Update From Councilman Shortal

The following update was sent out Sunday evening by Councilman Denis Shortal. 

My fellow citizens .... the following are some update items of interest ....

1. Last Council Meeting of the Year...... The last City Council meeting of 2011 will be Monday, 12 DEC 2011. There, as always, are some agenda items of interest but most important is that this will be the last Council meeting for Mayor Ken Wright, Councilman Danny Ross and Councilman Robert Wittenstein. All three of these gentleman have been heavily involved in the formation of and, the first three years of our City. I ask each of you to make a special effort to attend this meeting to show your appreciation to Ken, Danny and Robert for the massive effort they have put forth on behalf of all of us citizens of Dunwoody. The meeting will start promptly at 7:00 PM this Monday, 12 December at our City Hall. Please try to be there by 7:00PM.

2. Dunwoody Police Christmas For Kids ...… This 3rd annual event is spearheaded by our own "Dunwoody's Finest" ... our Police men and women with support from our city staff, businesses and citizens. We are still in need of some toys for children up to ages 15. If you can find it in your spirit of giving and budget please bring unwrapped toys to the police reception area in our city hall by 15 DEC. It will be greatly appreciated and you will be bringing the joy of Christmas to some young children. Click on the following website for a very well done "You Tube" presentation on our Christmas for Kids program ...

3. Fire Hydrants ... In the last two "Clean, Fix and Shine-Up Dunwoody Days" we have made a max effort to paint all the fire hydrants in Dunwoody. We are aware that there are still a few hydrants that need painting. If you see one of these please note its location and send me an email including the location so that we can put it on our "to do" list.

4. Elections ... My congratulations to our newly elected mayor and council members ... Mayor elect Mike Davis, Council Members elect Lynn Deutsch and Terry Nall. They will officially take office after they are sworn in ... this is tentatively schedule to take place at a special called meeting on 3 JAN 2012. Please check the city website ... http://www.dunwoodyga.gov/home.aspx ...for final details and for other important city information. Also, my sincere congratulations to all of you that got out and voted. Although I personally would like to see 100% voter turn out, the percentage of citizens that voted far exceeded expectations. To me that demonstrates that you are heavily involved in the future of our city and for that I say ... thank you!

5. Recycling .... In previous "updates" I have told you that it is my perception that the number of Dunwoody households that are recycling has greatly increased ... now I have proof. The following numbers were provided by Ted Rhinehart, Deputy COO/Infrastructure of DeKalb County ... thanks Ted. From the end of 2008 thru the end on 2010 (the latest full year numbers available) the number of Dunwoody family households that are recycling has increased from 3,778 to 4,819. Percentage wise the increase was from 31% to 40%. I think when the final 2011 results are in these numbers will be even higher. For the YTD 2011 Dunwoody residents have recycled 1,513,120 pounds of recyclable materials ...that is impressive. Our thanks to all of you who have joined the "blue box recycling brigade." For those of you interested in joining the recycling effort ... below is all the information you will need:

Call the Sanitation Customer Service (404) 294-2900 or email sanitation@co.dekalb.ga.us and subscribe to the residential recycling program. (Initial subscription cost is $30.00 which includes the blue box and 200 blue bags). You can also subscribe to the recycling program, by going to the following website ... Residential Curbside Recycling ... click on "Residential Subscription Curbside Recycling Application," fill out the application and send it along with your check or money order of $30.00 to the Sanitation Division, 3720 Leroy Scott Drive, Decatur, GA 30032. Make checks payable to DeKalb County. A "blue box" and 200 blue bags (a four year supply) will be dropped off at your address once your request is processed.

6. Security .... Tis' the season that we all need to increase our security awareness. Keep your house doors locked at all times, keep some lights, TV etc. on when you are away, keep a sharp eye on your neighbor's homes around you and don't open you door to strangers until you have verified their identity. If what you are seeing doesn't pass your "smell test" call 911 ASAP. When out and about be vigilant of your surroundings, provide extra security of your wallet and purse, when shopping park in a well lit area and don't park next to a van type vehicle, if you feel uncomfortable get someone to walk to your car with you, as you approach your car look under and into your car prior to opening a door, once in your car lock your doors immediately and please don't leave anything of value in your car where it can be easily seen. You will be glad you took these precautions and our police will have more time to tend to other issues.

7. Paving .... By the end of this week all the streets on the 2011 paving list should be paved. There is still some stripping to be done on streets that have already been paved and that will be started as soon as these last residential streets are paved. We have now paved more streets in the last two years than in the previous 20 years that I have lived here. My thanks to all our city staff in the Public Works Department for a job well done. As you know, we had all the streets in the city evaluated in 2009 using a laser truck to keep the "politics" out of the decision of the priority of paving the streets. I am well aware that just about anyone, who's street has not already been paved, can justify that their street needs paving. It boils down to the fact that many years of neglect cannot be rectified over night. We should all take confidence in the fact that we are making great progress and your taxes are more than 19% less than what they would have been had we not become a city.

8. Request .... I have one request ... when you get a chance please email me with what you feel are the two or three top priorities for our City for 2012.

9. That is about all for this evening. Please pass this on to all your friends, neighbors, members of your HOA or anyone else you think maybe interested. If anyone would like to be added to my email list please let me know and I will make that happen. Thanks for making it a great year for our city ... all of you make all of this worth doing. In closing, Meredy and I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever you celebrate this special season of the year. May each of us find the PEACE we all desire!

Let Us Continue To Build Our City Together

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