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WHY REELECT CINDY JONES MILLS

Service to Schools

  • $25,000 donation from Walmart to launch the farm to table program at North Forsyth High School.
  • Coordination of tunnel/green houses for all the North schools in North Forsyth including Matt and Liberty.
  • Coordination of Captain Planet program at four North elementary schools for more garden education and STEM programming.
  • Spearheaded the IGA between Forsyth County and BOE to secure approximately $200,000 to go to North High for the purchase of furniture and amenities for student section in newly renovated lunchroom area and library.
  • Added a full time drug addiction counselor at the Gateway Academy with funds from social service committee and the Sheriff’s drug seizure funds.
  • Coordinated a fundraising drive between myself, my dad and Tommy Bagwell to donate $45,000 to purchase laptops for children at Chestatee Elementary so they could do ITS learning from home. Chestatee could use the computers to do summer school to keep those kids on track or caught up for the next school year.
  • Coordinate beautification project at NFHS for fencing around the stadium.
  • Set up a fund when my dad passed away so people could donate to his elementary school, Chestatee, and had over $5000 in donations received.
  • Personally financially supported through the years programs like Science Ambassadors   Club, DECA, Girls and Boys Soccer, Lacrosse, Baseball, Softball, Football, Basketball, Farm to Table, FFA and Robotics.
  • Secured funding for Robotic team at Chestatee.
  • Went to churches to encourage recruitment of mentors.
  • Organized and helped fund the REACH 2 scholarships for those kids who didn’t win REACH throughout the county.
  • I served as principal of the day at most of the North Schools and judged many spelling bees and oratorical contest.
  • Secured sponsorship for buses to drive NFHS kids to state championship.
  • Secured funding from American Proteins and Automation Direct to buy trailers for FFA (to show animals) and for the Robotics team (to haul their robots).
  • Contributed to North girls basketball uniforms to honor our JROTC and military.
  • Coordinated funding for summer school program for Little Mill School.
  • Mentored a REACH recipient.
  • Coordinated Drug Summit with all the high school principals in the county.
  • Negotiated a legal settlement with a billboard company that removed many stagnant billboard in place of the two boards (one at Coal Mountain and one at Hammond’s Crossing) that required extra landscaping and a 9th flip on the board that is used to promote school activities and community events.
  • North Forsyth Rotary Club (where I’m a proud member) has given to many academic programs, beautification, playground, greenhouse, technology, etc. throughout the years. Our annual Big Deal for Education fundraiser produces the necessary funds to help the schools in the North cluster.
  • I have served for many years on the North Synergy Team.
  • I collaborated with Family Haven to create the domestic violence awareness program for the school system.
  • I speak to the school’s kids, teachers and PTO’s when requested and help coordinate speakers for them as well.

Tackling Growth and Creating a Vision/Brand for North Forsyth

When I came into office in 2013, I had never fully grasped the magnitude of lots left over from the recession. There were and still are 1000’s of lots zoned from 2001-2006 that are yet to be built. I was faced with the task of how do I make those better and create a plan for the future of North Forsyth.

  • I did a moratorium on all 9,000 square foot lots and raised them to today’s standards of 14,750 square feet.
  • I did another moratorium on land disturbance permits to create and raise the design standards on all those old Zonings because their conditions were not written as they are today.
  • We updated the comprehensive plan five years early to create a much better vision for D4 and the entire County. 
  • We created a trail or Greenway plan for North Forsyth that developers can help pay for   that will eventually intersect with the Big Creek Greenway at Eagle’s Beak Park. This trail system will eventually connect our natural resources of the Etowah River to Sawnee     Mountain to Lake Lanier. One day the vision is to connect to land at Dawson Forest and all the way to the Appalachian Trail.
  • Citizens of D4 created the Coal Mountain Overlay that sets a vision for the look and feel throughout commercial corridors in North Forsyth with architecture, landscaping, signage and lighting requirements.
  • Through the County’s Comp plan, the county created residential design standards, is currently redoing the tree and mass grading ordinances as well.
  • Currently working on the visioning of the Coal Mountain town center that should go to the public for input in the early fall. It encompasses approximately 170 acres at the corner of Rte. 9 and Rte. 369 that was zoned as CBD and Res 6 over 15 years ago. Our goal is to make it be one cohesive mixed use plan that has historical branding with a progressive feel for the future.
  • Currently have a moratorium on all Res 6 land disturbance permits to create architectural design standards on that category as well. We have 15 old zonings in this category and most are located in North Forsyth and were zoned from 2001-2006.

Service to Community

  • Named roads for fallen deputies and fire fighters that had failed to be honored before.
  • Spearheaded the effort for a Veteran’s Memorial in the county where one had never been before.
  • Worked with the special needs community to add therapeutic program to park and recreation, to solve our lack of transportation needs, to create and housing study with funding from the state, and move Miracle League to Lanierland for a larger, more complete facility.
  • Bought Historic Matt School to preserve its history and to create an eventual community center for family bonding, preserve historical materials, for the arts, drama, voting and classes. To promote the wellness of families for generations to come through healthy living and engagement with others in your community.
  • State of the art dog park located next to animal shelter in Coal Mountain will promote more adoptions while giving great joy to pets and their owners.
  • Economic development strategic planning to balance the tax base with the Chamber of Commerce and the Development Authority.
  • New fire stations in NE forsyth. One completed at Keith Bridge road and Grindle. Land purchased and new on the way at Rte. 369 East in Oscarville.
  • Collaborated with the Sheriff’s office to create a litter clean-up campaign where inmates are picking up trash.
  • Created a Memorandum of Understanding with Advanced Disposal that gave the citizens around the landfill assurances that they never had before. Advanced agreed to receive Coal Ashe, Fly Ashe and leachate, to video monitor scale area, to succumb to financial auditing, to allow two new county employees access to their site, creating staging area to allow trucks to pull tarps, increased fines for trucks who littered, raised awareness to Sheriff’s Office, county hired environmental engineer and code enforcement professional for landfills, Advanced added misting curtains for smell. The county put in an air quality station to monitor for contents of certain hazardous components.
  • Collaborated with GA Stone Products in NE Forsyth to remove 1000 apartments that had been granted in a legal settlement in 2012 and replace them with a business park for the future.

Transportation

Much of my time in office has been spent attempting to catch up to the demands of growth that was approved well before my time in office. No piece of infrastructure is more lacking and facing more demands than that of transportation. In 2014, the voters gave us a vote of faith by approving the $200 million transportation bond. That bond gave us a much needed lift in many ways but none more important helping us to be recognized by GDOT. We could now help ourselves by having the ability to jump start projects and moving them up in the pipeline. To have a road “project ready” means everything. We had never had that vision or that ability before. Our county has been in reactive mode since growth started in 2000 to be proactive in designing roads to move up in GDOT’s timeline is a wonderful thing for our constituents. Below is a list of many projects I have been able to help bring forward in a positive way for the community. There’s many more that were done because they were part of the county’s plan.

Red lights:

I was fortunate to have the support of Rudy Bowen, GDOT Transportation board member, to get permits on three red lights in D4. All were turned down by district before finally being approved.

  • Bannister Road and 9 North (Dahlonega Road).
  • Smith Drive and 9N (Dahlonega Road) at the schools.
  • 369 at Bridgetown Drive - permitted awaiting new road - Coal Mountain Connector. 

New Road:

The creation of a new road and the securing of funding for the Coal Mountain Connector that will give Bridgetown a red light and a road to all the schools. The road will have multi-use trails and sidewalks that will create a much needed pedestrian pathway to the schools and the new town center. The red light couldn’t occur without the road. 750 homes inside Bridgetown needs this road and light to give them a safe way to access the schools. The 3 busses per school that turn inside there need safety to get out.

Widening:

Building four lanes on 369 between 306 and 9 will help alleviate gridlocks in this area. The sidewalk on this new road will create a greater pedestrian pathway connecting to the sidewalk and multi-use trail at the Coal Mountain Connector road.

Interchange:

The 369 interchange called Exit 18 will create safety that hasn’t exited before. 9 people have lost their lives at this intersection since it was created. The demands of being a freight route for trucks and the sheer volume using this road escalated the need for an interchange.

400

Adding the third lane up to 369 has helped parents get home to their kids in a much more timely fashion.

Intersection improvements

Throughout D4 we have had many intersection improvements since I took office. None was more important than the one on 369 at Mt. Tabor and Old Federal roads. We were able to extend the turn lanes to include the subdivision right between the two that had near fatal accidents with rear end collisions by garbage trucks going to the landfill.

Slip lanes

We were able to secure these “go around” lanes on both sides of State Barn road so traffic could continue to move. We also were able to get one at Haddon Hall where a high school senior was rear-ended attempting to take a left into her own neighborhood.

We were also blessed to have extra funds, due to the increase in HOST fees for clean-up crews for littering along our roads. I was also happy to work with Sheriff Freeman to start full time clean-up crews of prisoners to help in this litter campaign.

Transportation is an ongoing issue that needs ongoing funding to catch up and to hopefully one day get ahead of. Support from our citizens is the only way to achieve this lofty goal in the future.

 

Special Needs Community

  • Started our therapeutic programming for special needs individuals two years ago providing weekly programs and summer camps.
    Working with Miracle League to move fields to Lanierland Park to enhance multi-purpose fields.
  • Equipping current playgrounds to accommodate special needs and ensuring that all new playgrounds will be accessible for those with special needs. 
  • Received $50,000 grant for a special needs housing study currently in progress.
  • Created a concierge type transportation service called Common Courtesy to assist with the pick up of special needs adults to get to Creative Enterprise.
  • Adding handicap parking to the courthouse on the square.

Drug Awareness and Mental Health

  • Started the Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council which now has a full time director. 
  • Organized and led 11 drug summits county wide and many at individual high schools.
  • Coordinated agreement for Forsyth County government and sheriff to pay for full time drug counselor at Gateway AlternativeSchool where  78% of students have prior drug or alcohol offense.
  • Helped start the CHAMP program in the schools that teach drug education to 5th graders.
  • Worked to start the TIP - teen intercept program -  with Deputy Page Cash for young people wIth early drug tendencies.
  • Passed several ordinances to reduce drug paraphernalia and vaping in convenience stores by tying it to alcohol license.
  • Help to start a program teaching those in recovery how to speak to others about addiction.
  • Began Parent Recovery Network for parents dealing with drug use by their children started from our first drug summit.
  • Approved county provided location for the Connection, a clean place for those in recovery where they can have therapy and empowerment.
  • Started the mental health committee that focuses on mental wellness in all ages with special attention to suicide prevention.
  • Have had 3 suicide prevention and mental health summits on National Suicide Prevention Day.
  • Raised awareness of mental health in public safety in our meetings.
  • Applied for and received a mental health grant worth $500,000 for our jail that will give us personnel that have special training in mental health issues resulting in the start of a rehab program for drugs and alcohol inside the jail and one of many goals is to reduce recidivism.
  • Held our first drug awareness and mental health summit for clergy last year where over 50 churches were represented.
  • Have 3 youth drug councils at high schools and one county wide youth drug councils.
  • Offer training to drug council members at national drug summits.
  • Partner with HIDTA  (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas) and other agencies to stay current on new drug trends on our area and reduce drug trafficking and production.

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