Spring Into Action

After a cold and somewhat eventful winter, most of us are excited about springing forward. Indeed, there is much to anticipate in the warmer months ahead, and the City of Canton's natural beauty is about to unfold in our parks and green spaces, along our trail, and around the Etowah River and Lake Canton.

Protecting our natural resources for future generations is one of the eight tenets in the City's Roadmap for Success, and I'm pleased to report that Canton recently achieved its first certification as an Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) Green Community at the Bronze Level status. ARC's Green Communities is a voluntary certification program that recognizes local governments for implementing measures to reduce their environmental impact. The initiative fosters a greener, healthier, and more livable region by providing a framework for sustainability in metro cities and counties.

Measures that earned Canton its certification include:

• Granting additional parking spaces if a commercial development uses pervious pavement that allows rainwater to soak in rather than runoff
• Providing support for the Canton Farmers Market and Canton Victory Garden East, which increases access to local foods
• Adopting a sustainability plan that provides a vision for Canton's future development based upon eight tenets that include sustaining the environment, connecting citizens to parks and recreation, improving infrastructure for future demands, and advancing regional economic success
• Becoming electric-vehicle-ready by installing 10 electric car chargers for public use at the Canton downtown parking deck
• Reducing City Hall's utility costs and carbon footprint by installing an 80kw solar array to provide a portion of the building's electricity

There are many other reasons Canton was recognized as a Green Community, and we are working diligently on additional initiatives to protect and advance our beautiful city. I want to acknowledge Operations Manager Kelly Pendley and other members of our staff for their excellent work on this certification. Also, special thanks to our Environmental and Sustainability Advisory Board for their ongoing work — including our liaison, Councilor Sandy McGrew.

Later this month, Canton's City Council will gather for a retreat to do a little "spring cleaning" to hone our goals and tactics to sustain our natural resources as well as continue ongoing tasks to strengthen the strategies and tenets in our Roadmap for Success. Just like the cycles of the seasons, our work is never done and always reveals a fresh perspective when it comes to moving Canton forward as the coolest small town in America.