Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Tuesday May 27, 2025 - Officer Awards, State Grant for paving, signage & markings, Donaldson Bannister Blackshop Renovation

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday May 27, 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

Recognition of Citizens' Police Academy Class XVI Graduates

Administration of Oath of Office to Officers LaQuaisha Marshall, Alex Smith and Katherine Thielman 

Recognition of Educational Achievements for Sgt. M. Cheek, Sgt. A. Sillah and Ofc. J. Edwards

Recognition of Officer (Eric Drum) and Employee (Kimberly Stone) of the First Quarter for 2025

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

Allocation of Additional Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) Funds

Funding Authorization for Sunbelt Traffic to Replace the Signal Pole on the Southeast Corner of Perimeter Center Parkway and Hammond Drive

Donaldson-Bannister Farm Blacksmith Shop Renovation

Dunwoody Memorial Day Ceremony, taking place at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 26, at the Brook Run Park Veterans Memorial (4770 N. Peachtree Road).

The City of Dunwoody invites the community to reflect, honor and give thanks during its annual Memorial Day Ceremony, taking place at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 26, at the Brook Run Park Veterans Memorial (4770 N. Peachtree Road). The public ceremony is hosted by City of Dunwoody Parks & Recreation with support from the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs VFW Post 10822 and Dunwoody Woman’s Club.

"Memorial Day is a special time to honor the brave Veterans who went into harm's way, making the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” said Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Thomas W. Ariail, Commander of VFW Post 10822. “This ceremony offers us a chance to come together as a community, not only in remembrance, but also to ensure their legacy lives on."

This year’s keynote speaker is Major Rick Scheff, a decorated U.S. Air Force officer and F-16 fighter pilot with more than 1,000 flight hours and more than 300 combat hours in missions across Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. A Dunwoody native and graduate of Georgia Tech, Major Scheff currently serves as Chief Evaluator Pilot at Shaw Air Force Base, where he helps oversee combat readiness for one of the Air Force’s leading fighter wings.

The ceremony will also feature the following speakers:

*Council Member Joe Seconder, Major, U.S. Army (Retired), will lead the Pledge of Allegiance
*Dunwoody Police Chief Mike Carlson, Georgia National Guard Captain (Retired), will introduce a moment of silence
*Robert Comeaux, Worship & Arts Pastor at Dunwoody Baptist Church, will offer the Invocation and Benediction

The Georgia State Defense Force Band, under the direction of Lt. Col. Glenn R. Moore, will provide patriotic music including the National Anthem and God Bless America.

Dunwoody GIS has some great information mapped out, as does DeKalb County

Before there was a City of Dunwoody, I served on the Citizens for Dunwoody board where I assisted in transportation planning and some of that included setting the City Boundaries.  As I enjoyed playing with maps and computers, I created my own personal mapping tool with a high definition photo of a  city map with underlying plat maps from DeKalb showing every parcel & tax id in the city which could then be used to cross reference against the DeKalb Tax Commissioner for further information.  Since those early days, the city now has their own GIS department recording the locations of 100's of different layers of information and much of that information is available on line.

Yesterday a resident was looking for a higher resolution City Council District map than what was publicly available, (maybe he or a friend was looking to run for City Council in the fall?) so I requested staff to review what was available and to create an updated map.  They did and it is below.

Council District Map

Dunwoody Subdivision Map

Dunwoody GIS offers public parcel information and many other odd tidbits of information like stormwater repairs, property value change maps, Tree Canopy, Millennial Population, Fire Hydrant Inspections

DeKalb GIS also provides great information from a County perspective, check it out below.

https://dcgis-dekalbgis.hub.arcgis.com/#Apps

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday May 12, 2025 (4.9% city raise)

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday May 12, 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

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

City Manager's Monthly Report

SECOND READ: Ordinance to Amend Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances to Promote Adoption of Rescue Animals

Funding Authorization for Stormwater Repairs at 4836 Summerford

Approval of Amendment of City Position Allocation and Compensation Chart - 4.9% raise

Authorization of a Permanent Easement to Lake Ridge, LLC for Pond Maintenance

Allocation of Additional Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) Funds for additional paving, road signage & striping.

Dunwoody City Council Elections are drawing near, Dunwoody 101 class is a good place to start for those thinking of running for a Council seat.

Every two years the City of Dunwoody has a non-partisan municipal election and in a short six months, on November 4th, we will be holding the local district election whereby only the residents in each of the three districts get to vote for their local district representative. 

Four years ago the vote tallies showed that only about 2,000 / 2,500 people voted in each of the districts therefore with the low voter turnout, a small representative cross section of our community actually decides these races.  As I have offered in every Dunwoody election (including if you wanted to run against me), I am available to sit and answer questions anyone might have regarding serving on the City Council, just reach out.

At the city retreat the topic of a Dunwoody 101 class was raised and I pushed hard that this was an important educational class for the residents because it helps those who were thinking about running for City Council prepare for the task at hand.   The 101 class is being held this year on Friday May 30th but it is greatly scaled back from the eight evening training session as done in the past to now a one day / six hour event comprising of both educational information and a trolley ride touring recent changes to the city.  

Registration for the 101 class closes this week and I recommend anyone interested in learning more about the City of Dunwoody, and especially anyone thinking of running for City Council register for the class.

Catherine, Rob & Tom are up for reelection if they decide to run.

The City of Dunwoody will conduct a General Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, for the purpose of electing three (3) members of City Council.  City Council posts to be voted on are City Council Post 1 (District 1), currently held by Catherine Lautenbacher, City Council Post 2 (District 2), currently held by Rob Price, and City Council Post 3 (District 3), currently held by Tom Lambert.  

If a runoff election is necessary, the runoff election would be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. 

All persons desiring to run for the office of City Council shall qualify at City Hall, 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338 in the office of the City Clerk, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, August 18, 2025, and ending at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20 , 2025 (Georgia Election Code 21-2-132(c)(3)(A).  The qualifying fee for the office of City Council is $360.00 (3% of the total gross salary of the preceding year.)  All qualifying fees shall be paid at the time of qualifying. (Georgia Election Code 21-2-131).   

More important links:

Dunwoody Election Information

Declaration of Intent to Accept Campaign Contributions

Notice of Candidacy (filed with the City Clerk during qualifying)

Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report (City Clerk can explain during qualifying)

Personal Financial Disclosure - all candidates are required to file this within 15 days of the date they qualify. It is for the previous calendar year. 

Affidavit of Exemption Not to Exceed $2,500 in Contributions - Candidates who files this affidavit will not be required to file a Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report unless/until they exceed $2,500 in contributions.

Link to DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections website.

For more information, email City Clerk Sharon Lowery.

First draft of Dunwoody Comprehensive Plan would allow major changes by right, side stepping public vetting & Council review.

The required review of our Dunwoody Comprehensive Land Use Plan is on going and major changes are being proposed by Staff and the Steering Committee that would allow developers to make zoning changes like adding apartments & town homes in places they are currently not allowed and these development changes would not come in front of City Council for review as this latest document is proposing (with a future zoning rewrite) to allow this by right in specific places.    Below is a photo of just one of many zoning suggestions.

This is just the first draft but know that from my perspective this seems to be the push as City Staff wants to allow developers more freedom from the review and approval of the City Council.

 Draft Comprehensive Plan - April 22, 2025

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.

Dunwoody City Council Presentation Slides - Jan. 27, 2025

Dunwoody 2025-45 Comprehensive Plan Website