October Operations Report

Welcome Autumn!?The cooler weather brings the turning of leaves and some of the most glorious views of our Canton home.?October is also the start of the City of Canton's fiscal year, or budget operating year.?As we continue to monitor the coronavirus and its local impact, we are committed as a City to offering the best services possible and safely for our residents, businesses and visitors.

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FY2022 Starts:

The Fiscal Year 2022 Operating Budget is $88 million or an overall increase of $ 21 million over last year.?Of this increase, $3.1 million is attributable to an increase in the general fund of the City.?The remaining $18 million comes from a mixture of increased and decreased revenues in sales taxes, impact fees, user fees, proceeds from American Rescue Plan Act, bonds for the water pollution control plant expansion, and the use of fund balance in the enterprise funds (Water, Wastewater, Storm Water and Sanitation).?The budget reflects $7.5 million in increased funds in the Water and Sewerage Fund related to bond proceeds for the wastewater treatment plant expansion.

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Canton will receive a total of $11M+ from the federal government in two payments (one this past summer and one next summer) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.?These funds are provided to assist with the pandemic relief efforts and can only be spent on certain items.?The first areas of these expenditures will include: a one time premium pay to City employees working during the pandemic and an incentive of $500 to City employees that are fully vaccinated as well as up to 5 days of employer-paid leave for vaccinated employees that have a confirmed breakthrough case.?Canton remains a very efficient and small staff for a City of over 33,000 residents and having a fully staffed organization is in the best interest of our citizens as it relates to service delivery.?Additional use of ARPA funds includes the hiring of a new Economic Development and Tourism Manager to assist with local business starts, retention and expansion efforts, while also supporting the City's new tourism initiatives.?A second new position is for a Housing and Residential Services Manager to manage a new Canton Housing Trust Fund.?This fund will support first time home buyer assistance, loans to assist in remediating blight, a grant to support the Canton Housing Authority and local public housing efforts, as well as funds for housing acquisition in strategic locations. ARPA funds are also earmarked for a new cultural arts initiative, facility HVAC improvements, small business assistance programs, translation services, and strategic partnerships.

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Upcoming Referendum:

This November 2nd, Canton voters will go to the polls for two initiatives on the ballot.?The first is for the one-cent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Cherokee County Schools--an item that will be determined by all Cherokee County voters.?Specifically, passage of this will secure funding for the construction of a replacement Cherokee High School in Canton.?The second item is for Canton voters only and is to determine the fate of distilled package sales, or simply do Canton voters support the option for liquor package stores within the City of Canton.?Until this years legislative session, the only way to have this item on the ballot was a verified petition of 35% of the registered voters in the City (or some 7,500 signatures).?A new law allows the City to simply place the item on the ballot for voter consideration.

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The City does not have contested elections for City Council on the ballot this fall.?Councilor Sandy McGrew (Ward 1) and Councilor Will Carlan (Ward 2) were unopposed and will remain on the City Council.?Councilor Nick Estes (Ward 3) did not seek re-election and only Mr. Dwayne Waterman qualified.?Mr. Waterman will take office on the first Thursday of January.

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Georgia Cities Week:

The?first week of October is designated as Georgia Cities Week in our state.?This is an opportunity to celebrate municipal government and its impact to our state and citizens.???Below is a list of activities occurring as part of those festivities:

Oct. 1, Friday

First Friday: Featuring Electric Avenue – The 80s MTV Experience

When: 6-9 PM; Where: Downtown Canton

Oct. 2, Saturday

Farmers Market

When: 9 AM-12:30 PM; Brown Park

Oct. 5, Tuesday

Feature Showing: Curious George - A Halloween Boofest

When: 10 AM; Where: Historic Canton Theatre

Oct. 6, Wednesday

Archer Street Parking Deck Groundbreaking Ceremony

When: 2 PM; Where: City Hall parking lot

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Canton PD Roving Roll Call

When: 5:30 PM; Where: Cannon Park, Downtown Canton

Oct. 7, Thursday

Etowah Film Festival Begins

When: Oct. 7-10; Where: Historic Canton Theatre

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Canton PD Read with a Cop

When: 10 AM; Where: Brown Park

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Sanitation Town Hall

When: 4 PM; Where: City Hall Auditorium

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City Council Meeting – Work Session

When: 6 PM; Where: City Hall Auditorium

Oct. 8, Friday

Plyometric Gym Ribbon Cutting

When: 10 AM; Where: Heritage Park @Plyometric Gym

Oct. 9, Saturday

Electronics Recycling Event - Peace + Love + Recycle

When: 7 AM-1 PM; Where: City Collection Site (2525 Ridge Road)

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Think Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Walk

When: 9 AM-12 PM; Where: Cannon Park, Downtown Canton

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Farmers Market

When: 9 AM-12:30 PM; Where: Brown Park

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Faith and Blue Canned Food Drive – Canton PD for MUST Ministries

When: 9 AM-2 PM; Where: Canton PD Building Back Parking Lot – 151 Elizabeth Street.

Project Updates:

?Harmon Park--The City is currently wrapping up phase one of renovations including the installation of new energy efficient lighting.?Atkins Engineering is completing field work and survey as part of the next phase which includes bidding out construction of the new mini-pitch soccer field, pavilion, continuous drive, half-court basketball court, new batting cages, sidewalks, and baseball field upgrades.?The project will be completed early next summer.

Reservoir Drive and Hickory Log Drive (Teasley Middle School) Traffic Signal--The City approved a task order to Atkins Engineering for the intersection improvements necessary for a new traffic signal at Teasley Middle School and Reservoir Drive.?This project is funded through developer contributions and impact fees.?We hope to have the project out to bid before the end of the calendar year.

Cherokee High School RedSpeed Cameras--Beginning next Monday, October 4, the City will be issuing a 30-day warning period for speeding in the Cherokee High School zone using RedSpeed Technology.?The speed limit is 35mph during school zone flashing light periods and 45 mph between those periods.?Please watch your speeds!

Water Pollution Control Plant--The upgrades to the City's sewer plant at the entrance to Boling Park continue.?The precast wall panels for the membrane bioreactor facility have been set and sealed.?The west slab for the biological nutrient removal reactor has been poured and reinforcing steel for the disinfection facility walls have been set.

Old Ball Ground Sewer Line Expansion & Etowah River Trail West Connector--The construction fencing at Heritage Park has been removed and new sod is being installed.?Almost 5,300 feet of the new sewer line has been installed to date.?Construction of the trail is schedule to begin late 2021/early 2022 to connect Heritage and Boling Parks.

Emergency Generators for Water Booster Pump Stations--Construction for a new emergency generator at the Ridge Pine Water Booster Pump Station is proceeding and should be complete next month.?Additional generator connections are currently under construction at the Highway 5 Water Booster Pump Station and the Great Sky Booster Pump Station.?The City has purchased a mobile generator that can serve both facilities during power outages to keep our system online.

Hickory Log Creek Buffer Study--The City received a presentation last month from HGOR recommending a conceptual plan for the creation of a new trail system around the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir.?The trail would include nearly 12 miles of additional walking/nature path areas as well as other possible amenities, such as small craft boat docks, protected coves for swimming, natural education areas, overlooks, and possibly a zipline feature.?The City will continue working with HGOR to revise the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir Management Plan to allow the use of the 150-foot buffer for recreational facilities.

Bluffs Land Purchase--The City of Canton has a contract with several corporations to purchase 325 acres of the remaining undeveloped Technology Park Atlanta Bluffs complex.?This includes acreage along the Reservoir north of the new town home community and up to Chattahoochee Technical College, as well as the leased boat ramp near Fate Conn and acreage for light industrial along Bluffs Court.?The total sales price is $10M.?The City plans to have a masterplan of the area, but uses may include additional recreation spaces, an opportunity for well-done light industrial, a new water treatment plant to assist the City's future water production needs, and a possible hotel/conference center site.

From the Police Department:

In addition to Georgia Cities Week events, Canton PD is hosting the Citizens Police Academy on Tuesday nights this fall.?If you are interested in signing up for the next academy, please email [email protected].?The next Coffee with a Cop will occur at Panera Bread (West Main Street) on October 21 at 9 a.m.?

?At the Canton Theatre:

October 2-3 Little Shop of Horrors

October 5 Curious George-A Halloween Boofest at 10 a.m.

October 7-10 Etowah Film Festival

October 15 The Addams Family (1991 Film Version)

October 22 The Shinning (Film)

October 23 Hocus Pocus (Film)