Appen Newspapers 2010 New Year Edition Q&A
1. With the new year and a reconstituted Council, what priorities will you bring up for the Council to take up?
I have asked the Council and staff to tell me what their goals are for 2010. We will convene a work session in January to discuss these goals and from this develop a list of priorities. I expect that among the goals for 2010 will be becoming more business friendly, encouraging redevelopment, and making transportation improvements. I also expect the Council will look for ways to cut expenses to avoid any tax increase.
2. The flyover bridge has been made a priority for transportation. Is that the only project on the horizon? What must happen to give it some momentum?
The proposed bridge over GA 400 and road connecting East and West Roswell has momentum. I will ask Council to approve a specific alignment for this project once public hearings have been completed in February and for permission to begin the process of securing funding to build this project. There is a long list of additional transportation projects for Roswell. Among the biggest is adding a fourth lane to South Atlanta Street south of the Square and improving the intersection of Azalea Drive and South Atlanta Street to eliminate the bottleneck at the approach to the Chattahoochee River Bridge.
3. How will 2010 revenues compare to 2009? Will we have to tighten our belts more?
The Roswell City Administrator expects 2010 revenues to be only slightly down from 2009 revenues and to be within budget projections. We should have final numbers for 2009 and projections for 2010 in January when we convene a mid-year budget review. We will know whether we have to tighten our belts and by how much when we receive these numbers.
4. If you do nothing else in 2010, what would you like to accomplish?
I hope to accomplish a great many things in 2010, including making Roswell more business friendly, changing zoning to encourage redevelopment, and approving transportation projects to reduce congestion and improve mobility. If I could have one and any only one wish for 2010, it would be for the State Legislature to approve the re-creation of Milton County.
Mayor Jere Wood