Public Comment & More Notes on Meeting

Public Comment

Tonight there was no public comment. Of all the things going on i n the city, not one of our 40,000 plus residents was motivated to speak publicly to Council.

I always look forward to Public Comment. Like Forrest Gump said,

My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

So tonight we had no builders asking for wing walls or a break on permit fees, no Arts Festival Lady, no one complaining about lights or a stream head or speed bumps.

Public Comment is something some of you should try (as long as you have something important to address or say something funny I could write about). You simply approach a podium, speak into one of Warren's excellent microphones for 30 seconds or so, then have a seat.

I hope to see you there next meeting.

Council Member Comment Time

Council members get to talk at every meeting, but after Public Comment we are treated to Mayor and Council Comment. This is a time for Council to get shout-outs to their peeps and also a time to recognize things that happened during the week.

First up was Mr. Shortal. He complimented Warren on the city's new enhanced web site. I also like the city web site, but still spooked by a few folks on the Discussion Board. Things have improved there since the site no longer allows 'anonymous' posts. Some city staff troll the Board and will respond once in a while. Go take a look as there are a few interesting topics there.

Mr. Taylor thanked everyone for the Open House.

Mrs. Bonser mentioned the Community Garden at Brook Run (with Mr. Wittenstein adding to it). She also mentioned a major theft operation bust at Macy's. The Secret Service, Maxwell Smart, and Dunwoody PD worked on this yet-to-be-announced bust. Word on the street is that an Audi 8 was one of many vehicles confiscated at the scene. According to our city charter, carved on a wooden tablet and preserved for eternity and stored in the Farmhouse's fruit cellar, the first vehicle confiscated goes to the mayor for personal use during his term. Congrats on the sweet ride, Mr. Mayor. Mrs. Bonser also complained about Dunwoody's PVC farm. For the record, the PVC farm does not contain organic crops, has no Sustainable Pattie nor a farmer Bob, and is not related to the Dunwoody Community Garden.

Councilman Ross gave props to the thespians at DUMC for their performance of Steel magnolias.

New Business - Overlay District

I tend to nod off or play with my Blackberry when talk of the Dunwoody Overlay District comes up. I noted that a Design Committee (Dunwoody loves committees) for the Overlay District had its teeth pulled, changing the status of the committee to one of 'suggestive' power instead of 'authoritative' power. This means the Zoning Board of Appeals Board remains the all-powerful board/committee in Dunwoody. Since I was not nominated for the VCB, perhaps I can work my way on the ZBA if an opening comes up.

Some discussion on wording of the text that goes with the Overlay District was discussed. At issue is the statement that the Heart of Dunwoody is in District 1, aka Dunwoody Village. I like to think Dunwoody is a loving community and has two hearts. I agree that Dunwoody Village is not our heart. But, us District 1 folks are proud to say we do have both Hearts of Dunwoody in our district, The Farmhouse & Mellow Mushroom. A member of council wanted the text changed as perhaps some of you in District 2 or 3 would feel slighted not having the Heart in your district. Looking at a map, you'd thing our city heart would be in District 2, but you are wrong. The main Heart of Dunwoody, as we all know, is the Farmhouse. One needs only to drive or walk by it to feel the energy, the pulse, the excitement.

At this point in the meeting things were pretty boring. I regretted not taking that photography class over at The Dunwoody Nature Center.

But things change.

Permit Fees

As predicted Warren caved and suggested to Council to lower the building permit fees by 25% for new single family homes. Bill Grant's thank-you card will be postmarked and mailed tomorrow morning. Warren went on to say the city will bring in $100,000 in its share of permit fees, but will spend $300,000. Simple math tell us permits cost the city $200,000. Something that is suppose to generate revenue for the city actually costs us money!

Councilman Ross was not satisfied. He wants the fees lower. It's hard to tell sometimes who Councilman Ross represents. Is he a lobbyist for builders or a representative of residents in District 2? He compared DeKalb and Sandy Springs fees to Dunwoody's and he said we are still too high. He again cited that state law forbids a city from charging more than necessary for permits. Warren should have told him that our permit folks make more money than those in DeKalb and Sandy Springs, that Dunwoody uses professionals and top-shelf inspectors. Dunwoody does not want the lowest earning inspectors out there. Let the bottom-feeder inspectors inspect unincorporated DeKalb. Councilman Shortal thinks our current fees are reasonable and in line when comparing apples to apples (including impact fees and such).

Perhaps our upcoming city audit will find out why we will lose $200,000 on permits this year.

The main issue is our contract with an outside vendor. Dunwoody Council, including Councilman Ross, signed a contract with a vendor for the purpose of handling inspections and permits and fee settings and such. The City agreed to a certain rate and we need to live up to the agreement. By agreeing to lower the permit fees now, Warren and Council are taking funds from somewhere (sidewalks, paving, Farmhouse signs) to make Bill Grant happy. I've got no problem with Mr. Grant. If I were in his shoes I'd do the same thing. But I see no reason why the city should take a $200,000 hit (in a slow economy) on permits. How much of a loss do we need to budget for in a boom year?

Chalk up a 'win' for Councilman Ross and Bill Grant.

City Audit

Next up on the agenda was a vote to approve a contract for the required city audit. City finance guy Chris did a good job at the last meeting setting the table for tonight's quick and easy approval vote. Not!

Councilman Ross wanted to defer the vote, stating that the mayor should form an audit committee (yes, another committee). Ross suggested this new committee would select the accounting firm and set the scope of the audit. He also suggested that Chris, being the guy with the checkbook, should not be the one selecting the firm. Logic tells me the city finance director should be the person selecting the firm, not a committee made up of residents. Granted, we have some smart folks around here, but selecting an accounting firm for the city audit is a little different than deciding what color our street lamps should be.

To his credit, Chris stood his ground. At the prompting of Mr. Shortal Chris again explained why the firm he chose was selected. He further went into detail about how the State determines the audit content (not himself), and he then discussed how the final audit then goes to the State for review. Clearly everyone wants the books audited to make sure money is where it is suppose to be.

Councilman Wittenstein then suggested to defer the vote until the city charter was studied to see what light it could shed on this issue. Quick to his feet Chris revealed he had already looked at the charter and stated that it (the charter)says that Council needs to decide who does the audit (Chris did all the leg work and presents his findings while Council decides (votes) on it.

Ross and Wittenstein presented their case that they (Council) should have been more involved in the issue. Gentlemen, you knew Chris was working on this. If you wanted to be involved you could have talked to Chris about it weeks ago.

Council voted 6-1 to hire the firm Chris suggested. Chalk up a loss for Councilman Ross on this issue.

Only thing left on the agenda was the appointment of District 2's member to the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Dunwoody. After some discussion the nominee was approved. Perhaps more on the meeting later.