City of Toccoa Holds 2017 Planning Meeting

The city of Toccoa is looking ahead to the upcoming year.

Monday, Toccoa City Commissioners and city staff met for a planning session to talk about priorities and goals for the year ahead.

Toccoa Mayor Jeanette Jamieson said that it went very smoothly and she feels really good about the year ahead.

“A lot of what takes place in 2017 is ongoing from the prior year and I think the real treasure of a town like Toccoa, Georgia is not what you see, but what you do not see,” said Jamieson. “We see the swimming pool; we see the golf course; we see new sidewalks. But we do not realize the work that goes behind the scenes as far as the gas department, the water department, streets, and public utilities. It is just so critical that they have what they need to operate and that is our job to provide that. That is the unseen part of the city of Toccoa.”

Jamieson said that the commission had plenty of time to talk with each department head about their goals and their needs with equipment and so forth.

She said the job of the commission is to make sure the city has what it needs to meet its obligations.

Meanwhile, Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said he also feels like the planning session went very well.

“We are very fortunate to have the commission that we do, the staff and department heads that we do,” said Morse. “We were able to accomplish a great deal in 2016 and this commission is encouraging us to move forward with the plans that we have submitted to them, so if we accomplish those goals, we will have a good 2017.”

Morse said that the commission is on board with the staff’s goals for 2017 and has added some of their own.

Some of the goals brought up by city staff include continuing cemetery improvements, continuing downtown improvement efforts, upgrading and replacing fire department equipment, working more on the master plan for Lake Toccoa, targeting blight, updating police equipment, installing ADA ramps on existing sidewalks, and continuing utility system work.