Sunday, August 31, 2008

A special thank you to DeKalb P.D.

Honoring the Officers of the DeKalb Police Department

Dunwoody North, the South Eastern Gateway to Dunwoody, has 1,250 homes and was established more than 40 years ago. The Dunwoody North Civic Association is a vital part of life in Dunwoody with a very active Neighborhood Watch Program.

To show our appreciation, several shifts of the DeKalb County Police, North Precinct were treated to a luncheon provided by Brett Cavalli, Proprietor Carrabba’s Italian Grill, 1210 Ashford Crossing, Atlanta, GA, 30346.

Desserts were provided by Dunwoody North Home and Garden Club.

John Heneghan, President of DNCA (current candidate for Member at Large from District 3 for City of Dunwoody) and his executive board have been extremely supportive of Lisa Dierks Unkefer, Chairman of the Neighborhood Watch Program who in turn works closely with DeKalb.

We have enjoyed excellent support and a good relationship with the officers and personnel at DeKalb County North Precinct and just wanted to say thank you.

Several important Dunwoody meetings this week.


On the Right Side of my blog there is a Google Calendar box (shown above) that I use to list either Dunwoody related meetings or general Dunwoody community events like the Dunwoody Nature Center, the Stage Door Players and other special events. There are several important City of Dunwoody meetings coming up this week that you should be aware of.

Wednesday Morning - 8:45 a.m. Dr. Crawford Lewis speaks at Dunwoody HS

Dunwoody Chamblee Parents' Council Meeting
Wednesday, September 3
Dunwoody High School
Refreshments at 8:45, Meeting begins at 9am.


Thursday Evening - 7 p.m. Governor's Commission Meeting on the City of Dunwoody

City Task Force reports to the Governor's Commission.
Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 2nd Floor to the Left
Police & Transportation are on the schedule.

Saturday Afternoon -
4 p.m. District 3 Dunwoody Candidate Forum

Dunwoody Community Church, 2250 Dunwoody Club Dr Atlanta, GA 30350
This forum is sponsored by a number of the District 3 sub-divisions with Gordon Jackson doing introductions and Dick Williams asking questions. This forum will include all city wide candidates and the local candidates from District 3.

Sunday Evening - 5 p.m. District 1 Dunwoody Candidate Forum

The Branches Club, 1318 Winding Branch Circle Dunwoody, GA 30338
This forum will include all city wide candidates and the local candidates from District 1.

The internet, it's not your fathers encyclopedia.

My eight year old son needed to do a book report for a book he read over the summer and he was allowed to do it in a Powerpoint format. Needless to say the boy & I spent some quality time behind the keyboard "geeking out" once the report was written in longhand on paper.

During the book report project we were discussing how the use of the internet is going to change the way his generation looks at everything and how it has already drastically changed the educational tools available to him vs when I was a boy. I explained the set of 24 encyclopedias that I had as a youth and then showed him wikipedia. I explained news reels in World War II, network news in the Vietnam era and the use of YouTube like services which are now available to anyone. We discussed different aspects of the internet and the various uses for it.

My son really enjoyed the internet service YouTube and this was a video that was both semi educational as well as humorous. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

Saturday, August 30, 2008

AJC - Dunwoody police plan adds officers, $1 million to budget


By DAVID SIMPSON, DAVID MARKIEWICZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sunday, August 31, 2008


Even as backers of the Dunwoody cityhood push were telling voters that their modest proposed police budget would improve public safety while avoiding a tax increase, an internal task force was preparing a report recommending a much larger — and more expensive — police department.

The task force recommendation would increase the projected police payroll for the new DeKalb County city by more than $1 million. In a report dated Aug. 16, the group recommended cutting other departments’ spending to make the up the difference. That could be a challenge in an overall budget estimated at $18.8 million with a surplus of less than $300,000.

In an e-mail reply to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oliver Porter, operations consultant to the task force, said the new City Council, slated to be elected Sept. 16, will consider the recommendation.

“As in almost any budget, there will be competition for resources. … Suffice it to say that in many cases these will be difficult decisions,” Porter wrote.

Porter reiterated the contention, made by cityhood proponents before the July 15 incorporation referendum, that Dunwoody will have more patrol officers per shift than now provided by DeKalb County police.

The police task force was among 10 committees studying the delivery of services such as parks and recreation, roads, courts and zoning and planning.

The police task force report proposed small additions to the city’s patrol staff but major increases in other positions, such as detectives and managers, and also proposed positions not included at all in the pre-election proposal, such as crime scene technicians.

The Journal Constitution reported two weeks before the July 15 referendum that the city’s proposed police force of 28 officers would give it much fewer officers per capita than many other nearby cities and fewer than national averages.

That level of staffing was quickly dismissed in the report by the eight-member police task force of Citizens for Dunwoody. The task force, which began meeting in May, included at least five members with law enforcement experience.

“To suggest adequate police services could be provided with 28 officers is just not possible,” the report said.

Instead, the report recommended 38 full-time and six part-time officers, including some officers devoted to traffic. The report also called for seven civilian employees, including crime scene technicians and administrative assistants. No civilian employees were included in the earlier proposal.

The task force said its increased proposal still would not meet minimum staffing recommended by national police organizations, but it “will allow us to provide bare bones, but certainly adequate, services.”

Before the referendum, backers of cityhood accused DeKalb County police of neglecting their area. The county police force has three officers working “beats” in Dunwoody in each of three overlapping shifts per day. Dunwoody backers said those officers sometimes were diverted elsewhere and promised the new city would put four patrol officers on each eight-hour shift.

Porter’s e-mailed statement Friday said, “The new city will have improved police coverage, and the only question is how much better can it be made.”

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Dr. Crawford Lewis to speak at Dunwoody High School on Sept. 3 for DCPC Meeting.

Dunwoody Chamblee Parents' Council Meeting
Wednesday, September 3
Dunwoody High School
Refreshments at 8:45, Meeting begins at 9am.

Speaker: Dr. Crawford Lewis

Dr. Lewis will be addressing issues related to both the Dunwoody and Chamblee High School Clusters

The DCPC is a great way for parents to get informed, meet key players at the County, network with other parents/neighbors and learn how to make a difference in their community.

If you have questions, contact Co-Presidents Page Olson (770-395-6025, gardengirlpage@bellsouth.net) or Susan Wittenstein (770-396-4747, sirwit@comcast.net)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

I'm an introvert behind the microphone and an extrovert on the computer.

Tonight was the big political forum in Dunwoody where the candidates had the ability to stand up say a few words and then answer questions from the panel.

I went on at the very end and it was amazing how this blog and more specifically my priorities as published yesterday covered almost every single question that the panel presented, be it zoning, police, parks, traffic, coordination with schools, and transparency in government. The one question that every candidate was asked was regarding the contracting out of city services and up to today I was probably the most vocal Candidate of the City Council who questioned what the end product would look like and would it be best for Dunwoody? Tonight a few others also spoke up against accepting the bid of a single bidder unless they were convinced that the price matched the services and that it was best for the city. Like yesterday's blog entry, I stated that it was the single most important decision to be made by the City Council since it will drastically affect the way that the city operates for the next six years.

Public speaking is not my thing, I'll do it if I have to but I don't enjoy it. Believe it or not, I actually shy away from the spotlight and would rather talk about anything but brag about myself or what I have done. Someone used the term Work Horse vs. Show Horse and I think I could live with that description for myself. Plenty of people congratulated me after the event and said I did great. As I stood there shaking hand after hand, many stated that they follow this blog and that they appreciated the time and effort that I put forward on behalf of the community.

There was the sweetest lady who stated before the event that I had earned her vote many months ago because of the way that I give politicians hell on this site and that she especially came tonight to see me in action. I didn't get a chance to talk to her after the event but I keep wondering if I was able to covey the same message that I could behind the keyboard? Probably nothing close. I went in with a few crib notes but barely touched half of the topics I wanted to cover, my microphone presence was load and domineering, my delivery was all over the place and I could have answered the questions much better.

Don't get me wrong, I was probably fine to many who saw it but I know that I personally could have done better relaying the messages that I wanted to convey. I know I was passionate about the topics I covered, conveyed honest emotion and concern about what I felt was best for the city. I think I connected with people at least on some level because of it. Oh well, I am who I am and I'm not going to change that now in the next two weeks.

For my readers who introduced themselves last night, thank you for coming out because it was meeting you that I enjoyed the most. Thank you.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

My top priorities for Dunwoody


In preparation for this evenings political forum (Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 7 pm) the Dunwoody Homeowners Association asked each of the candidates for a quick bio of their qualifications and their highest priorities for the new city.

Once seated on the City Council, my initial priorities will be as follows.

Do we accept the sole source bid of CH2MHill? Are there other options available?

The biggest issue facing the new city council will be one of the first decisions that they will be forced to make and that will be whether or not to accept the master contracting bid from CH2MHill or to look for other options as to the day to day operations of the city. It is my belief that the contract negotiations going on now are being productive but with only one bidder on the contract, the city council should be willing to scrap the only proposal if it comes in too high to either rebid or find other solutions. Choosing the CH2MHill bid would mean a relatively smooth start up and running of the backend city services but if the cost is too high, acceptance of this bid would mean very little money for capital improvements and extended police services, both of which the city drastically needs. This decision would also tie the hands of the City Council for the term of the contract, possibly up to 5 or 6 years. The elected officials need to have options to decide what is best for the long term viability of the city and being locked into a long term, over priced contract doesn’t look like it offers the best deal, especially if we won’t have money for needed expenses other than general operations.

I believe that smaller government is better government and that the contracted out model of one company to do all essential backend services is very attractive. But if the master contract of CH2MHill doesn’t make sense at the time of proposal, I will be looking for other options which may include rebidding the original RFP or going with a highbred contracting model whereby City Department Directors are hired and then they bid out individual contracts for their respective needs, be it Roads, Payroll, HR, etc.; instead of CH2MHill having one master contract for all such services.

Public Safety – Dunwoody Police Department

The Dunwoody Police Chief position will be one of the first positions filled and I take it for granted that the candidate selected will have vast experience in local law enforcement and possibly experience in working for a local start up police department; therefore the person hired will have my utmost trust as far as setting up the police department. I want a police force that is visible in the community serving & protecting the citizens and what DeKalb County previously offered Dunwoody citizens didn’t come close to what I envision for Dunwoody. I want regular patrols ready to respond to emergency calls but I also want dedicated officers patrolling the high crime areas of the city protecting the innocent citizens while letting the criminal element know that they should move elsewhere. I want crime statistics online, searchable and mapped to clearly identify trends so to target our resources. I want enough detectives on the force so that they can actually solve crimes vs. just being glorified insurance adjusters who barely have enough time filling out reports, jumping from case to case because they are overworked. I want Code Enforcement Officers to enforce the codes currently on the books while doing so in a neighborly way, if possible. I would also like to offer incentives to police officers to live within the city limits so that they are closer in case of emergency, their police cars are parked in our neighborhoods and they become entrenched in the community in which they serve. The above staffing levels may not be possible the first year but that is where I hope to be as soon as our budget allows.

Zoning, Land Use & Transportation.

A comprehensive land use plan which also is linked to a transportation plan must be developed for the city and citizen input is imperative. Zero growth is not an effective city planning strategy but smart growth is; therefore I promise to always consider the needs of the current residents prior to deciding what is best for a specific piece of property. I want walkable neighborhoods, dedicated bike lanes, improved cross walks, transportation options, conservation of open lands, local character and a vibrant Dunwoody Village and other town centers.

Starting out SLOW, proving revenues first, being Open & Transparent

Dunwoody doesn’t have a proven track record to know exactly what our revenues are, therefore I promise to be especially fiscally conservative the first year and always work to obtain a balanced budget to keep tax increases at bay. DeKalb County purposely worked at hiding public information from the citizens they are entrusted to serve; and I promise that I will do everything in my power to have every important government document published to the web to keep the citizens informed. Transparency in Government breeds self-corrective behavior and I will work hard to be the exact opposite of the DeKalb County Administration that we have just broken off from.

Coordination with other governmental agencies, DeKalb County School System / Ga Perimeter College.

I will encourage coordination with the school systems in the area to possibly find solutions to transportation and infrastructure issues impacting our roads and over all quality of life. If the Mayor doesn't appoint an official city liaison to the schools, I with two children scheduled to be in two different elementary schools next year will continue to be active in this area.

Monday, August 25, 2008

New Dunwoody School blueprints are now available.


Below are nine links to blueprint drawings which are rather large in dimension (and 3 Mb each) therefore when the pdf document opens you may want to rotate it and then zoom in to see the details. I wanted these plans prior to the trees being removed for the protection of the residents who live on Windhaven Court but at least now they can see what was officially supposed to be saved and compare it to what was actually done.

As I said previously, these plans are not final and the DCSS hasn't notified me of when the final plans will be available. The best person to ask regarding this is Ms. Pat Pope, Chief Operations Officer of the DCSS at (678) 676-1331.

When the final electronic plans are available, I'll be sure to post them on line.

Kindergarten restrooms, are they needed in the new school?

Kindergarten restrooms, are they needed in the new school?

My quest to obtain a couple of the electronic site plans for the new 4th & 5th grade elementary school on Womack has been thwarted by the claim that the plans are not final, instead the DCSS provided me a few hard copy drawings of the school. In fact for $50.00 I was given every drawing related to the construction of the school, all 33 lbs of drawings.

In the next day or so, I will be posting some of drawings that I thought needed to be shared with the community but first I will need to have them converted to an electronic format. Since I have no use with the complete set of drawings and there is no school PTA to give them to, they have been donated to the Dunwoody Homeowner's Association for their review & use.

The one item that jumped out at me when looking at the drawings was that the classrooms are still labeled as being a traditional elementary school and if you look at the kindergarten classrooms (at the photo above) you will see the plans for individual classroom bathrooms. Fourth & Fifth grade classrooms don't need individual toilets but if the long term plan for the school was to be converted back to a traditional elementary school then the rooms should at least be plumbed for them to be added later.

The DCSS hasn't notified me of when the final plans will be available but the best person to ask is Ms. Pat Pope, Chief Operations Officer of the DCSS at (678) 676-1331.

When the final electronic plans are available, I'll be sure to post them on line.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

John Heneghan's Qualifications for Dunwoody City Council

John Heneghan

In preparation for the Tuesday political forum (Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 7 pm) the DHA asked each of the candidates for a quick bio of their qualifications and their highest priorities for the new city.

Below are my qualifications and my priorities will be posted by Tuesday.
  1. President of the Dunwoody North Civic Association (1,200 homes, largest subdivision in Dunwoody). What has your neighborhood association done for you?

  2. Chairman of the Transportation Task Force for the Citizens for Dunwoody

  3. Citizens for Dunwoody Task Force member assisting with boundaries & mapping.

  4. Rated Georgia’s 3rd most influential Political Blogger for Heneghan’s Dunwoody Blog

  5. Fights for open government and electronically available records. e.g., CfD Task Force Reports, Brook Run, Peachtree Middle, New School

  6. Fought for intersection improvement at Peachtree Charter Middle School

  7. Working with DeKalb County on improvements to Womack Road for new school.

  8. Advocate for improved police services, the officers themselves & reduced crime.

  9. Fiscally conservative, the city needs to start slow until revenues are proven.

  10. Successfully rallied my neighborhood to stop harmful rezoning on N. Peachtree Rd.

  11. Believes Dunwoody should be a walkable, bikeable & sustainable city.

  12. Publicly identifies waste & corruption in Government and not afraid to be vocal.
    Brook Run $500,000 extension, DeKalb Parks Master Plan, playground maintenance, Vernon Jones security force, improper spending, Vernon Jones skate park approval.

  13. Advocate for Brook Run Park – $11.5 Million, Benches, Security, Speeding, Skate Park,

  14. Husband to Dunwoody Mom of the Year and father to three active boys who attend DeKalb County Schools.

  15. Degree in Public Administration and Senior Manager for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation

Dr. Kevin Harris takes action to improve Dunwoody High School conditions.

Dr. Kevin Harris, Principal Dunwoody H.S.

Last week I received a copy of an e-mail that was sent to Crawford Lewis from a Dunwoody High School Parent and I posted it to my site in order to bring the Dunwoody overcrowding situation to a larger audience. Within hours the letter from my site was copied onto a GoDeKalb.com article which was published the same day by Cathy Cobbs of the Dunwoody Crier. The impassioned e-mail sparked an educated discussion, along with research on the topic of the Federal No Child Left Behind Law and DeKalb's implementation of it.

If you are not aware of GoDeKalb.com, I highly recommend checking in on the site and I am particularly impressed with the commenters who do are very knowledgeable on the subject of the DeKalb County School System.

Today I am happy to bring you a letter from Dunwoody's new Principal, Dr. Kevin Harris showing some positive changes at Dunwoody High School
.

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Dunwoody HS Stakeholders,

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT DURING THESE LAST TWO WEEKS!!!!

Words cannot convey the appreciation and gratitude that I have for my staff who supported me throughout the storm. We did our best work to address the obvious issues and challenges at DHS. I want to send a strong message to the DHS Educational Community that I am leading the charge with student excellence as my premise. I want to assure you that we finalized the scheduling issues and we will only tweak schedules that have serious implications toward academic success. I ask that I am afforded the opportunity to lead my faculty and staff down the road less traveled. Scheduling is an essential part of any student's educational career. However, we built the Master Schedule based on student/parent selection of classes and NOT teachers. I believe in doing my job and that is to supervise and evaluate my staff at DHS. Being new to DHS, I am coming with an achievement paradigm shift in mind: ALL students will achieve! I will protect my staff as long as they are in compliance with the scope, sequence and delivery of instruction. The staff members at DHS are clear about my instructional expectations – that teaching and learning are non-negotiable. I will not accept mediocrity from any staff member and I will not accept mediocrity from any of the 1611 students at DHS. I will only change schedules on a case by case analysis.

Progress! Progress! Progress... I am glad to inform everyone that we received 6 additional teachers this week, 1 PE teacher and 1 Para will arrive on Monday, August 25, 2008, and I received clearance to post and interview for two Math Teachers. We are currently interviewing for two Para positions in which we anticipate making recommendations for hire by COB on Friday, August 22, 2008. I am still pushing for an additional Assistant Principal, Counselor, Cafeteria Worker, Custodial Worker, SRO and a Campus Security Officer. Furthermore, two additional trailers will arrive on campus on Friday, August 22, 2008.

We are no longer receiving school choice students. To dispel any rumors about DHS and our enrollment, we are only accepting/enrolling students who reside in the DHS attendance zone.

Earlier this week, I had a situation where we had a breach with information sharing. All stakeholders who are involved understand that I do NOT and will NOT hide any truths about DHS. However, I do expect that if you want information about what is happening at the school, just send me an email or come by the school. If I am available, I will spend time with you. If you need an appointment, call Ms. Tanya Cooper@ 678.874.8502. Please do not ask any of the DHS staff members about information regarding the school and use it as information sharing. (AYP) Ask Your Principal!

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of meeting the Fire Marshall! The Fire Marshall walked into DHS with a citation in hand and asked for my signature. I politely expressed to the Fire Marshall that, "I am a true believer in holding myself accountable and always to be in compliance, but can you tell me why I am being served a citation and we have not walked the building." The Fire Marshall responded, "I received information from some parents stating that last year there were only 1100 students at DHS and this year there are more than 1600 students at DHS so I have to issue a citation at this time." My response, again Sir, I will gladly sign off on this citation, but if I can ask a question, what does the certificate of occupancy state with respect to the total number of students allowed for enrollment? The Fire Marshall stated that he did not know that number nor did he have access to that information at that time. As a result, the citation was rescinded. The Fire Marshall walked the building and made minimal recommendations to safety concerns. It is documented that DHS had close to1400 students enrolled last year

Ironically, on that very same day, unannounced to me, the Media arrived on the DHS campus. I was made aware of the fact that a reporter from Channel 2 NEWS was en route to campus to do a story on DHS--over-crowded issues and fire & safety issues. I re-routed the reporter to the Superintendent’s office since proper protocol was not followed to conduct interviews at DHS.

I am pleased to inform you that ALL textbooks with the exception of 20 AP Psychology books were assigned and issued to the students today. I want to ensure you that I will complete a textbook inventory on Friday, August 22, 2008 to make certain that ALL STUDENTS receive their textbook. Additionally, all locker assignments have been issued to students at DHS. We currently have approximately 50 lockers available to assign if needed.

Parents, I want you to know that I will respond to your emails. Please understand that many of your questions about schedule changes have been addressed in this email. I will call/email you back soon. However, if you need to contact me, please contact Ms. Cooper and schedule an appointment...

PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE CALLED A MEETING WITH THE SCHOOL COUNCIL (Tuesday, August 26, 2008 @ 4:00PM). This meeting will be the first of many as I plan to discuss/present preliminary findings based upon needs and the future of DHS.

PS Thank you Dr. Briggs for your trusted and valued services to the Dunwoody Community!

Respectfully submitted,

Kevin Harris, Ed. D.
Principal

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Absentee info & No Early Voting at Brook Run for Dunwoody Vote.

Instructions on the different methods of voting:

Early/Advanced Voting:

Absentee Ballot Voting:

Obtain your ballot request form by calling DeKalb County Voter Registration Office at 404-298-4020 or on-line by clicking here to go to the DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections website or clicking here for the form.

Mail absentee ballot request forms to DeKalb County Voter Registration and Election Office, 4380 Memorial Dr., Suite 300, Decatur, GA 30032 or faxed to 404-298-4038. Absentee ballot request forms should be received by the County by September 8th to give ample time to get your ballot mailed in but the last official day is September 12th. Your absentee ballot will be mailed to the address shown on your Dekalb County Voter registration card.

Mail your completed absentee ballot to the address shown above or you may hand deliver your ballot to the address shown above from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM starting August 18th. Completed ballots must be received by September 16th.

Normal Voting:

Friday, August 22, 2008

Sample Dunwoody Ballot - Who are you going to vote for?

On September 16th all registered voters within the City limits of Dunwoody will be eligible to vote for four of the six City Council positions. A sample ballot of the September 16th election was just posted by the DeKalb County Board of Elections, please take a second to click here to figure out who the candidates are and how you might vote.

There are three election districts in Dunwoody (I have explained the boundaries previously), and each district has two representatives who live within that district. One representative is only elected by the people who live within that that district and the second candidate also lives within that same district, but is elected by the entire city (at large).

So when you go to vote, you will vote for your local representative and in all three of the citywide council races. Now that you see the names on the ballot, do you know who you are voting for?

The Dunwoody Homeowners Association along with The Dunwoody Crier will be holding a Candidate Forum for the seven elected City of Dunwoody positions (six council members and a mayor). The forum will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 in the Sanctuary at Dunwoody United Methodist Church (1548 Mt Vernon Road).

In order to prepare for the forum, the DHA has requested from each City of Dunwoody candidate a page or two listing of our background and the highest priorities for our new City.

I will be posting my resume on line very soon.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Recruitment of the Dunwoody City Manager & Police Chief


The Human Resources Task Force met with the candidates Wednesday evening and discussed policy recommendations for the recruitment of the City Manager / Police Chief and the police force.

These and the previously discussed reports are now public records and available online for your reading pleasure at:
http://www.jkheneghan.com/city/Task_Force

The Governor's Commission is meeting this evening (Thursday) at 7 pm at Dunwoody United Methodist Church to have the task force reports presented to them in a very abbreviated format. This meeting is open to the public, so feel free to attend.

Since I am the one posting the reports as well as being a candidate for City Council, I have been receiving a number of calls & e-mails regarding the content of the reports. Where appropriate I have replied to the inquiries or if needed I have forwarded the e-mails to the Task Force Chairman for their comment or reply.

I like many in the community am still absorbing all of the information but if you have specific concerns or questions, please do raise them. Call someone on the task force for clarification, post a comment on this blog, write a letter to the Crier; do whatever you need to do to raise your concerns over what is being proposed in these reports. The future city council will be looking for your feed back in order to make some tough funding decisions, which once made will be setting a president for future policy decisions.

If you the residents don't voice concerns or ask questions now while we the candidates are looking for your vote; it might be a little to do so come September 17th. I urge you to get informed & ask the tough questions of the candidates now.

The future of Dunwoody is at stake.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Nancy Kaylor announces her candidacy for Dunwoody City Council, district 1.

Nancy Kaylor

Friends, neighbors and citizens of Dunwoody:

I am announcing my candidacy for the District 1 position for Dunwoody City Council.

I am a Georgia peach; I was born in Brookhaven, grew up in Sandy Springs, graduated from North Springs High School, and received a Batchelor of Science Degree in Economics from Georgia Tech.

After graduating from Tech I worked for the First National Bank of Cobb County and was instrumental in the opening and then being the manager of one of the first bank brokerage offices in the state of Georgia. I later went on to Trust Company Bank (now SunTrust) and helped open their brokerage office. At Trusco, I managed a billion dollar money market fund. The returns on the fund were consistently above comparable funds. I also bought and sold corporate and government bonds for various funds and accounts. My experience in start-ups and finance would be beneficial to the new city of Dunwoody.

I have been happily married for ten years to Keith Kaylor, an environmental engineer. We have a lovely 8 year old daughter who attends Vanderlyn elementary.

My community service includes volunteering at Vanderlyn and the Dunwoody nature center. I was also an officer for the Dunwoody MOMS club and volunteered at the Dekalb county battered women’s shelter.

If elected to City Council, I pledge to do the following:
  • Use my financial background to help the city council with setting budgets, tax anticipation notes, and financial oversight.
  • Minimize our taxes and ensure that our tax dollars are properly spent by conducting close oversight of all contractors providing city services, before and after the contracts are signed.
  • Ensure that Dunwoody residents are not burdened by excessive special fees and taxes without public input.
  • Balance the need for adequate police protection and other services with the desire for low taxes.
  • Make planning and zoning decisions based on urban planning principles and what benefits all residents. My decisions will not be influenced by developers or personal financial gain.
  • Coordinate with the county school board to help them continue to provide the best education for all of the children of Dunwoody.
  • Build a better working relationship with Dekalb County. With new parties involved, we can avoid the antagonistic politics of the past.
  • Work to make Dunwoody the best city it can be for all residents.
For more information, feel free to contact me at nancykaylor2000@yahoo.com.

Every child left behind?


A parent at Dunwoody High School has written the following plea for relief to Dr. Crawford Lewis and copied me asking that I let the community know. She states that there is a developing situation at DHS that could be catastrophic in terms of AYP, the ability to offer specialty classes, and a sense of community "ownership" of our neighborhood schools. Below is the email she sent last evening after the DHS PTSO board meeting. Despite the August 1 deadline for parents transferring students, and the availability of spots at receiving schools Stephenson and Redan, Dunwoody accepted 7 more transfers yesterday and are under orders by the school system to continue accepting them.

Dunwoody's enrollment has surged to 1640+.
Dear Dr. Lewis,

If DeKalb County Schools is a "Premier" school system, why is this administration failing Dunwoody High School?

We are short 3 math teachers. In a block schedule, that's a critical loss that cannot be made up by the affected students.

Because my son's Gifted Lit/Comp class has too many students to meet federal standards in gifted education, it has been redesignated as an Advanced class. Will the same thing happen to all of his classes, including AP World History?

Congestion on the streets within the school neighborhood and accessing from I-285 is reaching a critical mass. Kids are jaywalking and waiting too close to the street at the MARTA bus stop closest to the school. We've already had one accident. Will a student be hurt next?

Several times in the past week, on my way to work in the morning, I have seen students dropped off by parents as early as 6:30 am. In evening, returning from a meeting at Peachtree Charter Middle School, I saw students waiting in the outdoor picnic area for a ride home. Are the rules different for transferred students? Because at DHS, students hanging around unsupervised are sent home.

It's very clear that the DeKalb County School System has failed every student involved:
  • the students transferring from failing schools, eager to experience a quality education and enduring commutes lasting more than an hour each way because their home schools have failed them.
  • the students sitting up to 35 deep in classrooms without teachers and textbooks.
  • the students either sharing a locker or without a locker at all.
  • the students having classes changed two, three, even four times as the school staff desperately tries to place them in a viable schedule. Can we possibly achieve AYP in this environment?
  • the students forced to bring lunch to school because now there simply isn't enough time or capacity for every student to have a hot lunch.
  • the students who simply cannot get to class in time because gridlock happens in the halls and on the stairs during every class change.
Why is Dunwoody High School receiving so many students when schools like Stephenson and Redan are under capacity, yet met AYP? (DHS did not.) We have known since last spring that students would transfer to DHS. We prepared all summer to make the projected 130+/- students welcome. Then everything fell apart in the week prior to the opening of school.

You allowed far more students than our capacity to transfer . . . without giving us the teachers, support, and trailers to accommodate them. You are continuing to allow students to transfer despite an August 1 deadline for application.

Why are you doing this to us? Why, if everyone involved, from the Administration to the School Board, KNEW this would happen, is DHS not better supported?

I am saddened by what has happened to Dunwoody High School.

Do something about it. Now.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Dunwoody Police Task Force Report


The Citizens for Dunwoody Police Task Force report is now available on line.

Is this right size department for Dunwoody or should we start with a smaller one and grow to this level? Even if we wanted to fund this department proposal which is well in excess of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government projections, how can we?

Tough questions, without easy answers.

Adrian Bonser, DDS announces Candidacy for Dunwoody Council District 2, includes Central Dunwoody

Adrian Bonser, DDS
www.adrianbonser.com

DUNWOODY, GA – Adrian Gendell Bonser, DDS announced her candidacy for Dunwoody City Council District 2 today.

Dr. Bonser has eight years experience as a Registered Nurse working in critical care and 18 years of experience working as a general and cosmetic dentist. She started a private dental practice in Dunwoody in 1992. After building a thriving business, she sold it in 2001. Dr. Bonser then worked for over 5 years for the DeKalb County Board of Health and is currently working in the private sector as both a consultant and general dentist.

“For the past sixteen years, I’ve dedicated my life to serving the people of Dunwoody,” said Dr. Bonser. “Now, I’m asking for the voters’ support to continue that service in another way. The new City of Dunwoody has tremendous opportunity, but also faces many challenges. Together, I know we can build a city that is family-friendly, with a vibrant economy and countless cultural and recreational opportunities.”

Dr. Bonser was an early proponent of Dunwoody cityhood, engaging in organization, fundraising, and legislative meetings in support of cityhood. Dr. Bonser joined the Board of “Dunwoody Yes!” at its inception in March 2008.

“Dunwoody Yes!’ provided an opportunity for me to use my leadership skills, ingenuity, and business know-how to make a positive change in our community and the history of our great city. I will take that same experience, energy, and drive to the city council,” said Dr. Bonser.

Dr. Bonser has been married to Brian Bonser for over seven years. Brian is a Branch Chief in the Atlanta regional office for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dunwoody city elections are September 16th, 2008.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Task Force Reports & will CH2MHill be a good deal for us?

Saturday was the first day that all of the candidates got a chance to meet as a group and then we listened to the various Citizens for Dunwoody Task Force Reports and asked questions. We went over the Dunwoody charter, possible future ordinances, courts, planning & zoning, parks, permits & inspections, code enforcement, transportation and then finally police was rushed in at the tail end of the day. The reports are the culmination of thousands of hours of work whereby hundreds of Dunwoody volunteers looked at other cities best practices and then wrote a report on their suggestions to the future city council on how Dunwoody should operate.

As a Candidate, Transportation Task Force Chairman & an electronic pack rat; I requested to each of the other Task Force Chairs that electronic documents be provided to me in advance so that I could burn compilation DVD’s for each of the candidates. That was done for all presentations that were made today, except for Police and they will be forwarding that very soon to all the candidates. Once I get a copy of the police report, it will be uploaded to the police folder and all of the task force reports will also be available shortly on the Citizens for Dunwoody website. There are sill several of these task force sessions (Aug 20 & 28) with the candidates and Human Resources, Finance & IT will report out on these dates with their reports being uploaded at that time.

The report discussions were just quick over view sessions since the candidates will need to analyze the documentation in each report and then pose questions back to the Task Forces for clarification. As of today, all of the reports that were discussed in the public meeting (David Markiewicz of the AJC was there today and has already written an article) are now a matter of public record and are therefore available to the Citizens of Dunwoody to review.

Please note that it is taken for granted that there is probably a little bias built into each of these task force reports whereby the people who volunteered to work on a specific topic, probably felt that their subject was the most important of the task forces and therefore wanted to possibly spend more money than realistically available. For example, the people serving on the parks committee probably thought that park development was more important than the police department and the police committee may have wanted a larger police force but didn’t care about the roads being maintained. Because of this, these reports are just suggested starting points for the city council; they can accept and implement these reports as they are, reject them completely or pick and choose the pieces as they see fit. The elected officials when finally seated will be the decision makers in the process and these reports are only being offered as advisory suggestions.

Also on the agenda was a block of time on contracts presented by Mr. Oliver Porter. It was at this point that the candidates were informed that there were two official bids that were presented to run the city and that only one bid was strong enough to consider because the other bid only wanted a very small portion of the overall city work. The one now acceptable bidder to the RFP is the company CH2MHill and they talked to the candidates for about an hour regarding their qualifications and the services they would provide. Time was limited and this subject could have gone on for days. Luckily there is a separate committee of Dunwoody residents skilled in purchasing, contracting and law negotiating the services of this contract for the future City Council. Unfortunately with only one bidder if the negotiating team can’t get a fair price the city council will either need to continue the negotiations after being seated or will need to go a different route at that time. Hopefully for all concerned we hope that this turns out well, but the city council may need to be prepared to make some very tough decisions quickly after being seated if they fail.

The Task Force Reports as well as a few related documents that I provided to the candidates on the DVD have been saved to my personal servers and are now available below.

http://www.jkheneghan.com/city/Task_Force

Friday, August 15, 2008

My personal ethics keep getting in the way, not to mention the State & Federal Laws.


Running for political office as a federal employee who because of the Hatch Act is not allowed to accept any political contributions has been quite an interesting ordeal so far. First, I set a budget of $1,500 to fund my own political campaign, in order to obtain a position that pays $11,000 per year and will last 3 years. If I was running for office to obtain a second job, this choice was a really bad one since the pay, divided by the number of hours, would equate to the amount per hour I made on my paper route when I was 11. I am running for office because I believe I have the ability to make a difference and under the legal circumstances which I have to abide, I am even willing to self fund my campaign, to a point.

Because of my limited budget, I have to be extremely thrifty and decided early on that political yard signs and mass mailings cannot be afforded and therefore they will not be done. My expenses so far have been the ballot registration fee & business cards totaling about $800.00 leaving me another $700.00 to use wisely on other forms of advertising.

Here’s the issue that I am facing. My friends and supporters are already seeing the political yard signs and receiving mass mailings from my opponent and they feel helpless because they want a Heneghan yard sign in their front yard, yet they can’t get one. My supporters feel like they want to do more then they currently are and they are being limited by the restrictions of not being able to provide me financial support in any fashion.

Questions are being raised like…
  • Can we buy yard signs for you?
  • Can you sell us yard signs?
  • Can you hold a fund raiser? Can we?
  • If not, when is your birthday, maybe we can attend a party and then give you “gifts”?
  • Maybe you could hold a garage sale and I could buy one of your son’s “antique” Matchbox car’s for $500.00?
Wacky questions are being raised and I’m laughing off most of them. (Humm…With three boys, I think we have hundreds of Matchbox cars that my wife has collected at various garage sales?)

On Wednesday, I attended a candidate training session at the Georgia State Ethics Commission to learn more about what was, and was not allowed to be done. Since I was the only person in the room who didn’t want to accept any political contributions, I had to learn the technicalities of the definition of the word “contribution” and then explore with questions on how it affected my specific circumstances. Basically they brought in their attorney so I could question every angle and nuance of Georgia law. Besides the monetary contributions that I knew that I couldn’t accept because of my Federal employment, I also cannot accept any "in kind contributions" either. People are not allowed to buy signs and give them to me, because that would be a contribution in kind, which would be a violation of the Hatch Act that I must abide by. I cannot sell political signs because the money coming in would be considered a political donation which I am not willing to accept. The Hatch Act may have allowed a separate political committee that I was not officially apart of working on my behalf, but that would have caused the appearance of possible influence and I was advised by my work attorneys to not go that route.

In doing my own legal research on Georgia law to find if there was a way around some of the technicalities, I discovered that if two or more individuals took my logo off my site or used a bumper sticker graphic that I was thinking about using and printed their own political literature without my knowledge or approval; those individuals would need to have formed an independent committee and then filed the necessary legal and financial disclosure forms as shown in 21-5-34(f)1. The way I read the definition of independent committee in 21-5-3 (15) shown below, an individual is not covered therefore different rules might apply.
(15) "Independent committee" means any committee, club, association, partnership, corporation, labor union, or other group of persons, other than a campaign committee, political party, or political action committee, which receives donations during a calendar year from persons who are members or supporters of the committee and which expends such funds either for the purpose of affecting the outcome of an election for any elected office or to advocate the election or defeat of any particular candidate.
So what are the rules that need to be followed by individuals who independently and without knowledge of the candidate (me), go ahead and make expenditures (signs) on behalf of a candidate? Section 21-5-34(e)1 exempts individuals who make $25,000 or less of aggregate contributions to all candidates in one year, but it is silent on the amount of expenditures allowed to be made. That being said, if a complaint was filed against some individual (not me, because I had no knowledge) the Ethics Commission may decide that the $25,000 rule would be extended over to expenditures as well contributions. Or they may not, and the individual would then have to deal with the legal circumstances of his actions.

Trust me when I tell you that trying to run for political office on the cheap without allowing your friends and neighbors to assist you in any way, is more difficult than it sounds. They want to help in every way possible in order to get me into office and I'm conflicted because I want to follow not only the letter of the ethics laws but also the spirit of the various laws that I am suppose to be following. Because of this, I have informed my friends to abide by my requests and to not attempt to assist me financially in any way.

Instead, I would rather my supporters personally tell their friends and neighbors about my campaign and to encourage them to start reading the over 300 plus articles posted on the Dunwoody Blog, if they haven’t already been aware of the site. My supporters in the Dunwoody North area can write letters to the editor explaining to the community at large what I have done here for our little community. If those letters do not make it into the Crier due to space or editorial fairness policies, please send them to me via e-mail and I will print them here once the Crier has had the option to do so first. To my supporters outside of the Dunwoody North area, invite me to your neighborhood functions and swim tennis clubs where I can walk around with you to meet your neighbors and friends.

So that my supporters know, I have been campaigning diligently for the last several weeks, visiting school registrations, PTA meetings, political events, standing in front of grocery stores, visiting various swim tennis clubs and I will continue to work hard to get elected in this citywide seat.

Maybe I am naive, but I have faith that the voters in Dunwoody will not blindly vote for the candidates who spend the most money but instead they will research each candidate’s background and positions in order to make an educated decision come Election Day.

To my supporters and friends, the next time you see a sign from my opponent, keep in mind that every yard without a sign is already voting for me, so I thank you for spreading my message and continuing to support me.

It is much appreciated.

John

PS: I'm thinking about placing a newspaper ad the same day as the political forum. Is anyone in the market for an “antique” Lightning McQueen Matchbox car?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Vice President of Citizens for Dunwoody, Tom Taylor announces Candidacy for City Council, District 3 Local Seat

Tom Taylor

Tom Taylor announced today that he is running for Dunwoody City Council District 3 post. He served as Vice President of Citizens for Dunwoody, Inc. and is a founding board member of that organization. Taylor has been a driving force in the organization and has provided leadership during many key endeavors including the legislative process where he set the political strategy and formed and served as President of the Dunwoody Action Committee. He led multiple initiatives during the planning and implementation process, including serving as chair of the Police Task Force.

“Dunwoody will have an extremely short lead time to begin operations. There are still major issues to deal with in transitioning services and properties from DeKalb County that are not settled.” said Taylor. “I have been there leading this through the conceptual, organizational, legislative and implementation efforts. I know the issues, the County leadership and will commit to the city that I will work just as hard making Dunwoody succeed as I did for the past three years getting us through the successful incorporation.”

“While it has been my policy in all of the new cities not to endorse candidates, I can say that Tom’s commitment to creating a City of Dunwoody and unceasing leadership in every facet of the three-year effort leading up to the referendum was invaluable,” said Oliver Porter, architect of the Sandy Springs incorporation effort and consultant to the John’s Creek and Milton incorporations. “He’s gained a complete understanding of the issues and will not have a learning curve.”

Mr. Taylor also brings extensive, hands on business and financial management experience to the table. Beginning his career in the telecom industry with AT&T, Taylor transitioned to the defense and military contracting industries in the early 1990’s. In senior management roles with both Rockwell International Tactical Systems, and DynCorp International, Taylor managed a variety of sensitive defense programs with multi-million dollar budgets for both the U.S. government as well as customers worldwide. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, with 21 years of combined active and reserve service. Taylor earned an undergraduate degree from Georgia State University in International Relations and Economics and an MBA in International Business.

In addition to Citizens for Dunwoody, Taylor serves as a board member on the Dunwoody Homeowners Association and the Executive Committee of the DeKalb Republican Party. He has worked as a parent volunteer at Kingsley Elementary and Peachtree Charter Middle School. He also coached youth soccer at the Ashford-Dunwoody YMCA for 18 seasons. Taylor is a native of Boca Raton, Florida and has lived in the Dunwoody area for 20 years. He and his wife of 24 years, Wendi, have a 16-year-old son, Keith, who attends Wesleyan School. The family is also hosting an exchange student from Thailand for this school year.

Doug Thompson candidate for Dunwoody City Council, district 3 local representative.

Doug Thompson & Family

http://www.douglasthompson.blogspot.com

Whether climbing mountains, competing in triathlons, running his own law firm or driving carpool, Doug Thompson shows he has the dedication needed to serve the City of Dunwoody as a member of the City Council. Doug is seeking the District 3 seat.

Growing up in a military family, Doug learned early to view life as an adventure. Through frequent moves and deployments by his flight surgeon father, Doug saw an opportunity to learn from changing situations. Saying goodbye to his deploying father taught his early to accept responsibility and know that doing the right thing is often not the easiest road to take.

Doug graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting. Doug then continued his education at UT by obtaining a law degree. During his last year of law school, Doug passed the Bar exam in two different states, Georgia and West Virginia. After graduating from law school in 1988, Doug moved to Atlanta to work with the International Accounting firm of Ernst and Young. In 1990, Doug passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam and decided to start his own law firm. He had an office in downtown Atlanta until 1998 when Doug moved his business to Dunwoody. This gave him the opportunity to volunteer at his daughter’s school and to be more involved in her daily activities. Since his daughter, Kenzie is a student in the DeKalb public school system she was able to spend her after school time with her dad at his Dunwoody office.

As a Dunwoody accountant, Doug will use his accounting background to help the Dunwoody City Council with setting and achieving budgets. As a Dunwoody attorney, Doug knows the law and how it affects Dunwoody. He is also a tireless worker, effective problem solver, and skilled negotiator. He excels at working with opposing parties. The City of Dunwoody will need Doug’s services in negotiating with DeKalb County when governmental services are transferred to the City of Dunwoody.

Doug has been involved in community activities and has done volunteer work with other triathletes at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital (now known as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta). The Thompson’s are active members of North Point Community Church.

Keeping Dunwoody safe for families is a major objective for Doug. He enjoys outdoor activities and spends many hours outdoors in Dunwoody training for the triathlon competitions he enters. He wants every citizen to feel safe when pursuing his or her daily activities.

His other passions include marathons, cycling, running, mountain climbing, growing vegetables and traveling with his family.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Mallard Holliday, Candidate for Dunwoody City Council, District 1 At Large

Mallard Holliday
MALLARD HOLLIDAY TO RUN FOR DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 1 AT LARGE

DUNWOODY, GA—Mallard Holliday (39) announced today that he will run for the Dunwoody City Council at large, District 1 post. Holliday is an executive board member of Citizens for Dunwoody, Inc. and has been involved in the cityhood effort since the group’s formation in 2005.

“We need a business-like approach to the city and it needs to be run by council members who are fiscally conservative and understand the budget and planning work that’s been done to-date,” said Holliday. “After elections, there’s a very short time period before the city starts. I’ve been involved since day one and I understand the plan and the budget requirements.”

In making the announcement, Holliday cited his service to Citizens for Dunwoody and his more than 15 years experience in business including managing multi-million dollar budgets and in working with local, state and national non-profits and community organizations.

“I’ve spent the majority of my career in community relations working to bring together businesses and non-profits to better communities,” Holliday said. “I hope to continue to work for Dunwoody by serving on the council during this critical start-up phase.”

In addition to Citizens for Dunwoody, Holliday is a trustee of the Georgia 4-H Foundation, board member of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and serves on the Children’s Council at Dunwoody United Methodist Church.

Holliday is a public relations executive for a telecommunications company. He is a life-long resident of Georgia and lives in Dunwoody with his wife Pam and their three children Alex, Jane and Tori. Their son Alex attends Austin Elementary School and daughter Jane attends Dunwoody United Methodist Church Preschool. Holliday is a graduate of the State University of West Georgia where he majored in mass communications and minored in business. He holds certificates in community relations, marketing and public affairs from Boston College, Emory University and George Washington University respectively.

Larry Pankey Announces Dunwoody City Council Campaign, District 2 Local Representative

Larry Pankey

Dear Friends and Dunwoody Citizens:

I am announcing my candidacy for the Dunwoody City Council, Central District, Post 2. This is a historic time for our new city, and I am asking you for the privilege to serve on our first-ever council. Dunwoody must have a council fully dedicated to enriching families, preventing tax increases, controlling apartment development, and increasing our public safety capabilities. I will bring to the City Council my leadership abilities, strong work ethic, optimism, and proven negotiating skills.

Along with my wife, Laura Horlock, and our four children Zachary, Luke, Madison, and Jack, I have lived and worked in Dunwoody since 2002. My law firm, Pankey & Horlock, is also headquartered on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, just inside of I-285.

Raised on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in Mandaree, North Dakota, I am a Native American and member of the Three Affiliated Tribes. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia in 1989 and a law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1992.

I have practiced civil litigation in Atlanta since 1992, focusing on employment, general business and real estate law. I have extensive experience in federal and state courts, and have been an Adjunct Professor of Law at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta. I have also served as secretary of the DeKalb County Bar Association.

My wife and I are active in Dunwoody civic circles. I currently coach football and baseball at Murphy-Candler, and previously coached soccer, basketball and t-ball at Dunwoody Baptist Church. I help coach the chess club at Vanderlyn Elementary and have served for several years on the Community Advisory Board for the DeKalb Junior League. My wife, Laura, served on the court’s task force for Citizens for Dunwoody, which created a proposed organizational plan for the Dunwoody municipal court. Laura teaches Sunday School at Dunwoody United Methodist Church, is a former officer of the DeKalb Junior League, and a former board member of the International Women’s House, a shelter for battered women. My wife grew up in DeKalb County and I have lived in DeKalb County for the last 16 years.

I love this community, and my wife and I are raising our family as well as growing our business here. I look forward to helping the City of Dunwoody reach its full potential. I ask for your vote on September 16.

Best regards,

Larry Pankey
(770) 670-6250

Treehouse Tra-La, Family Picnic and Screen on the Green.

Dunwoody Nature Center
invites you to their
Treehouse Tra-La!
Saturday August 30th

10 am Ribbon-cutting

7 - 8:30 pm Picnic supper *
8:30 pm Screen on the Green:
Swiss Family Robinson

We’ll honor Austin Elementary students and Dunwoody community leaders, who raised funds for our treehouse, and DeKalb County’s Commission and Parks & Recreation Department.

* Thanks to Carrabba’s for providing a free Italian dinner for the first 200 who call!

RSVP for the Ribbon-cutting and Reserve your FREE Picnic Supper by Carrabba's by calling the DNC office at 770-394-3322. (Note: beverage not included.) Limited to first 200 reservations
- no voice mail or emailed reservations for dinner accepted.

Dunwoody Nature Center
5343 Roberts Drive
Dunwoody, GA 30338
770-394-3322

www.dunwoodynature.org

Dunwoody will need a Comprehensive Land Use Plan, are you ready to get involved?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDIzEGXq-YU

Take a look at the video above, the residents don’t want the development and the developer thinks that it is the best use of the land. Who wins this argument & why?

On the surface I tend to side with the residents because the street looks to be a quiet residential street but later you learn that it is North Druid Hills and it sits directly across the street from another apartment complex. The big question for me comes down to what does the Comprehensive Land Use Plan say? How old is it and what has changed since the plan was developed? What did the community decide was best for that property and why should it not be followed now?

After the new Dunwoody City Council is seated one of the items to be worked on quickly is our overall comprehensive plan which will do an assessment of the communities many needs to see where we are and then we will plan on where we want to be 10 years from now. What was the land use plan for that specific street in the video? Maybe three years ago the ten year comprehensive plan said that a mixed use development project might be best suited at that location? If that was the case does the project get approved? Maybe, maybe not, I don’t know? The DeKalb County Commission has the responsibility to make that specific decision and they will do so after reviewing all the facts.

My point is that we the Citizens of Dunwoody will be going through this comprehensive planning project very shortly and we as a community will need to discuss block by block what should happen where. There will be “lively” discussions where people may disagree with one another but that being said everyone needs to be well informed and then involved because it will be this document that the City Council will be using as a guidebook for future land use decisions.

In the next couple of years the long term policy of the City will be put into place and we cannot afford to trust six well meaning neighbors (including, possibly me) to sit in a room without your input to make that policy.

OK, go ahead and call me naive, but I happen to still believe in democracy - even at the local government level. If you want to have a positive impact on the new city, pick the best qualified and smartest people on the ballot that you believe will listen to reasonable arguments in order to make informed decisions. Next you need to show up at meetings and make your views known because politicians want to lead the community, but they need your input in order to do so.

Checkout the candidates who have submitted me their campaign announcement for posting to this site; and I will post other announcements as they are provided to me. In just five short weeks from today, you will be voting for four of the six City Council members. You will vote for your local district candidate who is elected by only the people of your district and everyone will vote for all three districts, at large (citywide) positions. Are you ready to do so?

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Do you have a pool and a baby in the house? Aquatic Survival Instruction for infants, may be for you.

Click on the Photo to see that it is real.

Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) of Dunwoody
Aquatic Survival Instruction
Ages: 6 Months to 6 Years

http://isrdunwoody.googlepages.com


Doraville follows Chamblee's lead by requiring energy efficient large buildings.


Last week the Doraville City Council unanimously approved a measure, requiring all private development 20,000 square feet or greater to become LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. The ordinance will also apply to future municipal buildings regardless of size. This move was done on the heels of the City of Chamblee doing the exact same thing in March of this year.

Going green isn't cheap. Meeting the benchmarks to receive accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council, the nonprofit that created and oversees the standards for sustainable building, can cost about 6 percent more than traditional construction.

Supporters argue that developers recoup those costs in about four years because of energy savings.

Major developers in Chamblee and now Doraville have thrown their support to the ordinance, in part because of other economic considerations by being on the cutting edge of a new trend.

Will the new city council be deciding to follow in the foot steps of our neighbors, Chamblee, Doraville & Decatur? If after reasonable research, seeing how others are doing it and discussions with Dunwoody residents shows it to be the right thing to do, they just may.

Apology by Dr. Crawford Lewis and the official explanation from Media Relations.


Since I officially complained to Dr. Lewis via e-mail about the late night robo call welcoming my children back to school, I received an apology from Crawford Lewis which is shown immediately below. I also received and now posted the official explanation which came from Mr. Dale Davis the Asst. Director of Media & Public Relations.
I apologize for the interruption last evening. I take full responsibility for the problem. We have already commenced an investigation to determine what happened. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Dr. Crawford Lewis
Mr. Heneghan,

For the past three years during the weekend prior to school opening, MIS-Telecom initiated a calling post message from the Superintendent to all parent households with a welcome back to school message. This year's message delivery was programmed to begin running the evening of Friday, August 8th and continue until conclusion through Saturday, August 9th. Each year the system is programmed with a blackout period of 9:00 PM to 9:00 AM in order NOT to disturb parent households. The blackout period was NOT established this year and resulted in some parents receiving calls during late night and early morning hours. Please accept our sincere apology for this error.

The following post-incident measures have taken place as of Saturday, August 9, 2008:

1) MIS Telecom staff conferenced to fully investigate the breakdown in operations of the programming event.

2) MIS Telecom staff has received directives of required criteria for workflow processes to ensure the event does not reoccur.

3) MIS Telecom staff will enact a corrective communications calling post on Monday, August 11, 2008 to all affected parent households to apologize for the inconvenience.

Dale A Davis
DeKalb County Schools System
Asst. Director Media/Public Relations
3770 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, Georgia 30032
(678) 676-0786 office
(678) 676-0785 fax
dale_a_davis@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Sada Jacobson is bringing a Silver Olympic Medal home to Dunwoody

U.S. Woman sweep Fencing.

Congratulations Sada !!

Olympic News

Washington Post



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcNdPEvrrpk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjgWEKKzTCE

The games you people play are just amazing!

This is my reply to the DCSS who refuses to inform the community on the status of the new school. You would think they would be bending over backwards to brag about the new school being built in our community but instead they are attempting to hide behind the technicalities of the open records law. Please read from the bottom, up.

We deserve better!


From: John Heneghan [mailto:John@JKHeneghan.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 11:27 AM
To: 'dale_a_davis@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us'; 'CRAWFORD LEWIS'

Subject: The games you people play are just amazing!

Dear Mr. Davis,

The games you people play are just amazing! The electronic copies do exist and I have proven the fact that the DCSS has provided them to people (even in draft form) in the past, yet you do not want to provide them to me because you know that I will forward them to my community for wide dissemination and review. Hypocrisy at its finest! Instead you want me to pay $50.00 probably for each drawing, and then pay an additional sum of money to have the large scale drawings rescanned and put into an electronic format so that I can then post them to the internet. Such a deal you are offering me?

The DeKalb County School System cannot work inside a bubble, it needs to be open and transparent as to how it is spending our tax money and at least attempt to partner with the parents of the children that you are trying to educate. Unfortunately in this situation, I believe you are failing miserably.

Attached is the previous drawing that was provided by the school system, that you say does not exist.

If I do not hear back from either you or Dr. Lewis regarding the availability of the electronic drawings I requested, I will be calling Ms. Moody to schedule a pickup time for my nine drawings. Please check with the architect on Monday, I'm sure they could provide them to you if you asked.

If I am forced to obtain the paper drawings, I may also need to start a fund raising campaign at all of the Dunwoody Cluster Elementary Schools to fund this open records request. I hope it doesn't get to that.

Thanks,

John Heneghan

-----Original Message-----
From: Dale Davis [mailto:dale_a_davis@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us]
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 8:28 AM
To: John Heneghan
Cc: Julie Rhame; PAT POPE; CRAWFORD LEWIS
Subject: Re: 3rd Request for Open Records - DCSS New Dunwoody School & Womack Rd

Mr. Heneghan,

I apologize for not responding sooner. The electronic drawings do not exist at this time. We previously communicated that hard-copies are available. The cost to reproduce the drawings is $50.00 dollars. Please contact the office of Design and Construction and submit your request for the hard-copies.

Contact Ms. Moody at 678-676-1331.

Thanks,

Dale A Davis
DeKalb County Schools System
Asst. Director Media/Public Relations
3770 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, Georgia 30032
(678) 676-0786 office
(678) 676-0785 fax
dale_a_davis@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us