Please see the January 2022 District 4 Zoning Newsletter which includes other community updates. Please feel free to call 678-513-5884 or email me at cjmills@forsythco.com with any questions or comments.
Through My Eyes – 2021 Forsyth County, A Year in Review
With the New Year approaching, it is typically a time to look back on the past year and assess our accomplishments while also looking toward the future as we prepare for the challenges and opportunities to come. This past year on the Board of Commissioners was personally unique for me, as this was my first time serving as chair. While serving in that role was rewarding, it further reminded me that no decision is made in a vacuum. The Board of Commissioners works only by consensus and all Board members share in our successes and failures. 2021 provided a climate for both triumphs and setbacks. I am pleased to report that with the aid of the county’s robust leadership team, we are leaving 2021 stronger than we were when we entered. The challenges presented in 2021 were one of a kind. The county (and nation) continues to grapple with the pandemic, Forsyth County joined a new regional commission, and the new White House administration has overseen one-of-a kind federal funding initiatives. Each circumstance brought new opportunities and complexities that the county has never contemplated before. Some of those will be mentioned below.
It is my continued focus, as well as the Board of Commissioners’, that as Forsyth County continues to grow, we ensure that the growth is smart and in keeping with the county’s Comprehensive Plan, which has been created by the citizens of Forsyth County. In fact, 2021 saw many elements of our Comprehensive Plan realized, as the county updated its tree ordinance and its mass grading ordinance. Another area we have made a priority is finding the best balance possible between nurturing our growth while also maintaining the rural qualities that help make Forsyth a desirable place to live. To help preserve our community’s agricultural roots, the Board adopted a conditional use permit for agritourism so our residents who operate agricultural properties have another means of valuable income that will hopefully help preserve our precious agricultural properties and prevent them from being converted to residential development.
Growth requires many things in the way of ongoing infrastructure improvements, and we are constantly looking at ways to improve the infrastructure for our citizens. No infrastructure is more vital or costly than transportation. 2021 saw the county making major investments in transportation. Several road projects were completed while others were started, all with the objective of helping ease traffic congestion throughout the county. In north Forsyth, work began on the SR 369 widening at GA 400, along with installation of an overpass exit. A widening project commenced on Pilgrim Mill with a similar widening project started on Ronald Reagan Boulevard that will extend it from Majors Road to McGinnis Ferry. Another south Forsyth project is in the works to widen McGinnis Ferry as well as a large portion of Old Atlanta Road. We know that the demands on transportation infrastructure are almost unlimited, and we must have a designated funding source for transportation if we ever hope to get caught up. Timing of funding sources is also crucial both as to the new infrastructure bills coming out of Washington DC as well as those projects we are working on at the state level with the Georgia Department of Transportation. We have learned from past experience that if a local government has funds ready to spend on transportation projects, then given the influx of both federal and state transportation dollars, those local funds can be combined with those other dollars and transformed into something much, much bigger that will ensure more roads are built and widened and more sidewalks and trails are installed. In 2022, Forsyth County voters will be asked to approve a TSPLOST that, if approved, may be combined with state and federal dollars to bring to bear almost a billion dollars in road improvements in Forsyth County. The ability to leverage our own money and turn it into so much more for our county cannot be overstated. The value is tremendous for our county and its residents. Forsyth County must and will remain committed to pursuing all available funding sources for transportation. A failure to do so will leave the county merely applying band aids to a problem that requires a much more ambitious solution. The county is not in a position to shut its borders and not allow entry; and, thus, we must exploit all opportunities to invest in infrastructure such that as our population continues to rise – our infrastructure backbone is ready for it. I have lived here all my life (59 years and counting) and the demand for housing has never been greater and the inventory never lower. As a Board of Commissioners, we take growth very seriously. The Board has reduced densities within all of its zoning districts and increased development performance standards. But all of our actions must be legally justifiable. I have seen citizens ask, “Why don’t we charge impact fees?” And we do, some of the highest in the state. A citizen has asked, “Why don’t we put in place a moratorium on certain development?” The BOC has approved many moratoriums. But, moratoriums are by design of limited duration. Once they accomplish their objective, the moratorium must expire. Stopping growth is not feasible, but facilitating smart growth is. The Board of Commissioners needs the support of our citizens to deal with the growth that is already in place and to sustain your quality of life. District 4 still has many old zonings from almost two decades ago that I have tried to greatly improve but due to legal constraints have been unable to entirely block. I spend a lot of my time dealing with these old zonings that were approved with limited conditions and high densities. Not a fun thing to inherit and to get blamed for constantly on social media.
Another infrastructure upgrade has been at the Fowler Water Reclamation Facility, where the county has launched an initiative to increase capacity to five million gallons per day. After decades of wishful thinking and constant lobbying, our Board also approved the installation of the county’s own water intake facility for Lake Lanier which will be built over the next five years. This facility will create water independence for the county by allowing us to withdraw water directly from Lake Lanier, instead of having to rely on the City of Cumming’s water intake and it will provide redundancy and resilience for our region’s water systems, particularly in the event of an emergency. This independence has been a very long time in the making and couldn’t have been achieved without the findings of the Supreme Court regarding the water wars between Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.
Our Emergency Management Agency also took steps to provide support through the availability and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in partnership with Northside Hospital Forsyth and volunteers. We were able to show how Forsyth was managing vaccine distribution to some of Georgia’s top leaders including Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan and Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux.
The county has had a major focus this year on economic development that we coupled with some of the rescue recovery dollars from the federal government. We were able to use approximately $17 million of those dollars for sewer lines to target what the Forsyth County Chamber and our Water and Sewer department called highly sought out commercial areas that should bring a high rate of return to our tax digest in commercial development. Our Board wanted to make sure of that and we have asked legal to draft a resolution to ensure that 75% of those “recovery” lines will go to that intended purpose before they can be used for any residential purposes. This investment should lead to more jobs staying in Forsyth County instead of people traveling outside of the county for work, as such a high percentage do today.
Our parks and amenities are continuing to flourish with something for everyone. Phase five of the Big Creek Greenway opened this year, extending the trail to stretch it over 15 miles. Spot Road residents were thrilled to get their long-awaited trail opened leading to Sawnee Mountain. Our northern residents will soon have a new and improved Lanierland Park, set to be complete in fall 2022. It will have a few miles of trails within it as well. The park at Eagle’s Beak is being developed right now as a recipient of the new GOSP grant of $2.25 million and a match of $700,000 from the solid waste fund from our memorandum of understanding with Green for Life Landfill. We are also looking forward to the recreation center being planned for Matt Community Park in the near future, joining the new tennis complex that was opened this past year.
A large part of our plans for the future include updating the county’s Comprehensive Plan. We are relying on our residents to help us build the future through participating in public information meetings and online surveys in 2022. The input from our citizens is vital to the visioning of this plan and the success of it representing the goals of our stakeholders. You can access the updated Comprehensive Plan here and participate in the survey here. Future meeting dates are set, and we vitally need your input for this update to be a success.
At the beginning of this year, one of the county’s primary goals was to improve customer service in all ways that touch our citizens. Our new county manager, Kevin Tanner, who came to work in January, was tasked with that goal. Every department found ways to do this by looking internally at how they provide services and how they could do it more efficiently. The county has enhanced our communications team by adding a Community Communications Coordinator, Taylor Hall, who works directly with our neighborhoods. She will be developing additional community outreach opportunities to further provide up-to-date information on transportation projects, zonings, and other pertinent data, in addition to developing new county newsletters that you can sign up for. The Department of Communications is also enhancing their social media channels and video offerings to relay even more information regarding important county projects, news and all things Forsyth. Our citizens deserve to know what is going on in their county and we are determined to give them up-to-date and accurate information on all things related to their county and their tax dollars. To sign up for the latest county news and digital newsletters, click here (scroll to the bottom to subscribe). You can also download the new county mobile app, Insight2Forsyth, by clicking here. With the new app, you can see current zonings and stay up to date on transportation and other projects, read the latest county news, report an issue and even view and pay water bills and property taxes right on your phone.
In 2020, we saw the civil unrest that exist in our nation and it was clear that we needed to be more aware if we are meeting the needs of all members of our community. I joined an existing group of business leaders at the Chamber of Commerce who were searching for strategies to promote economic prosperity for all in Forsyth County. The members coined this initiative OneForsyth, with a formal launch event in June. OneForsyth celebrates and promotes diversity and inclusion in Forsyth County. The initiative is built around the pillars of uniting through education and awareness, celebrating various identities through stories and events and promoting the community’s economic development opportunities. All community members are invited to get involved in OneForsyth’s MLK Week of Service, beginning on January 14, 2022. This community-wide program brings together members of the business community and all Forsyth County residents to engage in a "week on" rather than a "day off" to make an impact in our community. The program coincides with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service held on Monday, January 17, 2022. The inaugural OneForsyth MLK Week of Service encourages the business community to participate in a corporate challenge, joining colleagues together to engage in local service projects identified by notable non-profit entities. Additionally, the initiative provides opportunities for families to complete service projects together, even offering DIY projects families can complete at home. I hope you will make plans to join us in serving one another. To get more information and to register to participate visit www.oneforsyth.org/mlk.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this lengthy recap. We have such a good story to tell because so many positive things are occurring in our county. I didn’t even touch on mental health, libraries, senior services, code enforcement, public safety and animal services, as great improvements have and are occurring within those departments as well. So many good things are happening in Forsyth County. We are truly blessed. I know I speak for all of the county’s employees when I say that we are excited to continue to serve our county residents with dedication and heart in this new year and we are all grateful for the opportunity to serve and will look for more ways to do it better in the coming year. Please share this information with your HOAs and your neighbors.
Thank you for being a part of this wonderful year! Happy New Year! May 2022 be even better!
Cindy
Cindy Jones Mills | Chairwoman
Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, District 4
110 East Main Street, Suite 210 | Cumming, Georgia 30040
(678) 513-5884 office | (678) 230-3864 cell | (770) 781-2199 fax
forsythco.com | Your Community. Your Future.