In their first joint planning session in over a decade, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners and the Dawsonville City Council gathered at Amicalola Falls on Friday, Oct. 5 for a day-long retreat with the goal of strengthening communication between the two governing bodies. For some, it was the first time commissioners and city council members met face to face. Over the course of the day the two groups worked to gather a greater understanding of the vision and long term goals of the other, discussing past issues as well as what is working well now and what could be improved. Langford Holbrook from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia facilitated the meeting between the two entities, and four big topics dominated the overarching discussion of how the city and county can best work together going forward.