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Kim Cornelison
City Clerk / Administrator |
Betty McGehee
Administrative Assistance |
If I Were Mayor... Essay
Winner
Joe Lane Cox, Bio
Elected as the Mayor of the City of Dawsonville in November of
2003, Joe Lane was sworn in to office January 2, 2004. When he
took office his main goal was to try and build infrastructure
and have it in place so that the City could be ahead of the
growth predictions.
Mayor Cox is not new to the political arena; in fact he has
served as an public servant for over twenty years including the
time he served as a consultant to Lumpkin County for four
years.
His
first chance to serve the public came when Joe Lane ran for and
won the election for Probate Judge. He provided four years of
service to the citizens during his term from January 1976
through December of 1980.
After his stint as Probate Judge Joe decided to run for Sole
Commission of Dawson County; he was elected and served our
citizens for twelve years from January 1981 through December
1992. As Sole Commissioner, Joe focused on providing enhanced
or new services to our county. He was instrumental in getting
new fire station trucks, the first fire station, the Senior
Center, the Dawson County Daycare Center, and the Health
Department. Also during his term he expanded the acreage of
Dawson County Park and added amenities like the track, the
pavilion and the gymnasium. Joe has always advocated for state
support to help fund, either all of, or a major portion of these
projects.
As
Mayor, he has secured a 2.2 million dollar grant and a 3.1
million dollar low interest loan from the United States
Department of Agriculture - Rural Develop to make significant
improvements and expand the city’s existing wastewater treatment
capacity. He has been award Transportation Enhancement Grants
and Local Assistance Region Project funds to complete several
road projects in town, to build a parking lot at City Hall
(which is under construction now), and to put in sidewalks
around the City. The Mayor is committed to putting sidewalks in
throughout town to provide safe passageway for the many
pedestrians who need them.
The
Mayor has secured funding from the state to help procure the
collateral goods of the Racing Museum and intends to have the
museum reopened this year with the help of the Georgia Racing
Hall of Fame Commission.
Under the guidance of Mayor Cox, the City has procured three
tracts of land which have been drilled for wells. The wells are
strong producers ranging from 100 – 200 gallons per minute. The
wells will be beneficial to the City’s future growth and may be
able to help serve other local authorities in the future.
Mayor Cox is a man of commitment whose greatest desire is to
have the infrastructure in place to meet the City’s future
needs.
Joe
Lane is married to the lovely Judy Stephens Cox for 49 years.
They have three children and six grandchildren that both Joe and
Judy love to spend time with.
