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Final design nears on new campus for county offices By R.J. TURNER newsroom@appenmedia.com
JAKE DRUKMAN/APPEN MEDIA
Forsyth County resident Susan Bova holds her dog Gracie at the podium to speak in favor of the county’s proposed ban on retail pet sales June 16. The Board of Commissioners passed the ban unanimously.
County bans retail pet sales By JAKE DRUKMAN jake@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners gave final approval to a county-wide ban on retail pet sales June 16. The resolution modifies the county’s animal control ordinance to ban the
sale of cats and dogs within a pet shop, although animal control facilities and rescue organizations may still reserve space in pet shops to adopt out animals. The resolution also bans the roadside sale of cats, dogs and domestic rabbits, except by a state or county fair or similar exhibition or educational programs.
The bans do not apply to animal shelters or rescue organizations in any way. The resolution is intended to combat animal mistreatment and abuse often associated with “puppy mills,” or large-scale breeding operations in which animals are sold for profit.
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See SALES, Page 18
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CUMMING, Ga. – Forsyth County officials are heading into the final design phase for a new Administration Building campus on Freedom Parkway near Ga. 400. The new government complex, with an estimated price tag of $95 million, is needed because the government and the services it provides have outgrown the downtown Cumming headquarters, county officials say. “The county has had to rent space on West Maple Street paying $400,000 in rent per year,” Forsyth County Manager Kevin Tanner said. The new campus will be a onestop-shop service facility, where “everyone will be under one roof,” Tanner said. The campus will occupy 42 acres and include the Administration Building and Employee Center, the Whole Health Building and greenspace amenities. The new four-story Administration Building headquarters is
See BUILDING, Page 19