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LOCAL
March 10 - 16, 2016 • Page 2A
Chamblee passes on LaVista Hills annexation
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
Chamblee officials decided to
not move forward with the annexa
tion of LaVista Hills on March 2
following closed-door discussions
between Mayor Eric Clarkson and
the city’s council.
Chamblee provided an open
letter from Clarkson on March 2
and an informational meeting held
March 8 at the city’s Civic Cen
ter. The meeting provided council
members an opportunity to state
their case to the public.
A previous meeting was held
Feb. 16 to gauge public interest.
Approximately 100 concerned citi
zens voiced their opinions to Clark
son and the council, rejecting the
idea outright.
Clarkson’s reasoning for pass
ing on annexing LaVista Hills and
its 35,000 residents was stated
clearly in the letter: the request
from potential residents required
too fast a decision.
“Many have stated that the
timeline for this proposal is too
short and that things are moving
too quickly. The city council and
I agree,” Clarkson said. “Unfortu
nately, the timing of a decision is
not always perfect, and in this case
the council, staff, and I have de
cided to take a pause in the consid
eration of annexing any other resi
dents into Chamblee at this time.”
The Chamblee mayor stated he,
council members and City Manager
Mark Johnson have been working
on a feasibility study and found the
annexation financially viable for the
city. Time constraints required to
present a resolution to the Georgia
legislative session made the pro
posal difficult to agree upon.
The letter began by outlin
ing reasons to be grateful to the
original founders of the city, nam
ing services, local government and
responsive representation as spe
cifics. Clarkson cited these as rea
sons LaVista Hills - and any other
part of DeKalb County - would
seek a municipality or join one such
as Chamblee.
“So, it should come as no sur
prise that others have looked to
form new cities or be annexed into
existing ones,” Clarkson wrote.
“Chamblee has practically tripled
in both land area and population
since 2010.”
Clarkson’s letter states Cham
blee would not hamper its efforts
to modernize and draw more resi
dents to their already established
borders.
“Regardless of our size, Cham
blee will continue to redevelop
even further into a modern com
munity while maintaining that small
town charm that has lured so many
here in the past and will continue
to draw others to this city in the
future,” Clarkson wrote. “The city is
working hard to further create this
sense of place, complete with bike
and pedestrian trails, landscaped
streets, and architectural designs
that invite people to stroll down
wide sidewalks and gather at festi
vals.”
To view Clarkson’s entire letter
online, visit www.chambleega.com/
CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=265.
Frank Auman elected as Tucker's first mayor
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Frank Auman (pictured the night Tucker cityhood was passed by voters) was elected
the first mayor of the new city. Photo by Carla Parker
Ellis File Photo/Travis Hudgons
Convicted county
CEO out of prison
by Andrew Cauthen
andrew@dekalbchamp.com
DeKalb County CEO Burrell
Ellis is free.
According to Georgia State
Board of Pardons and Paroles
website, Ellis was released
early from prison on parole on
March 1.
Ellis, accused of strong-arm
ing county vendors to contribute
to his re-election campaign, was
sentenced to five years to serve
18 months for attempting to com
mit extortion, and five years to
serve 18 months on three counts
of perjury. The sentences were to
run concurrently.
Ellis’ incarceration began on
July 9, 2015.
Ellis, who remains suspended
from office while his appeal
makes its way through the
courts, was replaced by interim
CEO Lee May.
May has led the county
government operations since
being appointed to the position
in July 13. He is filling Ellis
unexpired term, which ends at
the end of the year. May has
announced that he will not run for
the position.
Frank Auman, one of the
leaders of the Tucker 2015
cityhood initiative, was elected as
the city’s first mayor on March 1.
Auman won the mayoral seat
with 69.89 percent of the vote.
Bruce Jackson came in second
with 16.36 percent and Lome
Cheek received 12.10 percent.
Auman said he and the voters
in Tucker are on the same page
about turning Tucker into a thriving
city.
“We’re ready to go to work,”
Auman said. “It’s good to have a
big majority and I feel like everyone
understands what we’re trying to
get done and is ready to get to it.”
To become a thriving city,
Auman said the residents must
understand that the newly elected
officials have to put certain items in
place first to get the ball rolling.
“We have to get the revenue,
get the logistics set,” Auman said.
“We don’t have a bank account,
a phone number or anything. We
have to get all of that in place and
build a foundation so we can get on
to the aspirational stuff.”
Auman has lived in DeKalb
County since 1974. He graduated
from Southwest DeKalb High
School in 1981. He moved to the
Tucker area in 2005 and owns and
operates a business in the city.
Auman said he does not feel
any pressure with being the city’s
first mayor.
“There is an eagerness to get
on doing what we’ve been talking
about for three years,” he said.
“Managing expectations will be
part of it. There is a lot to do; we
have to build that foundation and if
we don’t get that right we’re going
to be building in trouble down the
road. We have to be patient, get
things right the first time and move
as fast as we can while making
sure we’re doing it the right way.”
Four were elected to six of the
city council seats, while two seats
will head into a run-off. Honey
Van De Kreke (District 1, Post 1)
and Michelle Pankava (District
3, Post 1) ran unopposed for their
respective seat.
William Roasenfeld won the
District 1, Post 2 seat with 53.08
percent of votes, beating Jon Carr
who received 46.21 percent.
Anne Lerner beat out Ruth
Hoffman for District 3, Post 2
council seat with 81.38 percent to
17.79 percent.
The District 2, Post 1 seat
and District 2, Post 2 seat will be
decided in a runoff election on
March 29. Katherine Atteberry
and Matt Robbins will face off
for the post 1 seat, and Noelle
Monferdini and Susan Wood will
battle for the Post 2 seat.
Atteberry received 42.93
percent of the vote, while Robbins
received 24.78 percent. Wood
received 19.67 percent of votes
and Monferdini received 18.68
percent.
The runoff election will be held
on March 29. Early voting will be
held March 16-25 at the DeKalb
County Board of Registrations and
Elections in Decatur.