DHA Meeting Includes Parks; Habitat

DHA Meeting

Click photo to see enlarged, complete DHA agenda

The Dunwoody Homeowners Association holds its October meeting at 7:30pm Sunday at the Cultural Arts Center next to the library (click on photo above to see full agenda).  Again the public is invited, and this month's meeting should be spirited.  I am interested to hear the presentation on the parks' bonds by former state senator Dan Weber.  According to an opinion piece in The Crier by Weber, "a group has formed under the auspices of the nonprofit Citizens for Dunwoody to provide balanced and factual information to the voters concerning the bonds."  I am told Dan may pass along some specifics on the bonds, although I'm not sure why he would be doing this and not the city (perhaps he's acting on behalf of the city, which seems rather odd).  
You don't have to read between the lines to know my feelings on the referendums - I'm extremely skeptical.  If the bonds pass, your out-of-pocket money on parks will equal that of all other city services.  Combined!  We still have many transportation issues that should take priority over parks.  Friday, my morning 1.8-mile round-trip to Dunwoody Elementary School took 27 minutes.  Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan tells me he doesn't have the resources to put a traffic officer on Womack Rd.  Shouldn't solving issues like this take precedence (maybe one officer for 45 minutes in the morning)?  How 'bout the Tilly Mill/N. Peachtree/Peeler interchange?
It's not like the city doesn't have any wonderful parks or that our current parks are overcrowded.  In addition, every school in Dunwoody has playgrounds and ballfields, and so do most swim/tennis facilities.
We need to separate our wants from our needs.  Money for parks will come in due time. 

Habitat for Humanity

I spent Saturday morning helping All Saints with its 18th Habitat for Humanity home.  This Saturday was the Knights of Columbus "build" day.  A crew of about 50 spent the day hanging exterior siding, painting the interior and exterior and constructing porches.
This year's home is off Langford Parkway and it's future owner is Tawanna, a hard-working mother of four.  If you've volunteered for Habitat before, it's an amazingly rewarding experience.  It's a chance for the volunteers to work side-by-side with the future owner and his or her family.  It's a chance to experience that family's appreciation, and to understand how much homeownership means to them.
Habitat does an amazing job of screening it's home applicants.  Of the 18 homes that All Saints has built (and I'm sure the other Dunwoody churches numbers are similiar), none of the owners have defaulted on their mortgage.