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July 10, 2014 | northfulton.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 28
JCA pushes for development authority Another tool in Johns Creek’s toolbox for economic development By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com
DOUG NURSE/JOHNS CREEK
Main image: Members of the North Fulton SWAT team demonstrate how they would approach a dangerous suspect in a vehicle during the 2013 Citizens Police Academy class. Inset: Students from a previous class get instructions during an outdoor seminar.
See what it takes to be a cop Citizens Police Academy taking applications By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Residents of Johns Creek can get a real behind-the-scenes look at the Johns Creek Police Department that few others get to see. All they have to do is sign up for the next Johns Creek Citizens Police Academy, starting Aug. 12. It is a chance to see what police work is like through the officers’ eyes. The course will be held on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Aug. 12 through Oct. 7. One night a week for nine weeks, people get to meet with officers on a host of topics for both class-
room instruction and practical demonstrations. Subjects include: • Criminal investigations • Internal affairs • Narcotics • CSI • Community Services Participants also see demonstrations from the K-9 unit, SWAT team and radKIDS. Then they participate in practical exercises such as traffic enforcement and felony stops. Perhaps the most popular feature is participation in the Shoot – Don’t Shoot firearms simulation. There, people participate in interactive videos as they go through lifelike simulations in which they have to decide whether to shoot. Participants stand before a video screen as different scenarios are projected. The partici-
See COPS, Page 14
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JULY 12 & 13, 2014
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JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Johns Creek Advantage – the publicprivate economic development organization for the city – wants another lure for its development tackle box. The JCA wants the City Council to create a Johns Creek Development Authority that would help attract new businesses giving selected projects preferred financing. KeyWorth Bank President and Chief Operating Officer Neil Stevens chairs the JCA Board of Directors and has written a letter on behalf of JCA to the mayor requesting he and the City Council look into creating a development authority for Johns Creek. “Any city can activate a development authority, but it has to be activated by its city council,” Stevens said. That board will be appointed by the council, but then it will have authority to act as an independent body. It is one of a “bundle of things” the JCA is asking the council to look at, Stevens said, and it may be anywhere from a month to three months getting everything JCA wants before council. “We feel like to be competitive in economic development, this is something that is essential,” Stevens said.
“And our neighbors already have it.” That includes Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Alpharetta, STEVENS Roswell, Milton, Suwanee, Duluth and Sandy Springs, among other communities. The usual goals of such an authority are to: Increase the number and the quality of jobs in the community, Increase the per capita incomes through new payrolls generated, Increase taxable development, which creates larger and more diversified revenue streams for the government. The chief advantage of a development authority is that it can assist a community in economic development. The city under state law has the ability to activate through the powers invested in the City Council. It then would appoint a board, normally made up of developers, real estate brokers, bankers, finance and business people who live in the bounds of the city. The authority may own
See DEVELOP, Page 34
WWW.SOUTHERNTRILOGY.COM/FEDERAL OCCUPATION • Outdoor events free • Historic Home tour $5 per person
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