Video of Feb 27th Dunwoody City Council Meeting

Video

Recap, short meeting with all items passing including the $1.25 monthly increase in the storm water fee that will be showing up on your next property tax assessment.

Dunwoody Reporter News Story.

The Dunwoody City Council voted at its Feb. 27 meeting to raise the stormwater utility fee to fund an overhaul of the city’s aging system.

The annual fee will increase from $48 to $69 for most homeowners. The vote was unanimous.

Councilman Terry Nall said though he “despises” tax increases, “it’s prudent, conservative logic” to repair the storm water system before problems become more costly in the future.

“We’re in the middle of a race to repair these pipes before we have a catastrophic failure,” Nall said.

At the City Council’s Feb. 13 meeting, Public Works Director Michael Smith recommended the city spend $900,000 to $1 million each year for pipe replacement. Currently, the city dedicates $525,000 to repairs, which is not enough to keep up with the number of pipes that are failing.

Smith said over the past two years, the Public Works Department has conducted a survey of the city’s storm water system. The department learned that 60 percent of the pipes in the city are more than 35 years old, which is past their typical service life.

Reasons to sign Teens up for Collision Avoidance Training (C.A.T.) offered by the Dunwoody Police Department

Sign up for next class as space is limited.
April 13-14, 2012 and May 25-26, 2012

The Dunwoody Police Department has been offering the Collision Avoidance Training (C.A.T.) Program since June 2010. This is an advanced defensive driving and vehicle control program designed for teenage drivers. The two day driving program is designed to provide young drivers with the knowledge and understanding of vehicle dynamics and human kinetics.

In September, 2011 the National Traffic Safety Academy selected at random a number of parents from the first six months this program was offered by the Dunwoody Police Department to be included in a survey. Parents were asked to complete a short survey which would help us determine the effectiveness of the training program. The results were as follows:

• 87.2% of the surveys were completed and returned. 
• Since attending the class 12-18 months ago, less than 5% of the teens were involved in an automobile crash.
• Of that 5%, no one was at fault, charged or injured in the crash. 
• Since attending the training no one has received a traffic citation. 
• 95.1% rated the change in their teens driving ability as “Greatly Improved” 
• 4.8% rated the change in their teens driving ability as “Improved” 
• 100% rated their satisfaction as-“Exceeded my expectations”

It is extremely important to teach these teenage drivers the importance of traffic safety. The skills they learn will assist their decision making when they take to the streets. The results reflected above, show the impact it has on the students that participate in this training.

In the Feb. 16th edition of USATODAY – “Traffic fatalities rise among 16, 17 year old drivers”

“A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association highlights what could be a very troubling trend among 16 and 17 year old drivers. GHSA examined deaths of 16 and 17 year old drivers through the first 6 months of 2011 and found an 11% increase of the same period in 2010. Deaths of 16 year olds rose 16% and 17 year olds rose 7% for an overall increase of 11%.Twenty-three states saw no increases, 19 had decreases and there was no change in eight states and Washington, D.C.”

“We think that what you taught her will be incorporated into the driving skills that she is currently reinforcing, without having first learned some bad habits.”(Judy Gordon/Dunwoody Parent) “

"I didn't particularly want to attend at first but I'm glad I did, and I will recommend this to my friends”(Dunwoody HS Student).

The next training classes will be held on April 13-14, 2012 and May 25-26, 2012.

For more information on the Collision Avoidance Training, please contact Lt. William Hegwood @ 678-382-6904 William.hegwood@dunwoodyga.gov, or go to www.dunwoodypolice.com and click on “CAT”.

Dunwoody schools to participate in Georgia Walk to School Day on Wed March 7th

Wednesday, March 7th, will be our "Georgia Walk to School Day".  Each of Dunwoody's elementary schools - Austin, Chesnut, Dunwoody Elementary, Kingsley and Vanderlyn - will be hosting a walk/bike to school event on this day as part of its walk to school program.  We have raised the stakes this year, as the schools will be competing for "The Golden Sneaker of Dunwoody" - awarded to the school with the highest percentage of walkers.

We would like to invite you to join our students and parents for this great event.  Each school has individual walking routes and schedules, so if you are interested in joining us for "Walking Wednesday" please contact the school you will be joining for additional information.  

School contacts are as follows:
Austin:  Stacey Harris, staceyharris70@hotmail.com
Chesnut:  Chris Newberry, newby211@gmail.com
Dunwoody Elementary:  Rosemary Gorham, rosemary_gorham@hotmail.com 
Kingsley:  Tom Lambert, tldlshop@comcast.net  (see below for Kingsley information)
Vanderlyn:  Kate Sweeney, kate1sweeney@gmail.com 

As an FYI - Kingsley will be meeting at the old ACE Hardware parking lot on Mt. Vernon Drive at 7:00 AM, and will start the walk to school down North Peachtree Rd at 7:10 AM sharp. Captain Kingsley's new partner - Princess Comet - will be making her first public appearance at this event.

Agenda for Feb 27th Dunwoody City Council Meeting

Monday, February 27th
Dunwoody City Hall
41 Perimeter Center East

Dunwoody, GA 30346

6:00 p.m. - Work Agenda
7:00 p.m. - Voting Agenda
Watch Live at 7 pm

Agenda

Recognition of Officer Ronny Gomez-Delima for Earning His Bachelor of Information Technology Degree.

Award of Unit Price Contract for Stormwater Pipe Repair and Replacement.

Approval of Contract with ConnectSouth.

Approval of GIS Fees. 

Resolution to Appoint Members to Serve on City of Dunwoody Community Council.

Presentation of Convention and Visitors Bureau of Dunwoody 2011 Year End Report.

Resolution to Set Stormwater Utility Rate.

Resolution to Appoint Zoning Code Rewrite Sounding Board.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Charter Schools and City of DeKalb are moving forward in the State Legislature

Charter Schools - Legislation

The state could create charter schools rejected by local school boards under a constitutional amendment approved by the Georgia House of Representatives Wednesday.

The legislation, which passed 123-48 and now goes to the Senate, essentially would ask Georgia voters to reverse a state Supreme Court decision. In a 4-3 ruling last year, the justices overturned a 2008 law that formed a state commission with the power to create charter schools as an unconstitutional intrusion into local control over public education.

During Wednesday’s debate on the House floor, the amendment’s supporters argued that letting the court decision stand would abandon what historically has been a responsibility for public schools shared by the state and local school systems.

The state spends $7 billion a year on K-12 public education, said House Majority Leader Larry O’Neal, R-Bonaire.  “Should we send $7 billion a year in taxpayer money to local school districts and hope they do well?” he asked his legislative colleagues. “The people of Georgia expect responsible stewardship of their money.”

Maureen Downey
Savannah
AJC
Atlanta Business Chronicle
North Fulton

City of DeKalb - Legislation

CrossRoads News - Pro
Peach Pundit - Con

Other News - Tom Bowen thinking of leaving School Board for County Commission, Kathie Gannon to have a challenger.

Shorter summer break mentioned at the DeKalb County School System address.

I sometimes find interesting news reports on the web like the story in the AJC outlining the possibility of shorter summer breaks in DeKalb County.  The story quotes two Dunwoody residents (Gil Hearn - Parents for DeKalb Schools & Nancy Jester - School Board) who differ on the reaction of parents on the proposed change.  AJC school reporter, Maureen Downey has an excellent recap of the speech at this link that is worth reading along with the blog comments.

Besides the "normal" news sources, I also found informational bits that can be pulled from Twitter that are just as interesting, below are quotes from the speech that were posted to Twitter.

Meeting to discuss new pump house on Chamblee Middle School property scheduled for Tues Feb 28th at Dunwoody City Hall

In December, the DeKalb School Board voted to sale 1/3rd of an acre of the property at the old Shallowford/Chamblee- Dunwoody school to DeKalb County. The County Water department intends to construct a water pump on this property. The meeting will be held at City Hall on Tuesday, February 28 from 6:30-8:00 PM.  This will be an open house type meeting, with maps, renderings and project officials there to answer questions.

Please plan to drop in. City Hall is located at 41 Perimeter Center East, Dunwoody 30346. (This is in the office buildings located behind Park Place Shopping Center.) Attached is a map that shows the location of the water pump and above is a photo of what the 4 sided brick, "shed/house" might look like.

All Saints Knights of Columbus Famous Fish Dinners start tonight (Ash Wednesday) with an expanded dining experience in the gym.

“WORLD FAMOUS” FISH FRY - Video from Last Year

The Knights of Columbus, Council # 11402 based out of All Saint's Catholic Church in Dunwoody, GA serves the “WORLD FAMOUS” FISH FRY offering over 1,000 dinners every Friday night during Lent with a special Ash Wednesday kick off event this evening.

Adult meals are $8 (except salmon $9) with child meals only $4. Seniors (60+) get an “early bird” $1 discount between 5 & 6pm only. Fried & baked Icelandic cod, baked salmon, & fried shrimp with coleslaw, green beans, red potatoes or fries, and hush puppies complement meals. Special Knight recipe clam chowder at $2 per bowl. Numerous desserts & adult beverages too.

Take-out is available but come join in the fun, take the family out for a great meal, let the children play on the playground as the weather will be beautiful.

All Saints Catholic Church - Gym

Ash Wednesday &
Friday's from 5 pm to 8 pm

2443 Mount Vernon Road

Dunwoody, GA 30338

This year, in order to allow an expanded dining area the fish dinners will be offered in the Gym which is accessible in the lower parking lot at the back of the property.   The parking spots near the gym will be reserved for take-out patrons, the elderly and infirm who can’t walk far. Below is a menu and I hope to see you there.

Random Dunwoody links of interest after taking a few days off line.

My Mini Me - Declan

I enjoyed a short trip to reintroduce my children to their grandparents in Florida and closed it out with a glorious Monday back in Dunwoody.  Below are just a few things that crossed over the wire for me to catch up on and figured I would share.  Enjoy.

Tonight 7:00 pm - State of the City Address
Tonight at 6:30 pm - Annual Meeting of the Dunwoody North Civic Association
Tonight at 4:00 pm - BrookhavenYes event at Pub71

DeKalb in showdown over spending this week

Applicants needed for Leadership DeKalb

Compromise emerging in DeKalb school map fight - Millar leading effort. vs. DeKalb school board mess: A quick fix by Legislature gone wrong. Is anyone surprised?

Dunwoody uses new device to check for fugitives

Dunwoody schools (Chesnut and Vanderlyn) to eat healthier with Farm to School grants

Suspicious people in Dunwoody please read and call 911 if you spot them

Who is qualified to present at TEDxPeachtree? Do you think Patti Baker would be a good nomination?

DeKalb won't call special grand jury for school board probe and DeKalb Parents want answers.

Parents it is a scary world out there, pick up Fred the Fox Shouts "No!" by Dunwoody resident Tatiana Matthews at Cutie Pies and 100% of profits will be donated to the Elizabeth Smart Foundation.

Dunwoody loses a stellar newsman in Peter Cox as he departs the Dunwoody Patch to follow his heart to South Africa.

Every morning I wake up and check my email from the DeKalb Mugs daily alert to see if I have have been arrested and booked at the DeKalb County Jail.  Register for 30338, 30360 and 30346 in order to meet your neighbors.  I have also done the same here for Gwinnett and would do Fulton if available?

Brookhaven (Ashford) Cityhood Bill Passes House: 101-57 another perspective from Creative Loafing

Guthries deep fried chicken fingers on Chamblee Dunwoody now offers everything grilled too, so please stop by to see the changes.

Tin Lizzy's to open Dunwoody location inside SunTrust regional branch on Perimeter Center West.

Princess and the Pea, y'all - Puppet Show for Kids this Saturday 10 am at Dunwoody High School

Peachtree Corners City Council candidate Mr. Phill Sadd visited Dunwoody City Hall to learn about Walmart and is looking forward to the two cities partnering on code enforcement along Winters Chapel border.

Interactive T-Splost Map shows Dunwoody's Mount Vernon and many other projects.

Delinquents in Dunwoody video - The Black Lips spray paint the town green and dumpster dive for fries. (NSFW - and p.s. to the Black Lips there is no statute of limitations so beware the Dunwoody Police Helicopters).  Black Lips charity work shows that the boys do have a heart.

Dunwoody High Principal, Mr. Rodney Swanson and a few teachers let loose as they close the Dunwoody High School Variety Show.

Marlow's Tavern will soon open in Dunwoody & is a bank coming to the Blockbuster / Chick-fil-A location on Mount Vernon?

DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis spoke in Dunwoody and here is the video.

State Legislature still looking for ways to correct DeKalb School Board

Video

AJC - Article

Lawmakers took no decisive action Wednesday to overcome an impasse over a mandate to reduce the number of school board members in DeKalb County, but they did grasp for a potential solution -- one that could involve voters.

The meeting of the county House delegation was civil, in marked contrast to one last week when members complained that race-based politics had made compromise impossible. The House group, prompted in part by word of new legislation in the Senate, unanimously decided to study the matter further. They established a committee to talk with legal staff about proposals that would postpone for two years the mandated reduction in the school board from nine members to at most seven. A law passed last year requires that reduction to take effect in January 2013. That law didn't stipulate a process, and legislative leaders gave the local delegates until Wednesday to agree upon a method and a map.

Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Druid Hills, dismissed that deadline, saying the real deadline is the end of the legislative session. She proposed that a committee get answers to two questions: What are the ramifications of postponing implementation for two years and what would be the effect on last year's law of a voter referendum this year to let the public decide whether they want a smaller school board?

The House delegates were responding to news that Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody, was introducing legislation that would postpone the downsizing until January 2015. Millar confirmed he was introducing his bill as statewide legislation tailored to DeKalb. He said the local delegation would have to come up with its own local bill for a referendum and for other details.

He said they might want to cut the terms of board members up for election this year to two years, so that voters could decide on all the seats in 2014.

Video of the Dunwoody City Council Meeting - Feb 13, 2012

Video part one

Video part two

Recap - City Council approved the Leisure Ridge Agreement as well as the IGA with Gwinnett to make Wall-mart a reality on Winters Chapel. Everything else was discussion for items that will be voted upon at the next meeting.

Kudos to Chesnut Charter Elementary

http://chesnutcharter.com

In the past weeks, a lot of behind-the-scenes work by some dedicated parents has paid off for Chesnut Charter ES.  

The school is benefiting from close to $5000 in grant awards that have come through in the last several weeks.  One grant from Northside Hospital will be used to purchase digital microscopes that interface with the school’s smartboards so that kids can view slides on the screens and take digital photos of the results.  

Another grant has come from Georgia Organics through DeKalb County School System’s Farm-to-School program, and will allow Chesnut’s kids to have fresh baked pizzas on Field Day, using locally grown, organic produce.  

And last but not least, Chesnut was a winner with the KaBoom Spruce Up grant program, which allowed the school to conduct a beatification program around the playground, including fixing drainage issues around the pathway to the playground and replanting the butterfly garden.

Nancy Jester: The Latest on Redistricting the DeKalb County School Board

As you probably know, the DeKalb House delegation met last week to consider the reapportionment and, pursuant to SB79, reduction of the DeKalb County Board of Education.  I was in attendance at their meeting and you can view the video posted on John Heneghan's blog by clicking here.  It's an interesting and enlightening view of the Body Politic that is the legislative delegation from DeKalb. 

The subcommittee of the delegation presented a 5-member map as their sole recommendation but could not garner enough signatures for approval.

I must note that it was inaccurate for any of the Representatives to state that they had not received maps from board members.  Just as with the county commissioners, individual board members presented maps to the subcommittee and Representatives within the delegation.  I was in attendance at a public meeting where Mr. Womack (BOE rep., district 4) and Mr. McChesney (BOE rep., district 2) presented maps to the subcommittee.  Furthermore, I have presented a map that was endorsed by three BOE representatives. 

As I stated last year during the discussion surrounding SB79, I was concerned about the mechanics of shrinking the BOE.  I asked repeatedly for guidance on how this was to be accomplished.  I saw conflicting legal requirements that would make it difficult to accomplish the goals of those advancing this idea.  Furthermore, I disagreed (based on important statistical distinctions) with the thesis that a smaller board will somehow be a "better" board in DeKalb.  But, in the political realm, this was a "win" for legislators despite the complexity.  As predicted, we are now faced with the difficulties and unintended consequences of last year's legislative actions.  

Please note that I still believe that the map that is placed on my website (click here to view it) is best map for DeKalb.  I have worked on an alternative map that combines some of the attributes of a map presented by Reps. Oliver and Benfield (OB map) with my original map.  Click here to go to my blog to view this updated map. 

Here are just a few of the reasons I believe that my alternative map (TJ map) is an improvement to the OB map:  

• The TJ map is the most likely to pass judicial scrutiny and compliance testing based on the traditional redistricting principles of  "compactness" and "dispersion".  The districts in our map are more compact than those of the OB map and represent a low dispersion quality.  They will have more favorable compliance numbers on both the Plosby-Popper scale and Reock/convex hull measurements.   

• High School attendance lines (the main design feature of the OB map) change and schools close.  The DCSS planning department has stated that redistricting for school zones will occur more frequently than in the past.  If we are building districts on the current attendance areas, they will soon be incongruent with each other.   

• It complies with SB79.

• It keeps communities of interest united.  

Please email your legislators once again and ask them to support the TJ map.  

Late breaking news: Sen. Millar has developed a bill to delay the implementation of SB79 so that the complex issues surrounding it can be worked out.  Stayed tuned...

As always, I am available if you have any questions or concerns.   

--Nancy Jester

February is “Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month”

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Relate 2 You

Teens take this quiz to see if your relationship rules!

Let Your Heart Rule Campaign Starting Feb 14th - Any Dunwoody area schools participating?

A Dunwoody Resolution in support is being read on Monday and Chief Grogan also weighed in on the subject.

Please stay warm and misc items of interest to Dunwoody

 Please be careful today - extreme cold so try to stay warm.

Please stay warm today and if for any reason you are without heat and it may affect your well being, please reach out to authorities and even call 911 if needed.

The Dunwoody Homeowners Association is meeting tonight and an item on the agenda is a presentation from Marlow’s Tavern who is planning on going into the Calico Corners building on Dunwoody Village Parkway.

Kudos to the Students, Teachers and Staff of Dunwoody High School who put on what looked to be a fun variety show the other night.  The video of the show was live streamed (but not recorded), next year I think I will be there in person.


Last week while I was attending that train wreck of a DeKalb Delegation meeting, I had the pleasure of hearing two other tidbits of news.

A bill to create the City of DeKalb may be introduced which would turn unincorporated DeKalb County into a city which would stop further annexation of new cities. The other is that a bill may be introduced to raise the Hotel Taxes in DeKalb County (unincorporated) to the maximum allowable.  Because of the little video I shot, there were a number of nice blog pieces written including this one written by Mike Hassinger on the Peach Pundit site that doesn't hold back his opinion of the dysfunction in county (school) governance.

 In case anyone missed DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis' sales pitch to Dunwoody last week, here is a recap.

Reminders - PCMS Rising 6th Grade Parent Coffee today at 2pm

DHS Boys Lacrosse is hosting a Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association matchup between #6 Boston College and #8 Florida State University at North Dekalb Stadium, today at 1 pm. The game is a fundraiser for DHS Boys Lacrosse to help fund the varsity sport in its Inaugural Season.

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Mon Feb 13, 2012

Monday, February 13th
Dunwoody City Hall
41 Perimeter Center East

Dunwoody, GA 30346

6:00 p.m. - Special Called Meeting
7:00 p.m. - Voting Agenda
Watch Live at 7 pm

The Agenda for 6 pm tells me (you) nothing therefore I can only guess that we (council) will attempt to work though the items on the agenda (Invocation, Pledge, Council Comments, what could be 30 mins of Public Comment at the start of the meeting, another 30 mins of Public Comment at the end of the meeting, closing council comment, in order to get to Exec Session.  Sorry I don't have more information.

Voting Agenda

Proclamation - "Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month".

Approval of Leisure Ridge Agreement.

Financial Report for the Month Ended December, 2011

Approval of IGA Between City of Dunwoody and Gwinnett County re: Development on Winters Chapel Road.

Discussion of Stormwater Utility Rate & Presentation.

Discussion of Unit Price Contract for Stormwater Pipe Repair and Replacement.

Discussion of Film and Video Policy.

Discussion of Fees for Filming Permits.

Discussion of Contract with ConnectSouth.

Discussion of GIS Fees.

Zoning Code Rewrite Timeline and Public Improvement Plan.

Zoning Sounding Board

EXECUTIVE SESSION for the purposes of legal, real estate, and personnel discussions.

DeKalb Delegation of GA General Assembly met today to discuss the DeKalb County School Board Reapportionment maps

Video

Video

Yesterday I raised the important issue of the possible reduction of the DeKalb County School Board down to just five members in the reapportionment process that takes place every 10 years.  Because I saw this as an important news story, I jumped into a cab at noon and headed over to the Georgia State Capital to witness the DeKalb Delegation committee meeting firsthand.

As a political junkie, I enjoy watching laws being made (much like sausage making?) but today's meeting was a legislative train wreck ending in no decision being made.  It looks like this decision will be brought back up on Wednesday the 15th which I am told is the very last day to meet the deadline.

I have posted video of all but the last closing statements of the meeting as I just couldn't justify video recording the carnage any longer, even I had to look away.  The decision of how the DeKalb County School Board will be structured for the next ten years will be decided behind closed doors by the people you see on the video between now and Wednesday, without any further public hearings.  Scary!

Links to other related news stories.  AJC, DeKalb School Watch Blog two - read the comments, Nancy Jester Twitter live feed of meeting, Officials ‘dropped the ball’ on redistricting - Reporter news 

Dear DeKalb Delegation, I support the proposed seven seat map for the DeKalb County School Board.

This evening I read numerous news stories documenting the various DeKalb County School Board Reapportionment maps that you may have in front of you on Thursday morning and I wanted to let you know that as a parent of DeKalb County School children, I support the map shown above that is endorsed by my school board member, Ms. Nancy Jester.  I specifically support any map containing 7 districts vs any suggestion that only 5 districts are needed.  Below are a few links for your reading pleasure.

Thank you for your consideration.

John Heneghan

DeKalb Board of Education Redistricting Update Nancy Jester Blog

Reapportionment High-Jinks - or Highjacking? DeKalb School Watch Two

Nancy Jester : Urgent Legislative Update – Reapportionment  DeKalb School Watch Two

Proposal on how to shrink DeKalb school board likely to rile parents. It should. It is a mess. AJC Get Schooled - Maureen Downey

Legislators opt for 5-district School Board map  CrossRoadsNews.com

Three People to Control $1.2 Billion in DeKalb?  Dunwoody Talk Blog

3 People to Control $1.2 Billion in DeKalb? Dunwoody School Daze

School Board Redistricting Dunwoody Working Girl

Sent to the following members of the DeKalb Delegation of the Georgia General Assembly.

pat.gardner@house.ga.gov, simone.bell@house.ga.gov, gloria.tinubu@house.ga.gov, tom.taylor@house.ga.gov, mike.jacobs@house.ga.gov, elena@elenaparent.com, scott@repscottholcomb.com, marymargaret.oliver@house.ga.gov, stacey.abrams@house.ga.gov, stephanie.benfield@house.ga.gov, karla.drenner@house.ga.gov, michele.henson@house.ga.gov, billy.mitchell@house.ga.gov, earnest.williams@house.ga.gov, howard.mosby@house.ga.gov, Rahn.mayo@house.ga.gov, pam.stephenson@house.ga.gov, dee.dawkins-haigler@house.ga.gov, randal.mangham@house.ga.gov, curt.thompson@senate.ga.gov, emanuel.jones@senate.ga.gov, fran.millar@senate.ga.gov, steve.henson@senate.ga.gov, jason.carter@senate.ga.gov, ronald.ramsey@senate.ga.gov, gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov   

City of Ashford Georgia moves from committee to possibly become Dunwoody's newest neighbor.

Video

The proposed City of Brookhaven passed through committee today in the house but in a surprising move the proposed city was renamed to Ashford, GA in order to preserve the Historic Brookhaven name that is closely associated with a specific neighborhood.  As a sign of goodwill towards our neighboring community, I attempted to purchase the internet domain name of AshfordGeorgia.com which was available when I checked late this afternoon but by the time I whipped out the credit card for the $30.00 dollar purchase it was already taken. 

AshfordPolice.com has been secured and I will happily donate it to the new city if so needed but guessing that a .gov domain will be used for the official server designation.  I am sure that within the next 24 hours names like AshfordTavern, AshfordChamber, AshfordAuto, AshfordCleaners, AsfordRealtor, ect, ect will be gobbled up just in case the name sticks.

The city name could still be reverted back to Brookhaven before the final approval but until then Ashford - Dunwoody Road will make sense as it will be connecting the two cities. 

Dunwoody High School Wins “Discover Languages Campaign” Video Contest

Video

Congratulations goes out to Dunwoody High School for their winning entry in the Discover Languages Campaign, video contest.

Men's Collegiate Lacrosse match of Florida State vs Boston College to be played on Sunday at North DeKalb Stadium

The Dunwoody High School Lacrosse Stix Club is hosting a matchup between two top 10 Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) teams. The sixth-ranked Boston College Eagles will travel south to faceoff against the eighth ranked Florida State Seminoles on Sunday, February 12 at 1pm in an early season non-conference game at North DeKalb Stadium. 

Tickets are only $5 for students and $10 for adults with all proceeds benefiting Dunwoody High School Boys Lacrosse in our first season of GHSA varsity competition. There will be a raffle with prizes from Dunwoody merchants and each game ticket is a coupon for 10% off of purchases at Play It Again Sports stores in Buckhead, Roswell, Decatur and Kennesaw.

Tickets are available for purchase online and at North DeKalb Stadium on game day. Additional information can be found here. North DeKalb Stadium is located behind Chamblee High School at 3688 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Chamblee, Georgia 30341. Follow I-285 to Peachtree-Industrial Boulevard, go 2 miles to Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, turn right. The 2nd Street on the left is Stadium Drive, turn Left, 1 block to the stadium. Additional parking is available behind the school near the baseball field.

While I was away - various items of Dunwoody interest.

Smart Choices Grocery Store Tour - This morning the Dunwoody Sustainability Commission will be holding a guided tour which will take participants through a local super-market with a nutritionist in order to provide education about smart food choices that can help to improve health and promote sustainability through the support of responsibly produced foods. The tour will take place in Fresh Market in Dunwoody Village on February 4 at 10am.

Emily G's Re-Launch Party Saturday Night at D'Vine Wine Bar ay 7:30 pm (You're Invited)

National Sidewalk Cuts are on D.C.'s agenda but the $460,00 Kingsley SRTS Grant is safe.

There was a special called city council meeting on Friday but for only executive session and I apologize for not announcing it as I was out of town concentrating on my day job last week. (I also missed the meeting and am not allowed to mention what may have been discussed.)

Mayor Davis to speak at the state of the city event scheduled for Feb 21

Stay in the loop on Dunwoody zoning rewrite project. Temporary webpage is up. Interactive website to be launched soon. http://zoningdunwoody.com

Dunwoody Community Garden Plots available at Brook Run.

The highly respected, DeKalb County School Watch Blog has been reborn and revitalized by a new group of DeKalb County Parents who are passionate about the education of our children.  Please bookmark this link. Thank you to Ms. Cerebration for all that you have done to improve our school system though the creation of the blog and the forum you provided. We are all indebted.

Huge rivalry basketball game Tuesday Night at Dunwoody High School when we take on Chamblee.  Girls usually start at 5:30 with the Boys at 7:00 and I am expecting a full house and a good game.

There is one less drug dealer in our community. Dunwoody Police Officers responded to an apartment at the Columns of Lakeridge on N. Shallowford Road in reference to a report of subjects selling drugs. Officers excuted a search warrant which resulted in a felony arrest for marijuana possession with intent to distribute. (Please follow Dunwoody PD on Facebook)

Teen Collision Avoidance Training available by the Dunwoody Police, sign up today for class on Feb 17 - 18.

February is Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month and a resolution will be offered by the City at a future meeting.

Issues with City Streets - please use See Click Fix.

City Council and Mayor Davis are looking for volunteers to serve on various City Committees.  Are you interested?  If so, please let us know and submit a brief bio.

DeKalb County School Board to reapportion the districts and reduce size from 9 to 7. AJC article.

Elaine Boyer to hold a town hall meeting on County Budget (Feb 7th - 7 pm at Montgomery)

Spruill Gallery Fundraising Exhibition and Sale on February 10 – March 10, 2012

We all know the effect the economy has caused for-profit businesses, so you can imagine how devastating it has been for non-profit businesses, particularly the arts. The Spruill Gallery in Dunwoody is a beloved and respected community arts gallery. Featuring works from respected local and regional artists, the gallery is housed in the former Spruill family farmhouse in Perimeter Center. Its “Everything Will Be Okay” mural sign that was part of a past exhibit has become a landmark icon and has served as a visual encourager through these trying economic times.

Ironically, the Spruill Gallery is no longer sure if everything will be okay. Facing challenges from the down economy, the Spruill Gallery is in desperate need of the community’s support. On Thursday, February 9, the Spruill Gallery will host a fundraising event to kick off its new show, “The Goods: Selections from the Artists’ Studio.” The event will feature two-dimensional art and small sculptures, all affordably priced at less than $300. This is the perfect opportunity to start your collection or add local art to it, while also supporting a community landmark. Please see below for details about this event. The Spruill Gallery has long supported community artists, and this is an opportunity for the community to support the Gallery.

Dunwoody real estate market - houses are moving and prices may have stablized?

Map and CNN Money Article

My good friend Bob Fiscella is a real estate broker here in Dunwoody and I am happy to hear the good news regarding the Dunwoody real estate market on Bob's blog.  The New York Times also had an interesting piece on Atlanta which tied weak housing demand to the lack of new people moving into the area for jobs and that is one the reasons work is being done by the city to foster economic development in order to retain the businesses that we do have, and to fill the vacant offices available within our community.

According to Bob's numbers, in the metro Atlanta area, there were 15.1 percent more homes sales in the 4th quarter of 2011 than in the 4th quarter of 2010. In Dunwoody, the increase was even greater.

In the 30338 and 30360 zip codes, 51 single-family homes sold in the 4th quarter, up from 31 homes in the 4th quarter of 2010. However, the median sales price dropped from $314,000 to $306,000, which is less of a drop than most cities in the metro area experienced. But the bottom does appear to be very near (we really won't know it until it's in our rear view mirror).

There currently are 147 active single family homes listed in Dunwoody (30338, 30360), priced from $94,900 to $1,200,000, with an additional 50 homes under contract. The 3-to-1 ratio is very promising.

To view any of the active listings with photos, click on the top link below. To view in a line item report, click on the bottom link.

Buyer's Report
CMA Line Report 

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home, or know someone who does, please give Bob a phone call at 404.644.5220, or send him an email at bobfiscella@kw.com.