The commission voted 4-1, with Commissioner Karen Bosch opposing, to approve the agreement.
The road improvements are needed for Horizon Group Properties’ plan to build an outlet mall at the southwest quadrant of Woodstock and Ridgewalk parkways.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners earlier this year had already voted to pitch in the $700,000 to assist in widening Ridgewalk Parkway.
The city will contribute $1.3 million, and Horizon will contribute $700,000.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $2.7 million.
The widening would also help mitigate traffic coming off the new Interstate 575 interchange at Rope Mill Road and ease the congestion of cars flowing into the proposed 365,000-square-foot-retail factory outlet.
County Manager Jerry Cooper said the contribution was “our commitment to the city of Woodstock.”
County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens said it made sense to collaborate with the city on the road improvements.
“This is a hugely important development for the county,” he said, referring to the outlet mall.
County Commission member Harry Johnston said it was prudent to contribute toward the road’s improvement because the county rarely sees this type of development show interest in Cherokee County.
Commissioners also approved a purchase agreement for a new library for county residents.
The agreement acquires 6.14 acres of land located along Highway 20 at Old Mill Road for $170,000.
The library is expected to cost around $5 million, $2 million in state funds and $3.1 million in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax dollars.
Cooper said the new library was promised to the citizens in current and future Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes, or SPLOST, referendum.
“We’re just meeting the needs voters have approved,” he said.
Also, he said the Sequoyah Regional Library System would lose about $2 million in state funding if the purchase agreement did not go through.
Johnston said it’s highly likely the county might have to give incremental funding to help get the library on its feet.
Construction on the facility could begin in 2013 or 2014.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners also:
* Approved accepting a bid from Ridgeline Homes LLC for the sale of Lot 102 and 118 8 in the Belmont Trace subdivision, for $15,000;
* Approved a change order in the amount of $255,000 for the professional services agreement with HDR for additional design and engineering services and compensation for the planned new parks at Etowah River Park and at the Killian site for the city of Canton’s parks bond projects;
* Approved accepting Millstone Parkway and Millstone Lane in the Millstone at Little River subdivision;
* Approved applying for a $15,000 grant from the Georgia Bar Foundation;
* Approved accepting U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grand funding in the amount of $094,196 for planning year 2012;
* Approved a partnership agreement with Northside Hospital-Cherokee to pay $25,000 per year over a period of five years for the Safe Kids Cherokee Program, which is managed by the Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services;
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