May 26, 2009
· Filed under Georgia Counties, Rezoning · Tagged Acquisition, Bert Nasuti, Charles Bannister, Gwinnett County, Kevin Kenerly, Larry Singleton, Majors Management
Majors Management sought rezoning of a 33-acre tract for higher density residential development. Majors Management proposed to develop the property into 91 lots. Gwinnett County denied the rezoning request, which meant the property could only be developed into 33 one-acre lots. Majors Management sued Gwinnett County.
A year later, the Gwinnett County Commission voted 3-1 to approve the purchase of the 33-acre tract for $2.3 million – more than $69,000 per acre. The County’s acquisition of the property ends the lawsuit. But, not all are happy.
The commissioner who cast the dissenting vote calls the purchase, at $69,000 per acre, inexcusable.
The appraiser calls it incomprehensible.
“I don’t understand this,” said Larry Singleton of Singleton Real Estate in Woodstock. “I couldn’t sell that [property] for $69,000 an acre.”
The Commissioners reviewed appraisal valuing the property from $33,000 – $73,000 per acre.
County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly, who voted in favor of the purchase along with Commissioner Bert Nasuti and Commission Chairman Charles Bannister, said land appraisals for the entire area were “all over the board.”
Commissioner Mike Beaudreau, whose district includes the purchased property, said the wide range in appraisals should have convinced the commission that further study of the site was required.
Like Kenerly, Banister said he had studied appraisals for properties near the site and found them inconsistent. He said the proposal had been sitting around for months while the county faced the lawsuit. He added Gwinnett always has taken the lead in park development, and the decision was in the best interest of the county.
May 18, 2009
· Filed under Georgia Counties, Mixed-Use Development · Tagged Bill Draper, Burrell Ellis, DeKalb County, Sembler, Tax Incentives
Sembler asked DeKalb County for $52 million in tax incentives to finish its 54-acre mixed-use development near the Brookhaven MARTA station.
A couple of buildings are up, but last week, [Sembler President Jeff] Fuqua said nothing else will rise on the site unless taxpayers subsidize the project. He showed officials an aerial photograph of the site. They saw two mid-rise residential towers surrounded by dirt.
The tax incentive proposal will meet with skeptical politicans and again face neighborhood opposition.
DeKalb’s top elected official, Burrell Ellis, is worried about the precedent of giving such a generous handout. At the same time, he fears getting stuck with a raw construction site.
“I think there is some benefit to the county of seeing this project completed,” said Ellis, DeKalb’s chief executive officer. But, he said, other developers are in trouble, so a tax break like this “could have broader implications than this one project.”
Bill Draper, a longtime critic of Sembler, said neighbors would like to see the project completed so they could shop in the stores and dine at the restaurants.
“We want to see it finished, but we don’t want to have to pay to see it finished,” said Draper, who is a board member of the Brookhaven-Peachtree Community Alliance.
May 5, 2009
· Filed under Georgia Counties, Greenspace · Tagged Cobb County, Parks, Sam Olens
Cobb County is eyeing 277 properties to purchase for parks, but will not release the locations of the potential parks. A 15-member committee appointed by the County Commission will meet behind closed doors to evaluate the properties and make recommendations. The County says the secrecy is necessary to keep land speculators from driving up the prices.
Critics, however, don’t buy the county’s argument now, particularly amid a recession that is socking property values. They say publicizing the locations of the properties could encourage owners to make their prices more competitive.
“I’m not sure if I really understand all of the secrecy around this,” said Jeff Wood, who serves on the 15-member committee county commissioners appointed to evaluate the properties. “I just happen to think that it is may be a little bit shortsighted because there is so much competition for the $40 million.”
Cobb County Commission Chair and candidate for Attorney General Sam Olens first deferred to the County Attorney about the secrecy, but then added:
Olens, however, said he would direct the county to disclose the locations of the properties the committee ultimately recommends, as he did after the 2006 parks bond issue. County commissioners, Olens added, will vote on purchasing the parkland in public after giving residents an opportunity to comment.
April 30, 2009
· Filed under Georgia Cities, Tax Allocation District · Tagged Atlanta, Property Tax, Shirley Franklin, Tax Increase
Mayor Shirley Franklin unveileda proposed budget that will raise the average homeowner’s property taxes $20 a month.
The mayor said the tax increase is necessary because the city is receiving far less money from sales taxes and other fees, which she blamed on the ongoing economic recession.
April 21, 2009
· Filed under Air Quality, Control & Rights, Georgia Cities, Greenspace · Tagged EPA, Fort Valley, Superfund, National Priority List, Woolfork, Stimulus, John Stumbo, Fort Valley State University
There are sixteen contaminated sites in Georgia on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priority List. The site of the former Woolfork Chemical Plant outside Fort Valley will receive $5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to complete its clean-up.
Fort Valley Mayor Dr. John Stumbo:
The Woolfolk Chemical Plant started operations there in about 1924. They made agricultural pesticides that were arsenic lace. In those days, of course, there was no air conditioning and because of the heat, most of the mixing of this dry material was done in sheds that simply had a roof and no side walls. So, as the winds blew through there, it would carry this contaminated dust all over the area. The second company came in there in the 1970s, they were called Canada in Georgia, and they were doing the same thing.
The 31-acre Woolfork site sits close to downtown Fort Valley and near Fort Valley State University. This site has long been seen as the hope for revitalization of downtown Fort Valley. The Woolfork site was deemed eligible for the Superfund program in 1990. Since then more than $27 million has gone in to cleaning up the chemical contamination.
In the early 1980s, citizen complaints prompted the Georgia environmental officials to investigate Woolfolk amid allegations of discharge of waste products into a drainage corridor heading away from the site. No injuries have been reported but one lawsuit forced a former Woolfolk owner to reimburse residents for declining property values.
Today, according to the EPA, all excavation of arsenic from residential soil is complete, as well as the removal of arsennic contaminated dust from residential attics.
Fort Valley hopes this latest cash infusion will complete the cleanup of Woolfolk, fulfilling its promise of downtown revitalization.
Mayor Stumbo offers his take on Life After Superfund here.
April 17, 2009
· Filed under Adult Entertainment, Georgia Cities, Liquor Ordinances · Tagged Crime, Diana Preston, Karaoke, Lilburn, Liquor Ordinance
In 2007, Lilburn tightened its liquor ordinance to counter Sports Fan Bar and Grill. Lilburn leaders linked karaoke, darts, pool, trivia, and other forms of “interactive” entertainment with crime. Lilburn banned all such entertainment in any establishment selling alcohol. Now two years later, Lilburn reverses itself changing its liquor ordinance to again allow such entertainment.
“Lilburn has matured, and we want to keep it vibrant,” said Mayor Diana Preston. “Our focus is keeping our business community strong and that means a diversity of businesses.”
And, she said, Lilburn — which bans bars — wants to accommodate its young adults, who enjoy pub atmospheres.
And the crime that will follow?
Preston said that’s no longer a concern given the number of police officers and the creation of the alcohol review board.
April 16, 2009
· Filed under Georgia Counties · Tagged Crawford Lewis, DeKalb County, DeKalb Marine Corps Institute, Heritage Center, Military, School, Thadeous Dixon
In the face of increasingly vocal citizen opposition, DeKalb County School Superintendent Crawford Lewis made public the County’s plansfor DeKalb Marine Corps Institute. Classes will begin this fall at the Heritage Center off Briarcliff Road in North DeKalb, but will move to another location for its second year of operation. The County has not selected a permanent site for the Institute.
Thadeous Dixon will be the Principal with an undisclosed 32-year veteran of the Marines as the Commandent.
The Institute will operate on a year-long schedule with “looping” where teachers are paired with students for multiple years.
From Military Ring Info
This will be a one of a kind public military style high school. The school will be run by the Marine Corps, and its purpose will be to instill discipline into high school students who attend. This school will be one in a network of similar schools which will open across the country.
The World of Ensayn Reality questions whether military contributions towards school maintenance and teacher pay will lead to
subliminal message underpinned in the lessons covertly coercing the tender minds of the students attending The Marine Corps Institute to join the Marine Corps or the military in general.
April 15, 2009
· Filed under Georgia Cities, Georgia Counties, Incorporation · Tagged Eva Galambos, Fulton County, Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation, Jere Wood, John Eaves, John Sherman, Johns Creek, Mike Bodker, Milton County, Roger Bruce, Roswell, Sandy Springs
April 15, 2009
· Filed under Georgia Cities, Liquor Ordinances · Tagged bowling alley, Karl Bostick, Larry Rutledge, Liquor, liquor-by-the-drink, Snellville, Snellville First Baptist Church, Tod Warner, winetasting
After refusing to allow restaurants to pour on Sundays, the Snellville City Council twice loosened its liquor ordinances. The Council voted 3-2 to allow local businesses to conduct winetastings and then voted 4-1 to approve a liquor license for a bowling alley. More than 150 Snellville residents filed into City Hall to see the vote and voice their opinions.
Councilman Tod Warner, who pushed the two measures Monday, said the intent of the wine tasting was to allow a struggling business owner to use his body of knowledge to stay afloat.
To allay fears of customers drinking in mass quantities, Warner said wine aficionados often sip the wine, swirl it in their mouths and spit it out.
The liquor debate is still hotly contested in Snellville.
Larry Rutledge, a deacon at Snellville First Baptist Church, pleaded with the council not to make alcohol more accessible.
“[Alcohol] is the most destructive substance we have in this country,” Rutledge said. “I would hope and pray that as Christians … you would stand up and be against this thing.”
That struck a cord with resident Karl Bostick, who collects wines.
“I’m a Christian, and I drink wine,” Bostick said. “They are small samples, so that you have the ability to taste a bottle of wine before you purchase it. This is not a license to party.”
April 13, 2009
· Filed under Annexation, Georgia Cities, Georgia Counties, Greenspace, Historic Preservation · Tagged Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center, Autry Mill Nature Preserve Association Board, Bill Doughty, Fulton County, Joan Compton, Johns Creek, Mike Bodker
The City of Johns Creek filed suit against the nonprofit Autrey Mill Nature Preserve Association Board that runs Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Centerto take over the 46 acres of recreation and green space located on Autrey Mill Road. The City inherited the lease in January 2007 when it bought the park from Fulton County. The nonprofit has operated the park for 20 years.
“Our primary concern centers around the Association’s original lease with Fulton County and an amendment executed July 19, 2006, the day after the successful referendum vote on [Johns Creek] incorporation,” city spokesman Bill Doughty typed in an email sent to concerned residents who have contacted the city about the lawsuit.
The City contends the lease is illegal, but there is more to it.
“We own the park, we own the liability, so we should at least have some say about appropriate activities happening at the park,” Mayor Mike Bodker said.
The nonprofit has fired back.
“In these times with money short everywhere, we were shocked that the City is spending taxpayers’ dollars and forcing Autrey Mill’s nonprofit Board to divert our limited resources into a court fight,” [board member Joan] Compton said. “We are ready and able to defend Autrey Mill from a hostile takeover, but we continue to prefer to negotiate with the city and resolve our differences in a principled way.”
Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center posts Q & A’s here going on the offensive against the City and the lawsuit.
Q) Were you expecting to be sued by the City?
A) No, we were totally shocked. . . .
