Hundreds gathered yesterday as the ribbon was cut for the new Forsyth County Courthouse.
The ceremony opened with an invocation delivered by Dr. Barry Crocker of Cumming Baptist Church. Honor Guards of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department presented the colors and Sargent Kenny Hughes of the Sheriff’s Office sang the national anthem.
Forsyth County Commission Chairman R.J. (Pete) Amos, Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt, Court Administrator Robin Rooks, Chief Superior Court Judge Jeffrey S. Bagley and Supreme Court of Georgia Chief Justice Hugh P. Thompson spoke during the ceremony.
The first place winners of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit’s time capsule essay contest read their winning essays as part of the program. Jacob Ruiz of Cornerstone Schools won first place among middle school students and Erin Tozier of Forsyth Central High School won first place among high school students.
Following the ceremony, guests had an opportunity to tour the new courthouse and to view the contents of a time capsule to be interred in the courthouse cornerstone at a future date.
The new courthouse officially opens for business on Monday, March 16. Until that time, the existing courthouse remains operational.
Construction of the new courthouse and of a new jail was funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) VII program approved by Forsyth County voters in November 2011. A new jail is slated to open later this year.
“Without the voters’ approval of SPLOST VII, we would not have been able to construct the new courthouse and jail, which are absolutely critical components of Forsyth County’s judicial and public safety infrastructure,” Chairman Amos said. “A sincere thank you is extended to the residents of Forsyth County for recognizing the need for these new facilities and for approving for them to be funded by the SPLOST penny sales tax.”
In order to take advantage of lower construction costs and move forward with these important projects prior to SPLOST VII revenues being received, the county borrowed future SPLOST VII revenues in advance of their collection. The SPLOST funds borrowed for the courthouse and jail project are scheduled to be paid off within four years of the start of SPLOST VII collections, which began in 2013.
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