Wednesday, May 30, 2001
|
Wednesday, May 30, 2001 |
|
Cowan chair regional water group, leaving as GRTA head By JOHN
MUNFORD
Peachtree City resident Joel H. Cowan will be shifting his focus from traffic to water. Cowan has been appointed as chairman of the North Georgia Water Planning District governing board by Gov. Roy Barnes. He will relinquish his chairmanship on the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to GRTA Vice Chairman Sonny Deriso. The water planning district is charged with developing regional plans for storm water and wastewater management. The group will also work on water supply and conservation issues. Fayette is one of 18 counties in the district, which includes Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding, Rockdale and Walton counties. County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn also has been named to serve on the board. Cowan is one of six members appointed by Barnes. Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Speaker of the House Tom Murphy appointed two members each. Kathryn L. Dunlap of Gainesville will serve as Cowan's vice chairman on the water planning district board. Cowan, 62, is a well-known developer whose vision led to the creation of Peachtree City as a planned community. He served as the city's first mayor and has since helped guide growth issues at the state government level. Cowan's service with the state began back in the 1970s when he was picked by then-Gov. Jimmy Carter to head a blue ribbon panel on planned growth. In the 1980s, Cowan chaired the Growth Strategies Commission at the request of then-Gov. Joe Frank Harris. His present civic activities include serving as director of the Center for International Leadership, co-chairing the Fayette Foundation, and being a member of the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta and the Ivan Allen College Advisory Board at Georgia Tech. He is a former trustee of the Georgia Conservancy and the Georgia Tech Foundation, and a former director and vice chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Central Atlanta Progress.
|
||