Forsyth Holds Georgia 400 Summit, TSPLOST to be Discussed

Georgia 400, love it or hate it, but most living in Forsyth County utilizes it to get from point A to point B.

The first GA 400 Summit will be held Thursday at the from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event, billed as an economic development luncheon, is expected to provide the region’s business leaders and elected officials an opportunity to discuss the importance and future of GA 400.

"We thought that the timing of this was particularly good to get together to chat a bit about GA 400, the impact it has on our community and what we all can be doing to be focused on its future development," said James McCoy, president of the , a co-host of Thursday's summit.

Some of the questions expected to be discussed:

• How can we reduce congestion on GA 400?
• How can we improve GA 400?
• What are the consequences of not improving GA 400?

McCoy said TSPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) is also expected to be discussed. Voters in each of the 12 regions (Forsyth County is in Region 2, the (GMRC) Georgia Mountains Regional Commission) will vote on the proposed sales tax increase in a July 31 referendum.

"I'm sure the transportation referendum will be discussed," he said. "It [GA 400] is a major project when it comes to transportation for Cumming and Forsyth County."

McCoy went on to say that GA 400 is a $72 million project, $40 million of which would be funded through TSPLOST and the subsequent funding as a result of approval. The remaining portion would come from state and federal funds that had previously been committed to the project.

"This is an enormous opportunity for our community to have a very fast impact," he said. "And in fact if that [TSPLOST] is not approved, the options for what we can do to improve GA 400 are extremely limited."

McCoy added that Forsyth County is not part of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Region 3, and that the vote that is being taken for Atlanta is not in Forsyth County [as mentioned earlier].

Forsyth and Hall counties, being the two largest counties in the GMRC, "have the lion's share of projects in the region we are voting in," said McCoy.

According to the TSPLOST (pro-referendum) Web site, the projected TSPLOST economic impact for Region 2 for the years 2013-2022 is a $1.259 billion revenue projection.

Read the PDF file to the right for the final investment list for the Georgia Mountains, including projects in Forsyth County.

"As a citizen, as a business community person, I would much rather have the opportunity to have projects that are identified, projects that we know what we are voting on, and we know what will get done, and we know how that money is going to be managed – because it will be managed at a local level," said McCoy.

McCoy added that he hears people saying "ridiculous things" – 'oh we're giving this over to Atlanta.'"

He said, "It's a complete falsehood, it's a lie. This is all about our region and our community being able to look after ourselves."

Some of the other topics on the agenda will include the problems with Highway 369 located in the northern part of the county. McCoy said that highway has become the "default northern arc."

"It endures enormous truck traffic with folks cutting between [Interstates] 75 and 85 or visa versa. There are tremendous safety problems associated with, not just 369, but Martin Road and Jot Em' Down Road."

He also said there is plenty of congestion around the outlet mall in Dawson County and even further north where GA 400 ends.

Congestion, safety and awareness are big reasons why the summit is taking place.

"It's to raise the awareness that GA 400 is a top priority economically, both for the citizens who live here, and certainly from a safety and well-being standpoint," McCoy said.

Invited guests include:

• Rudy Bowen
  Chairman
  State Transportation Board of Georgia
• Emily Dunn
  Representative for the 9^th Congressional District
  State Transportation Board of Georgia
• Todd Long
  Deputy Commissioner
  Georgia Department of Transportation
• Gena Evans
  Executive Director
  State Road and Toll-way Authority

The cost is $30 for members of the Dawson County, Cumming-Forsyth County, or Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chambers of Commerce, and $35 for non-chamber members.

More information on the summit can be found on the CFCCC Web site.