Alpharetta greenlights $150,000 arena study in bid for NHL team ► PAGE 3
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Commission agrees to funding contract to build state-of-art fire training center By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
“We are not accepting the status quo, and we are not going to continue to allow our medical benefit cost to skyrocket,” McKee said. County officials plan to locate the center at the new Forsyth County Administration Campus now under construction about 2 miles northeast of Cumming on Freedom Parkway. Work on the campus began in 2024 and is expected to be completed early next year.
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A fire training center is expected to give local firefighters the specialized training they need to battle Forsyth County fires. At a June 10 work session, the Forsyth County Commission reviewed an almost $760,000 management services contract for construction of the training and logistics center. Comprehensive Program Services would manage the project off Martin Road. Plans call for a 10,000-squarefoot logistics facility, new fleet building, training support center, open-air pavilion with parking and six-story training tower. It will sit on 34 acres purchased for $1.7 million in 2018. The project would be funded by Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds. The center will replace the department’s facility on Settingdown Road, which fire officials have said lacks room for expansion. The department relies on a now outdated training facility built in the mid-’90s, Fire Chief Barry Head has said.
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FORSYTH COUNTY/PROVIDED
This rendering shows the exterior of the employee center at the new Forsyth County Administration Campus.
County pins hopes on wellness center to stem tide of rising health care costs By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Amid skyrocketing employee health care costs, Forsyth County hopes to stem the tide with a new wellness center at its new administrative campus. County employee health benefits have increased about 15-25 percent annually, following a nationwide trend in rising premiums for public employees. The U.S. Government Account-
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ability Office says insurance costs are predicted to rise again in 2025, citing growing market concentration among fewer insurance companies. The county hopes to flatten the curve with the creation of an on-site wellness center and wellness program to serve its almost 2,000 employees. County Manager David McKee said the county wants to create a program that is “state of the art and cutting edge,” looking to university systems and other county governments for inspiration.
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