Commissioner Rader Digests
06/01/09 10:33 pm
Alcohol Beverage Code
A change to the alcohol beverage code is under consideration by the Board of Commissioners (BOC). The change would allow for an exception to the code, which currently prohibits restaurants from serving alcohol within 100 yards of a school or house of worship. The proposed change would allow alcohol to be served inside a restaurant that is part of a properly zoned mixed-use development. The exception would be limited to restaurants that close by 12:30 a.m. Distance restrictions would remain in effect for late-night establishments and nightclubs which already require individual approval by the BOC if they are within 1,500 feet of residentially zoned property.
Briarwood Renovation
Approximately $240,000 has been authorized for renovation of the Briarwood Recreation Center. The money comes from the 2001 parks bonds money, approved by the voters, that was set aside specifically or use in District Two and Super District 6. The renovation includes exterior painting, new windows and installation of an air conditioning system. The A/C should make the place more comfortable when hosting summer events. Even though this is the only Recreation Center in District Two, its size and amenities lag behind those of other recreation centers being built in DeKalb County. Bids for the work have come in under budget, so the commissioners, along with the parks and recreation department, are working to identify additional improvements.
City Contracts
DeKalb County and its cities continue to negotiate for a new "Service Delivery Strategy" (SDS) agreement to allocate the cost of shared services. As a result, all parties approved a six-month extension until October 31, 2009, for the existing agreement. The SDS is a contact that spells out how much the cities pay DeKalb for county-wide services such as fire, police and parks. After the initial negotiations stalled, both parties agreed to submit to a third-party evaluation of the financials. However, after the third party came back with its final report, the parties still could not agree. There is always a chance that a city may elect to terminate the agreement unilaterally. Such a move would have financial implications for the county in terms of revenue and expenses, and would result in reduced services to the cities.
DeKalb Tennis Center
There was considerable controversy last fall when the county parks department proposed contracting with new vendors to manage golf and tennis facilities in the county. Included among those facilities was the DeKalb Tennis Center, located in Mason Mill Park, which has been under the same management for approximately 30 years. The Board of Commissioners, exercising its oversight power, rejected the parks department's recommendation.
Instead, the BOC requested that the administration investigate alternative specifications for the contract that would include vendor responsibility for capital maintenance and improvements. In return, the vendors would get longer contracts that allowed them to recoup the cost of their capital investments. It is hoped that this structure would reduce county expenses for these facilities while at the same time providing better facilities for users, funded by user fees.
Standing Rules
Last November, voters of DeKalb County officially approved a change to the county's organizational act, which is the county's "constitution." The change transferred some authority from the Chief Executive Officer to the Board of Commissioners, most notably the creation of agendas for BOC meetings. Last summer, the BOC drafted revisions to its standing rules, to be implemented if the voters officially approved the revised organizational act. But when these revisions came to the BOC for approval after numerous work sessions and retreats, another commissioner stalled adoption.
While the BOC has informally implemented some of the proposed changes, there is a gray area in the rules because the required two-thirds majority of the BOC has not formally adopted them. While I have been prepared to approve the revised standing rules, provided proposed protections are retained that allow individual commissioners to place items on the agenda and manage the progress of their legislation, the rules need to be formally adopted to avoid uncertainty. This matter is scheduled to come back to the Board in July for another vote.
A change to the alcohol beverage code is under consideration by the Board of Commissioners (BOC). The change would allow for an exception to the code, which currently prohibits restaurants from serving alcohol within 100 yards of a school or house of worship. The proposed change would allow alcohol to be served inside a restaurant that is part of a properly zoned mixed-use development. The exception would be limited to restaurants that close by 12:30 a.m. Distance restrictions would remain in effect for late-night establishments and nightclubs which already require individual approval by the BOC if they are within 1,500 feet of residentially zoned property.
Briarwood Renovation
Approximately $240,000 has been authorized for renovation of the Briarwood Recreation Center. The money comes from the 2001 parks bonds money, approved by the voters, that was set aside specifically or use in District Two and Super District 6. The renovation includes exterior painting, new windows and installation of an air conditioning system. The A/C should make the place more comfortable when hosting summer events. Even though this is the only Recreation Center in District Two, its size and amenities lag behind those of other recreation centers being built in DeKalb County. Bids for the work have come in under budget, so the commissioners, along with the parks and recreation department, are working to identify additional improvements.
City Contracts
DeKalb County and its cities continue to negotiate for a new "Service Delivery Strategy" (SDS) agreement to allocate the cost of shared services. As a result, all parties approved a six-month extension until October 31, 2009, for the existing agreement. The SDS is a contact that spells out how much the cities pay DeKalb for county-wide services such as fire, police and parks. After the initial negotiations stalled, both parties agreed to submit to a third-party evaluation of the financials. However, after the third party came back with its final report, the parties still could not agree. There is always a chance that a city may elect to terminate the agreement unilaterally. Such a move would have financial implications for the county in terms of revenue and expenses, and would result in reduced services to the cities.
DeKalb Tennis Center
There was considerable controversy last fall when the county parks department proposed contracting with new vendors to manage golf and tennis facilities in the county. Included among those facilities was the DeKalb Tennis Center, located in Mason Mill Park, which has been under the same management for approximately 30 years. The Board of Commissioners, exercising its oversight power, rejected the parks department's recommendation.
Instead, the BOC requested that the administration investigate alternative specifications for the contract that would include vendor responsibility for capital maintenance and improvements. In return, the vendors would get longer contracts that allowed them to recoup the cost of their capital investments. It is hoped that this structure would reduce county expenses for these facilities while at the same time providing better facilities for users, funded by user fees.
Standing Rules
Last November, voters of DeKalb County officially approved a change to the county's organizational act, which is the county's "constitution." The change transferred some authority from the Chief Executive Officer to the Board of Commissioners, most notably the creation of agendas for BOC meetings. Last summer, the BOC drafted revisions to its standing rules, to be implemented if the voters officially approved the revised organizational act. But when these revisions came to the BOC for approval after numerous work sessions and retreats, another commissioner stalled adoption.
While the BOC has informally implemented some of the proposed changes, there is a gray area in the rules because the required two-thirds majority of the BOC has not formally adopted them. While I have been prepared to approve the revised standing rules, provided proposed protections are retained that allow individual commissioners to place items on the agenda and manage the progress of their legislation, the rules need to be formally adopted to avoid uncertainty. This matter is scheduled to come back to the Board in July for another vote.
(Commissioner Jeff Rader represents District Two on DeKalb County's
Board of Commissioners. He was reelected in November of 2010 for
another 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.