FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County officials have formed a task force to address mental health concerns in the community after weeks of receiving pushback for not funding the whole health building.
At a formal meeting March 21, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved appointment of commissioners Kerry Hill and Todd Levent and County Manager David McKee, or a representative on his behalf, to the Mental Health Advisory Committee.
The County Commission is also requesting the membership of two Forsyth County School Board members; Schools Superintendent Jeff Bearden or his representative; and Sheriff Ron Freeman or a representative.
The committee will identify existing treatment, education and prevention resources that address mental health illness in the county; determine the existing and future need for mental health services; and identify gaps between existing resources and what is needed.
The committee was first proposed at a County Commission work session March 12.
Commissioners were originally scheduled to consider and possibly vote to fund construction of a whole health building on the planned administration campus on Freedom Parkway at that meeting. But, after a nearly two-hour discussion, Hill proposed forming a task force to find solutions, and ultimately, determine the fate of the building.
The whole health building was one of three buildings proposed for the county’s new administration campus. It would house the Health Department, a mental health center operated by Avita Community Partners and a sexual assault nurse examiner unit.
The county intended to use some $38 million American Rescue Plan dollars to fund the facility, but after the project cost came in $12 million over budget in January, a vote on the building has been postponed while the county reassesses funding options.
That decision has sparked…
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