Newspaper Page Text
Page 6C
June 13, 2018
■B
Exporter
Forsyth-Culloden-County
groups hold joint meeting
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
The various leadership
groups in Monroe County,
including county com
missioners, city councils
of Forsyth and Culloden,
Board of Education,
Chamber of Commerce,
Development Authority
and Downtown Develop
ment Authority, held a joint
meeting on May 29. The
groups have agreed to meet
together whenever there is
a fifth Tuesday in a month.
Todd Tolbert, past
facilitator of the joint meet
ings as chairman of the
Chambers governmental
affairs committee, handed
over that job to Wes Cone,
new chairman, to start the
meeting. Steve Coleman,
speaking as chairman of
Forsyth-Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce,
said that from the joint
meetings has evolved
monthly meetings of the
top two or three represen
tatives of the organizations.
These meetings have been
dubbed “One Monroe.”
“We are getting to know
the people in the room
and talking about how to
make things better,” said
Coleman. “It’s a long time
coming.”
Forsyth Mayor Eric
Wilson said that at One
Monroe ideas are discussed
and new plans take shape.
He said that because of
One Monroe, the periodic
joint meetings will be more
for sharing information
than for discussing and
exchanging new ideas.
“There is so much syn
ergy when you have the
right people in the room,”
said Wilson.
Culloden council mem
ber Tellas Daniel reported
that Culloden is working
on activities for children,
improvements to the
park and maintenance
and upgrades at the city
cemetery. Basketball goals
are being put up at the old
tennis courts. The Annual
Motorcycle Ride will be
Sept. 15 and a Farm Day
concert is planned for Nov.
3 in Culloden.
For Forsyth, Wilson said
the city is working on its
new city hall, having ap
proved drawings and a fee
structure for the architects.
He said the county present
ed a good offer for a joint
building, but the timing
was not right and the city is
moving on its own plan.
Wilson said the city has a
10-year, four phase plan for
annexing land near its city
Emits. It has asked the Re
gional Commission to help
with phase 1 of annexation,
which should be easy be
cause it is a neighborhood
whose residents have asked
to become part of the city.
Wilson said that one
project the city and county
are working on together is
getting a Central Georgia
Technical College Work
force Development Center
in Forsyth. The Develop
ment Authority has offered
10 acres in Indian Springs
Industrial Park for the proj
ect, and the city is about to
do infrastructure upgrades
in water and sewer at the
Industrial Park for more
than $20 million. He said
the city is applying for a
state Community Block
Development Grant to up
grade the water lines in the
Blount Hill neighborhood
and is working with the
Regional Commission on
a Master Plan for passive
recreation for Forsyth.
Wilson said that the
Cemetery Tour program
at Forsyth City Cemetery
on May 19 was a good
example of collaboration as
the Backlot Players, Forsyth
Convention & Visitors
Bureau, Monroe County
Historical Society and For
syth Main Street worked
together to bring some of
the characters of Forsyths
past back to Efe for the day.
“I learned a lot,” said
Wilson. “It was a good
program.”
Forsyth is also cleaning
up and planting flowers
and trees around the brick
wall in the cemetery. It
dedicated the 2018 plant
ings to the memory of
council member Dexter
King. Focusing on eco
nomic development, the
city created a new director
of economic development
position two years ago. It
recently lost its director to
Augusta but is looking for a
new one.
Commission chair Greg
Tapley thanked state
legislators Susan Holmes,
Robert Dickey and John
Kennedy for attending
the joint meeting and also
thanked them for their
help in work on the project
to get a CGTC Workforce
Development Center in
Forsyth.
Tapley said the county is
working on water projects
in Commissioners Eddie
Rowland and John Am
brose’s districts and voted
in a 90-day moratorium on
commercial construction
to update county planning
& zoning ordinances.
“We need to get the right
stuff in the right place,” said
Compare Our CD Rates
Bank-issued, FDIC-insured
1-year
2.20 %
APY* Minimum
deposit
$1,000
18-month
2.35
rt X APY* Minimum
deposit
$1,000
2-year
2.65
OXAPY* Minimum
deposit
$1,000
* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 05/16/2018. CDs offered by Edward
Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest
accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each
account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial
advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD
values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices
of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose
principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early
withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs
require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs
offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs
sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC).
Jones S Woody
Financial Advisor
Culloden, GA 31016
478-885-2817
Call your local financial advisor
today at 478-885-2817
www.edwardjones.com
Member SIPC
Edwardjones
MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING
Everything about us
is all about your
Eye Care
Doctor Sakhalkar is a
Board Certified Ophthalmic Surgeon
with over 10 years experience.
For Appointments Call:
478-633-8033
Routine Eye Exams
Medical Eye Exams
Glasses Prescriptions
Glaucoma Screening & Treatment
Corneal Diseases
Corneal Transplants
Cataract Surgery
Dry Eye Treatment
Dilated Diabetic Exams
Pterygium Surgery
t % Ophthalmology
NavicentHealthPhysician Group
770 Pine Street / Suite 500 / Macon GA 31201
NavicentHealth.org/op
Pictured at the Jiont Meeting on May 29 at Monroe County Conference Center are, leftto
right, Commission chair Greg Tapley, Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson, Georgia Senator John
Kennedy, Hospital Authority chair Todd Tolbert, Georgia Representative Susan Holmes,
Georgia Rep. Robert Dickey, Commissioner George Emami, Monroe County Schools Supt.
Dr. Mike Hickman. (Photo/Diane Glidewell)
Tapley.
He said the county has
worked on its ordinances
governing logging and
animal control and has
instituted ‘mobile meet
ings,’ holding commission
meetings in Culloden and
Bolingbroke with meetings
planned in High Falls and
Jukette to let people know
that the commissioners
care about what is happen
ing throughout the county.
Tapley said the idea of
working together extends
beyond county lines to
working on a regional basis
with other counties. An
example is the 1-75 Central
Corridor Coalition, chaired
by Tapley, which includes
cities and counties along
the interstate from Stock-
bridge to Warner Robins.
The group held its most re
cent meeting in Forsyth on
May 17, with presentations
on tourism from Macon
and Forsyth. Tapley said
the group is development
oriented.
Tapley said Georgia
Economic Development
held its May board meet
ing at the Forestry Asso
ciation building in Forsyth
and those attending were
impressed with how the
various entities in Monroe
County were present and
working together.
“To quote Pastor McCoy
from Ingleside Baptist,
‘People are down on what
they’re not up on,”’ said
Tapley.
Speaking for Monroe
County Schools, Superin
tendent Dr. Mike Hick
man thanked the city and
county for helping with
graduation ceremonies on
May 25. He said all went
well as clouds cleared and
284 graduates received
diplomas. Hickman said
administrators and staff are
moving out of the board
office as major renovations
on it begin. The project is
expected to take just over
a year. Most of the em
ployees will move across
the street to the old site of
Monroe County Achieve
ment Center, previously
the Vocational-Agricultural
budding.
Hickman said the school
system also plans a lot of
work this summer on safety
at all of the school facilities,
especially the high school
and middle school. Prob
ably most noticeable will
be changes at the entrance
to the high school. Many of
the changes the school sys
tem’s safety consultant has
suggested are behavioral
changes that won’t cost the
schools anything.
Hickman said the school
system is working with
the county and other
concerned citizens to get
better access to Internet in
Monroe County. He said
a survey of some middle
school and high school
students indicated that
about 86.3 percent have
Internet, but in the sur
vey, half of the students
said they live in the city of
Forsyth, which does not
seem right. Hickman said
that even if 86 percent of
students have Internet,
that is not good because it
means there are about 650
students that don’t have
Internet, and 100 percent
of students need Internet to
be able to make the most of
their classes and complete
assignments to the best of
their abilities.
“We hope to continue
working together to maxi
mize taxpayer money’ said
Hickman.
Hickman said the Fine
Arts Center will offer
several programs for the
community this summer,
including three movie days
geared toward families on
June 12, June 27 and July
12 and concerts on July 21
and Aug. 18.
Tolbert asked if there
are any plans to re-surface
Montpelier Road since it is
important to the schools.
It was included as one of
Monroe County’s projects
in the 11-county TSPFOST
that voters defeated on
May 22. It was defeated by
the highest percentage in
Monroe County. Tapley
said that Montpelier is not
currently on the county’s
agenda to re-pave. He said
a lot of the road is in the
city limits. Tapley said it
could be a project on the
Monroe County SPFOST
that will be on the Novem
ber ballot. Hickman said
that the number of students
in Monroe County schools
is only going to increase.
Reporting for the Monroe
County Hospital Authority,
Tolbert said that the census
at the hospital has been
good, averaging 17 out of
25 beds filled. He said it has
averaged 14 in May, but the
hospital had only budgeted
for 12. That census gener
ates a half milEon dollars/
year revenue, which is
more than was projected
with the plan of renting
out the top floor of the
hospital instead of con
tinuing to serve hospital
patients there. Tolbert said
the emergency room will
always lose money.
But Tolbert said the
hospital reduced losses
from $800,000 last year
to $193,000 this year. He
encouraged anyone who
pays Georgia taxes, espe
cially anyone who owns a
business, to use the Georgia
Heart plan to direct those
taxes to Monroe County
Hospital.
“It’s an amazing program
for anyone who wants to
donate to a rural hospital,”
said Tolbert. “We have got
ten $800,000 in 2017. We’re
getting to the point we can
roll taxes back.”
“I’ve got something to
report, but I can’t tell you
about it,” said Tom Baugh,
chair of Monroe County
Development Authority.
“It’s a great time to be in
the concrete business in
Monroe County)’
Bo Gregory, Develop
ment Authority execu
tive director, said that the
Authority is working with a
number of local businesses.
He said that 85 percent of
landing businesses is based
on having the work force
they need.
“Thank you for doing
this,” said Georgia Rep.
Robert Dickey. “It’s a lot
easier to represent a com
munity that pulls together.
It’s going to pay dividends.
Rep. Susan Holmes
praised the Hospital Au
thority and said she wished
all her counties would work
together. Kennedy said the
hospital turnaround was
incredible and that good
leadership is indispensable.
Other Joint Meetings in
2018 are planned for July
31 and Oct. 30.
Monroe in College
Students were named to the President’s
Fist at Georgia State University for
the Spring Semester of 2018.To be eligible
for the President’s Fist, degree-seeking
students must have earned a GPA of at
least 4.0 for a minimum of nine semester
hours of academic credit taken at Georgia
State during the fall or spring term with
no incom-
pletes for the
semester.
EKgible stu
dents must
have a mini
mum GPA
of 2.0 for all
classes taken
at Geor
gia State.
Honorees lo
cally include:
Noah
Samu-
elson of
Juliette
and Shea
Sparks
of Forsyth. Georgia State University has
a student body of nearly 52,000 and is
an enterprising urban public research
university.
Students were named to the Dean’s Fist
at Georgia State University for the
Spring Semester of 2018.
To be eligible for the Dean’s Fist, degree
seeking students must have earned a GPA
of at least 3.5 for a minimum of nine
semester hours of academic credit taken
at Georgia State during the fall or spring
term with no incompletes for the semester.
Eligible students must have a minimum
GPA of 2.0 for all classes taken at Georgia
State. Focal honorees include: Ashlyn
Dell of Forsyth and Robbi Grier of
Forsyth.
Lenesha Tyane Calloway from
Forsyth graduated from Brenau Uni
versity with an A. A. degree in early
childhood education during commence
ment ceremonies May 4-5,2018, on the
historic Gainesville campus front lawn.
Calloway attended online.
STARR
Heating & A/C, Inc.
We Service All Brands of Heating
& Air Conditioning Units
Serving Monroe County &
Surrounding Areas for over 40 years
Free Estimates
Financing Available
Juliette Rd. • Forsyth, GA
478-994-6127
Ga.Reg.CU 401419