I believe Council should be supporting Special Events more than we currently do.
DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday, August 10, 2026
6:00 PM
DUNWOODY CITY HALL - DUNWOODY HALL
4800 ASHFORD DUNWOODY ROAD
DUNWOODY, GA 30338
Agenda 6 pm
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/86452715091 or phone +14703812552,,86452715091#
You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.
Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance
Award Presentation: 2026 Officer of the 2nd Qtr: T. Kinslow; Employee of the 2nd Qtr: J. Horn (Chief Carlson)
Public Comment
City Manager's Monthly Report (Eric Linton)
Discover Dunwoody Mid Year Presentation (Ray Ezelle)
FIRST READ & Public Hearing: RZ 26-05, 1200 & 1240 Ashwood Parkway and 4754 Ashford Dunwoody Road: Ashwood Grove LLC requests a rezoning from the O-I (Office-Institution) district to the PD (Planned Development) district to allow the development of 122 attached homes. (Madalyn Smith)
Contract Amendment with Practical Design Partners Womack Road Sidewalk Final Design (Tiffany Siegel)
Approval of Contracts with Ascension Program Management, Comprehensive Program Services, Vandermeer Management, and Skanska USA Building for On-call Program Management Support (John
Gates)
Ordinance to Amend Chapter 27 of the Code of Ordinances to Define and Provide Use Regulations for Vape Shops
City Sponsorship of Special Events
Heneghan opinion - There are several special events hosted by the local non-profit organizations that are older than the City and if these special events went away, we the citizens would be missing a bit of nostalgia for the small town / family community that we strive to be. Namely the Dunwoody 4th of July Parade hosted by the Dunwoody Homeowners Association, the Lemonade Days Festival hosted by the Dunwoody Preservation Trust and to a lessor extent the Light Up Dunwoody celebration also hosted by the DHA. These key community events are recognized by the Dunwoody City Council as being premier events and are eligible for up to 100% cost sharing for Dunwoody Police Support whereby the city picks up the full cost of traffic control and police presence. Other lessor events or those put on by for profit companies (like the Dunwoody Art Fest) don't get such a deal on police services but are supported.
As you may remember there was an unfortunate incident during the 2025 parade where people were hurt and since that time the City has hired a risk manager to ensure all city possible liabilities are covered and therefore the insurance requirements for special events have been ramped up or enforced where they might not have been in the past (rightly so). The fact is that these special events are hugely expensive, subject to weather loses and barely break even on a good year. Based on the now mandatory insurance costs being paid by the Non-Profit hosting the event, inquiries were made to the City in April of 2026 about adding a financial sponsorship of $5,000 dollars above the already generous donation of police services in order to cover the insurance costs. This cash donation is allowed by the City as per the 2018 policy in section VI / A unfortunately meetings were held and it was decided that no cash donation would be made at that time.
Numerous special events have fallen off the non-profit calendars over the years for lack of financial efficiency therefore I asked that this matter be brought to the full council for discussion prior to the Mayor's Budget in a few months as I believe supporting an organization like the Dunwoody Homeowners Association (as well as DPT) with a minor cash donation to cover these premier special event insurance costs is much cheaper then having the DHA drop the parade whereby the cost for the city to then take over and run the event would be astronomically more than our seed money donation to keep the current event viable. I know this 2018 document needs to be updated but the spirit of the document lives on whereby we as a City need to continue to support our traditions, invest in nostalgia and foster community. Just my 2 cents.
Contract for Wayfinding Sign Installation
Springwood Park Concept Design Services
