Insights Into Dunwoody After the GA06 Special Election

Even the most staunch, long-term "I've lived in Dunwoody longer than YOU!!" citizen is coming to realize that Dunwoody's population is not a monolith but a mosaic of assorted lifestyles and ideologies.  Like it or not, there are people different from "us" (whoever "us" may be) living in our fair city.

Not everyone is accepting that fact peacefully.  In fact, a few weeks ago an anonymous Dunwoody resident posted this comment to Stan Jester's blog, regarding where "REAL" Dunwoodians live and that "those others" should be cut off outside of city limits.

But is this right?  Is our city split along district lines, with District 3 being all "those" whackos?

Let's take a look at how Dunwoody voted in the House District 06 special election.  This image was taken from an interactive map that showed precinct results from all District 06 precincts.  (View it in Firefox for best results.  Mousing over or tapping each precinct will highlight the borders and give a final vote tally.)
http://www.myajc.com/news/gen-politics/how-each-neighborhood-voted-the-6th-district-runoff/72ZamHK2RQLoVsvFhcfWjM/

Here is what Dunwoody looks like.  Red and Blue are self-explanatory

What's this we see?  Dunwoody's districts, divided via north/south lines are not the boundaries of the red and blue majority votes.  The ideological divide in this case split along a roughly east-west  through all three districts.  The "blue" segment is a mix of apartments, condos, large-scale commercial space and long-established single family neighborhoods.  The "red" district sees its own share of high-density housing as well.

The putz who wrote the stupid comment above may well change his tune to say, "Well, just cut off that perimeter district" instead of Dunwoody's east side - same difference."

Not so fast there, Skippy.

The perimeter area houses the commercial districts that are paying 70% of the property taxes, which are keeping residential tax rates stable.  And - making the existence of Dunwoody feasible as a city.\

So what did we learn from this week, aside from the fact that if we never see a canvasser again it will be too soon?

• Ideologies and lifestyles are a broad, diverse mix in Dunwoody.  The days of the stereotypical one-type of resident is long gone.
• You probably live next to someone who thinks and lives differently than you do.
• Our districts are all a steady mix of these ideologies.  There is no cutting one off saying "I have no need of you."
• We'll all be a lot happier if we can coexist in spite of these differences.  No one is going anywhere.

DHA June Recap

A closed SunTrust branch is planned to become a hotel with a walkable retail/restaurant center.



Next up, Brent Walker from Dunwoody Parks & Rec reviews the current state of the Brook Run Master Plan.

Who wants to see a former Dunwoody bank transform into something new?

Dunwoody Homeowners Association meeting this Sunday, June 4

Our June board meeting is this Sunday, June 4th at 7:30pm in Room 4 of the North DeKalb Cultural Arts Center at 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road (attached to the Library.) Branch Properties will present their preliminary plans to redevelop the site at Ashford Dunwoody Road and Perimeter Center East that currently houses a closed SunTrust Bank building (see the property on Google Maps here). We will also get a presentation from Brent Walker, Parks and Recreation Director, on the Dunwoody Parks Master Plan with details on the proposed Brook Run Plan.


Here's the official agenda. Print or save to your device and bring it along. See you Sunday!

INTRODUCING: Vintage Barber Shop of Sandy Springs, GA

www.vintagebarbershopatl.com

We've been busy little bunnies these past few month, even with online commentaries and special events and kids' school activities.  Here's the first new website debut of the year.

Vintage Barber Shop is owned by Dunwoody resident Yury Abramov.  If his name sounds familiar, you've probably read his story in the Atlanta Jewish Times once or twice.  Yury contacted me after finding my business info on NextDoor.

Yury specializes in "old school" barbering for men and boys and his shop is every bit the typical 1950s "vibe".  He had two key problems to solve.  1 - the website design.  Stock theme that had nothing to do with the look and feel of his shop.  2 - online appointments.  Yury wanted his shop to accept appointment bookings online and give his business an edge over the competition.

You would think that everyone and their mother would have an appointment booking form online but you would be wrong.  Very few salons of any kind, let alone mens' barber shops have a self-hosted appointment booking form.  Fewer still have forms that can be used from a phone or tablet.  First order of business was to audition several candidates for this WordPress website.  We settled on a form that looks great on every screen, is customized, can handle group appointments (think a dad with several kids) and sends email confirmations to both the customer and stylist.

Make an appointment with Yury or one of his assistants in just a moment by using this website form.

Next order of business was the design.  1950s look meets 21st century technology is not as straightforward as it sounds.  The 1950s saw three distinct fashion trends in design.  First, you have your stereotypical black-and-white sitcom with a pop of pastel.  Think "Ozzie and Harriet" or "Pleasantville".  Then you had Jack Kerouac and the beatniks.  Think Maynard Krebs from "Dobie Gillis" or Audrey Hepburn in "Funny Face".  Then you had the quasi-criminal element in Greasers.  Think "Rebel Without A Cause".  

The first draft of the website was definitely more toward the Beatnik label.  (Believe it or not, Ripley, I try to go very funky in designs when I can get away with it.)  Lots of animated diagonal lines and off-centered elements in bright pastels on black.   That attempt got a quick thumbs-down and we moved into the homey "Pleasantville" mode you see today.  

Finally, when a WordPress or other open source content management system website has been around for some time, or when features come and go, there is going to be some left behind "orphan" data.  You know how when you deactivate and delete a plugin, the data is supposed to be removed along with it?  Doesn't happen and WordPress plugins are notorious for this.  Extra data that goes unused not only slows the site down but can also be a security risk.  I went through and uninstalled a mountain of obsolete plugins and then manually removed their data from the back-end database line by line.  Just a reminder:  manually editing a database is not a DIY job unless you've done time as a database administrator somewhere.  If you don't know what you're doing, hire a professional or face the horrors of WSOD (White Screen Of Death) when the site fails.

We're in "soft launch" mode at Vintage Barber today.  The site is live and accepting appointments to flush out any quirks that escaped the previous quality control review and get Google integrated at various points.  Drop Yury a line and enjoy a hot towel w/ the haircut!

Memorial Day 2017

Just another Tuesday night in Dunwoody

CHAMBLEE, GA (CBS46) -


Police say two people were shot late Tuesday after an argument in Chamblee.

The shooting occurred outside a gas station in the 4300 block of North Peachtree Road.

A spokesperson with Chamblee police told CBS46 that two groups got into an argument, which led to the shooting.

One person was shot in the foot and is expected to be OK, according to authorities. However, police say another person was shot in the abdomen and was in critical condition when taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Read more: http://www.cbs46.com/story/35501921/police-investigate-shooting-at-gas-station-in-chamblee#ixzz4hxeD7hPx

Time to get back to the important news.  Like, ya know...  public safety?

Priorities

While parts of our community can enjoy some end-of-the-school-year frivolity, I'm finishing up two websites for two excited clients.  Gotta work to pay the bills.

Dunwoody Memorial Day Tribute and More Brook Run News

The City of Dunwoody will host its Memorial Day Tribute on
Monday, May 29th from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. 

Veterans Memorial at Brook Run Park.

Afterwards, take a stroll to the back side of the park (just keep following the road or trail) and think about what you would like Dunwoody to do to improve this side of Brook Run.

Public Input Meeting - Parks Master Plan Final Concept for Brook Run Park
Tuesday, May 16th at 6pm
After acquiring community feedback at the initial public input meeting held in January, the parks & Recreation Department invites you to view and comment on the final parks master plan concept for Brook Run Park.

The meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16th in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. Please provide your feedback and input on this the final parks master plan concept for Brook Run Park. The concept will be posted to the city website following the meeting to allow for additional community input.

I can't tell if the decision has been made, or if differing opinions offered during "community input" will be incorporated into the plan.   But this looks like the best opportunity to see the direction.

Dunwoody Homeowners Association Public Board of Directors Meeting - May 7, 2017

The DHA's next public board meeting will be this Sunday, May 7. Please come out and be part of the conversation about community events and development!

Dunwoody Homeowners Association

Board of Directors Meeting

Sunday, May 7, 2017 @ 7:30 P.M.
North DeKalb Cultural Arts Center, Room 4
5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta, GA 30338


1. Announcements and introduction of distinguished visitors


2. Approval of minutes for March 5th, 2017 meeting—Lindsay Ballow


3. Presentation and discussion: Proposed redevelopment plan for Perimeter Center Parkway East property – Grubb Properties, Todd Williams and Andrew Rosti

(The property in question is the office complex where Dunwoody City Hall is now housed.)


4. Presentation and discussion: Solarize Dunwoody – Tina Wilkinson


5. Request for support for Dunwoody Woman’s Club – Gerri Penn


6. Request for support for Stage Door Players – Robert Egizio


7. Board only session: Votes as needed on any motions including:

 Involvement in Solarize Dunwoody

 Dunwoody Woman’s Club request for funds ($1,000 included in budget)

 Dunwoody Stage Door Players request for funds ($1,000 included in budget)

.

8. Adjourn


Next meeting: Sunday, June 4, 2017

Code Enforcement - Food for Thought

Dunwoody is missing a Chief Code Enforcement Officer, and that role's immediate superior, the Community Development Director.

How much code enforcement is actually happening?

If someone files a complaint, does it get recorded?  Or followed?  Or anything?

I don't know the answers to these questions.  But one of my routine ORRs might answer it in coming weeks.

Cross your fingers for a break in the rain and wind so all can enjoy food trucks tonight!

Newly-Paved Mt Vernon is Sinking. Questions About Standards and City Priorities

From Channel 46:


"Alessandro Salvo owns GS Construction. His company made the repairs, but not before warning city and county leaders on numerous occasions that using stone would cause the road to settle, or even sink.

“There’s no way to know how much it’s going to settle,” Salvo said. “They view this as a warranty and poor workmanship issue, and our response is that no, it’s not a poor workmanship issue, this is a design flaw. We told you not to put this type of stone here.”

Read more: http://www.cbs46.com/story/35299345/contractor-warned-officials-about-sinking-roadway#ixzz4g1DLXwTh" CBS46 News



 There's a very easy way to find out who is telling the truth and to whom the contractor spoke if in fact he did warn about this problem: Open Records Request on all emails to and from GS Construction, going back to the date the RFPs for the Mt Vernon sewer line replacement and repaving were issued.

The nice clerk who has been helping me compile information about the (lack of) impact made by home businesses is probably really tired of hearing from me.   (Hi Eric!) I'll bet he'd appreciate talking to someone new.  Give him a shout by using the City of Dunwoody Online Open Records Request System.  Electronic, non-certified records are free!

https://mycusthelp.com/DUNWOODYGA/_cs/SupportHome.aspx

If the contractor is telling the truth, (and I am leaning toward that option because he put his face, voice, and company name on the record and on camera to make his point, while the city council members who ran their campaigns on the promise to pave more roads are not responding) then we have a new urgency to answer the question:  what exactly are our city council members priorities?

Paving roads implies quality work that will last at least a generation.  No public discussion about quality infrastructure work.

So what is a priority in city council?

• Chastizing a home business owner who went to extra lengths to show his enterprise would not infringe on his neighbors.
  
• Change home business regulations in spite of the fact there have been no documented complaints justifying the actions.
  
• Fast-track legalized farm animals for a small handful of citizens - within one day of the above action.
  
• Try to help a local business skirt the state alcohol laws.  Then, failing this, revert to "don't ask, don't tell" as the standard for handing out alcohol without a pouring license.

These aren't legislative priorities, gang.  In my opinion, these are legislative favors for personal friends.

And while our representatives are arguing these small points, newly-rebuilt city roads are sinking.  School trailers are getting ignored.  What else is falling by the wayside???

Food Truck Thursday Celebrates Yom Ha-atzmaut on May 4!

It's everybody's favorite Food Truck Thursday - Kosher Night sponsored by the MJCCA!

An assortment of Kosher food trucks will join the usual group at Brook Run Park.

Get there early to score some beef ribs.  It's worth it to brave the wet weather that's supposed to arrive.

Brook Run Park between the Skate Park and Childrens' Playground
MJCCA-sponsored entertainment on the field.
5 PM - 8:30 PM  (Seriously, weather permitting)

Ashford Dunwoody Road Repair & Lane Closure

From Dunwoody City Hall e-blast:

ALERT: Ashford Dunwoody Road Repair & Lane Closure

Planned for Thursday May 4, 2017 (8pm to midnight)

The City of Dunwoody will conduct work on Ashford Dunwoody Road this Thursday (May 4, 2017) starting at approximately 8:00 p.m. and lasting until midnight.

This work necessitates closing down a few hundred feet of the southbound lane on the west side of Ashford Dunwoody for approximately 4 hours (8:00 p.m. to midnight). All construction work is dependent on optimal weather conditions.

The location of the construction work will be on the west side of Ashford Dunwoody Road, directly across the street from the Exxon gas station. Please refer to map below for an approximate layout and construction footprint area.

Please use alternate routes and avoid the area during the construction process.