www.sawnee.com under the educa¬
tion link, or from high school guid
ance counselors.
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