Commissioner Rader Digest
05/27/10 3:31 pm
May 2010
Here are some topics of interest from recent DeKalb County Board of Commissioners (BOC) meetings:
Mason Mill Park
Roofs Replacement
Sidewalk Funds
Sign Ordinance
Mason Mill Park
The county has officially selected a contractor for construction to improve the day-use area of Mason Mill Park (30033). The construction costs, not to exceed $2.1 million, will be funded by the county parks bond.
The improvements include a full-scale play area, new dog park, relocated parking spaces, and improved storm water management. The day-use construction is the first phase of a $7 million master plan for the entire park. To see the plans for the day-use area and the entire park, see links at the bottom. The plans reflect the consensus of county citizens at five public meetings from September 2008 to February 2010.
In conjunction with the day-use renovations, PATH has contracted for a path over the railroad tracks in Mason Mill Park in order to connect that park to Medlock Park.
Roofs Replacement
Water leaks have prompted the cancellation or relocation of several meetings scheduled in the annex building of the Manuel Maloof Building, the county's official headquarters in Decatur. The leaks have called attention to the building's aging roof, long overdue for repairs.
Thanks to an Energy Block Grant from the federal government's stimulus program, the county will be able to repair the roof at no expense to the county budget. The repair project, not to exceed $580,000 will install energy-efficient roofs on the Maloof annex and the primary Maloof Building.
The repairs are a step towards catching up on backlog of deferred maintenance on county buildings, but also improving their energy efficiency in order to protect the environment and lower energy costs in the long run.
Sidewalk Funds
There is never enough money to fulfill all the goals on the county's wish list. Thus, financing projects sometimes comes about through creative means.
A recent twist is MARTA paying for pedestrian safety improvements in Brookhaven, specifically a new sidewalk along Peachtree Road (30319). The sidewalk, recommended in the Brookhaven LCI, will be on the north side, extending from Ashford Dunwoody Road to Dresden Drive, essentially from the Brookhaven MARTA station to the Town Brookhaven development.
The MARTA funding of $170,000 is part of a larger trade of funds with Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) last year. The trade allowed MARTA to accept federal stimulus money for transit system repairs without violating state restrictions that limit MARTA's operating costs to 50 percent of its spending.
The MARTA grant, along with a $400,000 grant from the ARC's Livable Center Initiative funds, will be used for the conceptual planning of the Peachtree Road sidewalk. ARC has committed $2.4 million for construction of the sidewalk. DeKalb County is responsible for acquiring the right of way to provide land for the sidewalk and to fund 20 percent of the construction costs, money which needs to be allocated in a future budget.
This project is another example of the county's ongoing efforts to make it more pedestrian friendly.
Sign Ordinance
Crafting legislation can be challenging because rarely does one size fits all. One example is the county's sign ordinance, which prohibits the oversized, garish electronic billboards that many abhor. However, that same ordinance also prohibited a place of worship or school from replacing an old, manual sign with a small-sized, minimally intrusive electronic sign. Because of this restriction, such institutions were applying for re-zoning to a commercial designation for the sole purpose of erecting an otherwise unobjectionable sign.
As a result, the Board of Commissioners voted to amend the sign ordinance to allow for the latter with specific parameters. Now, places of worship and schools located on arterial roads in residential districts may install low-impact electronic signs. So instead of using a pole and a bucket of letters, such institutions can use a computer keyboard to update their signs.
Links
Mason Mill Park Day-Use Plan (1.5 MB)
http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/parks/pdf/MASON%20MILL3rdMeetingDAYUSEAREA.pdf
Mason Mill Park Master Plan (9 MB)
http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/parks/pdf/2009-1119MasonMillParkOVERALLMASTERPLANrendering.pdf
Jamestown Dog Park Offleash Area Plan
Here are some topics of interest from recent DeKalb County Board of Commissioners (BOC) meetings:
Mason Mill Park
Roofs Replacement
Sidewalk Funds
Sign Ordinance
Mason Mill Park
The county has officially selected a contractor for construction to improve the day-use area of Mason Mill Park (30033). The construction costs, not to exceed $2.1 million, will be funded by the county parks bond.
The improvements include a full-scale play area, new dog park, relocated parking spaces, and improved storm water management. The day-use construction is the first phase of a $7 million master plan for the entire park. To see the plans for the day-use area and the entire park, see links at the bottom. The plans reflect the consensus of county citizens at five public meetings from September 2008 to February 2010.
In conjunction with the day-use renovations, PATH has contracted for a path over the railroad tracks in Mason Mill Park in order to connect that park to Medlock Park.
Roofs Replacement
Water leaks have prompted the cancellation or relocation of several meetings scheduled in the annex building of the Manuel Maloof Building, the county's official headquarters in Decatur. The leaks have called attention to the building's aging roof, long overdue for repairs.
Thanks to an Energy Block Grant from the federal government's stimulus program, the county will be able to repair the roof at no expense to the county budget. The repair project, not to exceed $580,000 will install energy-efficient roofs on the Maloof annex and the primary Maloof Building.
The repairs are a step towards catching up on backlog of deferred maintenance on county buildings, but also improving their energy efficiency in order to protect the environment and lower energy costs in the long run.
Sidewalk Funds
There is never enough money to fulfill all the goals on the county's wish list. Thus, financing projects sometimes comes about through creative means.
A recent twist is MARTA paying for pedestrian safety improvements in Brookhaven, specifically a new sidewalk along Peachtree Road (30319). The sidewalk, recommended in the Brookhaven LCI, will be on the north side, extending from Ashford Dunwoody Road to Dresden Drive, essentially from the Brookhaven MARTA station to the Town Brookhaven development.
The MARTA funding of $170,000 is part of a larger trade of funds with Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) last year. The trade allowed MARTA to accept federal stimulus money for transit system repairs without violating state restrictions that limit MARTA's operating costs to 50 percent of its spending.
The MARTA grant, along with a $400,000 grant from the ARC's Livable Center Initiative funds, will be used for the conceptual planning of the Peachtree Road sidewalk. ARC has committed $2.4 million for construction of the sidewalk. DeKalb County is responsible for acquiring the right of way to provide land for the sidewalk and to fund 20 percent of the construction costs, money which needs to be allocated in a future budget.
This project is another example of the county's ongoing efforts to make it more pedestrian friendly.
Sign Ordinance
Crafting legislation can be challenging because rarely does one size fits all. One example is the county's sign ordinance, which prohibits the oversized, garish electronic billboards that many abhor. However, that same ordinance also prohibited a place of worship or school from replacing an old, manual sign with a small-sized, minimally intrusive electronic sign. Because of this restriction, such institutions were applying for re-zoning to a commercial designation for the sole purpose of erecting an otherwise unobjectionable sign.
As a result, the Board of Commissioners voted to amend the sign ordinance to allow for the latter with specific parameters. Now, places of worship and schools located on arterial roads in residential districts may install low-impact electronic signs. So instead of using a pole and a bucket of letters, such institutions can use a computer keyboard to update their signs.
Links
Mason Mill Park Day-Use Plan (1.5 MB)
http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/parks/pdf/MASON%20MILL3rdMeetingDAYUSEAREA.pdf
Mason Mill Park Master Plan (9 MB)
http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/parks/pdf/2009-1119MasonMillParkOVERALLMASTERPLANrendering.pdf
Jamestown Dog Park Offleash Area Plan
(Commissioner Jeff Rader represents District Two on DeKalb County's Board of Commissioners. He was elected to the position in 2006 for a four-year term.)
Please encourage your neighbors to sign up for my e-mail updates. Go to my web site, www.commissionerrader.com, and click on the "news signup" link at the bottom.
Please encourage your neighbors to sign up for my e-mail updates. Go to my web site, www.commissionerrader.com, and click on the "news signup" link at the bottom.