A first of its kind workshop in Dawsonville gave local residents the opportunity last week to learn more about the goings on in city government.
Topics ranged from the downtown revitalization and plans for a new park behind city hall, to ideas on how to curb litter on roadsides and the possibility of detouring tractor trailers from driving through downtown.
Mayor James Grogan called the discussions positive and said he welcomes the new ideas that he hopes result from future meetings.
"We had a lot of feedback. There was a lot of discussion in the meeting. Hopefully, that group will go out and come back the next time and bring people with them," he said. "We want to hear from as many different voices as we can, because it helps when we get ready to make decisions on projects.
"It was a great meeting and I expect they'll only grow."
City Manager David Headley organized the discussion session that drew a crowd of nearly 20 citizens to Dawsonville City Hall Jan. 26.
"The purpose of the meeting, and I'm hoping it's going to grow as things go, is to bring a voice," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're in the county or if you're in the city, we're a community. Whatever we do here is going to affect the [county] commission and whatever they do is going to affect the city.
"My hope is to let this be a time for the citizens to be able to come forward and talk about what's going on, what they think."
Julie Hughes Nix, District 4 Dawson County Commissioner, said she attended the meeting to have a better understanding of projects happening in the city and to show her support for Headley, a former Dawson County employee, who has held the newly created city position since December.
"We were invited, and we're interested in what they are doing. We just want a good working relationship with the city," she said. "Certainly, we have an interest because of our courthouse and our jail being in the city limits. I just want to see them do well. If we complement them, they'll complement us. We just want to complement each other."
The next workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Joe Lane Cox room on the second floor of Dawsonville City Hall.