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Cumming Police Dept, presents annual awards at council meeting. See story Page 5A Sports N. Forsyth girls edge Lambert in 3-point shootout Page IB FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Weekend Edition-December 9-10, 2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM forsythcountynews @ForsythNews (®) @ForsythNews $2.00 Sales tax split proposed for LOST agreement By Kelly Whitmire kwhitmire@forsythnews.com A proposed agreement between the city of Cumming and Forsyth County could set how local sales taxes are split, provide new rules for annexa tions and see a city park on Lake Lanier go back to the county. At their work session on Tuesday, Dec. 6, members of the Cumming City Council voted 4-1, with Councilwoman Linda Ledbetter opposed, to send terms to Forsyth County commissioners for a local option sales tax, or LOST, for 2023 through 2032. The agreement will be dis cussed at a special-called com mission meeting on Friday, Dec. 9. Under the terms of the pro posal: Forsyth will receive 87% of LOST funds, the city will receive 13% and the remaining percent goes to the general fund of the state treasury; sets rules for annexations from the city to the county; sets a plan for possibly de-annexing Mary Alice Park to Forsyth County; and will have the county con vey right-of-way to the city for the planned Sawnee Drive Extension project. An agreement for impact fees, fees paid for developers for expanded use of certain amenities, was proposed but was not part of the final terms approved by the council. The rules for annexations would require the applicant and representatives from the city and county to meet before the application is filed to discuss the rationale behind the annex ation, the planned land use, impacts of the annexation on the county, whether the propos al should continue, any finan cial impacts of the annexation, whether the plan fits with the county’s comprehensive plan or unified development code and other items. Annexations have been a sticking point between the city and county following several large-acre annexations in recent years. During the meeting, much of the discussion focused on Mary Alice Park, the city’s only park on Lake Lanier. Ledbetter, who voted against the proposal, said she felt the city would be giving up land that could be used for parks. “It’s just sad that we’re sit ting here as a city, and the only park we’ve ever had, we put an administration building on. [It is] backwards,” she said. “I just don’t understand why we See LOST16A Forsyth County votes 66% for Walker in runoff Turnout lower than Nov. By Kelly Whitmire kwhitmire@forsythnews.com Forsyth County residents made their voices heard in the Dec. 6 U.S. Senate run off election between incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Wamock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker. Statewide, more than 3.5 million Georgians voted in the race, with Warnock receiving about 1.8 million, about 51.4% of the votes cast, to Walker’s over 1.7 million votes, about 48.7% of votes. The race gives Democrats a 51-49 edge in the U.S. Senate. In Forsyth County, 88,630 ballots were cast, and Walker won more than 58,240 votes, about 65.7% of the total, to Wamock’s 30,390 votes, about 34.3%. During voting for the runoff, about 49,500 voters cast in-person ballots dur ing advance voting between Monday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Dec. 2; 34,427 voted in-person on election See Election 14A Arts center celebrates students with exhibit ‘Never Stop Learning 5 By Sabrina Kerns s ke rn s@f o rsythnews.com The Sawnee Association of the Arts recently held a celebration and awards ceremony at the Cumming Arts Center for students taking part in its latest high school art exhibition. The local art associa tion, SSA, worked with six high schools and two home schools to bring in students to participate in the exhibit titled, “Never Stop Learning,” which was displayed in the cen ter from Oct. 13 to Dec. 3. Vicki Gladden, a retired teacher and SSA member, first contacted art teachers at each of the eight schools to offer guidance on preparing for a com munity exhibit. By the time the exhibit was ready, there were 77 student artwork entries. Judges with the SSA scored students’ work, separating them into three categories: photography, two-dimensional art and three-dimensional art. The judges chose the top three See Art 14A 'Traditions... on every plate' Photos by Ashlyn Yule Forsyth County News TheTaste Street employee Benita puts together a plate of pandebonos, Colombian cheese bread, for hungry customers. Fusion restaurant opens its doors downtown By Ashlyn Yule ayule@forsythnews.com Nestled in downtown Cumming is a new restaurant with a menu of tasty food from around the world. The Taste Street, a Colombian-Mexican fusion restaurant, opened its doors just a week ago on Monday, Nov. 28 and has been serving Forsyth County residents fla vors from Colombia, Mexico Italy and America. The Taste Street is located at 125 Tribble Gap Road in Suite 101 in Cumming. Owner Juan Echeverri said the idea behind The Taste See Taste 15A TheTaste Street, located at 125 Tribble Gap Road, is a Latin American fusion restaurant with flavors from Mexico, Colombia and more. 61/49 Forecast! 2A New photo studio to open in Cumming City Center, 6A Forsyth County News app available for download Find the app at forsythnews.com/apps for local news at your fingertips. □ 7 Volume 113, Number 96 © 2022, Forsyth County News Cumming, Georgia CHEVROLET - BUICK - EMC CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED VEHICLES J l •s MORE TIME Lifetime POWERTRAIN WARRANTY AND OIL CHANGES NO COST TO YOU Established 1948 www.AndeanChevv.com CHEVROLET FIND NEW ROADS 527 Atlanta Rd Cumming 770-887-2316