Politics & Government

Citizens Flock to Town Hall Meeting

Although Acworth is Cobb's fastest growing city, Mayor Tommy Allegood and his staff aren't done improving the city's "Quality of Life."

Mayor Tommy Allegood shared his plans for a booming Acworth during a town hall presentation at the Wednesday evening.

Meeting Room One was full of interested citizens, including representatives of several homeowners' associations, who arrived in advance of Allegood's PowerPoint presentation. In addition, many city aldermen and the heads of various city departments were in attendance.

The department heads all had tables set up along the walls of the meeting room, allowing for citizens to interact with the city employees directly and ask questions they may have.

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“It gets citizens involved,” said City Treasurer Sharron Burtz. “The HOA people here can relate what they saw to their members. Being out here helps put a face to the voice citizens hear over the telephone.”

The theme of the presentation was "Quality of Life." By demonstrating the economic strength of the city, its various departments and numerous , Allegood showed the audience that Acworth is a .

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Allegood's presentation began by informing the assembly that Acworth is the fastest-growing city in Cobb County, yet still has a comfortable population density. All of the major companies have flocked to the city, which has allowed taxes on the citizenry to remain relatively unchanged.

Since 2001, the city's population has grown by 52 percent to 21,000, which is the fastest rate of growth of any city in the county. Despite this population boom, the population per acre only increased from 3.01 to 3.60 during the same 10 year period.

The presentation went on to mention the many public works projects being readied for the city, including the School Street project. Allegood mentioned the construction of the . As many in the crowd were baby boomers, Allegood suggested that they add their names to the list of tenants if they were so inclined.

The presentation then moved on to upcoming events in the city, such as the Classic Car Cruise on Oct. 29 and the Veteran's Day observance on Nov. 11. An arts festival will be held in April, 2012, which Allegood hoped would be a regional event. Main Street will be shut down for two days during the event.

Allegood finished his presentation by praising the members of the city staff. He showed an e-mail he received from the McEver HOA, which complimented the city's professionalism and lack of the run-around. The Mayor said that he has gotten compliments about the staff from people who have had business dealings all over the country.

After the presentation, citizens began to file out or meet with department heads to ask questions or make suggestions. Allegood and the aldermen were stopped by citizens to discuss problems or answer specific questions.

“Someone may have a question for me about the Nance Road project,” Allegood said, “and I know for a fact that it will be done on Nov. 30. However, there are some things I don't know exact dates for, and that is why [Public Works Director] Mark Hipp is here.”

JoAnn Kelly, a member of the audience, was impressed by the presentation.

“It was very informative,” she said. “Mayor Allegood is a wonderful speaker.” Kelly went on to say that years ago, she was ashamed to have an Acworth mailing address, but is now proud to call the city her home.

Charlene Drake, a 12-year resident of Acworth, said she learned things at the presentation she had never known about the city.

The strong turnout from the citizenry encouraged Allegood.

“It's great,” he said. “People love the city of Acworth, they love our community and want to be informed.”


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