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City officials’ retreat offers ideas on Alpha Loop Alpharetta leaders tour Greenville, S.C. to see trail’s potential
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Fulton County Commissioners pass FY22 budget By SYDNEY DANGREMOND sydney@appenmedia.com
By JAKE DRUKMAN jake@appenmedia.com GREENVILLE, S.C. –– Alpharetta city officials traveled to downtown Greenville, South Carolina, Jan. 23 for their annual planning retreat to lay plans and priorities for the coming year. Greenville, 130 miles northeast of Alpharetta, features Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 22-mile walking and biking greenway that traverses the Reedy River and runs up to Travelers Rest, South Carolina. Alpharetta officials said they chose Greenville for the retreat because seeing the trail could offer insights as the city moves forward with its own Alpha Loop, a multi-use trail for Alpharetta. City officials arrived in Greenville on Sunday afternoon, holding a mid-year budget review that evening in a private meeting room in the AC Hotel, where members stayed the night. The council and administration held a longer meeting on the status of city departments and projects throughout the day on Monday, breaking at midday to visit Falls Park, one entrance to the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The City Council held no votes and took no formal action during the retreat. It did discuss major items going forward from specific upcoming budget requests to new developments still in their conceptual stages.
ROSWELL 10731 Alpharetta Hwy, Roswell, GA EAST COBB 4880 Lower Roswell Rd, #135, Marietta, GA
JAKE DRUKMAN/APPEN MEDIA
Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin, at right, accompanies other city officials on a tour of Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, S.C., Jan. 24 as part of the annual City Council Retreat. Greenville’s Swamp Rabbit trail was built along an abandoned railroad and first opened in 2009. Much like Alpharetta’s Alpha Loop, it was built to offer opportunities for recreation, exercise and carless transportation to area residents. Alpha Loop was first conceptualized in 2016 and has been in development
since. Though parts of the trail are already open, the full trail system — consisting of a 5.5-mile outer loop and a 3.3-mile inner loop, connecting City Center, Avalon and Northwinds — has far more work to go, and final plans have yet to be solidified.
See LOOP, Page 3
From the Earth brewers Georgia Ensemble grows expand with steakhouse into northern Roswell
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FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County commissioners passed a $1.25 billion budget for 2022 that takes special aim to fund elections, stress employee retention and address backlogs in the judicial system. The 5-2 vote at the Jan. 19 commission meeting also provides funding for continued COVID-19 emergency response. The 2022 budget includes a 6% increase for the county’s general fund to approximately $847 million. The general fund pays for the day-to-day operation of the county and its services. It includes employee salaries and building maintenance. Commissioners Bob Ellis and Lee Morris cast dissenting votes. The Registration and Elections Department is slated to receive $37.4 million, the majority to fund administration and operations and the remaining $2 million earmarked for registration and absentee voting. County employees were awarded a 7% cost of living pay raise. The measure was introduced at a Dec. 15 meeting by Chairman Rob Pitts who said Fulton County needs to
See BUDGET, Page 20