Dunwoody leaders visit Canton to kick off City Council retreat

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

CANTON, Ga. — At first glance, the cities of Dunwoody and Canton might not seem like they have any similarities or common ground.

Canton, founded in 1834, is the mostly rural seat of Cherokee County with just over 32,000 residents, while Dunwoody, incorporated in 2008, is a northern suburb of Atlanta with a population of nearly 52,000.

But Dunwoody leaders said their community has a lot to learn from Canton, which has started earning statewide recognition in recent years for its vision, planning and approach to engaging diverse communities.

To kick off their annual retreat, members of the Dunwoody City Council toured Canton’s Etowah River Park and met with leaders at Canton City Hall, to ask questions, share successes and learn from each other.

Mayor Bill Grant, who calls Canton the “Coolest small town in America,” said much of his city’s recent success comes from the development of a “Roadmap for Success,” which guides almost every decision that city leaders make.

Launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canton’s Roadmap for Success is a set of seven different guiding principles (Creating Great Neighborhoods, Celebrating the

Diversity of Our Community, Advancing Regional Economic Success, Enhancing Historic Downtown Canton, Sustaining Our Natural Environment, Connecting Citizens to Parks and Rec - reation and Leading with Excellence) which was developed by stakeholders throughout the community.

“I like to think of them as a giant coffee filter,” Canton City Manager Billy Peppers said. “Everything that we do as a city goes through that.”

Peppers said everything from employee evaluations and developer requests to annual budget discussions and city policy discussions is looked at through the lens of those guiding principles.

Canton’s Roadmap for Success won it the Visionary City Award from the Georgia Municipal Association in 2022 and is the reason why Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch and other leaders were so excited to visit the city.

Deutsch said even though Dunwoody does plan for the future, by setting a long-term strategic plan and integrating it into the daily operations of the city, Canton is going far beyond simple planning.

“Canton is not just looking at today or yesterday or tomorrow, but acknowledging that we might need 15 years to get to where they want to ultimately be,“ she said. “I think we

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Tara Tucker

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