DeKalb County currently has about 30 acres of Brook Run Park closed due to the demolition of five buildings and once the buildings are gone the contractor is to do "site restoration" in order to return the property to natural green space. The documents received from an open records request made by the Dunwoody North Civic Association shows that the county has also contracted to remove roadways & parking areas in the back of the park (item 6 on page7); but the documents are confusing as to which specific roadways & parking areas are going to be removed. The definition of site restoration seems to state that the open fields created by the removal of the 5 buildings may not be flat for general passive, recreational use. With park space being so limited shouldn't the "site restoration" of 30 acres of valuable park land include a little more planning and direction then what is currently being given by the County? Do all the roads & parking surfaces serving the back area of the park need to be removed?
Last week I made calls into the County regarding these two concerns and due to the fact that I am currently out of town on business, I have been unable to get back in touch with County officials in order to get this detailed information. Because of this, I have typed this entry specifically for the County and attached a link to an abbreviated portion of the demolition contract which highlights my specific concerns.
Maybe I’m just misinterpreting these documents and the County has already planned useable general purpose fields with adequate roadways to access the back of the park? Hopefully the County will reply and alleviate my concerns. If I receive any information on this subject I will post the reply and any corresponding documentation provided to this site.
http://www.dunwoodynorth.org/images/Brook_Run_Demo_Site_Restoration.pdf
Dear Mr. Billups,
ReplyDeleteAs you can see below, I have been corresponding with Commissioner Boyer’s office regarding the back of Brook Run Park and believe that you have been forwarded e-mails for reply. Could you please shed some light on my concerns? I am interested in seeing relatively flat general use fields where the buildings are be demolished. Can you please elaborate on the contracted site restoration of the project? Can you please give an estimated date for reopening the back area and fully describe the roads & parking areas that are tentatively being removed? I have reviewed the demolition contract where I have referenced all instances of site restoration and again was hoping that that the 30 acres of park land could be usable for general use.
http://www.dunwoodynorth.org/images/
Brook_Run_Demo_Site_Restoration.pdf
Below in a link, I have included Ms. Boyd Drew’s letter of June 11 to Mr. Paul Lowery where she stated that much of the landscape material will be lost due to the final grading plan. The demolition of the hospital and power plant will leave a very deep hole in the ground. The final grade will be resolved by a cut and fill method to reduce the amount of dirt to be hauled into the site. Thus, many of the plants will be destroyed. The abatement/demolition contract was awarded on January 23, 2007 and the notice to proceed was issued with a start date of March 15, 2007. The contracted period is 180 days, and the ending date is September 2007. I am interested to see if there has been any modification of the original plans in order to make these 30 acres more usable for general use as well an updated completion date.
http://www.dunwoodynorth.org/brookrun/
Drew_06112007_Brook_Run.pdf
I would also like to make an open records request from the Parks & Contracting departments for documents concerning Brook Run Park dated from April 1, 2007 to date. This would include all contracts relating to the Skate Park, Demolition & Site Restoration in the back, as well as Park Security. Please include all site & grading plans, construction / demolition reports, construction / demolition plans & blueprints and any correspondence or reports between contractors & the county.
Thanks, I look forward to your reply.
John Heneghan, President
Dunwoody North Civic Association