Dunwoody / DeKalb Memorial Day Service, Brook Run Park, Monday at 9:00 am

Monday 9 am
Callanwolde Concert Band
DeKalb County Veterans Memorial
Brook Run Park
4770 North Peachtree Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338

PS: 18,000 veterans were honored this morning with a flag placement performed by Scouts at Marietta National Cemetery. Dunwoody was well represented. Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend and remember all of those that have carried the torch of liberty in the past, and those that are doing so today.

An Evening with Larry King - May 31 at the MJCCA

Larry King

A Page from the Book Festival of the MJCCA is Proud to Present
An Evening with Larry King
May 31 • 7:00 PM
MJCCA – Zaban Park
5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338

Book Signing to Follow

Rep. Johnson to hold Career Expo & Job Fair - Thursday, May 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Press Release

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) is holding his 2009 Career Expo, a re-entering the workforce job fair on Thursday, May 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at DeKalb Technical College in Clarkston.

More than 35 representatives from federal and local agencies and private industry will be filling hundreds of available positions. There will also be counselors on hand to help with résumé writing, tips on how to start a small business and how to do business with local governments.

Some participating agencies include – but are not limited to – AT&T, Gwinnett County Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, EPA, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Census Bureau, IRS, Veterans Affairs, FAA, Primerico Conyers and DeKalb Workforce Development.

Learn About:

• Job openings from employers
• How to write résumés
• How to do business with local governments

What to expect:

• Federal, local agencies hiring for job openings, including police officer posts
• Counselors on hand for résumé writing 101
• How to prepare for an interview

What to bring: If you or someone you know needs to find a job or launch a career.

• Dress for success
• Multiple copies of your résumé
• A good attitude
• Listening skills

More information, call 770-987-2291.

Dunwoody City Council Meeting Agenda for Tuesday May 26, 2009

Dunwoody United Methodist Church
1548 Mt. Vernon Road, 30338
Tuesday May 26th
7 p.m.

Agenda

Proclamation: “Dunwoody United Methodist Church”
Proclamation: “Dr. Robert Albin”
Proclamation: “Automated External Defibrillators”

Minutes from the April 20, 2009 City Council Work Session.

PRESENTATION Dr. Kevin Harris, Dunwoody High School Principal.

Resolution adopting a license fee for door-to-door salesmen and solicitors in the City of Dunwoody.

Resolution adopting Lights Off/Power Down policy.

Ordinance to Amend Chapter 2: Administration

Status Report on New School Traffic - Richard Meehan, Dir of Public Works.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
Resolution to transmit the Comprehensive Plan Community Assessment and Community Participation Plan to the Atlanta Regional Commission and State Department of Community Affairs.

Ordinance to amend Chapter 27: Zoning - An amendment to the text of the Zoning Ordinance to clean-up certain language, reinstate certain provisions, and amend certain requirements.

Ordinance to amend the text of the Zoning Ordinance, specifically Section 3C, the “Dunwoody Village Overlay District”.

Ordinance to rezone the Dunwoody United Methodist Church property to remove it from the Dunwoody Village Overlay District Designation”.

EXECUTIVE SESSION for the purposes of legal, real estate, and personnel discussions.

Random updates

The next City Council meeting will be Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. at Dunwoody United Methodist Church. Full agenda should be out by Friday evening.

At some point I will be voting on the Dunwoody Convention and Visitors Bureau and Mr. Bob Dallas, representing the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce provided the outline of his public comments as to why the City should not form it's own Authority. The AJC also wrote a short article. Please give me your comments.

The Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce is hosting a special night with the Stage Door Players on Thursday May 28th and they are inviting the community to join in the fun.

The Dunwoody Library will be closed for a month, June 2 - July 5.

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan - Draft Community Assessment Document is a great read to learn about the City of Dunwoody, I highly recommend it. (8 MB) Any mistakes or things that need to be addressed prior to our Tuesday meeting?

No news on the Safe Routes to School Grant? Not sure of the status.

My house is still for sale but we had someone come back for a second look, which sounds positive.

Who in Dunwoody, Twitters? I want to follow you so please let me know you exist, I'm @DunwoodyNorth

Today is the last day of school in DeKalb, Congratulations to all the Graduates and their parents who got them there.

My neighborhood pool opens today and I'm looking forward to hanging out with my boys. Have a Safe Holiday.

It's not just Speed Enforcement, it's a paradigm shift towards a Safer Community.

$500,000 Grant Announcement Today?

If you have followed this site for any time you know that speeding drivers, especially near residential communties is one of the quality of life and public safety issues that I am pushing to improve.

Last week a middle school student was hit by a car on Chamblee Dunwoody whereby the boy needed brain surgery to save his life and his leg was broken in 36 places requiring many additional hours of surgery. This week I have had conversations with four parents from the area of the incident that want more done regarding the problem of speeding since they are extremely worried for their children's safety.

They want more speed enforcement, improved crosswalks, additional traffic lights, radar signs and one resident even mentioned that she wanted video cameras on school buses to levy tickets against drivers who routinely go around stopped school buses with the STOP sign out. With school soon to be let out we know that the volume of traffic goes down but the average speed then goes up and it is no longer a concern of allowing your child to walk to school but now a concern that your child can not safety drive his bike to the neighborhood swimming pool.

I believe that we as a City are doing everything we can with the resources available but to at least one person I talked to, we are not moving fast enough to change the mindset of the drivers. The real issue is that there are no easy solutions and nothing can be done over night to assure the safety of our residents, but trust me; we are seriously working on it from several angles.

Later today I am anticipating an announcement from GDOT regarding our application for the $500,000 Safe Routes to Schools Grant to improve pedestrian safety and we are keeping our fingers crossed for positive news. No matter the final outcome, I am proud of the package that the newly formed City put togetharer with a group of dedicated parents representing every Dunwoody public school, along with assistance from the DeKalb County School System we submitted for our first official grant application. Long term safety improvements will come from the citywide analysis conducted by the team and I look forward to seeing the capital improvement requests that the Dunwoody School Cluster (through the DCPC) will be putting forth to improve walking conditions for all students in the community.

The City just completed a successful demonstration project on fixed radar speed limit signs and now the Council needs to determine the feasibility of obtaining these devices, their placement and finally their funding. The long term safety effects of these devices have been proven and now we just need to find a way implement. Besides the fixed sign research that the city has been conducting, the Dunwoody Police Department has purchased and deployed a new speed trailer to also combat neighborhood speeding.

Finally we all know that change happens slow and there will be some who will fight the process, complain of the enforcement even when they are admittedly guilty by their own account of the facts. I saw one such complaint this week regarding a speeding ticket where the person admitted that he was going 25 mph over the speed limit on Womack (doing 60 in a 35) but thought the fine of $400.00 was too high a penalty.

Guess what, the fine wasn't too high as the Judge sets the fine level based on the fine structure approved by the City Council, which was based off of comparisons with other communities. What really happened was that the driver wasn't aware of the paradigm shift, the new reality that Dunwoody is a city where the rules and laws are to be obeyed.

For some, change happens too slow and for others the change happens faster then they drive.