The City of Cumming had thier day in court Wednesday, and emerged successful in their bid to have SPLOST VI stopped, potentially ending a long standing 1 percent sales tax earmarked for future road improvements in the county...
The City of Cumming had their day in court Wednesday, and emerged successful in their bid to have SPLOST VI stopped, potentially ending a long standing 1 percent sales tax earmarked for future road improvements in the county. The decision results in approximately $190 million in lost revenue to the Forsyth County, and the City of Cumming.
Voters approved the SPLOST extension by a wide margin in the February election, but City of Cumming officials argued that the distribution and handling of the SPLOST funds was unfair. The city further argued that, according to the laws the govern SPLOST, projects must be explicitly stated on the ballot.
This decision effectively cancels the SPLOST extension, and if maintained, will result in a rollback of sales tax from 7% to 6% in Forsyth County in July.
Below is a list of road improvement projects that are affected by this decision:
PRIORITY A' PROJECTS ($108.6 million)
NEW ROAD: $12 MILLION
- Construction of Ronald Reagan Boulevard Extension (McFarland to Union Hill) $12 million
MAJOR ROAD WIDENINGS: $45.29 MILLION
- Engineering of Ga. 371 (Ga. 9 to Kelly Mill Road), $2.1 million.
- Engineering and right of way acquistion for Bethelview Road (Ga. 9 to Ga. 20), $3.30 million.
- Brookwood Road (Intersection Lakeheath at Evondale Glen), $550,000.
- Right of way acquistion on Castleberry Road. (Bethelview to Hutchinson), $3.04 million.
- Engineering, right of way acquisition and construction of Kelly Mill Road (Bethelview to Ga. 371), $5 million.
- Right of way acquisition for Market Place Parkway (Buford Dam to Baldridge Marina), $600,000.
- Construction of road improvements at Mary Alice Park, $1 million.
- Right of way acquisition on Mathis Airport Parkway (Ga. 141 to Old Atlanta Road), $3.6 million.
- Engineering on McGinnis Ferry Road (Sargent Road to Union Hill), $1 million.
- Engineering and design of Old Atlanta Road (Sharon to McGinnis Ferry), $2.6 million.
- Intersections at Nichols Road and James Burgess, $2 million.
- Engineering of Sharon Road (Ga. 141 to Old Atlanta Road), $650,000.
- Right of way acquisition on Union Hill Road (McGinnis Ferry Road to McFarland Parkway), $2.5 million.
- Right of way acquisition and engineering Union Hill/Mullinax Road (McFarland Parkway to Ga. 9), $6.5 million.
- Contingencies for rights of way/utility and construction, $10.85 million.
RESURFACING: $20 MILLION ($4 million annually for five years)
UNPAVED ROADS: $5.5 MILLION (upgrade gravel roads, 2 miles per year)
TRAFFIC SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS: $4 MILLION
SIDEWALKS: $1.21 MILLION
- James Burgess Road – Old Atlanta Road to Rivermist subdivision.
PAVEMENT WIDENING/RECLAMATION: $6.85 MILLION
- Buford Dam Road (Sanders to Samples Road), $760,000
- Castleberry Road (Bethelview to Ga. 9), $340,000
- Chattahoochee Road (Holtzclaw to Shady Grove Road), $390,000
- Christopher Robin Road (Caney to McGinnis Ferry Road), $260,000
- Dr. Bramblett Road (Ga. 20 to Ga. 369), $880,000
- Gilbert Road (Old Atlanta Road to Trammel Road), $220,000
- Heardsville Road (Ga. 20 to Hurt Bridge Road), $750,000
- Holtzclaw Road (Ga. 369 to Chattahoochee Elementary), $700,000
- Howard Road (county line to Drew Campground Road), $400,000
- Kelly Mill Road (city limits to Bethelview Road), $1.4 million
- Settingdown Road (Ga. 369 to Ga. 400), $450,000.
- Union Hill Road (Shiloh Road to Mullinax Road), $300,000.
INTERSECTIONS: $13.75 MILLION
(Right/left turn lanes, signalization if needed, costing an average of $550,000 each):
- Dr. Bramblett Road at Spot Road
- Hopewell Road at Jot-em-down Road
- James Burgess Road at Southers Circle
- Jot-em-down Road at Pearidge/Mayfield Drive
- Old Atlanta Road at Brannon Road
- Old Atlanta Road at Gilbert Road
- Old Atlanta Road at Daves Creek Road
- Old Atlanta Road at Ivey Falls Drive
- Old Atlanta Road at Melrose Trace
- Old Atlanta Road at Northern Oaks Drive
- Ga. 306 at Mayfield Drive
- Ga. 9 at Antioch Road
- Ga. 9 at Banister Road
- Ga. 9 at Fowler Road
- Ga. 9 at Hopewell Road
- Ga. 371 at Bentley Road
- Ga. 371 at Dickerson Road
- Ga. 371 at Drew Road
- Ga. 371 at Evans Road
- Ga. 371 at Pittman Road
- Ga. 53 at Chestatee Heights Road, $820,000
- Ga. 53 at Pearidge Road, $1.1 million
- Ga. 53 at Truman Mountain Road, $820,000.
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'PRIORITY B1' PROJECTS ($28.78 million)
MAJOR ROAD WIDENINGS: $22.63 MILLION
- Bethelview Road and Drew Road intersection improvement, $1 million
- Pilgrim Mill Road (City limits to Freedom Parkway), $500,000
- Union Hill Road/Mullinax Road (McFarland Parkway to SR 9), 13.5 million
- Contingencies (utilities and right of way), $7.63 million.
PAVEMENT WIDENING/RECLAMATION: $5.85 MILLION
- Caney Road (Old Alpharetta to Brookwood Road), $290,000
- Daves Creek Road (Old Atlanta to Trammel Road), - $310,000
- Holbrook Road (Dr. Bramblett to Hurt Bridge Road), $310,000
- John Burruss Road (Ga. 369 to Karr Road), $820,000
- Jot-em-Down Road (Ga. 306 to Hopewell Road), $2.6 million
- Majors Road (Ga. 371 to Castleberry Road), $300,000
- Mayfield Drive (Ga. 306 to Jot-em-down Road), $290,000
- Spot Road (Ga. 9 to Dr. Bramblett Rd), $450,000
- Stoney Point Road (Ga. 141 to Shiloh Road East), $480,000.
SIDEWALKS: $220,000
- Melody Mizer Lane (Daves Creek Elementary to Old Atlanta Road).
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'PRIORITY B2' PROJECTS ($81.4 million)
NEW ROADS: $3.3 MILLION
- Engineering of Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Extension (Shiloh Road to McFarland Parkway).
- Engineering of Ronald Reagan Boulevard Extension (Majors Road to Shiloh Road).
- Construction of Mary Alice Park Road improvements
- Engineering and construction of McFarland Parkway (Ga. 400 to McGinnis Ferry Road)
- Right of way acquisition on McGinnis Ferry Road (Sargent Road to Union Hill Road)
- Old Atlanta Road (Section from Sharon Road to James Burgess to be assigned a higher construction priority than the larger project in order to address congestion along this segment earlier)
- Right of way acquisition and construction on Sharon Road (Ga. 141 to Old Atlanta Road)
- Construction of Union Hill Road (McGinnis Ferry Road to McFarland Parkway).
UNDESIGNATED WIDENING/ RECLAMATION PROJECTS CONTINGENCY
- Pavement widening/reclamation: $2.42 million
- Intersections: $2.42 million
VARIABLES ON REVENUES IN AN UNCERTAIN ECONOMY
- Conservative estimate: $160 million
- Moderate estimate: $190 million
- Maximum collections allowed: $275 million
Source: Forsyth County government
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THE BIG PICTURE
Transportation is only part of the special purpose local option sales tax on which Forsyth County residents approved on Feb. 5. The total numbers break down this way:
- $275 million: Projected maximum revenues
- $6 million: Cultural activities
- $7.2 million: Libraries
- $17.8 million: Public Safety
- $13.5 million: Parks & Recreation
- $218.7 million: Transportation
- $11.8 million: City of Cumming
Check back for more on this story as it develops