DeKalb County objects to Brookhaven's Druid Hills annexation plan

DeKalb County is objecting to a proposal by the City of Brookhaven to annex almost seven acres at Briarcliff Rd. and North Druid Hills Rd., including the Briarcliff Station shopping center, to allow for almost 400 apartments and a 7-story hotel at higher density than county regulations would allow.

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning unanimously voted to begin the process of objecting to the annexation petition it received from Brookhaven in late December. The county has 30 days to file an objection.

"There are valid objections that can be filed," Deputy County Attorney Vivian Ernstes told commissioners during a meeting of the commission's Committee of the Whole.

DeKalb County King Day parade to begin in Stonecrest

DeKalb County's 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade, organized by the county's NAACP branch, will begin at Browns Mill Recreation Center in Stonecrest at noon on Monday, January 20, 2020. The parade will end at Martin Luther King Jr. High School.

The Grand Marshall of the parade will be Barbara Cross, a survivor of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where her father was the church pastor.

The theme of the parade will be "Remembering the Dream, Honoring the Dreamer." Registration to participate will end on January 3.

New cities would cost DeKalb County millions annually, Vinson study says

Incorporation of Greenhaven, Vista Grove or all of unincorporated DeKalb County north of U.S. Highway 78 would require higher county taxes or reduced DeKalb County services, according to an analysis presented to a county panel on Wednesday.

The $84,000 study, prepared by the University of Georgia's Vinson Institute of Government, was funded by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners in February 2018 -- almost two years ago. Its work is guided by a "DeKalb Holistic Review Steering Committee" that includes county officials, state legislators, and officials from Brookhaven, Decatur and Stonecrest.

The presentation made to a county steering committee offered no specific policy recommendations regarding proposed new cities in DeKalb County.

Ex-DeKalb Sheriff loses Georgia law enforcement certification

Former DeKalb County Sheriff Jeff Mann has dropped his appeal over the revocation more than two years ago of his Georgia law enforcement certification, allowing a state board to finalize the action against him.

The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council suspended Mann's license on Sept. 27, 2017 after he pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction and prohibited conduct that stemmed from his May 6, 2017 arrest for publicly exposing himself to an Atlanta police officer and then leading the officer on a foot chase late at night in Piedmont Park.

TV report nudges City of Stone Mountain on sign replacement

A Stone Mountain resident says he has been waiting for more than two months for replacement of a speed-limit sign in the city that was damaged when a driver lost control, knocking down the sign and the resident's curbside mailbox.

According to the City of Stone Mountain's web site, maintenance of traffic signs is coordinated through the city's Public Works Department. Bern Sawyer told WGCL-TV (CBS46) he was told by city officials that DeKalb County would replace the sign.

CBS46 reporter Melissa Stern says she contacted the city but got no response. A few hours after she interviewed Sawyer, he texted her saying: "The piece of the metal pole is gone. Yay! Half the job is done..."

Sawyer says he is still waiting for the 25mph speed-limit sign on Sheppard Rd. to be replaced. "It's dangerous, kids walk by here on their way to school," Sawyer says.

DeKalb County water main leak floods couple's basement - report

WSB-TV reports today another instance of flooding from a DeKalb County water main break. The station showed video of knee-deep water in a couple's basement, damaging furniture and appliances.

When the woman called DeKalb County's watershed to ask for the water to be shut off, she was told "there was only one crew and they were on a job and wouldn't be able to come at the moment and would get to her when they could," WSB-TV reported.

A contracted cleaning crew was eventually dispatched to the couple's home. County officials said they had difficulties finding the break in the six-inch water pipe.

Despite being under a court-ordered consent agreement since 2010, DeKalb County in 2019 has surpassed its record for the number of sewage spills in one year.

Forgery claim in county small-business contract: report

WSB-TV reports there are questions about a DeKalb County program intended to help hundreds of companies owned by women and minorities.

A small business owner says her signature was forged on a contract where her business's name was used, the TV station says. She's complained to Decatur Police.

"They used us to get the bid and after they awarded the bid they feel like we do not need you anymore," the woman told reporter Richard Belcher.

DeKalb CEO urges new five-year ambulance contract with AMR

Despite persistent complaints about ambulance response times, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond on Tuesday urged county commissioners to agree to a new five-year contract with American Medical Response.

Thurmond said a review of the county's emergency medical response system found fault with the contract that AMR obtained in 2013. That contract was scheduled to expire in 2018 but was renewed on a short-term basis in 2019.

Earlier this year, the county began relying on the county's medically trained fire and rescue personnel to supplement AMR to ensure that personnel and equipment arrive on scene as quickly as possible. Fourteen percent of DeKalb County firefighters are licensed paramedics, the county says.

In a lengthy presentation to commissioners at their regular meeting, Thurmond said that AMR was the highest scoring provider in an eight-month review that included representatives from the DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department, E-911, the DeKalb Medical Examiner’s Office and the CEO’s office.

"The emergency ambulance service provider recommendation is the product of public feedback, detailed evaluation, numerous meetings and discussions," Thurmond said in a statement.

Legislators propose task force study of DeKalb Ethics Board

State legislators from DeKalb County plan to appoint a task force to suggest a solution for ethics reform in the county after the defeat of a ballot referendum to change the county's Board of Ethics.

State Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) says the goal of the task force "will be to gather information and provide recommendations on legislation to be introduced in the 2020 Legislative Session."

"It is clear the DeKalb County delegation still has work to do to produce a reasonable solution to ethics reform in our county,” Jones says in a press release. “Doing nothing is not an option, as the Georgia Supreme Court has already ruled that changes to the DeKalb Board of Ethics must take place."

Stone Mountain 2020 budget suggests "taxation by citation"

The City of Stone Mountain is proposing a $4.62 million budget for the 2020 fiscal year, an eight percent increase from the previous year. The budget would be funded by $3.17 million in revenues from taxes, a slight drop from the previous year. Meanwhile, money collected from fines and forfeitures would increase eight percent from the 2019 fiscal year.

Under the city's proposed FY 2020 budget, fines and forfeitures would represent the second largest proportion of the city's revenue -- $840,974, or 18.2 percent, a level that the Institute for Justice, based in Arlington, Va., says "suggests the cities' fines and fees behavior goes beyond what is necessary to advance public safety -- and thus qualifies as taxation by citation."

Stone Mountain city parks committee meets Monday

The City of Stone Mountain's Parks & Recreation Committee will hold a special-called meeting on Monday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The recently formed committee is scheduled to discuss its pending review of the city's parks and the Rock Gym. It will also hear an update on the use of SPLOST funds.

There are four parks in the City of Stone Mountain: Leila Mason Park, McCurdy Park, Medlock Park and V.F.W Park.

Gun taken from student at Stone Mountain High School

DeKalb County School Police say an officer tackled a student in a classroom at Stone Mountain High School on Thursday and found a gun, WSB-TV reports.

Higher security was noted at the school on Friday, the day after the incident occurred.

School officials said a parent called the school to report a student was carrying a gun. The student was tackled by police officers and the loaded gun stuff in his pants was taken from him, witnesses said.

Wording approved for historical marker on local lynchings

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved language for a historical marker at the DeKalb County Courthouse in downtown Decatur.

Language for the planned Equal Justice Initiative Historical Marker, approved by a vote of 7-0-0, had been submitted by the DeKalb County NAACP branch. The language mentions three lynchings in DeKalb County -- in 1887, 1892 and 1945. "Thousands of black people were the victims of racial terror lynching in the United States between 1877 and 1950," it will read.

"This is part of us acknowledging some past hurt, some truths that happened. And we want to make sure that's part of our memorialization and memory of the victims who were lynched. That we make sure we apologize and say that we're sorry for such a horrendous act," Commissioner Larry Johnson said.

Georgia DOT reschedules I-285/I-20 East open houses

The Georgia Department of Transportation has rescheduled two informal meetings to educate the public about proposed improvements to the interchange serving Interstate 285 and Interstate 20 East.

The open house public-information meetings are now scheduled for Nov. 19 for the Omega World Center on Snapfinger Parkway and Nov. 21 at the Lou Walker Senior Center have been postponed to allow time for further studies that are underway, DOT says. Both meetings are scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m.

"There will be no formal presentations," the department says. "A court reporter will be available to allow the public an opportunity to make verbal comments about the project."

The meetings were originally scheduled for September.

The project is one of the initial 11 large-scale Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP) projects to improve transportation in Georgia's metro areas.

Written comments about the proposal will be accepted until Dec. 9. They should be sent to:
Eric Duff
State Environmental Administrator
Georgia Department of Transportation
600 W Peachtree St NW
16th Floor
Atlanta GA 30308

Final Memorial Drive economic plan to be presented Saturday

Five months after it began, the DeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability has, with little advance notice, announced the last of four public meetings for its Memorial Drive economic planning study.

The final "Memorial Drive Revitalization Corridor Plan" will be revealed in 30-minute presentations at noon and 2 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 16. The department has scheduled the meeting for the DeKalb Conference Center at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, 495 N. Indian Creek Dr., Clarkston.

Notice of the meeting was emailed to the public by the department on Thursday, Nov. 14, less than 48 hours before the meeting is scheduled.

There is a web site for the $175,000 study, being done by Pond & Company, but other than a mark-up map for public comments that was unveiled over the summer, it offers no information about the study's findings. It does not reflect any of the information that was gathered at meetings that began in June, nor does it explain the decision-making process that has gone into the final plan.