PDK Advisory Board position available for citizen participation.

PDK Flight Path

My friend and former President of the Dunwoody North Civic Asociation, Mr. David Fowler has served on the Peachtree DeKalb Airport Advisory Board since 2002 where he advises on airport issues from a local citizen perspective.  Mr. Fowler recently married and moved outside DeKalb County, therefore, he will need to step down from the board where he has lobbied for many years to limit airplane noise on behalf of our community.

Mr. Fowler believes it is critical for us to help DeKalb Commissioner Kathie Gannon find someone who can walk the line between citizen and government and give Kathie valuable feedback when needed. The meetings are the 2nd Monday of each month and average about an hour each. The airport management usually presents issues of concern and the public is afforded time for comment each month. The AAB then makes recommendations to the commissioners.

If anyone is interested in serving on the committee, Commissioner Kathie Gannon can be reached directly by email at kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov and if someone wants to talk to Mr. Fowler directly about the duties of position I can connect you - just reach out to me.

Finally, I would like to thank Mr. David Fowler for his many years of tirelessly serving our community and I wish him and his bride many years of happiness.

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.

DeKalb County Budget Meeting to discuss 2.32 mil tax increase - Tues Feb 15th at Montgomery Elem

Budget Meeting Announcement

Tuesday, February 15th—7:00 PM until 8:30 PM
Montgomery Elementary School
3995 Ashford Dunwoody Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30319
Hosted by: Commissioner Boyer & Commissioner Gannon

Read the Proposed 2011 Budget - increase of 2.32 mils

Listen to CEO Burrell Ellis

What others say: The Crier, Dunwoody Patch, AJC, Champion, South DeKalb

 Flyer

Is PDK Airport up for an expansion of allowing larger aircraft? DeKalb BOC votes Tuesday and PDK Watch wants your involvement.

PDK Expansion of allowing Larger Aircraft?

I received the following message about possible PDK Airport expansion from the PDK Watch group asking that I forward the information. I am happy to do so even though I am not up on the specific details but maybe our DeKalb representative Ms. Kathie Gannon will fill us in on the details? 

John

Dear Community Leaders,

I am taking the liberty of sending you a very time-sensitive ACTION ALERT about an upcoming vote on Tuesday morning by the DeKalb Board of Commissioners that could expand size of jets allowed to use PDK Airport.  If this is a concern to you or to others in your neighborhood associations, I would welcome your sharing this information to your e-mail lists or otherwise circulating as widely as you can.

My apologies for the lateness of this message. Not until early Saturday afternoon did I become aware that our efforts to work with the Board of Commissioners to amend the  proposed 2010 PDK Airport Layout Plan had apparently reached a dead end.

Thank you for your consideration considering this information and making it as widely available as possible to concerned community members.

Larry Foster

Communications Director

PDK Watch Inc.  on behalf of Open DeKalb Inc.

-----------

October 24, 2010

Dear Citizens Concerned about PDK Airport Expansion,

Your help is urgently needed to try to avoid approval of a document that--if not amended--could be used to support significant expansion of PDK Airport.  I've indicated below what the problem is, why it is important, and what you can do to help.

In brief, the DeKalb Board of Commissioners is set to vote on Tuesday, October 26, on the proposed 2010 PDK Airport Layout Plan, which incorrectly claims the weight-bearing capacity of the main runway is 75,000 rather than the currently-indicated 66,000 lbs.  If the Airport Layout Plan is not amended back to 66,000 lbs., the size of the jets allowed to use PDK would increase. To convince the Commissioners to support this important amendment, your brief e-mail messages to the Commissioners within the next two days are crucial (see full details below).

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?  

Since Spring 2010, a proposed new 2010 PDK Airport Layout Plan (ALP) has been under consideration.  The PDK Airport Administration--now led by PDK Airport's Acting Director Mike Van Wie--has stated that the the proposed 2010 ALP merely "describes" the state of PDK Airport at this time--that it is not a projection for future PDK development and expansion. Yet a crucial change has been unobtrusively slipped into this 200-page document that would, in fact, support further PDK Airport expansion.  A final vote on the proposed 2010 ALP is scheduled at the DeKalb Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday morning, October 26, 2010, just two days from now.

The key change in the proposed 2010 ALP that we feel must be amended, indicates that the weight-bearing capacity PDK  Airport's main runway has an engineered capacity of 75,000 lbs., rather than the 66,000 lbs. that previous ALP's have indicated.  A careful engineering assessment of the proposed change by a professional structural engineer who designs airport runways indicates that there is no engineering basis that can justify such a change and that saying that the runway is engineered to a 75,000 lb. capacity would be "fraudulent."

Since late spring, board members from Open DeKalb Inc., including Norma Herd, Susan Gouinlock, and myself, have been addressing these issues with the Board of Commissioners and--with the aid of Commissioners Jeff Rader, Connie Stokes, and Elaine Boyer--we have attempted to get the proposed 2010 ALP amended so that it accurately describes the weight-bearing capacity of the main runway as 66,000 lbs.  

As a result of these efforts, a vote on the ALP has been deferred three times during the past three months  The vote on the ALP this Tuesday, however, will be the final one.  At the very end of this past week, we heard the bad news from Commissioner Rader that he does not believe he has the necessary votes to amend the ALP.  The other key commissioner who represents our area, Kathie Gannon, is expected to support describing the main runway as 75,000 lbs.--even though the runway is not engineered to that capacity--and a majority of the Commissioners are expected to follow her lead.

 

WHY IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT?:

For the Board of Commissioners to vote for a document incorrectly indicating that the engineered weight-bearing capacity of PDK Airport's main runway is 75,000 rather than 66,000 lbs. would, in effect, be to approve a major policy change authorizing the expansion of PDK Airport without a full and open discussion of the crucial issues involved. To take such action would undercut recent efforts by concerned community members during the past year to work out more mutually advantageous arrangements between the PDK Airport and concerned community members.  Such an action might also derail the ongoing negotiations with the highest levels of DeKalb County government to seek an approach other than legal action to try to resolve community disagreements with PDK Airport actions.

 WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

The most immediate need is for concerned citizens to send an outpouring of brief e-mail messages today and tomorrow the to all the members of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, urging them to amend the proposed 2010 PDK Airport Layout Plan back to the existing 66,000 lb. engineered weight limit.  

Your messages should include just a few brief sentences identifying yourself and expressing your concern politely.   

Each message must be directed to an individual commissioner (see names and e-mail addresses below), since messages to all the commissioners are blocked by anti-spamming devices.  

Many messages, not lengthy or argumentative ones, are likely to be most effective.  Some of the commissioners evidently do not believe that more than a handful of individuals are concerned about PDK Airport noise and operations.  Please let them know that is not the case.

Here are the names and e-mail addresses of the DeKalb County commissioners, in order of their districts.  Please send your messages NOW:

1.  Elaine Boyer    ctownsend@dekalbcountyga.gov

2.  Jeff Rader     jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov

3.  Larry Johnson     larryjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov

4.  Sharon Barnes Sutton     sbsutton@dekalbcountyga.gov

5.  Lee May     lmay@dekalbcountyga.gov

6.  Kathie Gannon    kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov

7.  Connie Stokes     conniestokes@dekalbcountyga.gov

Please write NOW, and also further circulate this message to your friends and neighbors.   We face an uphill battle at this point, but if you don't act, we can't be successful.

Thanks for your attention to this important message, and, hopefully, for your prompt action.

Larry Foster

Communications Director

PDK Watch Inc. on behalf of Open DeKalb Inc.

P.S.  If anyone would like to attend the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, October 26, to personally show your concern, here is the information you will need.  Note that what is most needed at this time, however, is your e-mail messages to the commissioners.

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners meets at the Maloof Auditorium 1300 Commerce Drive in Decatur.  Street parking is cheapest, requiring numerous quarters, or you can park in the high-rise parking across the street for a flat $6 fee (up from $2 previously).

The Commission meeting begins at 9 a.m.  During that first hour there is a half-hour public comment period, at which several of us will attempt to address the problems with the ALP.  The meeting proper is scheduled to start at 10 a.m., and the PDK Airport Layout Plan is at the top of the agenda, so even given a worst-case scenario, the vote will have been taken  by 10:30 a.m. or so.

Let me emphasize, however, that your immediate e-mail messages to the commissioners is what is most needed right now.

In case anyone would like to read a more detailed summary of the arguments, I have attached a more detailed discussion of the issue here for your reference

Winning the Water War hosted by the DeKalb Green Commission on Sat. Sept 19th.

HOLD Saturday, September 19 for Winning the Water War while Having Fun and Saving Money! The Green Commission is hosting our first of four sustainability workshops on Saturday September 19, 2009 at the Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce, starting at 9:30 am.

Come early for coffee, stroll through the exhibits and register for door prizes. Workshops will focus on water conservation and include:

Water Smart Landscaping; Rain Harvesting; FOG (fat, oil, grease) – Do you know what is going down your drain and how much it is costing you? Septic Tanks – There are many in DeKalb, learn how to keep them working.

DeKalb County residents stepped up during the drought by cutting their water consumption. The continuing legal battles and recent ruling against Atlanta’ s (including DeKalb) use of Lake Lanier for drinking water put water conservation back on top of the list of things we can do to help. While the federal & state legislatures and governors continue to wrangle with difficult compromises YOU can have fun learning about what we can do and how you can save money in the process!

Exhibitors will display low-flow toilets, rain barrels and retrofit kits for home use. Door prizes and tips on how to conserve water in your daily life will be available.

Canceled DeKalb County Parks Master Plan may hold some clues on recent events and the future of DeKalb’s Park System

It seems that ever since I was told by Ms. Marilyn Boyd Drew, the then DeKalb County Park’s Director that I was not allowed to speak at a DeKalb County Parks, Citizens Advisory Board Meeting; I have always kept a warm place in my heart for this fine County Government Department and therefore have kept a careful eye on their misgivings.

In February of 2008, I questioned if DeKalb County was wasting money on redoing a ten year parks master plan after only six years and I soon discovered that they had indeed wasted $249,600.00 on the master plan process but then intended to never publish the results, possibly because the contractor EDAW was asking tough questions, or maybe because the draft report was critical of the lack of park funding, poor facility maintenance as well as the Parks Department lack of communication from its upper management.

In light of the swim meet debacle and now the field usage charge proposal, the “Draft Parks Master Plan” from September of 2007 that was released to me in an open records request, but never published anywhere else, sheds a bit of light on these two recent events.

“Draft Parks Master Plan” from September of 2007

Some key pages to read are as follows
Pg 32 – Interviews with Department Employees
Pg 33 – Interviews with Executive Team
Pg 34 - Interviews with Board of Commissioners
Pg 36 – Interviews with Citizens Advisory Board
Pg 43 – Existing Operational Structure
Pg 46 – Joint Ventures & Partnerships
Pg 80 – Fees Recommendation (My favorite)

"Explore alternatives for reducing fees associated with activities offered by sports associations and other private partners. For example, instead of charging for facilities, the Department could require a sport association to accept a larger responsibility for maintenance. The savings could result in lower fees and lower operational cost for the department."

The WSB-TV news report on field usage fees stated that the proposed Tuesday night meeting officially informing the football sports associations of the new fee structure was supposedly canceled but at the time of the report the associations had not been informed of the change. If the meeting is canceled, maybe the affected sports associations would like to voice their opinions to the DeKalb County Parks Citizens Advisory Board which is meeting that same night, Tuesday July 28th in Decatur at 6:00 p.m.

That is if they will be allowed to speak?

DeKalb officials want $100 a day team practice fees = Sports Program Killer?

I learned of this issue late last week and have been in communication with representatives of Murphey Candler Baseball, Atlanta Colts Football and the Dunwoody Senior Baseball programs; all of whom stated this fee structure could easily kill their programs. On Friday, I e-mailed a number of people in DeKalb asking them to confirm the new park usage policies and/or please provide me a copy as I can not yet find it on-line? My hope is that if DeKalb were to implement usage policies that they would exempt associations that have been privately maintaining the park property thereby privately taking on the duty of running their own park, such as Murphey Candler Baseball, the Atlanta Colt Football and Dunwoody Senior Baseball.

Cathy Cobbs of the Dunwoody Crier has posted a story as shown below.

If DeKalb County Parks and Recreation officials have their way, recreational leagues may be paying up to $100 a day to practice on their home fields, a cost that one organization estimates could reach up to $75,000 in fees that it doesn’t have.

Several football recreational league presidents, including the Atlanta Colts Youth Association, have been ordered to attend a mandatory meeting in Tucker on July 28 “in regards to field allocations and rental fees.”

The e-mail, signed by VonShea L. Booth, does not elaborate on any specific agenda items, but it’s apparently not the first meeting that DeKalb has held regarding new fees.

On July 14, DeKalb County parks and recreation officials, including parks head Marilyn Drew, met with several soccer recreation program leaders to outline a new fee schedule for field use.

The meeting included the Tucker Youth Sports Association, Stone Mountain Youth Soccer Association, the DeKalb Attack, and several other organizations based in Cobb and Gwinnett that had expressed an interest in playing in DeKalb County.

According to several people who attended the meeting, the county laid out plans to start charging usage fees to sports associations that use county fields.

“These usage fees amount to $100 a day, per field and include these same fields for practice up to three days a week,” according a source who attended the meeting. “As of now, this only applies to soccer fields, but they assured us that they would be rolling this out to all sports, football included, during this year.”

Atlanta Colts Youth Association officials, who will attend the July 28 meeting, said the new fees could mean the end of the 40-year Colts’ football program.

“This move would essentially put the Colts out of business,” said ACYA president Jim DeLany. “Anyway you figure it, we are talking about anywhere from $57,000 to $75,000 in fees that are unanticipated.”

DeLany said that registration for Colts’ programs closed in May, and that he can’t see, in today’s economy, how to raise the additional funds.

“Our parents have already paid and the season is set to start with pre-season workouts next week,” DeLany said. “I can’t imagine going back to them to try to get this amount of money from them.”

DeLany said this latest move has come as a shock to ACYA officials, who thought that DeKalb County had become more supportive of the group in the past few months.

“We felt like we were getting some traction with DeKalb County under the new CEO Burrell Ellis,” DeLany said. “We had received some new fencing and additional parking, and we felt good that we were moving in the right direction. That’s why it was such a shock to us.”

ACYA is a volunteer-driven organization, as are most of the others around the city. Fundraising is devoted to raising money for field maintenance and many other essentials that the county does not provide, another reason why rec league leaders feel betrayed by this latest move.

“For years we have put our own sweat and money into making these fields usable,” a source said. “To have them give us no credit for that and then try to charge these fees is outrageous.”

DeKalb County officials, according to sources at the July 14 meeting also said that any group, with proof of insurance, could use any park they want, as long as they come up with the $100 usage fee.

“We asked them what would happen if one of these groups damaged the equipment or trashed the fields, we were essentially told ‘tough luck,’” the source said.

The Crier sent e-mails to Drew, other DeKalb parks officials, and DeKalb County Spokesperson Kristie Swink for response, but none replied prior to its Monday deadline.

The GoDeKalb Show - Dunwoody Edition featuring Dick Williams, Mudcatz & the Chamber of Commerce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEwG8xH0FS8

GoDeKalb.com the online county news source which I have touted in the past has a new video feature and this weeks episode features the City of Dunwoody. It is hosted by Randy Barnes and includes conversations with Dick Williams, the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce and the owner of Mudcatz among others.

Dick Williams, editor of the Dunwoody Crier gives a city hood update, talks about Burrell Ellis and environmental issues. Finally he poses a question to CEO Ellis and the other DeKalb County officials asking if they are serious about negotiating with the city for a transfer of properties?

Randy Barnes then asks a few Dunwoody ladies about social networking and they seem a little lost? What is twitter?

Shari O'Halloran, the owner of Mudcatz Baytou Bar & Grill (my personal favorite socializing establishment, non-smoking, no cover, great Blues music, outstanding food) in Dunwoody is interviewed and discusses the high quality blues artists that play in their fine establishment. The restaurant will soon be moving next door to the much bigger Pavilion and when that happens expect to see some of the biggest names in music play on this stage. (Yes, I know the names and I'm not telling.)

Randy hears from Ms. Debbie Fuse of the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce that the DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau is doing a fine job.

Finally Randy looks directly into the camera and says that public officials, including those running the new City of Dunwoody should get into social networking in order to get the word out.

You know what Randy, I think I just might take you up on that suggestion?

DeKalb Democratic candidates are coming to Dunwoody North on July 6th.

Meet & Greet Ellis, Gannon & Danese on July 6th.

Some of the candidates who are running in the Democratic Primary on July 15 are Burrell Ellis, for CEO, DeKalb, Kathie Gannon for Super District 6 (ours) and Larry Danese for District 1 (ours). These three will be at Bobbi Sedam's house, 4615 Stonehenge Drive on Sunday, July 6 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. for a "meet and greet the candidates". This is a chance for citizens to ask the questions that may concern them such as: Pluses and minuses for City of Dunwoody, government responsiveness, government efficiency, zoning, taxes, roads '"What have you done and what will you do for DeKalb County?" "What's your resume?"

As you know in the Primary Election on July 15 you may vote either the Republican or Democratic ticket but you can't vote in both parties. In the general election you can vote both Republican and Democratic even if you have chosen one or the other party in the Primary. The vote for City of Dunwoody will be on both Democrat and Republican ballots in the July 15th Primary. In this coming Primary Election, choice of party is important. There is no Republican opposition for the CEO spot so whoever wins in the Democratic Primary will be our next CEO.

Please come for the hour and enjoy a cool drink and interesting conversation.

Directions for 4615 Stonehenge Drive, Atlanta, 30360 in Dunwoody North should be easy to find on a Google map, or just call Bobbi at 770-986-7776 and I'll tell you how to get here.

This event posting has been requested by our neighbor Bobbi Sedam and is not being sponsored by the Dunwoody North Civic Association.

AJC reports that DeKalb Commissioners ask for criminal probe of purchases

The AJC By TY TAGAMI, 06/17/08

Three DeKalb County commissioners are calling for a criminal investigation of purchases that violated county and state policies intended to ensure competitive bidding and spending oversight.

Recent audits found that contracts for technology services in the administration of Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones routinely violated purchasing rules. None of the reviews found any wrong-doing, which was beyond their purview.

Commissioner Jeff Rader noted that the auditors lacked the power of a grand jury to subpoena witnesses under oath and that the grand jury that ended in March issued a report calling for further investigation. The grand jury's report recommended that a subsequent grand jury investigate "piecemeal" and "no bid" purchases and that the accounting firm KPMG, which conducted the audit for the county, be retained to advise them.

Rader said a criminal investigation would "clear the air." He said he will send a letter to District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming and the Superior Court chief judge asking that a special grand jury be empaneled. He said two other DeKalb commissioners — Elaine Boyer and Kathie Gannon — have signed the letter so far.

Asked about the letter, Jones issued a written statement through DeKalb spokesperson Kristie Swink that said the district attorney needed no "political persuasion."

"I have full confidence that her office will do what is proper, appropriate and in the best interest for the citizens of DeKalb County," the statement said.

A spokesperson for the district attorney said Keyes Fleming is not investigating the matter but has talked with county commissioners about it. Jada Hudspeth said Keyes Fleming told the commissioners she was reviewing "all of the documents that I currently have before deciding the next course of action."

City of Dunwoody referendum defeated in committee

For several years, many Dunwoody residents including myself have worked on the effort to examine if Dunwoody should become a city. Two months ago, acting not as President of the Dunwoody North Civic Association but as an individual Dunwoody resident, I officially joined the Board of Directors of the Citizens for Dunwoody. The Dunwoody North Civic Association has the duty to keep you informed on issues affecting this neighborhood yet its policy is to not take a political stand on highly political issues such as this. We are here merely to provide information and that was the reason that the DNCA board as a whole decided to incorporate a flyer from the Citizens for Dunwoody in our last newsletter. (We received a complaint that we were being biased in our delivery of the information.)

This afternoon, the House of Representatives Government Affairs Committee held a two-hour meeting to discuss and vote on Dunwoody’s request to hold a referendum on incorporation.

Fran Millar re-introduced the legislation passed by the committee last year and described the results of the updated CVI study. DeKalb County Finance director Michael Bell spoke against the bill as did several legislators from DeKalb County. Commissioner Kathie Gannon (whose district includes Dunwoody) also spoke against the bill.

Surprisingly, the Democratic opponents of the bill were quiet throughout the proceedings. The only hostility was from Jill Chambers, a Republican legislator whose home is in Dunwoody North and whose legislative district includes a small corner of Dunwoody. She challenged the CVI study, raised the fear of law suits from the county and repeatedly attempted to raise uncertainty and doubt that the new city would face unforeseen obstacles. Despite repeated assurances before the meeting that she would support the bill to allow Dunwoody citizens to vote on incorporation she voted with the opponents of the bill. As a result, the Dunwoody referendum was defeated in the committee by a single vote.

What is next? Unless some un-foreseen turn of events occurs, the legislation to allow Dunwoody residents to vote on incorporation is dead for this year. It will need to be re-introduced next year and start the process over from the beginning as new legislation.

Georgia Blog Carnival - If this isn't pointing a finger then maybe it's just a one finger salute?

My little blog entry documenting the lack of coordination between the DeKalb County School System and the DeKalb County Government over a needed intersection improvement has been selected for the Georgia Blog Carnival. Please check out the other entries in the latest edition of the carnival.

Onto other interesting news. Can you imagine Kathie Gannon as the next DeKalb County Commission CEO? It appears someone can and they are floating the idea to see if it has any legs. Is Vernon trying to create a reason to get out of an extremely challenging Senate race? Interesting Rumors found on Decatur Metro.

http://decaturmetro.com