Joe 4 Dunwoody

Joe 4 Dunwoody Campaign Website - Issues, About Me, Volunteer & Contribute

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 01:16:00 +0000

Hi Friends,

My campaign website is live at: https://joe4dunwoody.com

Help in in putting Dunwoody first by contributing to my campaign today. 

Contribute here: https://joe4dunwoody.nationbuilder.com/donate

Learn About me here: https://joe4dunwoody.com/aboutjoe

Major issues I've heard from fellow Dunwoody residents here: https://joe4dunwoody.com/issues

Volunteer Here: https://joe4dunwoody.nationbuilder.com/volunteer

I've filed for Dunwoody City Council District Two seat, At Large.

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 16:08:00 +0000

I am excited to share with you that yesterday I officially filed to run for the Dunwoody City Council District Two seat, At Large.

Lynn Deutsch, who currently holds this seat, has announced her candidacy for mayor. I want to thank Lynn for her dedication and service in building a good foundation from which we can move our city forward.

Please stay tuned for my formal campaign announcement early next week. I hope to meet with you and as many other Dunwoody residents as possible in the months ahead as I work to serve on City Council, discussing with you ways of “putting Dunwoody first”, creating a better future for our entire community, giving all residents a voice on City issues.

City of Dunwoody & The Opioid Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 14:24:00 +0000

On tonight’s Dunwoody City Council meeting agenda, an Alabama-based attorney is asking to represent the city in suing drug manufacturers, and to take 1/3 of any money awarded to the city.

Aside from the potential of the city get some unknown amount of $$, the posted presentation is completely void of details:

WHO asked for this attorney?

HOW they were chosen?

WHY the city wants to do this?

WHAT is in it for the city except for some $$?

WHAT the city would do with the $$?

Further, what’s missing is the VISION of how we are engaging in protecting the health and welfare of our residents TODAY. Big grandiose lawsuits are opaque and may be litigated to infinity, taking years & years to come to a close.

What measures are the City of Dunwoody taking to protect our citizens with this crisis?

Our police force is out there responding to 911 calls. What about all of the pieces that happen BEFORE a 911 call is needed?

Since our city’s inception, the mantra has been a “small government” that outsources practically everything. A couple of months ago I asked the city to put me in touch with their contact at DeKalb County Board of Health office that works with childhood injury & safety programming - the nationwide program is called Safe Kids (the county has staff that specializes in this area). Wanna know what the city’s answer was? ******* THEY DIDN’T have a contact. Dunwoody didn’t have a contact with the DeKalb County Board of Health. I can’t fathom that. That’s taking “small government” to the extreme.

If you can’t say we as a city need to be PROACTIVELY helping to save lives of our friends, children, neighbors and guests, then I’ll gladly disagree with you.

As evidenced by this, what we see is the absence of LEADERSHIP in getting this done and protecting the safety and lives of our citizens TODAY.

Dunwoody's Moonshot

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Sun, 21 Jul 2019 22:05:00 +0000

Fifty years ago, I was six years old and watched on our family's black & white TV in awe as the United States sent two men to the surface of the moon and Neil Armstrong stepped out from the Lunar Module. That was July 20, 1969.

Less than eight years earlier, President John F. Kennedy declared,

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too."

Dunwoody is into our second decade of existence.

What transformative, visionary aims are being espoused by our city's elected officials? What's our "Moonshot" that we can achieve in the next FIVE years -- as those "20 year" plans simply collect dust and hardly happen?

Where is the Leadership; and where is the Vision to make this a reality?

We're all listening. We're all waiting. Let's get busy. Let's do this.

Good Luck Peachtree Road Race Participants!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 13:02:00 +0000

Best of luck tomorrow on the 50th running of the Peachtree Road Race!

Stay well hydrated, take it easy and enjoy a big carbo-loaded dinner tonight.

I had the pleasure of running the Peachtree from 1987 until 1999, minus a year I was on a Army Reserve tour of duty. It's much more than a run. It's a thing. I'd work on running a sub 50-minute 10k prior to Peachtree registration so I could get into a faster time group. Otherwise, you're walking for the first mile or two. My fastest Peachtree was 44 minutes. The last couple of years of running I backed in from the Peachtree and trained to do a half marathon on Thanksgiving day. I can't even imagine the dedication my friends have that do full marathons, triathlons and long distance endurance events.

I've always challenged myself and set goals to do better.

To put things into perspective, when I was in high school, I barely passed my PE / Gym classes. I was chubby. I didn't do any team sports. I was teased. I hit puberty later than most of the boys my age, so you guys know what that means. When I was 19 I enlisted in the Army National Guard. I wanted to challenge myself and I really wasn't motivated to go to college. I could only do ten pushups and could barely jog a quarter of a mile. To pass basic training, I worked up to over 45 pushups, 60 situps and ran 2 miles in under 16 minutes.

My go to sport the past couple of decades has been cycling. I had ridden a bunch as a teenager, including some century rides (100 miles), but I really got my mojo for that when my wife, Kathleen & I moved to Zurich in 2001 with my company at PeopleSoft where I worked as a consultant / project lead on multinational IT back office ERP/HCM projects at large organizations (Think UBS & Credit Suisse). All the while I would travel to Mannheim, Germany for my Army Reserve duty each month (I loved to stock up at the PX & Commissary where I could get my American fix -- think Peanut Butter, Root Beer, branded cereal and even a good ol' Butterball turkey for Thanksgiving).

I grew up in Michigan where the land is pretty flat. Riding in Switzerland, you don't have much choice but to go UP or DOWN. So I took riding in Switzerland as a mental challenge instead of an obstacle. To build up my fitness level, I'd just start out slow, and add more miles as I became stronger.

The climb up to San Gottard Pass

One year I went with a couple of friends and we rode our bikes from Zurich across the Alps to Lake Cuomo, Italy. It was epic! You spend practically the entire day climbing. Just get in a groove and don't burn out. Pace yourself and don't let your heart rate get too high.

Put on my game face for the climb -- Just kidding!

And of course we did lots of hiking in the Alps. The Swiss start out from a young age and as adults they just go & go like it was nothing.

I've always been a fighter and won't accept the odds.

In 2009 at the age of 46 I was diagnosed with stage two Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I was told my sub-type (Diffused B Cell) had a 30% survival rate. I didn't tell that to Kathleen. Who, by the way was always there for me, by my side and supporting me every step of the way. All the while working a full-time job. Don't forget about the caregiver. They sacrifice plenty and the stress level can be quite high. I went through eight rounds of chemo over a five month period at Emory Winship Cancer Institute. Treatments were several hours long sitting in a recliner chair wrapped in warm blankets. Generally I had three weeks in-between each treatment so my body could recover. With each round, your body doesn't recover as high as the prior round.

Before I got sick, I had been really riding a lot. I had a great cardio level of fitness and my heart & lungs were strong. I had an F-U to Cancer positive mindset. I'd go in to the clinic and feel sorry for the other people who were being treated. I'd feel especially sorry for those with high blood pressure, diabetes, were overweight, and other health conditions that exacerbated their situation. My first chemo treatment really took me back. I had a bad reaction and could barely walk afterwards. Six days later, I put my bike on my car, drove to the river in Roswell and rode my bike 20 miles. I did it just because. Just because I wanted to not let cancer get the best of me. Just so I could go back for my one week checkup and tell the doctors I was in great shape. And I kept on riding as long as I could throughout my treatments.

As a comeback, in 2010 I decided to ride the epic Six Gap Century out of Dahlonega. The full 100 miles, climbing 10,000 feet. I trained my butt off and did it. I didn't break any records, but I finished strong. The last couple of miles I got emotional, began to tear up and I screamed out F___ YOU CANCER!! You're not getting the best of me. PS: At the start, it was drizzling and the forecast called for off & on light rain. I sat in my car and said to myself, "Let's do this!".

Note for those non cyclists: When it's raining in the fall and you're descending the roads in the North Georgia Mountains, you've got three big things to concentrate on: 1) Inexperienced riders barrelling downhill -- Just stay away; 2) The descent itself -- I'm not in the Tour de France, so I go for caution over speed; 3) Cold -- My teeth were chattering on the descent. Even though the temps were in the 60's, the windchill really gets to you.

2010 6 Gap Century -- Light Rain. Just do it.

And as I'm obviously writing this now, I guess you could say I'm in remission. Or cured. But cured is a really, really subjective term in my opinion. So let's just say I'm perfectly healthy in that regard. Aside from the first few years of checkups post treatment where I'd anxiously await the results, I honestly don't think about that time much. It's sorta like the year I was in a combat zone, too. I look back on it like it was a pause where things were on hold in my life's timeline.

So what's my next challenge???

Career? --Well, I've happily joined a new company earlier this year and am very excited with that. Learning tons of new product, software, methodology, and everything else that goes with working for a 10,000 employee company. Plus working with a great team of people.

Fitness? -- Right now I need to lose about 4 pounds. Make sure I consistently go to the gym at least twice a week to work on core, upper, strength and flexibility. Get back to riding three days a week at 20-40 miles a go.

Cleaning out my basement, closets and attic?

And of course there's the "if the wife's not happy, nobody's happy". So I absolutely have to keep my personal & family life a priority.

What else??? Stay tuned...

I didn't wait to get invited to the table

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 18:50:00 +0000

When my wife & I bought our home in Dunwoody in the summer of 2008, we had no idea about the cityhood effort. After investing in major renovations and repairs, we moved into our home in January, 2009. Within a few short weeks, I started learning about who are the civic leaders & community influencers. Then I started meeting with them one on one, I had a 2-sided executive summary I used for my conversations that had a bullet list of action items, and supporting references as to why we as a city should undertake those measures.

I got myself appointed to the Sustainability Commission (now named as a Committee) and the Master Transportation Plan Steering Committee. I kept moving on from there, building a network. Being engaged, not only asking for things from the city, but doing things. Volunteering. Raising funds to put back into our community.

Bottom Line: I didn't wait to be asked for a seat at the table. I interjected myself into the circle of 2-3 dozen people that had been pulling the strings behind the scene of Dunwoody -- before and after cityhood. And of course I connected and lobbied our seven elected officials, and developed good relationships with key city staff & management.

Why did I become engaged, and why am I still? Because I've lived in other countries. Visited myriad of cities, and said, "Why Not Here"? Why should we have to go somewhere else to have a vibrant city for all ages to live, work & play? After all, many of those iconic places you're familiar with were not always that way. I could write a very long list showing before & after photos, including places in the USA and overseas. Some of you may be astonished of the transformation. After a decade of being a city, I'm tired of excuses. And so are most of my friends & neighbors.

What will it take for us to transform here in Dunwoody?

The first step is to be engaged. Yes, attending a city council meeting on Monday nights at 6 pm is really, really tough. So contact your council & mayor and insist they continue to make changes so that working professionals and parents with young children can actively participate.

The second step I recommend is reviewing our city's inaugural Comprehensive Land Use Plan approved in 2010. Practically everything people are insisting our city do; to transform and move forward, is inside that guiding document.

"The Comprehensive Land Use Plan is the preeminent legal document guiding future development in Dunwoody. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan provides the city with a roadmap on long-range policy direction for land use, transportation, economic development, housing, public facilities, inter-governmental agreements along with its natural and cultural resources."

Here's the vision and goals for our city as defined just four short years ago:

Do these goals sound crazy? Do they sound like they're from some out-of-touch wacko? No. Of course everyone is going to support "Preserve our Neighborhoods". But what about the rest of them? Why is there such a disconnect in the actions of our city council, and why are they so afraid to take these steps? A couple of years ago, a current council member took me aside in reference to a future, visionary direction and said, "That is not what the people who voted for me want". SERIOUSLY. That is what we're dealing with here, my friends.

The Comprehensive Plan was updated in 2015 and can be found here

The final step is to VOTE. This November 5th, the city has elections for a new mayor and three at-large council members. Everyone in the city gets to vote for all of these four positions. Come up with your criteria for who'll you vote for. What are your priorities? And to those who have previously held elected office, look at their voting record and initiatives. What visionary, transformative actions have they undertaken to move Dunwoody beyond the initial city start up phase of basic / essential services and zoning, moving beyond the "state of good repair" and basic day-to-day operations that every citizen expects as a matter-of-fact?

6-10 Council Meeting: Brio, Budget & Boards

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 23:58:00 +0000

As I've been doing for the better part of the past decade, the Friday before a Monday City Council meeting, I review the agenda that is posted online. Then I do my research & post it, round up the troops, make a last-minute call to action, ... whatever. There's been countless weekends I've spent digging into these agenda items and informing my friends & followers. There's three items I'd like to highlight for your information and possible action:

Full Meeting Agenda HERE

1. Ashford-Dunwoody Old Brio Site : Just Say No

Download Agenda Item HERE

Chamblee Whole Foods Parking Lot

This is the "second read" of this proposed plan. This is the first time the city council can vote up or down on the plan. They could also defer, etc. Let's assume they'll vote yes or no. As I've posted, the plan is just plain wrong and needs to be denied. Read my post for the details.

At the last council meeting, one of our elected officials was glad that the buildings were all just one story to "protect" our residential neighborhoods. Have you looked at the topography and the site location in relation to our single family neighborhoods? The development is in a very low-lying valley on Ashford Dunwoody. If we follow the logic of the councillor, the city hall which is right up the road from this site, is two stories high and directly behind single family homes of Dunwoody Station. Should we knock down the second story of our own city hall? And the Crown Holdings Group building next to city hall and at higher elevation is FOUR stories tall. Sounds like cherry-picking of issues as a sound bite to me.

2. Board Memberships: 70% Re-Appointments

17 Appointments. Only five are new people. Many are serving their third term or more.

Download Agenda Item HERE

We've got a boatload of appointments to city boards on the agenda for Monday. Guess what? 70% of them are RE-APPOINTMENTS. And in all due respect to those who set the stage and worked hard to get our city to where it is today, a good number of these appointees are retirees. Given that the median age of Dunwoody residents is 37, we must actively promote, encourage, groom and SELECT younger & diverse people to serve. If we don't, how can we ensure success over the next generation? Respectfully, I ask these re-appointed individuals -- especially those who are now entering their third term -- to seek out replacements, bring them to the mayor, and get them on these boards.

Checkout my earlier post on this subject, we need Succession Planning for our city - Leadership Dunwoody

3. Laptops & 911 Server

Download Agenda Item HERE

My comments are indirectly related to this. We need to spend nearly $19,000 on computer hardware server for our 911 service. Why? Because in 2011 the city decided to break off with DeKalb for 911 call center operations and go with a New Jersey based private corporation called iXP. And we've paid them over $8.3M since 2012.

The service is called Chatcomm and Sandy Springs and Johns Creek used this company before we became a city. Note that both of these cities have their own Police AND Fire Departments. So when a 911 call goes into Chatcomm, they directly send it out to the respective department for dispatch. When Dunwoody joined, Chatcomm had to manually transfer Fire Department calls back to DeKalb county dispatch. Then over many, many months (might have even a year or more), Chatcom, the city of Dunwoody and Dekalb 911 worked on an electronic automatic interface for Fire. Dunwoody had to pay to develop a custom interface to transfer fire calls BACK to Dekalb county for dispatching. This caused -- and can still cause delay when the interface needs to be upgraded, or new software or hardware obtained.

What's more is since 2012 Dunwoody taxpayers have paid an extra $8.3M to iXP corporation for these services. On average, we spend just over $1M annually for Chatcomm 911 service. Had we stayed with DeKalb county 911, could we have used that $8.3M in general funds for other public safety or community enhancement projects or staffing? A senior community center? Hiring staff for real & proactive Community Development? True recreational services? Building out the Dunwoody Trailway / Multiuse Trail Network? More police officers to enforce speeding on our residential streets? True Traffic Calming Measures and re-engineering our our streets for safety? The list goes on.

Take Action

Come to Monday night's 6 pm council meeting. Arrive by 5:45. Fill out a Public Comment Card, hand it to the city clerk BEFORE the council meeting starts, and speak out about your concern.

Send an mail to our mayor and council. Communicate your concern, and ask for a response and action. email to: councilmembers@dunwoodyga.gov

Call city hall and leave a message at: 678-382-6800

Dunwoody's Hotel / Motel Tax Revenue Bond - Will it ever happen?

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 16:41:00 +0000

Brookhaven's Peachtree Creek Greenway Groundbreaking Celebration

On this Sunday, my thoughts continue to revolve around what are all of the tools in the toolbox available to a city government in Georgia to enhance the quality of life of it's residents.

Are our elected leaders and city management proactively leveraging EACH AND EVERY ONE of these to the upmost of their abilities? Take a look around our region and our neighboring cities and it's easy to say unfortunately that's a big fat NO.

There's one that's been waiting in the wings for over a year just begging to be used. Begging to be INVESTED in our community. Begging to break ground and shape our city and for the future. Our junior sibling to our south, Brookhaven used this tool a YEAR AGO. They're making visionary plans reality, while we stand on the sidelines as onlookers. What are we so afraid of? Why are we so timid? Do we seriously think that our mayor & council will be ridden out of town on a rail, tarred & feathered, with a recall vote if they do something more than add another $1M a year in surplus budget for PAVING, as they've been doing the past four + years? With all due respect to the gentle and honorable man that is holding the mayorship of Dunwoody, but with his announcement during his final state of the city address in April, he declared wanting his final legacy to be an additional ten percent added to this year's paving budget.

What they did in Brookhaven: $15M Revenue Bond in 2018 to build the Peachtree Creek Greenway

City of Brookhaven Peachtree Creek Greenway Project Website

Brookhaven issued a revenue bond for this in 2018 to be paid by the proceeds of their Hotel/Motel tax.

The Peachtree Creek Greenway is the City of Brookhaven’s section of the larger proposed 12.3-mile North Fork Peachtree Creek Trail that is envisioned to link to the wider Atlanta trail system. The Peachtree Creek Greenway is to be “active and passive, featuring a paved trail for bicycling, walking, running with separate soft trails; easily accessible to all; a means for land conservation and improving environmental quality; and connected to other regional trails.” The goal of the greenway is to provide residents with close-to-home and close-to-work access to bicycle and pedestrian trails, serve transportation and recreation needs, and help encourage quality of life and sustainable economic growth.

Reference: https://www.brookhavenga.gov/pcg

Revenue Bond Primer

For reference, here's a quick primer on a Revenue Bond. Bottom line: There's NO increase to our property tax.

This morning, I sent the below email to the Dunwoody City Manager, Eric Linton. I'll update this post once I get answers.

Letter to Dunwoody City Manager, Eric Linton

Hotel / Motel Tax Revenue Bond Situation

Hi Eric,

I’m respectfully sending this email to you, as you run the city under the direction of the council. And I’d like to know the proactive steps you and your staff are undertaking in this matter for the betterment and well-being of our 49,000 residents.

In July, 2018 Brookhaven issued a 24 year $15M revenue bond paid off $675k annually, with the specific purpose to fund building the Peachtree Creek Greenway.

Reference click here.

I’ve heard rumors that we’re waiting to get accurate revenue forecasts. I’ve heard rumors that a project list has already been vetted. I’ve heard rumors that the majority of the funds MUST be used in the PCID area. I’ve heard rumors that Council has to ask you to do x,y, & z...

But I’ve haven’t heard any official communications.

Have we forecasted an anticipated annual amount of which to use as a proposed target to issue a revenue bond against the hotel / motel tax? If yes, what is that amount, and over what time period? What is the targeted amount of the bond we are seeking, and over how many years?

Do we have a prioritized tentative project list with cost estimates? Who came up with that list and which at large Dunwoody citizens were involved?

Have we established a citizen review committee to be used for project list input, oversight and transparency both before the bond is issued and throughout the life of the bond?

When will the city begin to hold public information open house meetings and other means to solicit input and feedback as to the desires of our citizens?

Under which existing “Authority” would this bond be issued? Or does the city need to create a new one? - and if a new one, when is that going to be created?

Will the mechanisms for public oversight and transparency be legally incorporated into the terms & conditions over the life of the bond; with decisions and data open & accessible to the at large public?

In the state or city legislation increasing this tax, does it dictate by geography where the funds must be used — e.g.; PCID, x number of miles away from a hotel, etc? Aside from inside the city limits of Dunwoody, are there ANY legal restrictions dictating WHERE these funds may be used? What about restrictions for WHAT the funds can or cannot be used?

Will the city create a web page with all of this information?

When are we actually going to make this a reality, putting shovels in the ground and investing in the future for the betterment of our 49,000 residents today?

In closing, Dunwoody is being left behind in the region. My friends from Peachtree Corners call us “DEADwoody”. A place you drive THROUGH, not TO. Paving more roads is not going to create the city where our children will want to stay and have families of their own.

Let’s get busy and move forward. Today. Now. This year. 2019. Please.

Sincerely,

Joe Seconder

Kingsley Traffic Calming on North Peachtree is Broken

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Fri, 31 May 2019 18:18:00 +0000

Kingsley traffic calming on North Peachtree isn't working and needs to be fixed. After petitioning the city for years and being forced to pay for "traffic calming" cars are still speeding in excess, and a woman was recently hit by a car with serious injuries.

Safety is my NUMBER ONE priority when it comes to funding transportation projects. But it's not the number one priority with our Dunwoody city council and their budgets they approve. In fact, they keep on pouring excess funds into more paving. The opportunity costs may one day lead to a loss of life. I simply can't understand how this continues year by year. It goes counter to our founding documents of our city, where health and safety is right up there as a priority.

Here's what I would do if I was an elected official in Dunwoody

1) Take the complete length of North Peachtree from Tilly Mill to Mt. Vernon and NARROW the width between the curbs to 20 feet. Remove any semblance of a center yellow no passing line. This will FORCE traffic to slow down. 20-ft is the minimum width approved by national fire department standards for their trucks to get through.

2) Take the left over remaining width and put in a 10-ft wide sidewalk / multiuse trail. Make sure there's at least 2-ft landscape / new tree buffer between the trail & the curb where there are cars

3) Don't force the residents to PAY for this street calming. It's used by a gazillion people, as evidenced by the cut through traffic. It's a public project for the SAFETY of all.

4) Instead of funneling millions of excess funds each year into repaving (which is going well, BTW), put that into SAFETY & TRAFFIC CALMING.

When I say things like this when I go to city hall and speak at council meetings, I get blank stares like I'm from mars. And crickets for response.

Want to here more, checkout my post from 2016 on this subject over on the Bike Walk Dunwoody website

Brookhaven Moving Forward: Dunwoody Getting Passed Behind?

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Wed, 29 May 2019 14:13:00 +0000

Congrats to our younger sibling, Brookhaven on investing in the future with their $40M Parks Bond that was overwhelmingly approved by voters last November. Did you know they're spending $8M alone in Murphey Candler Park?

Brookhaven story, here.

Since the Dunwoody Parks Bond referendum failed in 2011, do you know how many times our elected leaders have gone back to the citizens and asked about it? Have they gotten feedback? Lessons Learned? Proposed a fresh start in having conversations about it? ZERO times. ZERO times in EIGHT years. I have an established public record in asking to have public conversations, and at least broaching the subject. Right after if failed in 2011, I proposed five action items to take. Still waiting on any of them to be taken on. Here's my post from 2013 with my thoughts. FIVE YEARS AGO.

#IPayMoreForGarbageThanCityPropertyTax

#TimeForLeaderShip #TimeForVision #TimeToInvest #Dunwoody

Plan for Old Brio Site on Ashford Dunwoody is Wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Wed, 22 May 2019 21:03:00 +0000

Take a look at what's being proposed at the former Brio site on Ashford Dunwoody & Meadow Lane.

Here's the site plan with a HUGE sea of asphalt in the middle. Gone is the lovely pond.

Want to know what it'll look like? Head over to Peachtree Industrial in Chamblee where the new Whole Foods is.

That's what the developer is indicating it will resemble. An interior sea of paved asphalt surrounded by "fast casual chain restaurants - Think Zoe's Kitchen (which I love, by the way).

Here's the video of my public comment statements from the May 20th public hearing

Does this plan create a more livable Dunwoody? A more Human-scale Dunwoody? A sense of place like a Canton Street?

-- Does this plan REDUCE vehicle miles driven?
-- Does this get people out of their car?
-- Does this fulfill the Perimeter Center District overlay requiring a mix of Housing, Office and Retail?

No. It does not. No housing. No office. Not engaging or designed for people to NOT be in a car. It has:

A bank with a Drive-Thru
A GAS STATION
More car parking that required.
From the inside of the development, this might as well be the 1970's era designed Dunwoody Village

A vast sea of asphalt

If you're a company with a job vacancy, are you just going to hire the first candidate that comes along? Or are you going to wait for the RIGHT person with the BEST FIT.

This is lipstick on a pig. A car-centered design counter intuitive to the comprehensive land use plan our residents have laid out for our elected officials to enact. The developer is tossing out a few "treats" like streetscapes and a trail. But that's like giving pure sugar candy to a baby. You'll get a big rush at first, but later you'll crash and be worse off than when you started.

I urge the Council to deny this project

This plan in counter to the desires of the residents of Dunwoody. If you agree, send an email to our mayor & council at: councilmembers@dunwoodyga.gov and pencil in attending the the next council meeting on Monday June 10th at 6 pm, where they will VOTE on whether to approve this project or not.

Reference & details to what was proposed on May 20th click HERE.

I-285 Managed Lane Project

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Tue, 14 May 2019 13:55:00 +0000

I-285 Managed Lane Project

PROTECT and PRESERVE Dunwoody and our quality of life

Here’s Proof Positive that the managed lanes that cost $800M on I-75 are a major FAIL; waste of taxpayer dollars; and do not “reduce” traffic: 8:05 am, May 14th. TWENTY (20) MILES PER HOUR from Woodstock to Midtown.

Going in Debt for Decades: GDOT Board Approved Selling Bonds in 2016

No public vote. No asking the top-end Perimeter communities. The Press release doesn't even mention the COST of these bonds. Reference HERE.

4.2 BILLION Price Tag for 285 Express Lanes

4,200,000,000. Yes. It's that many zeroes.

GDOT has already approved in 2017 a bond of $75 to acquire Right of Way -- meaning take private property. And expect another $600M in 2020 to buy more property.

Reference here

Take Action TODAY

The city of Dunwoody needs to hire an experienced law firm that is: a) INDEPENDENT & EXCLUSIVE of other cities — Our city outsources an attorney that works with several other cities. And they often have competing priorities - like Sandy Springs telling GDOT in backdoor meetings where to put the exit ramps; b) Has experienced success in working with a state DOT (I’m talking about doing a national search) and; c) Immediately seek any & all means to PROTECT and PRESERVE Dunwoody and our quality of life.

Want Alternatives to Driving?

GDOT is abandoning the transit option and has closed down the Revive 285 conversation. “The meetings are to inform attendees of Georgia DOT’s decision to formally close the Revive285 project, to rescind the existing Revive285 project’s Notice of Intent (NOI), and to move forward with I-285 Top End Express Lanes project.”

Back in 2007, GDOT with the Revive285 planning was saying,

"Among the strategies that have been considered were: No build, high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV), high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, truck only lanes (TOL), express lanes, toll lanes, operational improvements, transportation system management/transportation demand management, surface street improvements, general purpose lanes, bus rapid transit (BRT), express bus, automated guideway transit, maglev, monorail, heavy rail and light rail.

Design components that will be considered as part of each recommended alternative, will include: Operational improvements (interchanges, ramp improvements, etc.), surface street improvements (traffic signalization, widening, new roadways, etc.), rideshare and vanpools, tolling, bike and pedestrian improvements and express buses.

“We are integrating transit into the overall transportation corridor here, we are integrating operational safety improvements, managed lane improvements that are envisioned,” Van Meter said. “We are trying to preserve mobility on the top end of I-285. That is our vision,” he added.

Well, that vision is now only focused on motor vehicles.

They've even shut down the website that had all of the above historical options that included transit.

Leadership Dunwoody

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Fri, 03 May 2019 14:20:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Leadership Sandy Springs

Successful organizations have succession plans. And so should Dunwoody. How are we proactively grooming our neighbors in their 20's, 30's & 40's to carry the torch and continue creating a beautiful place to live, work, play and raise a family? How are we proactively increasing diversity and conducting outreach into other communities? Right now, there's a big void. Right now, it's a "Who do you know", and almost a, "How did you help Dunwoody become a city in the prior decade?" We can do better. We MUST.

First thing to do is to ensure we appoint these 20-40 year olds to our city boards & commissions. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE the fact that retired folks are interested in serving, and do so. But it's not an equal representation of our residents. We've seen many of the same folks who tirelessly volunteer in our community on various non-profits and civic organizations, also serve on these boards. They LOVE our city and it's WONDERFUL that they are truly helping to make our city be a better place to live. We ALL LOVE DUNWOODY. And want to see it flourish into the future. Board members need to rotate out of those roles after serving an extended period. Don't let your ego get in the way. Nobody is irreplaceable. And if somehow you think you are, then you're doing a disservice to the future of our city. The reality is that one day all of us reading this will stop being a citizen of Dunwoody. In one way or another.

In order to succeed, those that are active today and "in the know", must be grooming, educating, mentoring and be willing to LET GO. Put these new folks in leadership roles. Put folks in positions today that DON'T KNOW OR CARE WHY WE BECAME A CITY. They live here now, and simply want to guide us in the second decade of our existence. Maybe they only moved to Dunwoody a year or two ago. So what?

PS: Did you know during the first few years as a city, there was no formal mechanism to apply for a position on a city board or commission? Or a public-facing awareness that residents could even apply? I fought for a change in that process in 2013, and it finally took effect.

Apply for a Board Position

Why wait? Apply today!!

Click here

City of Dunwoody's Charter

If you read our city's charter, you'll find no mention of only focusing on PARKS, POLICE & PAVING.

If you read our city's charter,  you'll find no mention of only having a BARE BONES REACTIONARY STAFF. In confidence, ask any one of our city staff in leadership roles. They'll confirm that they are just keeping their head above water. Putting out fires. You think our Community Development Director has time to actually "Develop" our community? Sorry. That ain't happening

If you read our city's charter,  you'll find no mention of NOT OFFERING ACTIVE RECREATION PROGRAMMING OR SERVICES.

If you read our city's charter, you'll find no mention of every year taking sacred budget surpluses and PAVING MORE & MORE ROADS. (We spend around $3M/year on this. When we became a city, we budgeted & forecasted out spending around $2M/year. What other SERVICES or AMENITIES or QUALITY OF LIFE investments could we be making instead?)

If you read our city's charter, you'll find no mention of PAY AS YOU GO / NEVER TAKE ON DEBT. Except if you want to stop an apartment complex from being built and redeveloping it as a livable public/private space, then you can go out & get a low interest loan from the Georgia Municipal Association. Or if you want to buy a building for a new city hall. -- BTW, I fully supported our city doing both of these actions.

If you read our city's charter,  you'll find no mention of OUTSOURCING EVERY STAFF POSITION. We started with only police and a few key staff roles as employees. Early on I publicly advocated to bring in our Director-level positions as employees. Read my post back in 2015 about it. They have institutional knowledge and expertise. They cannot simply be swapped out on a whelm "plug & play" dropping in a new person and keep on going. Several years ago, the city finally brought in the director roles. I'd bet we could do an ROI of the total cost we pay to the private companies that we use to outsource the rest of our staff, and find a few more positions that would actually SAVE US MONEY. Afterall, we're paying those firms a profit to act as our city's staffing agencies. (Yes, add in Worker's Comp insurance, employer-portion of FICA / Social Security, employer-match to 401(k) and administrative & overhead costs, and I STILL think we'd come out ahead.)

Is Dunwoody an Innovator or a Laggard?

What do you think?

Inflection Point in Dunwoody

After a decade in existence, our city has proven we can execute daily & tactical governmental operations. We've made a few strategic moves that have been beneficial. But the pace of change is crawling. We're being left behind by Sandy Springs, Chamblee, and our younger neighboring city of Brookhaven on their visionary risk taking and investments for their residents.

We're at an inflection point. It's 2019. It's an election year.

Leadership Dunwoody

Look over to our friends in Sandy Springs. Their city budget is roughly four times as ours. They have a great civic organization called Leadership Sandy Springs. They solicit and engage at-large community members to develop, educate & connect them.

Now, we don't necessarily need to create a new organization and raise $$ funds to have paid staff. But surely we can leverage our existing civic organizations, partner with our city government; create and implement a focused leadership development program right here in Dunwoody.

All we simply need is our current leaders to step up and make this happen.

Podcast Interview on Biking in Dunwoody: Yesterday, today and the future

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 15:09:00 +0000

Do you enjoy multi-use trails, bike lanes & sidewalks in Dunwoody? Want to know some juicy details on the history of some of these projects, how they came to fruition and what it takes to make ideas become reality?

Listen to Part I of my interview on this podcast by What's Up Dunwoody In Part II, we'll talk about regional trails and how we'll eventually connect to the Beltline and more!

Click HERE to listen.

City of Dunwoody 2017 Sustainable Hero: Joe Seconder

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 18:30:00 +0000

Editor's Note: Okay, so I received this award in February, 2018 and now it's April, 2019. Yes, it's basically not "timely", but what the heck. Better late than never, right?

Receiving the 2017 City of Dunwoody Sustainable Hero Award.
L-R: Debbie Warner Gordon, Joe Seconder, Mayor Denny Shortal

In February, 2018 I was honored to receive the City of Dunwoody Sustainable Hero Award for 2017. It was presented during the annual State of the City address, where various civic leaders provide updates and talk about their achievements, plans and vision for the future of our community.

If you care to spend five minutes of your time, feel free to watch this video of my acceptance speech*. Normally, I'd have spoken a bit slower with more pauses & emphasis. But this was a diverse crowd and I didn't want to monopolize the evening.

I give many thanks to my wife, Kathleen for giving me a long leash and letting me attend various community meetings day & night over the years. She's been a huge supporter of my efforts in working on our city to become a safe place for folks to simply jump on a bike from their house and ride a mile or two around town.

* And if you aren't inclined to watch the video, this is pretty much the transcript:

Hi. I’m the “bicycle guy”. I’d first like to give a big shout out of thanks of support to my wife, Kathleen. 15 years ago on Valentine’s Day, I hung up business suit, put on my US Army Desert BDU’s as an Infantry Major in the Reserves, kissed Kathleen goodbye and deployed to Kuwait to an unknown future before the invasion of Iraq. I returned a year later. Now I kiss Kathleen goodbye when I head off to attend a public information open house, city council or DHA meeting, meet with staff from the city, GDOT, Perimeter CID, neighboring cities, elected officials and fellow advocates. And come home – USUALLY -- only a couple of hours later. Along the journey, I’ve been blessed to develop great friendships, build coalitions, experiencing human-powered fun times outside simply surrounded by air, had joy & some disappointment; and yes – new sidewalks, bike lanes and trails; It takes a village.

This award is not simply about Joe Seconder. And I’d like to call out and recognize some of the people and organizations who have helped along the way. From the working parents with a cram-packed schedule that can’t make it to an evening council meeting, but send an email or tell their friends & neighbors of a particular initiative. From the folks with Dunwoody Preservation Trust & Lemonade Days for allowing me to serve for 4 years as the ride director of the Bicycle Ride around Dunwoody (Thanks to Danny Ross & Sam and Molly Portis) From the volunteers with the Dwy Women’s club who assisted in putting on a children’s bicycle safety rodeo in Brook Run. To the 70+ year old retire just coming off dual knee replacement surgery whose doctor said that bicycling would be an excellent way to rehab – in asking for safer places to ride a bike. To the individuals, sponsors & merchants who have made donations, provided support and even free custard after rides! To the Dunwoody Police Department, for their continued enforcement, education, escorts for events and support of activities. To anyone who has “just showed up”. To a public meeting, spoken out, provided feedback or volunteered. Like the crew running the Monthly Community Bike Ride (first Sun of each month at Village Burger) – Shout out to the Metzger’s, the Miller's, Glen Engels, Karl Welsher and the rest of the crew! To our city staff, who are proactive in engineering and creating safer & Complete Streets for all. And lastly but not least, our elected officials. From Council 1.0 in 2009 when I was a cold-calling stranger pitching the benefits of a bicycle friendly community, to today. You have been accessible, open and have put in place the plans & policies - backed up with budget priorities -- to move the needle forward.
Is the Glass is half full or half empty?
Who would have thought 10 years ago that a person could get on a bike on North Peachtree & Peeler, ride over to Chamblee Dunwoody without ever getting on a road? In a few short MONTHS, you’ll be able to continue onto Old Spring House Lane – a neighborhood street -- and cross a new bike/ped bridge directly behind where we are right now -- and ride all the way to Alon’s, or Café Intermezzo. And in as short as the next FIVE years ----with the help of our friends in Sandy Springs -- , you’ll be able to ride from Perimeter on a separated facility / Trailway all the way to Atlanta, Buckhead, Piedmont Park, Ponce City Market and points beyond. So I’d say the glass is half full, and getting fuller every year! As Mayor Shortal closes out his emails, Let Us Continue to Build Our City Together!
Thank you BONUS:

The following was omitted during the speech due to time constraints: In transportation planning and developer speak, you’ll hear about the term “Level of Service”. It’s about moving cars as quickly and efficiently as possible. Instead, let’s talk about Level of Service for humans. Safe Streets. For those that live, play & go to school HERE. We’re in the midst of re-designing our city & streets for people. When you’re out walking or riding a bike to school or the coffee shop, it’s humanizing. It creates a sense of place. It physically & metaphorically connects people together within our community.

Reminder: Don't take good people in your life for granted

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 15:28:00 +0000

Reminder: Don't take good people in your life for granted. Miss you my friend, Bob Lundsten.

Here's some great thoughts & perspective on the positive impact Bob made over the decades to the Dunwoody community over on Heneghan's Blog.

Dunwoody Park Improvements and our Future Direction

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Mon, 21 May 2018 20:30:00 +0000

Today (5/21/2018) at 4 pm, the Dunwoody city council is hearing Brook Run Park design options. For the proposals, click here.

As my day job took precedence, I sent the following email with my overarching feedback to our mayor, council and key staff:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email addresses are:

Mayor & Council Members CouncilMembers@dunwoodyga.gov
City Manager Eric Linton Eric.Linton@dunwoodyga.gov
Assistant City Manager Jessica Guinn jessica.guinn@dunwoodyga.gov
Community Development Director Richard McLeod Richard.McLeod@Dunwoodyga.gov
Parks & Rec Director Brent Walker Brent.Walker@dunwoodyga.gov
Public Works Director Michael Smith michael.smith@DunwoodyGA.gov

All in one (Copy/paste)

CouncilMembers@dunwoodyga.gov; Eric.Linton@dunwoodyga.gov; jessica.guinn@dunwoodyga.gov; Richard.McLeod@Dunwoodyga.gov; Brent.Walker@dunwoodyga.gov; michael.smith@DunwoodyGA.gov
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

My day job got in the way and I can't make this 4 pm public meeting. Here’s some ideas I would like you all to seriously discuss and consider:

1) No new parking spaces in our parks or new motor vehicle access points. Instead, put the money into building out a greater connected multi-use trailway network to access our parks. E.g.: Continue the trail from Brook Run eastward along Tilly Mill to Peeler (connecting with Windward Hollow park) to Winters Chapel.

2) Only spend the $$ we got from DeKalb (About $3.5M is left I've been told??). Anything more, float a well-rounded infrastructure bond & put in on the November ballot consisting of intersection projects, parks, trails, and a land bank for future park space acquisition. We have a decade-long backlog of intersection improvement projects. Acquire the cleared & vacant lot on the corner of Mt. Vernon / Chamblee Dwy - to create a welcoming community centerpiece, visually appealing pocket park. More & more. Let’s stop REACTING and be PROACTIVE.

Put a citizen stakeholder committee together to put the bond package together. Make sure 75% of them are under age 50. Or at least 50%. These folks are the future. Include a well-defined & measurable project list, legislative oversight, accountability and transparency into the Bond.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aside: For those of you who have not been trained or schooled in military tactics & strategy, allow me to provide you a pointer:

No country has EVER won a war by being on the defense. You ONLY win a war by being on the offense. We’re playing reactionary defense. Communities are the same. Be bold. Be strategic. Be visionary. Put the offense back on the field and take action. Paving is “as is” operational maintenance. Paving is reactionary. Paving isn’t why young families or businesses may choose to move to Dunwoody.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) Put in the low-hanging fruit items like some sand volleyball courts. Focus first on amenities that are used on DAILY basis that activate our parks, instead of "special" periodic events. For an example of a nice stage pavilion, head over to Norcross’ Thrasher Park this Friday at 7:30 pm to see the FAMOUS Ruperts Orchestra for a free concert. Get there EARLY! 4) More BATHROOMS please. Get them installed at Windward Hollow.

5) Trails, Trails and More Trails!! Connecting all points of the compass to our parks, neighborhoods, schools, retail and employment centers. Trails are the NUMBER ONE Park amenity citizens have repeatedly been asking for.

6) Tonight's agenda asks for an extra $500k to be put into the paving budget. Instead, hire at least TWO new staff members -- a) under Community Development to PROACTIVELY look out for our city, to be proactive-vs- reactive in continuing to transition Dunwoody from a 1980’s bedroom community with a mall, to a human-oriented activated community. b) under the City Manager as an Active Transportation Coordinator, building Safe Routes to School programs, encouraging folks of all ages to move around on human-powered means, leaving the motor vehicles at home; reducing cars on our streets. Can also work with Parks and support active PROGRAMING for our residents.

Many thanks,

Joe

Stop HB 515 - Gerrymandering

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 17:11:00 +0000

I just sent the below email to Georgia House Representative Johnnie Caldwell, the Chairman of the House Reapportionment Committee, Rules Committee Chairman John Meadows john.meadows@house.ga.gov and copied his special-interest friends. Apologies if this isn't a slick and engaging visual post.

__________________________________________________________________________

Background:

GEORGIA GERRYMANDERING EMERGENCY! The Georgia House of Representatives has filed a shady last-minute bill, HB 515, to change district lines to rig some districts to protect Republican incumbents! Filed on Tuesday, second read on Wednesday. Tomorrow (Friday) is crossover day. The bill has no "Why" or Reasons". Bill is in geo-code speak without any maps to visually see. Needs to have public input from the citizens that LIVE in these NINE House Districts that are affected, and hearings held. Please loudly oppose this anti-democratic effort. Last census was in 2010 and districts have already been redrawn to show that change. Call & email Reapportionment Chairman Johnnie Caldwell, Jr at 404.656.5087 email: johnnie.caldwell@house.ga.gov. Call and email members of the House Rules Committee and let them know that you are watching and won't let them get away with this.

Bill: http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20172018/HB/515

Reapportionment Chairman Johnnie Caldwell, Jr: http://www.house.ga.gov/representatives/en-US/Member.aspx?Member=813&Session=25

Rules Committee: http://www.house.ga.gov/Committees/en-US/committee.aspx?Committee=109&Session=25

johnnie.caldwell@house.ga.gov

jrm2016@yahoo.com; john.meadows@house.ga.gov; brett@voteharrell.com; richard.smith@house.ga.gov; staceyabrams@gmail.com; bert.reeves@house.ga.gov; ed.setzler@house.ga.gov; earl.ehrhart@house.ga.gov; jan.jones@house.ga.gov; chuck@martinforgeorgia.com; sheila.jones@house.ga.gov; david.stover@house.ga.gov; brian.strickland@house.ga.gov; rich.golick@house.ga.gov; elena.parent@senate.ga.gov;

and add your own State Representative & Senator. Mine are: tom.taylor@house.ga.gov; Fran.Millar@senate.ga.gov;

_____________________________________________________________________________

March 2, 2017

Dear Mr. Caldwell,

Are you afraid that in 2018 the seats held by Representatives Golick (HD-40) and Strickland (111) may change from Republican to Democrat so much that you need to do some Gerrymandering to keep your friends in office?

Plainly state to Georgia citizens WHY you introduced and sponsored HB 515. Plainly state to Georgia citizens the PROBLEM that needs to be fixed.

As a Georgian and 23-year US Army retired Infantry Major having spent a year in a combat zone serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I am ashamed of this partisan and unscrupulous behavior by a select few “elites” that hid behind closed doors.

You work for the citizens and you do not get to choose who you work for by changing district maps arbitrarily and capriciously behind closed doors without citizen input and transparency. Stop HB 515. This is gerrymandering at it’s worse. It represents “packing & cracking” done behind the scenes weeks ago using sophisticated voter & demographic databases behind closed doors to manipulate and dilute the power of the PEOPLE. The timing has all been well-thought out to try to hide from the voters your intentions.

The bill contains a bunch of geo-codes without maps that a human could not read. Add the before & after maps for humans to read. It changes NINE House districts. The bill was introduced on Tuesday with a first read. Had a second read on Wednesday and now it looks like you want to get it to the full house for a vote before crossover day on Friday. You waited until the last minute to push this through in an attempt to sneak it past Georgia voters.

The bill as written does not contain the WHY or REASON.

How many people inside these NINE districts came to the Georgia State Assembly saying there was a problem?

Precisely WHAT is the problem that needs to be legislated?

How many public meetings were held in these NINE districts notifying the CITIZENS that you were thinking about changing THEIR districts, and/or state representatives?

House District	Representative	Area	2016 Election Result (% win for current seat holder)	Current District Map	Proposed District Map	Reason this district map needs to be redrawn?
34	Bert Reeves (R)	Marietta	63% - Reeves 36% - HOLSOMBACK (D)	MAP	MISSING
35	Ed Setzler (R)	Acworth	100% - Unopposed	MAP	MISSING
36	Earl Ehrhart (R)	Powder Springs	100% - Unopposed	MAP	MISSING
40	Rich Golick (R)	Smyrna	53% - Dickey 46% - Allen (D)	MAP	MISSING
47	Jan Jones (R)	Milton	100% - Unopposed	MAP	MISSING
49	Chuck Martin (R)	Alpharetta	100% - Unopposed	MAP	MISSING
53	Sheila Jones (D)	Atlanta	100% - Unopposed	MAP	MISSING
71	David Stover (R)	Newnan	75% - Stoner 25% - Bennett (D)	MAP	MISSING
111	Brian Strickland (R)	McDonough	51.69% - Strickland 48.31% - Payton (D)	MAP	MISSING

This bill wreaks of partisan Gerrymandering and must be stopped dead in its tracks.

In contract, you should support and vote yes for SR 6 & SR 7 to REMOVE party politics and put the PEOPLE back in charge of our state elected servants, going back to representing the people.

SR6: A RESOLUTION proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide that legislative and congressional reapportionment be done by an independent bipartisan commission instead of the General Assembly; to provide for related matters; to provide for submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes

SR7: RESOLUTION proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Georgia so as to provide procedures and standards for legislative and congressional reapportionment; to provide for related matters; to provide for submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.

Myself and the public look forward to hearing your prompt and detailed response.

Regards,

Joe Seconder

404-545-3711

email: jseconder@yahoo.com

Linked in

Retired Major, US Army Reserve

Dunwoody, Georgia

Letter to Dunwoody Mayor & Council: Announce we are a Welcoming City

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 20:52:00 +0000

Yesterday in the news, the Dunwoody assistant city attorney has been put on paid administrative leave following allegations he made derogatory comments on Facebook about women and Muslims, according to a city statement.

For the story, click here

Today, I sent our Mayor & Council the following letter, asking for a proactive and welcoming response.

Hi All,

I personally know, trust and have the greatest faith and confidence in all of you as our elected & appointed city leaders. I know you all have the highest ethical & moral values. I recognize and greatly appreciate that you are taking this effort of due diligence most seriously in this matter. You could have taken a different path. But you didn't. And it is greatly and sincerely appreciated.

In that light of that and on a proactive note, could we please get a public statement by our mayor

Denouncing any racist remarks or behavior of any staff or city official, reaffirming that Dunwoody supports and welcomes people of all faiths, immigrants, ethnicity and backgrounds to our city?

Enforcing that our police will not racially profile anyone and treat all citizens alike with the same respect that we all have for one another?

And for those employees, contractors or persons doing business of & by the City of Dunwoody, any such behavior will be swiftly dealt with leading up to and including termination?

This statement does not need to mention or reference this ongoing investigation.

As you know, Dunwoody voted for Hillary. The past 12 days have seen great divisiveness and angst in this country and our region that hasn’t been seen in a generation. We are a divided and polarized nation. Instead of coming together after the election, we growing apart. Facts matter and truths are indisputable. People who don’t like what they have seen the past 12 days are mobilizing, organizing, becoming informed and taking actions. Right here in Dunwoody, too. At the local level, we should not be a divided Dunwoody. A short and direct statement by our hometown mayor would go far in the eyes of the greater public.

Atlanta reference, click here.

Sincerely,

Joe Seconder

Get Involved in Dunwoody

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 19:34:00 +0000

The other day, I responded to a question on Next Door which basically asked about getting our Dunwoody Council members involved on that website / online message forum so as to be more engaged and responsive to the community. My reply was 180 of that, and instead focused on how we as individuals need to take personal responsibility to proactively get involved. The following was my response:

I strongly suggest first focusing on a personal responsibility level, starting with each individual. Be proactively engaged and show up to Dunwoody City meetings. Everybody has an excuse for not attending. I've heard it all. Don't be one of those single-issue NIMBY folks that only show up for one item, say some stuff, and then walk out & leave the council meeting as it's still in progress.

Our council works their BUTTS OFF making pennies on the dollar for us, attending late evening meetings (last Monday, they were in session from 6 to 11 pm), being responsive and accessible to our residents, and also (most) having full-time careers, families and other interests.

Sign up for official emails from the city's website. Sign up & follow Heneghan's blog. Follow the city on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Go to the monthly Dunwoody Homeowners Association meetings, generally the first Sunday of each month (& please consider being a paid member for $40 a year).

Each Friday before the city council meets (usually 2x/month), review the posted agenda as posted to the city's calendar.

Be in the "know". Don't just read what's published in The Crier or even the Dunwoody Reporter. If you do, you'll miss 75% of what's going on, and quite possibly the story will be biased or will leave out additional facts. --- The Crier editorials are quite a "show", of course and greatly exaggerate the views & opinions of our 45,000 residents. As it's a "free" paper, and the more letters that are published, the less the owner needs to pay for a journalist to write copy. --- . Show up, speak during public comments.

Attend the Town Halls (I went to two of them this year. I'm 54 years old and I definitely lower the average age of the attendance.).

Download & review our annual budget. --- Did you know not a SINGLE person spoke during public comments just a couple weeks ago when our 2017 annual budget was approved?

Bored? Submit an application to serve on a city board. And, personally FOLLOW up with the Mayor to make sure you will be considered. -- Send emails & make phone calls.

Submit feedback to ongoing plans. For example the PCID Overlay District, where we receive approximately 70% of our city funds.

Collaborate. Network. Those who show up get heard. I could go on & on.

I'll leave you with this: If anyone wants to start an informal "Coffee / Beer" social periodically to gather and discuss topics, I'd be all for that!

No to 3rd lane - or Reversible -- on Mt. Vernon

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 15:36:00 +0000

An inviting & safe street for our community???

Anyone here in Dunwoody use "Next Door" for posting & responding to community topics? Someone has proposed adding a third lane on Mt. Vernon & making it "reversible" -- like on Roswell Rd / Hwy-9 in Roswell just north of the Chattahoochee river.

Feel free to chime in too at this link HERE

What people are not discussing are things like:

- Trip origins & destinations: Do we know where these people are coming from and headed to? How far are they going?

-- Single occupancy vehicles: How many of these vehicles only have one person in them?

-- Alternative mode: Is there ANY OTHER WAY they could move around other than in their motor vehicle? (Bicycle, or course. Maybe even walking) What prohibits them?

--Safety: Does a reversible lane increase or reduce safety for the users of our street, and does it take into consideration pedestrians, disabled, people on bicycles, elderly, and the residents that actually live on the street? What studies have been referenced that show reversible lanes are internationally-recognized best practices, are proven & safe? (They aren't safe at all!)

-- Cost: Where does the money come from if we were to do this? Acquire right of way -- most likely requiring eminent domain. Moving utilities, stormwater, etc., would run into many millions of dollars. Right now for repaving alone, cars only pay for roughly 18%. So that huge expansion would represent an even greater subsidy.

-- Livability: Does a third lane help our community maintain our "sense of place"? Does it help people who are merely just passing through to SLOW DOWN and drive the SPEED LIMIT? Do passersby sense that they have ARRIVED in a place where children, families and retirees are out & about, walking, biking, and safely enjoying our neighborhoods?

-- TWO HOURS A DAY, 5 days a week: That's 520 hours out of 8,760 in a year that traffic is backed up. For the other 8,240 the current street configuration is fine enough.

-- CAPACITY BUILDING: When you plan for cars & traffic, you get cars & traffic. Add capacity, and you simply get more traffic. In the long run, you will NEVER reduce traffic. We're going to selectively add some turn lanes at key intersections at Vermack / Manhasset and Tilly Mill.

Adding a reversible lane -- or even a continuous center turn lane -- will only make this street less safe. Go look at one in person and ask yourself if you'd like to live on a street with one. It ruins the residential feel of Dunwoody.

https://thewoodlandsdunwoody.nextdoor.com/news_feed/?post=36453532

I'M GOING TO BUILD A WALL

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 22:36:00 +0000

Misc Thoughts on Human-Scale Transportation Planning for Brookhaven

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 16:15:00 +0000

Yesterday 10/31/2016 I participated in a Walk Bike Thrive Workshop held at the Brookhaven City Hall by the Atlanta Regional Commission. It was very exciting and worthwhile and I greatly appreciated being invited. There is definitely some great momentum in Brookhaven in regards to acknowledging and prioritizing non-motorized ways for people to get about. Prior to attending, I wrote a quick list that would be appreciative of consideration in regards to holistic transportation planning.

Plan for People and Places, and that’s what you’ll get. Plan for cars and parking, and that’s what you’ll get. There cannot be disjointed and divergent planning between motorized & non-motorized transportation planning, zoning, funding and prioritization. And that is precisely what I experienced between the Ashford Dunwoody Corridor study open house held a few weeks ago, compared with the Bike/Ped/Trail plan, or yesterday’s workshop. After five minutes at the Ash-Dwy meeting, it seemed as if I was walked back into the 1960s in regards to being focused on moving cars as quickly through an area as possible.

A Real world example from yesterday:

I drove to the meeting yesterday. Due to voting and cars backed up, I drove around the backside of city hall into Town Brookhaven, got as close to the backside of the building and parked. I looked & looked for a place to walk directly across the 20 feet or so to get to the city hall parking lot and found myself looking up at a 6-foot chain linked fence. I could not see a direct entry, yet the distance was so close. I literally was just about to climb over the fence and was readying to do so, when fortunately the Brookhaven City Manager, Christian Sigman saw me, and guided me to a small undisclosed hidden opening in the fence.

This is the world that has been given to us due to the past generation of car-only planning, zoning, and land use regulations. This is the world that we must proactively work on each day to correct; to rebalance; to overcorrect; to take back to a human scale.

Brookhaven Transportation Thoughts

Leapfrog Complete Streets and move to Vision Zero. Zero deaths and minimal injuries for all uses of the street network. Checkout this video about Macon’s approach here.

Safety as the number one priority for ALL transportation planning & projects.

Slow & Calm Motorized Traffic

Trip Destination & Origins. Know where people are moving to & from. How are they moving? Incorporate into all plans.

Measure Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), not Level of Service (LOS). VMT should be provided with every new development. REDUCTION in VMT should be the city’s goal.

Every new study / plan / project: BEFORE the study is sought, have stakeholder input in the RFP to define the SCOPE, DELIVERABLES and GOALS of the consultant/company.

Holistic Transportation Planning as the movement of humans, regardless of mode. Integrate planning for all modes of travel, including motor vehicle, transit, bike/ped.

Remove parking minimums for developments. Either have maximums, or remove them completely. More from Strong Towns on the cost of free parking HERE.

New office developments – require paid parking

Remove Decel/Acel right turn lanes (etc.) requirements for new developments. All this does is increase travel speeds and make the streets more dangerous.

Reduce speed limits. Contact Decatur and follow their process. They added traffic calming measures, did a speed study & had GDOT approve speed limit reductions. (#2: Petition State Legislators to change the law / regulation / process to allow municipalities to reduce speed limits)

If traffic is moving faster than the posted speed limit, the street needs to be reengineered to slow traffic.

10-ft lane widths should be the maximum widths. Put into formal city documents for restriping. Lots of supporting guidelines.

Ashford Dunwoody Corridor Study: What happened here? Who defined the scope for the consultants? Very, very dangerous proposals greatly reducing safety of all users

1. Increases motor vehicle speeds

2. Increases motor vehicle throughput

3. Intersections treated like expressway on & off ramps (like at Peachtree). Greatly reducing the safety for pedestrians, disabled, bicycles, and motorists. Change the approach and design them at a HUMAN scale. Checkout some great examples here.

4. Montgomery Elementary & Safe Routes to School – Safety of children should have been the number one priority, instead of moving cars quicker

5. Faster speeds are worse for local businesses. Can’t see them

6. Level of Service. (LOS) Why is this even in the scope and why was this presented? If LOS was a true barometer, then the Champs de Elysee in Paris would FAIL.

Safe Routes to School – Put 25% FTE staff member for active PROGRAMMING on this for all K-12 schools. Walking & Riding bikes to school CAN be a daily occurrence, and not just a 1 or 2x/yr event. ~18% more traffic when school is in session. This small cost will have significant ROI.

Nothing Personal, Just Asking: Information about Dunwoody Senior Baseball

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 21:29:00 +0000

The game's afoot here in Dunwoody with a proposed land swap between the City of Dunwoody and DeKalb County Schools. The current site of "Dunwoody Park", 10-acres of publicly-owned land presently used by Dunwoody Seniors Baseball is to be swapped and used for the new site of Austin Elementary School. Two baseball fields are proposed to be built & maintained by the city on the site of Peachtree Charter Middle School. The city would take ownership of some acreage at PCMS for these fields.

I'll leave the school stuff to other bloggers. For details of the current proposal, please head over to Heneghan's Blog here.

My questions below are around Dunwoody Senior Baseball. Pretend you just arrived in our town and want to know the history, background and current situation. Nothing malicious. Just no assumptions.

My overarching point of view is, “Just because we started as a city with something, does it mean by default we continue?” - for example the Dunwoody Village Overlay Zoning that specifies everything has to look Colonial. As a minimum, let's have open public meetings asking questions like, “How much does the city pay in taxpayer dollars per Dunwoody resident to play baseball with Dunwoody Seniors?” “Should the city be in this business?” “What are the Opportunity Costs that we could use elsewhere for Parks & Rec Services that would benefit a broader representation of our residents?”

I've sent in these questions to the city (on 10/18). When I get responses, I'll post them and/or offer a link to this information.

My Questions:

• Who & what is Dunwoody Senior Baseball? Are their board meetings scheduled and open to the public? Are their meeting minutes available to the public?

• How many Dunwoody residents are enrolled with Dunwoody Senior baseball? What are their ages & sex?

• Who are their board members, where does their board meet? How are they elected?

• When & how did they establish a relationship with the city? (As contrast to being grandfathered in by DeKalb County)

• What public input was offered prior to establishing this relationship with the city and entering into an agreement?

• What are the terms & conditions between Dunwoody Senior & the city? Do they have exclusive use of the public parkland?

• What is the length of their contract for use of city property? Is it up for competitive bid, publicly announced prior to the term expiring? What is the mechanism for public input as the city considers renewing or granting terms to use city parkland? Is the contract voted on by the Mayor & council?

• Does Dunwoody Baseball offer anything to women? Co-Ed? Recreational Adults? Senior citizens? If not, will they?

• What is the mechanism for the greater public to use these ball fields? Can residents sign up & block out a date & time?

• Will the city be keeping regular open, unscheduled, unreserved dates & times of the ballfields for public at-will use?

• What is the estimated cost of the new ball fields? What amenities will they have? Will there be public input prior to approving the final plan?

• Will Dunwoody Senior have reserved parking spaces as is currently in use at Dunwoody Park?

Dunwoody is Updating the 5-Year Comprehensive Transportation Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Seconder) — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 17:44:00 +0000

Hi Friends,

At tonight's City Council meeting (9/12/2016), our council is expected to agree to the contract awarding Pond & Company to complete a 5-year update to our 2011 Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The RFP was issued earlier this summer with only two companies responding.

To review the RFP and scope of deliverables, please click HERE.

Unlike the 100% from scratch plan that was produced to great detail by Arcadis, the scope of the work is relatively small & focused.

To save you from downloading and reading the PDF, here is the Scope of Work:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1. Compile and review accident data for the last five years for the purpose of updating Table 8 and Map 11 in the 2011 plan.

2.2. Provide additional analysis and proof of concept for the following existing projects:

a. Womack at Vermack Intersection Improvement

Provide updated level of service and delay information for the current traffic conditions.
Provide a discussion of pedestrian safety at roundabouts and recommend additional treatments that could be considered to enhance pedestrian safety.
Provide recommendations to address concerns with how the proposed roundabout interacts with the high school driveways and internal circulation on the school property.

b. Mount Vernon Center Turn Lane

Compile accident history and obtain turning movement counts at each of the nonsignalized intersections on Mount Vernon Road. Determine left turn lane warrants based on the GDOT Driveway Manual at each of these intersections.
Present the data in an easily interpretable graphical format including a conceptual layout for the corridor with the left turn lane and necessary tapers at each of the intersections where a left turn lane is warranted based on accident history or turn volume. For this scenario quantify the area of additional right of way that would be needed. Bike lanes must also be shown in this graphic.
Present examples of context sensitive 3-lane roadways in residential areas.
Recommend locations for mid-block pedestrian refuge crossings with the 3-lane section.

2.3 Obtain traffic counts and evaluate the safety and operations at the following intersections
for possible additions to the project list:

Womack Road at Chamblee Dunwoody Road
Tilly Mill Road at Peeler Road
Winters Chapel Road at Dunwoody Club Drive
Meadow Lane Road at Ashford Dunwoody Road (lengthen eastbound left turn lane)
Meadow Lane Road at Ridgeview Road (add an eastbound left turn lane)

2.4. Update the Bicycle Recommendations and Projects

Revise the bicycle network recommendations to provide a connected network that incorporates the city’s existing bike lanes.
Develop priority levels for new bike lanes based on the bicycle suitability of the existing roadway and closing gaps in the existing network
Update the multi-use path network map and meet with surrounding jurisdictions to coordinate regional connections

2.5 Incorporate projects from the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan and the city’s sidewalk improvement plan into the project list.

2.6. Public Involvement- A public information open house will be held to present the updated
recommendations and gather community input. The consultant shall be responsible for preparing information and displays for the meeting, staffing the meeting with knowledgeable staff and providing written responses to comments received. The consultant shall also provide a briefing at a city council meeting at the time the plan is presented for adoption by the council.

2.7. Deliverables- It is anticipated that the five year update will be an addendum to the original plan. The consultant shall summarize the findings and recommendations in a brief written report that includes a prioritized project list with estimated costs and updated maps and graphics. A summary of the public involvement shall be included as an appendix to the report.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now here's my feedback and questions I sent today to our Public Works Director:

A lot has happened with thought leadership in the transportation planning world in the past 5-6 years since we authored our current transportation plan. And it would be great if this paradigm shift could be reflected in our updated plan.

How many PIOHs will be held? In the RFP, it looks like there is only one. I would see as a minimum two. One at the onset, seeking citizen input, and a second to present their recommendations / draft updated plan prior to adoption by Council

· Will there be an advisory committee, or an opportunity for stakeholders to meet & discuss prior to any PIOH?

· In the executive summary, can you add a statement like, “This is a PLAN, Serves as a general guideline. New standards arise, new initiatives are undertaken, additional citizen feedback is obtained. So there may be additions or modifications to this plan.”

· Can you insure that “accident” data also include pedestrian & bicyclist crashes / incidents? (Several years ago I asked Chief Grogan if his accident reports had a checkbox to identify whether or not it included bicycles, and he replied no. If this is not yet part of the data our police department incorporate, then can we please change their reporting to add this?).

· Can you remove the term “accident” and replace with “crash” or “collision”? An "accident" is, by definition, unintentional. Additional reference here.

· Adopt a Vision Zero policy, with the focus on zero deaths or serious injuries on our street network as the primary purpose for funding our transportation budget and projects?

· Can you replace the LOS model and instead use Vehicle Miles Driven (VMT), with the overarching goal of lowering our city’s annual VMT? The LOS model puts an emphasis on moving motor vehicles as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Vehicle Miles Driven put a focus on greenhouse gas emissions, impact on air quality, Clean Air Act. We should have a goal of REDUCING our city’s annual VMT per capita, which can directly improve air quality and the overall health of our residents.

· Can you insure that traffic counts include persons on bicycles?

· Can you please add Ashford Dunwoody as a viable bicycle transportation corridor, with preferred facility of a protected / separated / buffered bike lane (cycle track)? Brookhaven is presently undergoing a study of this corridor, to include high-quality bicycle facilities.

· Can you please add an appendix with PICTURES and EXAMPLES of various pedestrian & bicycle facilities, and a matrix outlining “Context Sensitive” treatments – where they make sense and where they do not?

· Can you please add to the “Addendum” to the 5-year plan have the opportunity to incorporate recognition of updated national design standards? To include:

o 5-ft bike lane width (-vs- 4-ft minimum AASHTO standard). Atlanta’s design guide is 5-ft is their minimum preferred width.

o Change our City Ordinance for Bike Lane Requirements to change the width from 4-ft to 5-ft. (Chapter 16, section 16-237, Streets)

o Formal acknowledgment and adoption of NACTO Guidelines for Urban Bikeway Design Guide (Atlanta has adopted this)