Commissioner
Lamar Paris
IF YOU’RE READING THIS, I’M
thinking you might just have
fallen in love with our little slice of
the North Georgia mountains. And
for that, I can say, good choice!
As you consider Blairsville and
Union County as your future home,
I think you’re going to like what you
find. From the natural beauty and
year-round recreation opportunities
to the affordable living and the
friendly neighbors, the lifestyle is
hard to beat. It’s what has kept me
here my entire life. And as Sole
Commissioner of Union County
for 19 years now, I’m excited to say
that the best is yet to come!
We are a County that takes several
things very seriously. The first
is fiscal responsibility. With steady,
manageable population growth of
about 1.5 percent a year, there’s
enough momentum to fuel a stable
economy and good employment
opportunities, while still allowing
our top-notch municipal services to
keep pace. With a $19 million operating
budget and an additional $4
million coming in each year from a
Special Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST), we are able to maintain
our infrastructure with money
Making Union County
a Better Place to Live
to spare. In fact, Union County has
the third lowest property tax rate in
the state (school + county together).
At the same time, there is no danger
of “paving over paradise.” More
than half of our County is held by the
Forest Service and TVA (Tennessee
Valley Authority). Which leads me to
another thing we take very seriously:
recreation. As a County, we are always
looking for more fields, more facilities
8 | VisitBlairsvilleGA.com | 877-745-5789
and more room for folks to play!
And it’s not just walking trails
and playgrounds. I’m happy to say
that we recently received a special
use permit from the U.S. Forestry
Service to build the first target range
in Union County. The shooting range
will be located off SR 180 between
mile markers 18 and 19. It will feature
a 200-yard rifle range, a shorter pistol
range and clubhouse. The County
also recently purchased 12 acres of
soccer fields by the old water plant off
Mauney Road, which will be managed
by Mountain United Soccer Association
(MUSA) to offer more youth
soccer leagues in the community.
And finally, we’re wrapping up
construction of a brand-new double
gym behind the health department.
When finished, the structure
will be a total of 31,565 square feet
with an inside walking trail on the
main floor. It will offer our residents
LAMAR PARIS
SOLE COMMISSIONER
exercise classes, dancing, aerobics,
volleyball and additional fitness
classes. Adjacent to the gym will
be eight new pickleball courts.
Add in the world-class physicians
and healthcare facilities here, all the
great restaurants and unique shops,
and I think you’ll agree that there’s
no better place to be than Blairsville-
Union County.
I look forward to seeing you out
in the community, and hope you will
come up and say “Hey!”
Lamar
I think you’ll agree
that there’s no better place
to be than Blairsville-
Union County.
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