All Saints Catholic Church
2443 Mount Vernon Road
Dunwoody, Georgia
Thursday Jan 21st
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Below are the
public comments (tied back to an identified person) requesting topics to to be discussed at the Town Hall Meeting being held by Mayor Denny Shortal. There were other comments raised and I am not sure they will all be discussed, but below are all very interesting perspectives that I thought I would share. Please come out to the town hall to share your priorities with the new Mayor and other elected officials. As per one of the suggestions, I am personally unable to live stream from this location but may be able to shoot some video clips as I believe the City will record and post the entire event.
What topics or issues would you like to have discussed at the City of Dunwoody Town Hall 2016 event on January 21?
Ryan Esslinger inside District 2
There are several topics/issues that I would like to mention which I
believe are worthy of discussion at Dunwoody's next town hall. These include, but are not limited to:
1.) Lowering speed limits on several main roads and collector roads
from 35 MPH to 25MPH. I don't understand why roads with high density
residential are 35MPH (i.e. Womack Rd, Tilly Mill Rd, Mt. Vernon Rd.,
etc.), whereas other roads such as Ashford Center Pkwy are 25MPH.
Speeders are going to speed, so we might as well make it easier for the
Dunwoody Police to catch them. Unless there is a reason for keeping the
speed limit to 35MPH, Dunwoody should do an impact study on lowering
the speed limit for certain city roads.
2.) Several intersections are in need of a serious redesign. These
include the intersections of Chamblee Dunwoody Rd & Womack Rd,
Chamblee Dunwoody Rd & Mt. Vernon Rd, Tilly Mill & Mt.
Vernon/Mt. Vernon Pl, and Chamblee Dunwoody Rd & Peeler Rd, among
others. As urbanization and density ultimately spreads from the PCID
further East into town, these road intersection improvements become
detrimental to alleviating congestion bottlenecks. For example, the
lack of a dedicated left turn lane on Womack Rd heading onto Chamblee
Dunwoody Rd (Southbound), combined with a poorly designed entrance/exit
into/from the Dunwoody Library makes for very dangerous driving
conditions.
3.) Raising Dunwoody's current hotel tax (I believe 5%) to the
maximum allowable (I believe 8%) is a "low-hanging fruit" opportunity
for the city to collect additional tax revenue. The lodging demand is
already here and hotel occupancy rates continue to remain high in the
area. Essentially, people (or their respective employers) will pay due
to demand and location. Barring any major political roadblocks, this is
a no-brainer and should be prioritized accordingly.
4.) Revisit any current legislation relating to noise ordinances and
related enforcement hours. Several loud vehicles/motorcycles can be
heard at late evening/early morning hours as these drivers speed through
several neighborhood roads including Chamblee Dunwoody, Vermack,
Womack, Tilly Mill, Mt Vernon, Roberts, etc. with their loud motorcycles
or modified automobiles.
5.) Continue to explore the feasibility and viability of Dunwoody
adopting its own school system (I believe it would require an amendment
to the Georgia Constitution).
6.) Prioritizing pedestrian-friendliness/walkability of Dunwoody (no
more "sidewalks to nowhere", incorporating paths to parks, shopping,
restaurants, etc.)
7.) There was a rumor that Dunwoody was considering painting the
Dekalb County water tower at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Ashford
Dunwoody Rd. Is this still up for consideration?
8.) Really would like to see continued prioritization and progress on
the Dunwoody Village master plan. This is the core of our city! Would
like to see less emphasis on retail banking (there is an undeniable
overabundance of banks) and surface parking lots, and more emphasis on
improved green space.
9.) Dunwoody's police force is one of the city's strongest assets.
We should continue to fund the department appropriately and add more
officers on the streets given the anticipated increasing density due to
new commercial, retail and residential development.
10.) Partner and improve the relationship with Georgia Perimeter
College (now part of Georgia State University) to make it a mainstay
educational institution in the area. Ensure that any future plans the
university has incorporates the voice of the city of Dunwoody and its
citizens.
Bill Grossman
All the zoning entitlements in the Perimeter Center area from 10 years
ago are getting much closer to being financed and built as the economy
recovers. Sandy Springs has been collecting millions in impact fees for
the thousands of multifamily units they have approved up against
Dunwoody’s western border.
Dunwoody will lose several million dollars in fees to support
traffic improvements and fund Park land acquisitions near the Mall; if
impact fees are not put in place for the Perimeter Center Overlay
district before the property owners submit applications to the city for
land disturbance permits (to start the building process). Impact fees
will not scare off developers; the fees will just help us deal with
future growth.
The last Mayor said he loved impact fees when he was running for
office; but made sure it never was on the City Council agenda during his
years in office. I expect more than lip-service from our new Mayor on
this subject.
I have always been ok with the schedule the first city council
adopted: to repave all the Dunwoody roads in a 20 year cycle, then start
over… I heard a lot this last election about accelerating that
paving schedule. Is there a consensus among Mayor and council as to how
much more money to throw at paving and how much would it shorten the
original 20 year schedule?
I’d like to hear about the Cities current Capital Improvement Plan
for the next three to five years. Our infrastructure needs are not
limited to more paving. We’ve outgrown the original space leased for
City Hall. I do not want to go down the “build a big government complex
like Sandy Springs” road. I expect we will continue to rent; but will it
be more space at building 41 or a move to somewhere else in Dunwoody?
I would like to see Mayor and Council set up Citizen Stakeholder
committees to advise council on issues like a Parks Capital Improvement
plan.
We should do the same for issues like City wide Broadband, City of Dunwoody school system.
Sandy Springs gets a lot of use out of their police volunteer
auxiliaries and it is an alternative to a constantly growing city
employee Police force; which takes almost half our city budget now. Why
should we not implement something similar to the volunteer auxiliaries?
Thanks for consideration
Deric Cadora
Could the Parks division please develop a coherent and long-term plan
for Winwood Park? Work on this park has been done piecemeal and with no
apparent development objective. Last year, the parking lot was
partially dug up and then left as dirt for 6 months before a small
section was repaved. The delay forced visitors to walk through an often
muddy area to access the sidewalk. In 2014, eight trees were planted
within the existing canopy with no apparent aesthetic design. These
trees, which likely cost several thousand dollars a piece to purchase
and install, are now indistinguishable from the forest.
Last October, the open field was ringed with trees. This is a park
that is already 90% forested and the city is plating trees in the only
open area. Furthermore, once these trees grow, the view of the
children's park will be obscured, making families feel less safe. Please hire a designer and develop a long-term plan before spending more tax dollars on our park.
Thank you,
John McNeil inside District 2
1. Dunwoody City Schools
If the state legislature were to approve a school district in Dunwoody, do we know if the same tax exemption regarding
county school taxes for those 62 years of age and older under would still be feasible to maintain in a city school system?
2. Dunwoody Police Department
Each fiscal year since the city's inception the Dunwoody Police
Department's budget and number of personnel has increased. I understand
that initially it can be a challenge to determine the appropriate
resources for public safety in a newly formed city. I was wondering that
now that the city has been operating for a few years if the DPD has
developed a strategic plan with initiatives, goals and anticipated
needed resources, costs of resources and funding of resources for the
next 3-5 years? If so, where is it available? If not, shouldn't one be
created?
3. Accelerated Street Improvements
Road maintenance is a somewhat basic service of city government.
Understanding that Dunwoody inherited a massive backlog of needed road
repairs, are there financial funds available or could funds be
re-directed to accelerate the current very extended plan to repave roads
in Dunwoody? What % of the annual city budget is held in the reserves?
What projects being discussed are not as basic as decent roadways in the
city that funds could possibly be re-directed?
4. Employee Recognition
Although much of the city's operations are outsourced, recognition
of those who serve the city either internally or externally should be
celebrated, rewarded and appreciated in a public manner in which the
citizens can be made aware and share their appreciation for their
professionalism, dedication, service and commitment to the citizens of
the city. Most people observe what is valued, promoted, appreciated,
recognized and rewarded by their employer and act accordingly. My 2
cents. Thanks.
Jim Knocke inside District 1
Heavy transient traffic from
Spalding Rd. feeding into Chamblee-Dunwoody down to Roberts intersection
creates a hazzard for local residents trying to exit subdivisions
throughout the day with many cars exceeding the speed limit. For 100 yards South of Redfield on Chamblee-Dunwoody there are
patches in the road that have been poorly repaired by contractors.
Please fill them in to provide a safer passage.
Robert Phelps inside District 1
I would like Dunwoody to consider installing its own broadband network. I would also like to have a discussion related to the crosswalk on Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd at the Redfield neighborhood.
Adrienne Duncan inside District 3
Have a live video feed via
YouTube, Meerkat, Periscope, Vimeo, etc. Listening via streaming media
is the only option many of us have to be informed of the conversation. I'd also like to recommend accepting follow-up questions and
commentary via Twitter or similar social media. Again, this may be the
only way of receiving real-time feedback from the demographics that are
not able to attend in person. When will the video on the agendas/minutes management system on the
city website be upgraded to function in all browsers (instead of just
Internet Explorer) and on mobile devices?
Winters Chapel Road at Peeler Road
The tragic death of a friend June 25th prompts me to ask that you please explain why it took over 20 minutes for a transport to to reach her home in Dunwoody Club Forest. She was injured and lying unconscious in her yard. What is being done to assure proper service to all areas of Dunwoody? The city is not receiving requests for this discussion because most of us never have to call 911 for fire or medical transport. Most do not know there are areas of Dunwoody that do not meet the national safety standard.
I would like an update on the plans to construct the Live, Work , entertain community in Dunwoody Village at the coroner of Mt. Vernon Rd. and Dunwoody Village Parkway.