Dunwoody Traffic Alert - Vermack Road Temporary Closure & Isolated water outages

Avoid Mt. Vernon & Vermack if possible.

The City of Dunwoody's contractor is currently completing major utility tie-ins at the Mount Vernon Road and Vermack Road Intersection project. Road closures will begin on Friday morning, March 1^st, at 8:30 a.m. They will continue for the next 72 hours.

The north end of Vermack Road (between Dunwoody Square and Mount Vernon Road) will be blocked during this 72-hour period. Detour signage will be in place to redirect traffic.

The City of Dunwoody Public Works Department is in direct contact with DeKalb County School officials and administrators at Dunwoody High School and Vanderlyn Elementary School, as well as the staff at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church. Weather permitting, normal traffic will resume on Sunday evening, March 3^rd. 

Isolated water outages are also planned for Saturday, March 2, as tie-ins occur on Vermack Road. Flyers were posted at all homes this morning that will be affected by the water outage on Saturday. 

We appreciate your patience as we make progress on this project.

Few places around Dunwoody you might find me.

All Saint's Community Bingo, Tonight - Thursday, Feb 28th - 6:30 doors open for free dinner - games at 7:30

Dunwoody Wildcat Theatre presents Once Upon a Mattress

March 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7p and March 3 and 10 at 2p 

Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway. The play was written as an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. Tickets are available at:

https://www.showtix4u.com/events/DHSTheatre

www.DunwoodyWildcatTheatre.com

Caffeine and Octane is this Sunday, March 3 [8am-11am] Perimeter Mall, Dunwoody GA

Community Bike Ride on Sunday 2:45 - starts at Village Burger

Dunwoody Dad's Meeting at Dunwoody High

·  When: Wednesday, March 6th, 7am-8am in Room #2122

·  Guest speaker: Eric Linton, City Manager, City of Dunwoody

·  Mr. Linton will share and discuss the policies, goals and vision for the city of Dunwoody

City of Dunwoody, GA offers strong opposition to Georgia #HB302 & #SB172 violating Home Rule and jeopardizes residential safety. #gapol

Full Press Release

Dunwoody’s Mayor and City Council voted unanimously Monday night to oppose Georgia House Bill 302 and Senate Bill 172, which would prevent local governments from enforcing and regulating building design elements for residential homes. Members of Dunwoody City Council have been in close contact with our elected State Representatives, Senator Sally Harrell, Representatives Mike Wilensky, and Matthew Wilson, all of whom have taken strong stands against these proposals. The City has been in discussions with the Georgia Municipal Association, the DeKalb Municipal Association and has been in constant contact with our lobbyist in opposing these proposed actions.

Ten years ago the City of Dunwoody was created to allow us the right of self-determination and it is my opinion that this over reach proposed by the State Legislature not only erodes the home rule doctrine in the Georgia Constitution, which allows municipalities to have self-government over building and housing codes; but it completely eliminates the municipalities allowance of home rule.

Dunwoody Council Member Lynn Deutsch introduced a resolution respectfully requesting that the General Assembly oppose the bill. The Council voted unanimously to approve the resolution during Monday night’s City Council Meeting.

“We do not take this decision lightly. Most housing in the City of Dunwoody would be impacted by this,” said Council Member Deutsch. “This is an issue of local control. We have set minimum building standards that protect the safety of our residents and enhance the quality of construction.”

“This is an encroachment that is unbelievable to me,” added Dunwoody Mayor Denis Shortal. “We became a city to keep decisions close to home. This bill strips us of the rights to keep Dunwoody the way the citizens want it.”

Council Member Pam Tallmadge encouraged concerned residents to e-mail lawmakers who are backing the bills (Georgia House Bill 302 and Senate Bill 172.

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday Feb 25, 2019 - Austin Elem road / traffic signals, Storage Unit, Resolution against H.B.302 and Public Comment at meetings

Monday, February 25, 2019
Dunwoody City Hall
4800 Ashford Dunwoody Rd

Dunwoody, GA 30338

6:00 p.m. - Watch Live

Agenda

Funding Authorization for Storm Drainage, Curb and Sidewalk Construction for the new Austin Elementary School - $760,750.00

Approval of a Contract for Traffic Signal Installation at the New Austin Elementary School - $171,660.00

SECOND READ:SLUP 19-01: Adevco Corporation, on behalf of Shallowford Road Storage, LLC, owners of 4444 N Shallowford Road, request a Special Land Use Permit per Chapter 27, Sec. 27-73 to permit a three story storage facility in the Office-Distribution (O-D) zoning district. The tax parcel ID is 18 344 03 001.

Resolution in Opposition to H.B. 302 - Preemption of Local Building Design Standards (Lynn Deutsch)

• Articles regarding HB 302 - AJC, Athens, Gainsville, Bibb County, Saporta Report, GMA

Rules and Procedures For City Council Meetings: Modifying the Order of City Council agenda items to move Public Comment to the beginning. (John Heneghan)

In a representative government trying to figure out what the citizens want, allowing and listening to what they have to say is an important concept of proper govenence, therefore the City of Dunwoody has always allowed public comment near the begining of our City Council meetings.  After several instances whereby the citizen public comment period was delayed for well over an hour because of various proclamations, reports and presentations; I am proposing that public comment be moved in front of these items.

Knowing that we sometimes have new Dunwoody Police Officers being swarn in and police officers recieving recognition, I am also proposing that because police shift change is at 6 pm (meeting start time) and that officers want to be in attendance to support their fellow officers, I have also suggested an item to make this happen so that our dedicated police force can either get out on the streets or go home to their families ASAP.   My proposal is a modest one whereby most nights like this Monday, public comment will be towards the very begining of the meeting becuse there are no proclamations, reports or presentations, but it corrects the issue in such a way that so that everyone no matter what is on the agenda can count on open public comment at the start of the meeting in a uniform and consistant manner.  John

DeKalb School System provides enrollment forcasting and redistricting information for Dunwoody Cluster.

I attended the meeting last night at Kingsley with about 100 neighbors, parents, school charter representatives, teachers and various DeKalb school administrators in attendance.  Meeting started about 6 and the first half discussed the process of enrollment forecasting and the second half started to get to the discussion on overcrowding but was cut short as the meeting was scheduled to end at 7 pm.

Long story short, little short term relief may happen at the elementary level because of Austin redistricting but capacity issues still abound. DHS enrollment continues upward with little improvement in sight.  Financial issues and build schedules were touched upon but no definitive information or answers were given. 

Here is the full Powerpoint presentation from last night.

DeKalb School System to provide update on Dunwoody High & PCMS construction plans - Wednesday Feb 20, 6PM at Kingsley Elementary at Peachtree Gateway Council on Schools meeting.

Update on DHS & PCMS expansion plans.

Kingsley Elementary - Media Center
2051 Brendon Dr, Dunwoody, GA 30338
Wed, Feb 20, 2019
6:00pm

I saw a notice for a community meeting on Wednesday evening being sponsored by the Peachtree Gateway Council on Schools on DeKalb Commissioner Nancy Jester's Facebook Page.  The meeting's purpose is to discuss issues that affect the Dunwoody community specifically and is intended for Dunwoody parent leadership inside the local schools.  There are lots of interesting comments on Nancy's page regarding the planned classroom addition at Dunwoody without adequate resources (expanded lunch room, band room, gym space and other ancillary needs besides just classrooms that students will need) vs the idea of a new Doraville area high school that might reduce the attendance zone of Dunwoody therefore reducing the total attendance.

In case you don't remember, back on 2016 the school system vetted various options for District-wide feedback and our local Peachtree Middle School Foundation and Dunwoody High School Council both pressed hard for the additions at Dunwoody & Peachtree Middle School to reduce the overcrowding issues in the cluster as well assure that the cluster remains intact.

If you are interested in what’s going on with the plans for the additions to Peachtree Middle School & Dunwoody High School - please go to the Peachtree Gateway Council on Schools meeting on Wednesday where Mr. Dan Drake, DeKalb County School District COO will be presenting.

Dunwoody's Glow plays at Jimmy's, Volunteers needed Saturday for t-shirt help, Roberts Rezoning, crosswalk on Mt. Vernon, Brook Run Stormwater, help fallen Vets.

I highly recommend Glow at Jimmy's - PIB & Tilly Mill

You may remember that the band GLOW is based out of Dunwoody and they have headlined several City of Dunwoody concerts at Brook Run Park.

Saturday morning volunteers wanted - St. Baldrick's Tee shirt processing, All Saints Catholic

We will process ( unpack, fold, roll and wrap) surplus 2018 St. Baldrick's Tee shirts.  The tees will be given to spectators during the Atlanta St. Patrick's Parade.  If you would like a set of Tees for a sports team or for your St. Baldrick's event, let me know.  Schedule times are approximate, please arrive when convenient.   Location All Saints Catholic Church 2443 Mount Vernon Rd, Dunwoody, GA 30338.  We will be in the gym in the lower level parking lot.

5328 Roberts Rezoning Plans - discussed and deferred at this weeks Planning Commission. I personally attended this meeting as I know there are lots of issues regarding water flow, historical stormwater & sewer easements, topography, a lack of fencing, and other issues.  Protection of existing neighbors from proposed community improvements seems to be a thread lately.

New Crosswalk on Mt. Vernon is in preliminary planning stage & Brook Run Playground will be resurfaced this summer.

Lots of discussion over Brook Run stream buffers and hydrology reports at the Dunwoody City Council meeting on Monday - guessing this item will be in the news for the next several months.  Here are a few important docs, 2013 hydrology report, the new preliminary hydrology report, and park deed that spells out minimum requirements. The park construction plans, stream buffer and tree loss reports will also be closely scrutinized during a City Council hearing at some meeting in the future.

Donation Link

Helping young men in the City of Dunwoody like Emerson Doolittle to be able to assist veterans is truly a privilege I can not pass up.  Please consider paying it forward with a small donation as he honors those who have sacrificed so much. Thanks  John

Hi, my name is Emerson and I live in Atlanta. I’ve been in Boy Scouts since 6th grade and it’s been my lifelong dream to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, which is the highest award in scouting.

For my Eagle Project, I will lead a team of Boy Scouts to build 30 memorial flag cases for the families of veterans who can't afford them. I will present them to the families through the Atlanta Veteran's Administration Hospital.

The military burial flag honors a veteran and their surviving family. Both the deceased veteran and the family have made a sacrifice for their country, and the flag is a memorial to that sacrifice.

One of the most requested items at the VA is a flag case to display and honor a loved one’s flag. Many veterans’ families do not have the means to purchase one. For my Eagle Project, I will handcraft 30 cases out of beautiful oak wood as a way to say thank you.

Any donation of any amount will be greatly appreciated to allow me to purchase wood, glass and other supplies. Your gift of $25 buys supplies to build an entire flag case for a deserving family. 

Thank you for considering a donation. The veterans’ families and I appreciate your support.

City of Dunwoody 2019 Retreat Documents and a proposal from Transit X for last mile connectivity.

The Dunwoody City Council along with various members of City Staff sat in a room for several days talking about the past, as well as our intentions for the future.  We were briefed by staff and outside groups on items of importance so that we could set policy moving forward to improve various aspects of our community.  I didn't document every conversation as I was ensuring that I listened attentively to the other council members, and weighed in to effectively to be engaged but I can tell you that both the Dunwoody Crier and Dunwoody Reporter were in the room taking notes and I expect news stories coming out from each.

Being able to sit through numerous conversations with six other decision makers, listening to everyone's opinion and weighing what is best for the city is truly an honor.  There are times in which don't always agree with each other but just knowing that everyone in the room wants what is best for the City, I easily accept their opinion as coming from a position of love and therefore at the end of the day our tweaked final compromised decision is usually a good one.  Thank you to the members of staff, the Mayor and my fellow council members who made this years retreat a valuable exercise.  

Below are the links to the documents discussed the last few days.

02072019_Retreat_Thursday_Items.pdf

02072019_Retreat_Friday_Items.pdf

02072019_Retreat_program_management_update.pdf
 
02082019_Retreat_Spruill_Expansion.pdf
 
02072019_Retreat_Transit_285.pdf

 Link

Last night in reviewing the jump drive with these electronic documents, I saw that there were a few slides discussing an overview item on a mass transit idea called Transit X that I had never heard of.  After researching quickly on line, I shared via Twitter that we would be discussing this item and then today the Transit X  company replied back to my tweet with a 13 page proposal on what the service could look like within the City of Dunwoody.  I am also sharing that document here even though it was not requested by the City, it was provided blind without knowing on our communities special transportation needs nor has the city council or staff seen this proposal.   They posted it on Twitter making it a public document and therefore figured I would share.

Dunwoody Homeowners Association meeting with GDOT scheduled for Sunday 7:30 at the North DeKalb Cultural Center

This Sunday, February 10, the Dunwoody Homeowners Association public meeting will be dedicated to having GDOT's representative, Mr. Tim Matthews explain the proposed toll lanes along the top side of 285, the stage of planning that they are at and hopefully explain the possible impacts to our community as well as how they will address those negative impacts. The meeting will take place Sunday at 7:30 pm in room 4 of the North DeKalb Cultural Center at 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

Several weeks ago the Georgetown community met with GDOT and based on feedback I heard they raised a number of questions to GDOT and hopefully this briefing on Sunday evening with a question and answer session will bring forward more project information as well as possible impacts.

On Friday afternoon the Dunwoody City Council was briefed about the possible transit aspect of the project and learned that the City of Sandy Springs is attempting to block all access to the toll lanes on 285 with no entrances or exits at Roswell Road and Powers Ferry (and possibly no exits on 400 near Perimeter Center) .  This revelation means that local Sandy Springs traffic getting on or off this infrastructure would be routed to the Dunwoody locations exasperating our traffic congestion locally which was completely unacceptable to all on Council.   Planning details of this project have not yet been shared with the City Council and instead, we are hearing bits and pieces of the plan with every public meeting, but with every detail, we learn it raises more concerns over the negative impacts that will be inflicted upon our citizens.

We are all looking forward to hearing more details on the project and long term impacts but some have already heard enough and don't want this project to move forward at all.

Full GDOT Presentation from Oct 2017

Fear rises as GDOT eyes back yards, houses for toll lanes - Dunwoody Reporter

Pebble Tossers celebrates 10 years of serving others with an Anniversary Gala at the Dunwoody Country Club this Friday Night.

https://www.pebbletossers.org/get-involved/anniversary/

Join us as we celebrate 10 years of serving!

The festivities will include an evening of celebration, highlights from the past 10 years, food + cocktails,  and an on-site service project!

• commemorating 10 years of service

  For our 10th-anniversary festivities, guests can look forward to an evening of celebration. Enjoy highlights of the impact that our dedicated community has had on Atlanta and its surrounding areas over the last decade. We’ll also invite guests to get in on the fun by participating in a mini-service project to celebrate the occasion!

• eat, drink + celebrate

  This event will feature cocktails + delicious food stations. Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in a Live Auction and Silent Auction.
  
  
• get tickets

Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism - Town Hall - Sunday 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El

https://www.stopantisemitismatl.org

Every family should have Washington D.C. on their list for a family vacation (Spring Break is ideal) due to the numerous educational museums and monuments. For me a must stop for my family was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum but if you have no immediate plans for travel to DC, I also recommend the "Anne Frank in the World" exhibit in Sandy Springs.

Dangers of Social Media & Vaping program sponsored by PCMS Foundation is Monday, 2/11 at 5:30

Dangers of Social Media & Vaping program sponsored by PCMS Foundation is next Monday, 2/11. All welcome. Please join us in welcoming renowned Dynamic Influence speaker, Rob Hackenson.

Dunwoody City Council planning retreat scheduled for Thursday & Friday followed by regular meeting on Monday Feb 11th.

The Dunwoody City Council will be holding a number of meetings the next few days as it is time for our annual planning "retreat".  I am guessing Thursday's session will be a recap of the year's accomplishments and setting goals / priorities for the future.  On Friday we will also be holding a special meeting of our Facilities Authority (comprised of City Council Members) to listen to a presentation by Bob Kinsey, C.E.O., Spruill Center for the Arts requesting a long term lease of the current space at the Dunwoody Library complex for possible expansion. This meeting will be followed by a full second day of retreat discussions.

Tomorrow morning I am guessing myself and a few other Council members will be attending the State EMS Council meeting to learn about Emergency Medical Service improvements needed within the city.

Thursday Night the Zoning Board of Appeals is hearing a case to add three new restaurants on Crown Point Parkway, near the Embassy Suites Hotel.

Friday night I will be attending a benefit for Pebble Tossers, Sunday I will be celebrating Congregation Ariel’s 25th Anniversary and on Monday we have our regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL
2019 STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT

11:30 A.M. - FEBRUARY 7, 2019
LOST CORNER PRESERVE COTTAGE
7300 BRANDON MILL ROAD, N.W.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA 30328

DUNWOODY PUBLIC FACILITIES AUTHORITY

7:30 A.M. – FEBRUARY 8, 2019
LOST CORNER PRESERVE COTTAGE
7300 BRANDON MILL ROAD, N.W.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA 30328

Presentation by Bob Kinsey, C.E.O., Spruill Center for the Arts - request for long term lease for expansion.

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL
2019 STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT - day 2.

9:00 A.M. - FEBRUARY 8, 2019
LOST CORNER PRESERVE COTTAGE
7300 BRANDON MILL ROAD, N.W.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA 30328

Presentation/Update From Comprehensive Program Services (Eric Johnson)
Facilities/Programming Update (Michael Starling/Brent Walker)
Top End 285 Transit Study Presentation (Todd Long, Eric Bosman)

---

Monday, February 11, 2019
Dunwoody City Hall
4800 Ashford Dunwoody Rd

Dunwoody, GA 30338

6:00 p.m. - Watch Live

Agenda

Recognition of Sgt. Blake Yeargin for Award of his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Penn Foster College

Presentation of 4th Quarter 2018 Internal Audit Report

Unaudited YTD Financial Report for December 31, 2018

FIRST READ: SLUP 19-01: Adevco Corporation, on behalf of Shallowford Road Storage, LLC, owners of 4444 N Shallowford Road, request a Special Land Use Permit per Chapter 27, Sec. 27-73 to permit a three story storage facility in the Office-Distribution (O-D) zoning district. The tax parcel ID is 18 344 03 001.

SECOND READ:Review and Consideration of Text Amendments Regarding Stream Buffer Exemptions (Chapter 16)

Funding Authorization for Peachtree Industrial Boulevard Access Road Sidewalk Construction

Approval of Additional Funding for 1266 Redfield Ridge Stormwater Repairs

Resolution to Amend the 2018 Operating and Capital Budgets

Resolution to Amend the 2019 General Fund Operating Budget

Funding Authorization for Final Design of Phase I of the Ashford Dunwoody Commuter Trail

Amendment to BM&K Contract for Construction Management Services for the North Shallowford Building (Eric Johnson)