Update From Councilman Shortal
Fellow Citizens of Dunwoody;
The following are some update items for our City:
1. Parks ... URGENT due to short notice ... On June 21st ... that is this Monday from 9 AM to 12 PM ... we will conduct a tour of all the Dunwoody Parks followed by a press conference to discuss the Parks and unveil new park signage. There will also be lunch served after the press conference courtesy of Roadworx. All citizens are invited and encouraged to attend as we announce the official turnover of the Dunwoody Parks from DeKalb County to our City. We urge you all to attend this gala event. The following is a schedule of the times when we will be at each individual Park:
Brook Run .... 4770 N. Peachtree Road ... Meet at 8:45 AM and ceremony at 9 AM.
Windwood Hollow Park .. Lakeside Dr right off Peeler Road (across from the DC Water Works) ... Ceremony at 9:15 AM
Perimeter Center East Park ... Off Perimeter Center East across the street from City Hall ... Ceremony at 9:30 AM
Dunwoody Park ... Dunwoody Senior Baseball fields and Dunwoody Nature Center .. 5321 Roberts Dr ... Ceremony at 9:40 AM
Vernon Oaks Park ... Corner of Vernon Oaks Dr and Vernon Springs Dr ..... Ceremony at 10 AM
Donaldson (Chestnut) Bannister Farm ... 4831 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd ... Ceremony at 10:25 Am
Brook Run ... 4770 N. Peachtree Rd .... Press conference at 10:50 AM followed by lunch.
2. Parks .. More Info ... As you know Fire Station # 12 (located on Roberts Dr) was included in the initial parks/facilities purchase request. The total purchase price for the parks noted in # 1 above and Fire Station # 12 is approx. $20,000. The purchase of Fire Stations #18 and 21 plus the Spruill Arts Center (among others this houses the Dunwoody Stage Players and the Dunwoody Library) is still is progress due to the complexity of the procedure of purchasing these three facilities.
3. Voting ... July 20th is the Primary Election Day. As you know you must select either a Republican or a Democrat ballot .. you can not cross party lines in the Primary Election. We are very fortunate in our Nation to have the right to select, by our vote, those who will govern us. This right to vote has been won for us at an extremely high price ... the supreme sacrifice of thousands of our fellow American who have fought the foes of our Nation throughout our history. Please keep faith with all of these American, who have given their all, by exercising your right to vote. While I believe there are some candidates that can better serve us than others ... the important point is that each of us VOTE! The following are some voting timelines:
Voter Registration ... Last day to register to vote in the Primary Election in Monday, June 21st .. You can only do this in person(due to the timeline) @ the DeKalb County Voters Registration & Election Office (DCVR&EO) , 4380 Memorial Dr (right off I-285), Decatur, GA 30032 from 8 AM - 5PM. Absentee Voting .. Opened June 7th thru July 16th. You can get a ballot application by calling the DCVR&EO @ 404-298-4020 or go to their website fill out the ballot application and fax it to #404-298-4038. The ballot will be mailed to you and you will fill out the ballot and mail it back to the DCVR&EO ... recommend you leave plenty of time for the mailing process. You can also vote Absentee in person at the DCVR&EO from 8 AM - 5 PM on normal working days thru JUL 16th. Advanced Voting ... From JUL 12th thru July 16th from 7 AM to 7 PM at the following locations:
Chamblee Civi Center, 3540 Broad Street, Chamblee, GA 30341
DeKalb County Fire Headquarters Training Room, 1950 W Exchange Place, Tucker, GA 30084, or DCVR&EO, 4380 Memorial Dr, Decatur, GA 30032
Regular Voting Day ... JUL 20th from 7 AM to 7 PM at your normal vote polling location.
4. Census .... It is not too late to fill out your US Census Form if you haven't already sent in your census form ... it only takes five (5) minutes to fill out this form. Remember the population is one of the key items in determining the share of federal and/or state funds that come to our City. Thus, this directly effects programs within our City ... please fill out your census form and encourage you family, friends and neighbors to send in their form.
5. Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) ... Your City Council passed the long discussed CLUP at last Monday's meeting. Overall, I believe it is a good CLUP with one exception. That exception is the height of the structures allowed in Dunwoody Village (DV). As stated ... "Up to 3 stories, but allow the potentially up to 5 stories at intersections if and only if a unique project is proposed with architecturally distinct features, innovative parking solutions (covered decks, underground parking or alternative) and spaces for public use. A 5 story building would only be considered at the core of the Village; the boundary properties of the Dunwoody Character Area will not be appropriate if greater than 2 stories." Although there are some safe guards included I offered an amendment to change the wording "Up to 2 stories but allow the potential up to 3 stories ... etc." .. this amendment failed due to the lack of a second. This issue will be revisited during the DV Renovation Master Plan process ... this process will start in the next couple of months. The CLUP will now be sent to the ARC and DCA (state agencies) for their approval which could take up to 60 days.
6. Special Meeting .... Due to three of the Council Members being at a state convention the regular scheduled meeting for JUN 28th has been rescheduled for this Monday ... JUN 21st at 7 PM at the City Hall. There are some major items of interest to all citizens to be discussed and voted on at this meeting: .. Awarding of the contract for our Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) ... This is a critical plan to enhance all modes of transportation within our City .... including vehicles, bicycles, alternative transportation modes and pedestrian travel.
.. 2010 Road Paving Contract Award ... Our staff has recommended Allied Paving be awarded this contract. We received a positive recommendation from Hall and Gwinnett County officials for whom Allied Paving had done work. This contract not only includes paving complete streets but also what we call "large major patching" of some streets. This has a window of commencing/completion of JUL - Sep time frame. Although we applied for $496,000 of LARP funds from GDOT we were only awarded some $44,700. For complete info on this project go to the JUN 14th City Council Work Session Agenda on our City website ...item # F-10.
.. Vote on Ch 20 / 27 Dunwoody Sign Ordinance .... First my thanks to the members of the sign committee (all volunteers) who have worked this project for many months. This is item # J-1 on the agenda for the JUN 21st meeting. It is only about 28 pages long and I would recommend reading this document... Voting on Ch 26 amendment to change the required citizens voting percentage from 51% to 65% to create a "Sidewalk District." I believe that percentage should be much higher than 65% but proposes 65% in an effort to gain approval by the Council. As of now it seems the majority want to keep the percentage at 51%. What this means is that if 51% of the citizens of an area within the city vote to create a Sidewalk District and install sidewalks at heir own cost then all the citizens who live in that Sidewalk District will have the cost of sidewalk construction added to their property tax bill. FYI, sidewalk installation cost from $100,000 to $300,00 / mile. I don't believe it is right for 51% of a certain area to have the right to raise the taxes of 49% of the citizens within that area. I am not against having Sidewalk Districts and installing sidewalk at their own cost but I believe the percentage approval vote should be in the 90% range.
7. 4th of July Parade ... Remember the largest Independence Day Parade in Georgia in right here in Dunwoody. This year the Parade will be held on Monday the 5th of July because the 4th falls on a Sunday. My thanks to Pam Tallmadge and all the volunteers on her committee that make this a success. See you at the Parade!
8. Finally I commend two citizens from District One with the "Volunteers Citizenship Award" ... that is a title I gave this. Jim Reese and Barbara Strock Cody for trimming some tree limbs and bushes that were blocking the viewing of two street information signs. Thanks Jim and Barbara for leading by example with your volunteer spirit.
9. End .. I best end this before it becomes a book. My sincere thanks to all of you for your continued input, interest and involvement that enhances our City. Please forward this to any of your friends and neighbors that maybe interested. If anyone desires to be added to my email list just let me know and I will make that happen. Lets celebrate Independence Day !!! Denny
Denny Shortal
Dunwoody City Council. District One, Post-1, Mayor Pro Tem
denis.shortal@dunwoodyga.gov
PH (O) 678-382-6700 (C) 678-246-9006
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