Dunwoody City Council Meeting Agenda for Monday April 14, 2025

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday April 14, 2025
6:00 PM
DUNWOODY CITY HALL - DUNWOODY HALL
4800 ASHFORD DUNWOODY ROAD
DUNWOODY, GA 30338

Agenda 6 pm  - City Site Agenda

City Council meetings are live-streamed on the City of Dunwoody’s Facebook page.

They are also available for viewing (no two way communication) on Zoom,
https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/82303246254 or  phone +14703812552,,82303246254#

You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

Presentation of Oath of Office to Officer Luis Flores

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

Proclamation - 25th Anniversary of Lemonade Days

City Manager's Monthly Report

Approval for Renewal of Microsoft Licenses

Approval for Renewal of Fortinet Maintenance and Support Licenses

Approval of MOU with U.S. Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) for LInX

Approval of 6-mo Trial Agreement for one Drone with Flock Safety

Discussion item - Contract Amendment for Final Design Winters Chapel Path Phase 2

Discussion item - Project Framework Agreement with Georgia Department of Transportation for the Winters Chapel Path Phase 2

Discussion item - Funding Authorization for Path between Eidson Road and Cherry Hill Lane

Discussion item - Consideration of Additional Services to Be Rendered by TSW for Direction Dunwoody Comprehensive Plan

Special Called Dunwoody City Council Meeting, Tuesday April 1st, 5:30 pm - Vintage Pizza to discuss updated Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Joint Zoning Meeting - 40 participants)

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL, DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, PLANNING COMMISSION, ZBA

SPECIAL CALLED MEETING

APRIL 01, 2025 - 5:30 PM

VINTAGE PIZZERIA

5510 CHAMBLEE DUNWOODY ROAD

DUNWOODY, GEORGIA 30338

Tuesday evening there will be a special called meeting of the Dunwoody City Council, actually it is a huge public meeting at Vintage Pizza on Chamblee Dunwoody Rd at 5:30 pm that will be taking place in order to inform the four zoning committees within the City of Dunwoody of the work of an ad-hock steering committee being led by staff direction and that of outside consultants.   As this is a City Council Meeting, there will be 30 mins of Public Comment time available at the start and end of the meeting but as it is taking place off site (away from City Hall), it does not look to be streamed or recorded as usual.

All four of the zoning committees in the meeting on Tuesday are either elected by the citizens or confirmed by City Council whereby the invited representatives in the audience will be the City Council, the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Development Authority.  These individuals as well as I am guessing the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee are named down below.

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan is required to be updated by state law but this time around we are looking to also update our zoning code into a Unified Development Ordinance.  Based on the timelines previously presented I am guessing the first draft of the community agenda outlining the community vision, goals & policies will be presented soon if not on Tuesday. 

Right now redevelopment in the City of Dunwoody is thoughtful but slow with lots of eyes on every project whereby with a good presentation, quality data and appropriate community / neighbor backing; anything can get approved after it is properly vetted.   Slow is not a bad thing when the proposed development is immediately next door, or the change will allow a development to move forward which might change the character and feel of the community.  

I have not yet seen any proposed changes to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and then the underlining Development Ordinance; but my concern is that it may be proposing land use changes by right, whereby a developer can do what he wants within the limits of the allowances, without the scrutiny of the public nor an approval of the Council.   I will be listening attentively during the meeting as this process and the proposed changes could have unintended consequences if not thoroughly reviewed prior to codification and approval.

City of Dunwoody's Comprehensive Plan & Unified Development Ordinance

Project Update: On Jan. 27, 2025, the project team presented an update to the Dunwoody City Council.

Recurring themes:

•         There is a need for additional housing in both quantity and type, particularly for first-time buyers and seniors.
•         Residents would like to see a “Downtown Dunwoody” with walkable shops and restaurants.
•         Residents love local centers like Dunwoody Village and want to see these places to grow and thrive.
•         There is concern over vacant retail and office spaces impacting economic development & growth.
•         Traffic congestion is a major issue, and people want more connectivity and ways to get around.
•         People want to see their neighborhood character and greenspaces preserved.

City Council
Lynn Deutsch
Stacey Harris
John Heneghan
Tom Lambert
Catherine Lautenbacher
Rob Price
Joe Seconder

Planning Commission
Thomas O'Brien, Chair
Scott Brown, Vice-Chair
Deb Cameron
Jackie Edmundson
Debbie Gordon
Elizabeth Shin
Alex Wallach

Zoning Board of Appeals
Joe Tuttle, Chair
Ellen Etheridge
Ardy Bastien
Ryan Esslinger
Erika Harris
Ryan Schwartz
Tara Targovnik

Development Authority
Jeff Ackemann - Vice Chair
Mike Herman
Keith Wilson
Terri Polk
Jonathan Sangster - Chair
Susan Mitchell
Cheryl Strickland

The members of the community volunteering their time to serve on the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee are as follows.

Bob Fiscella (HOA chairperson/resident)
Susan Mitchell (Development authority/resident)
Linda Pozzobon (Resident/business owner)
Elizabeth Shin (Planning commission/resident)
Scott Brown (Planning commission/resident)
Sam Shenbaga (Resident/ ARC)
Joe Martinez (Developer/resident)
Marianella Lopez (Resident, Sustainability committee)
Jim Cramer (Arts commission, architect/resident)
Rich Reed (Architect/resident)
David Abes (Business owner/resident)
Ann Hanlon (PCID/resident)
Michael Starling (Econ. Development)
Tom Lambert (City Council/resident)

Dunwoody Football Coach Mike Nash honored by Dunwoody Homeowners Associatation as 4th of July Parade Grand Marshal

 

Video

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday March 24, 2025 (Quick Meeting with limited agenda items - public comment starts at 6 with second session about 15 mins later.)

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday March 24, 2025
6:00 PM
DUNWOODY CITY HALL - DUNWOODY HALL
4800 ASHFORD DUNWOODY ROAD
DUNWOODY, GA 30338

Agenda 6 pm  - City Site Agenda

City Council meetings are live-streamed on the City of Dunwoody’s Facebook page.

They are also available for viewing (no two way communication) on Zoom,
https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/85998548170 or  phone +14702509358,,85998548170#

You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

 Contract Amendment with Lowe Engineers for Stormwater Project Management

Approval of Contracts with AKA Tree Service, Beasley Tree Experts and TriScapes for Tree Trimming and Removal Services

Amend Policy on Green Buildings

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

City of Dunwoody 2025 Retreat recap, tax increase possible, City Charter change discussed to allow special tax district?

The Dunwoody City Council spent two days in North Georgia with Dunwoody City Leadership discussing a handful of important topics in order for City Office Directors to get a flavor of where we as a City should be going, doing and setting priorities.  There was no member of the public in the room the first day and I am unsure how many people were able to follow along on the zoom connection for more than 6 hours and then the second day we only had Dunwoody Crier Reporter, Mr. Hayden Sumlin in the room who was able to put together a nice article linked below.  I have included all the documents provided to Council for discussion and linked a few other recaps from Councilman Rob Price, Facebook Posts and a post from The Other Dunwoody Blog which is a blog that has been around for many years giving his opinion on city decisions.

We as a Council discussed street lights missing on main corridors and how to fix this, we discussed the 12 ft path moving forward on Mt. Vernon, staff wants us to think about reducing our fire codes for residential buildings, we discussed park needs and Peachtree's Field that we are obligated to maintain, staff would like to add employee retirement benefits for medical, we discussed City Service contracts that are about to be rebid and possibly bringing more staff in house to save money?, we discussed police staffing / raises, drones and EMS Service and finally we also discussed (very limited conversation) City Charter changes to add emergency powers, judge term limits, council compensation and finally special tax districts.

The city has been aware of this operational financial issue coming toward us for years with our main source of revenue locked at the maximum tax rate, our home values locked, with salaries and service desires of the community escalating faster than revenue is growing.  

There was no real discussion of service cuts (but they could be on the table) and many of the financial constraints written into the charter (property freeze, 1 mil reduction, and possibly the maximum tax limit) would need to be removed by a referendum, therefore the easiest solution being brought forward was a special tax district for public service as a separate line item on the tax bill.   Of course the devil is in the details and at the moment there are no details available so I started asking if there was special service tax issued would the general millage rate (that now funds public safety) be reduced to a lower level and I received push back on the line of questioning.  Here is a link to a Facebook post where there is lots of good conversation on a possible tax increase.  If this special tax district for public safety is enacted what is stopping a future Council for enacting a special service district for Parks next?  The operational funding issues are real and service cuts haven't been discussed but they may be on the table soon?

Dunwoody City Council discusses tax increase at strategic planning retreat - Dunwoody Crier

Mayor Lynn Deutsch said the elephant in the room is the city’s looming shortfall in operational funding, while also pointing to the fact that Dunwoody has not spent its reserves yet. While the city has budgeted the use of reserves for the past two years, its conservative budgeting has kept it out of the red.
...
Councilman John Heneghan, elected to the inaugural City Council in 2008, said former officials told residents that any tax increase would come to a citizen vote via a referendum.

Heneghan asked if the special tax district for public safety would be a back-end property tax rate hike, or if the city’s existing millage would be reduced to even out an increase.

“I’m all in on public safety, it’s the number one reason for government,” Heneghan said. “Back in the day, we said we were going to go to the residents with anything above the tax rate that we’re currently at.”

Other elected officials pushed back on a measure reducing or evening out city revenue, saying the point of a special tax district would be to increase operational revenue.

Rob Price Recap of Retreat

Recapping 2024 Retreat Direction and Deliverables

Council SWOT Analysis/Setting 2025 Retreat Direction

Streetlights

Mt. Vernon/Ashford Dunwoody Corridors

Concrete and Steel in Construction

Federal Funding Update

Retiree Medical Plan

Public Investments to Improve Commercial Areas

Defining Downtown Dunwoody (What, Where, Why)

Veterans Memorial - Funding

Homecoming/Wildcat Parks

Peachtree Middle School Turf

Drones / Flock / EMS Service / Staffing / Technology

Speed Limits   

Boards and Commissions

Municipal Service Rebidding

Proposed Charter Changes 2025 and proposed 2020 changes.

2024 City Manager Monthly Reports

2024 Quarterly Departmental Reports

2024 Quarterly Financial Reports

Saturday Night don't miss Dunwoody High's Wildcat Fund benefit at Barn(n) in Dunwoody Village starting at 7 pm. Family Truckster is playing.

Saturday Night the sky's are clear and the temperature will be in the 60's therefore it will be a perfect night to celebrate everything great about Dunwoody High School.  The DHS Community Association is hosting a Dunwoody goes Hollywood fundraiser at Barn(n) in Dunwoody Village starting at 7 pm.  

The musical entertainment for the evening will be Family Truckster which is an outstanding local band that will have the entire audience and at least one groupie up dancing the entire night. (I'm not naming names but he knows who he is.)

Tickets are $50 and includes one cocktail and the opportunity to bid on a bunch of silent auction items.  A couple of years ago my wife Kristin and I attended and won the silent auction for a bi-plane Ride over Atlanta and we are looking for other great deals this year.

 We hope to see you there.

Purchase tickets here or at the door.

https://secure.givelively.org/event/dunwoody-high-school-community-association-inc/dunwoody-goes-hollywood-2025

 https://dunwoodyalumni.org/Dunwoody-goes-hollywood-2025/