Alpharetta Mayor Plans Technology Commission

Mayor David Belle Isle hasn't been in office two months, but he's already accomplished a first: He apparently is the first mayor in 154 years to give an official State of the City address.

The Alpharetta Business Association organized the event, using a large tent from It's My Party Rental on the parking lot next to City Hall for the breakfast event.

The mayor said public safety and transportation are two building blocks for a good city. The ISO rating of 2 for Alpharetta's firefighters and a steadily declining crime rate in the city are testament to one building block. Completion of Westside Parkway's last section in June, plus improvements at nearly every major intersection in the city show the other building block is being addressed.

Belle Isle said the development of the City Center is a key accomplishment they can count on, but its architecture and design aren't the important things about it. Seeing the community use the park and town green, with a public library on site, are the important things. Success will be measured by how people come downtown and used it, he said.

Alpharetta has 900 high-tech companies because it has the infrastructure in place. Fiber optic cables installed 15 years ago, plus the power grid built to serve data centers and other technology centers got the city where it is, but Belle Isle asked what's next to keep the city ahead of other communities? He said the state's first Technology Advisory Commission will help answer that question, with representatives from the city's technology companies being recruited as members.