Odds and Ends

Justin King commits to Tennessee

Congrats to rising Dunwoody High senior linebacker Justin King, who verbally agreed to a full scholarship to play for Coach Derek Dooley at Tennessee (Dooley, by the way, is a class act.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree).  At 6"3" and 215 pounds, King has the size and quickness that college recruiters crave.  Rivals.com rates his as the 56th best player in the state, and the 64th best linebacker in the country.  He's got chance to be an impact player in a couple of years.
Click Justin King to watch video of him as a sophomore at Dunwoody (he's No. 6).

City Touts Savings

DUNWOODY, GA – July 21, 2011 – In a move indicative of its “Smart People - Smart City” culture, the City of Dunwoody has found a way to drive down the cost of services provided to its citizens by more than $3 million while increasing the level of service.

With existing contracts for Community Development, Finance and Administration, and Public Works concluding their initial term in December, earlier this year, the City issued a Request for Proposals based on the Split Contract Service model the City pioneered in 2008 which strategically outsources government services to different vendors of key service areas for a fixed fee.
A committee of four staff members and three members of the City Council appointed by Mayor Ken Wright have completed recommendations for the award of contracts in the areas of Information Technology, Public Relations and Marketing, Finance and Administration, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Zoning, Permits and Inspections and Code Compliance. The review committee’s recommendation of award of contracts for the provision of each professional service area will be considered by City Council at its July 25th meeting.

The committee is recommending that the City partner with four vendors to provide services in the following seven categories:
 

JAT and Calvin Giordano & Associates for Finance and Administration services

Clark Patterson Lee for Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Zoning and Permits, Inspections and Code Compliance services

InterDev for Information Technology services

Jacobs for Public Relations and Marketing services

 

If the recommendations for contracts are approved by the Council, the City will save more than $3.1 million dollars over the life of the contracts (three years with a city-option for a fourth year) including the strategic move to bring three positions into direct City employment. This provides the City with an extra $780,000 a year to spend on infrastructure, public safety and parks, all of which have been identified by citizens as top priorities.

Wittenstein Kicks Off Campaign

Dunwoody Councilman Robert Wittenstein officially will kick-off his re-election campaign with a fundraiser at Cafe Intermezzo on the evening of August 11.  Robert is the at-large councilman from District 1.  He beat Mallard Holliday by 10 percent of the vote, 55-45, in 2008 to win the seat in the city's first election.  He figures to face another strong challenge this year from Vernon North resident Terry Nall, who's been active in the Dunwoody community since moving here in 1998.
Word has it that a third candidate may emerge in this race, as well.