The creation of a CID in South Forsyth County took a great step forward in the last two weeks by gaining the approval of the Forsyth Board of Commissioners. Last Thursday, August 21st, the Board of Commissioners passed the resolution to allow for the creation of the South Forsyth CID off of their consent agenda. State legislation allowing CIDs to be created in Forsyth County had already been approved by the General Assembly in the last legislative session.
With the necessary state and county government approval, the next steps for formation of the CID will be to collect the needed number of votes from the business owners in the proposed district and to gain the official certification by the tax commissioner. Over 50% of the business owners in the proposed district, collectively representing over 75% of the total property value included in the proposed CID, must agree to tax themselves through the CID model in order for the CID to be approved. The requisite number of votes is expected to be collected by October of this year. After that, the final step will be certification of the district by the tax commissioner. Stakeholders involved in the process expect for the initial Board of Directors to be elected in January 2015 and the first meeting of the CID to take place in February 2015.
The Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce has primarily led the efforts to create the CID, funding the initiative through their Business First economic development plan. The Chamber also hired The Chason Group to help in leading the formation efforts. These efforts sprung out of concerns voiced by area businesses about how long it was taking to fund several key transportation projects in South Forsyth County; in an effort to speed up the process of funding these projects, the Chamber began to explore other options and communicate with the Forsyth County Commission and the Forsyth delegation in the GA General Assembly about creating a CID.
The South Forsyth CID is a welcome tool for economic development. Expected projects include improvements to the McGinnis Ferry Interchange, the widening of McGinnis Ferry Road in two locations, and improvements to McFarland Road. James McCoy, the President and CEO of the Forsyth-Cumming Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the importance of the CID: “The South Forsyth CID is a critical component of our effort to expedite the construction of the McGinnis Ferry Road interchange and widening of McGinnis Ferry on Georgia 400 and the widening of McGinnis Ferry Road in Gwinnett County. The CID will also be critical to ensure that we are making improvements to McFarland Road. This is a vital business area for Forsyth County and for the entire Georgia 400 corridor.”
Forsyth County Chairman Pete Amos also expressed support for the CID and its potential to attract businesses to Forsyth County, saying: “I think it’s [the South Forsyth CID] a great economic tool for the south part of the county. It will help to bring economic development up Windward Parkway across the county line into Forsyth. We need businesses to locate in Forsyth County.”
The Council for Quality actively engages and partners with the Metro Region’s CIDs. We will continue to monitor the formation of the South Forsyth CID, and wish Forsyth County the best in completing this formation process.
To see the executive summary of the proposal to create the South Forsyth CID that was created for the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, click HERE.
To see the “FAQ” sheet for the CID, click HERE.
To view the proposed CID boundary map, click HERE.