Politics & Government

Norcross Councilman, Mayor Pro Tem to Seek Re-Election

Andrew Hixson and Ross Kaul aim to stay on the Norcross City Council for another two-year term; Councilman David McLeroy, whose term also ends this year, has remained undecided on running again.

With Norcross' qualification period next week for the city council, Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Hixson and Councilman Ross Kaul have announced that they will seek re-election as their terms end this year.

Councilman David McLeroy, whose term also ends Dec. 31, has said to Norcross Patch that he remains undecided if he wishes to rejoin the council next year.

Both Kaul and Hixson have been on the council for two terms now, equaling four years.

Find out what's happening in Norcrosswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I'd love to be re-elected," said Hixon, who's a banker. "We have a good-functioning city council right now, and I think, for the most part, I feel that the city is much better now than it was when I joined the council."

"I love serving the citizens. I look at it like I'm giving back," said Kaul, who's retired after 37 years in the metal steel business. "I like to treat others the same way I like to be treated. Everybody appreciates that."

Find out what's happening in Norcrosswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Both councilmen have projects they were proud to be a part of during their time on the council so far. For Kaul, he spearheaded city hall's paperless initiative, which, he said, has cut city costs by six figures and increased productivity among staff members.

Kaul is also proud of last year's , especially since it's the main reason why the council voted to this past city council meeting. The millage rate was predicted to increase in order to make up for lost revenue, but because of the newly annexed businesses, the council decided to see first how much revenue they would generate for the city.

Some of the noteworthy items Hixson has worked on during his two terms on the council have been outdoor-related: the completion of the parks master plan; the completion of ; economic development; and increasing Norcross' green space.

"I'm pretty big on parks and access to parks," he said. "Norcross has a lot of parks, but they're all in downtown Norcross, so I was interested in seeing how we could get parks into other areas of the city, especially to the east side of Buford Highway."

As for future plans for Norcross, Hixson said he would like to continue the implementation of the parks master plan; add an overlay district to Beaver Ruin Road and Jimmy Carter Boulevard; and continue the implementation of the city's updated .

For Kaul, the LCI study is high on his priority list, too, particularly the connectivity. He explained that extending the walkability and bike paths from Medlock Bridge and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to areas such as North Peachtree and Sunset Drive is the next big thrust from him.

"We know Norcross wants that," he said.Β 

Also, Kaul said he wishes to simply keep city goods and services the way they're going in Norcross.

"Our quality of Norcross here is fantastic, and we're ve got to keep that going. My trash gets picked up every Tuesday morning, my debri gets picked up every other Tuesday, and it's just fantastic, so we have to keep that flowing," he said.

Kaul has lived in Norcross for six years years, is married, and has seven children and 12 grandchildren. Also married, Hixson has been a resident of Norcross for eight years and owns one dog and two cats.

The qualification period for the Norcross City Council starts Monday, Aug. 27, and ends Friday, Aug. 31. For more details on the qualification process, .

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