Health & Wellness Sponsored section ►►PAGE 20
Scholarship funds Arts Alliance to offer $15k grants ►►PAGE 11
Farm fresh veggies at work Jackson Healthcare grows own garden ►►PAGE 28
High flying technology Cliff Whitney shows off his unmanned aircrafts ►►PAGE 10
September 10, 2014 | forsythherald.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 17, No. 36
Businesses band together to improve South Forsyth Support creation of community improvement district By CAROLYN RIDDER ASPENSON carolyn@northfulton.com
ALDO NAHED/STAFF
City of Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt, center, along with community leaders and Costco Warehouse officials during the grand opening Aug. 29.
150,000-square-foot Costco opens Thousands in community welcome wholesale club By ALDO NAHED aldo@forsythherald.com CUMMING, Ga. — It’s easy math. With the opening of the new Costco Wholesale in Cumming, sales tax dollars will be staying local instead of going to nearby locations in Alpharetta and Duluth. “We used to send our money to [Alpharetta] and Gwinnett, but now we get some back,” said Forsyth County Commissioner Todd Levent. “I don’t have to raise property taxes.” Cumming Mayor H. Ford
Gravitt said that Costco is a welcome member of the community and that many elected officials played a key role in attracting the giant club. But there was another reason for Costco opening its 148,000-square-foot facility in Cumming, in addition to a convenient location off Ga. 400 and Exit 15 at 1211 Bald Ridge Marina Road. The number of local members is there to support its growth. There are 13,000 memberships with a Forsyth County address and that number has significantly shot up with the
opening on Aug. 29 of the new location, a company spokeswoman told the Forsyth Herald. The Cumming location’s new members also include a lot of North Georgia customers. “For a warehouse club like ours with the prices that we have, people will do that, even if they are going to travel 40 or 50 miles,” said the spokeswoman. “They’ll come in once a month. What is good for the community here is that it will
See COSTCO, Page 8
CUMMING, Ga. — Five local business representatives from Forsyth County met at the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 3 to sign votes of support for the creation of a South Forsyth Community Improvement District. If approved, the community improvement district (CID) would allow businesses within the South Forsyth area to levy taxes on themselves to help fund improvements specific to the addition of a new exit off of McGinnis Ferry and Ga. 400. The district would cover a congested area on the border of Johns Creek and Alpharetta.
The CID would generate about $12 million annually and could help restart the stalled Taubman Mall project, a 150-acre mixed-use development located on Union Hill and McGinnis Ferry, which was initially scheduled to start in 2011. Residential property owners within the district will not be taxed. District 25 state Rep. Mike Dudgeon proposed the idea of the CID at the 2014 Georgia General Assembly. “This is an excellent opportunity for local businesses and the county in general,” said Bruce Hagenau, president of Metcam. “The new exit will not
See BUSINESSES, Page 14
CAROLYN ASPENSON/STAFF
Area business owners sign written votes of support for the creation of the South Forsyth Community Improvement District at the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce. Pictured are Bruce Hagenau of Metcam, Terry Kime of Paramount Business Advisors, Judy Meer of Meer Electric, Keri Williams of Solvay Specialty and Phil Bauer of Scientific Games International.