About The champion newspaper. (Decatur, GA) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2020)
LOCAL THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, THURSDAY, JAN. 2 - 8, 2020 • PAGE 5 YIR Continued From Page 2 FEBRUARY County considers pod transit system During a county operations committee meeting, county officials discussed implementing a high- capacity, solar-powered transit system in DeKalb County. DeKalb County commissioners and attorneys met with the founder of Transit X-a privately-funded transit system startup company-on Feb. 12. According to Mike Stanley, founder of Transit X, the transit system uses pods attached to an elevated rail line. Stanley said the rail system could offer DeKalb residents a safer, easier option for commuting. CEO: ‘We had a deficit in leadership, management and oversight’ Officials highlight errors in county water billing system Systematic defects in leadership, management and oversight resulted in a problematic water meter system, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said during a water meter update March 12 at the Maloof Auditorium in Decatur. Thurmond said the county failed to implement a water meter replacement plan and is now plagued with faulty meters that contributed to inaccurate water bills. From 2011 to 2015, DeKalb County purchased and installed approximately 50,000 iPerl water meters that could become defective if the meters became wet. “There’s been a lot of finger pointing about what went wrong. Was it the water meters? Was it the system? Was it the leadership? Well it’s all of those things,” Thurmond said. “We had a deficit in leadership, management and oversight and that contributed directly and indirectly to all the problems that have occurred in our system.” Thurmond said the county attempted to implement a water replacement program in 2011 but failed to initiate an implementation plan, partially due to contract disputes and lack of vendor capacity and resources. Walkability key in redevelopment plan The redevelopment plan for Avondale Estates along U.S. 278 is starting to come together. According to city officials, Avondale Estates is having a “robust public process” as phase one of a design plan is underway. The city began a walkability study in 2013. One of the key recommended projects from the study was a lane reduction for U.S. 278, according to Avondale Estates city planner Keri Stevens. U.S. 278 will be reduced from five lanes to three lanes from Ashton Place to Sam’s Crossing. Stevens said the reduction in lanes will allow city workers to add sidewalks, traffic-controlled pedestrian crossings, median islands and bike lanes. “The redesign of [U.S. 278] was a priority project,” said Stevens. “This project will transform our downtown and that’s the intent.” The Champion show King owes $32,725 to DeKalb County’s watershed department. Records show her home was using more than 144,000 gallons of water in a billing cycle. King said the bills are clearly an error made by the county. Sewer spills create stink, health concerns Heavy rain falls have created issues for the county’s sewer system in the past. On April 19, rainfall from thunderstorms overloaded the county’s aging sewer system and caused several sanitary sewer overflows. From April 19 to April 20, county officials reported 24 sanitary sewer overflows, resulting in approximately 400,000 gallons of spilled sewerage. Several sewer spill reports did not include the number of gallons spilled. The number of gallons spilled is expected to increase once the county completes its investigation and updates the reports. The majority of reported sewer spills were caused by “heavy rain infiltrating into the sewer system,” according to reports and are classified as “major” sewer spills which are spills of more than 10,000 gallons. 7“ PORTI °N WITH YOUR PAYMENT A / Sewer < PAYABLE TO: 1 County ROUTE: 0206 SEQ: 0000010600 ' Number APRIL UeKalb County Finance PO BOX 71224 CHARLOTTE NC 28272-1994 Resident expected to pay $32,000 water bill A Faye King has lived in DeKalb County for more than two decades and said she’s never experienced anything similar to what she’s currently going through. King received a letter from DeKalb County in March notifying her that she must pay a $32,000 water bill or her property would have a hen placed on it. King said she was stunned. “At this point I’m really frustrated with [DeKalb County] and their process,” King said. As of March 27, utility statements provided to MAY Serta, autonomous shuttles make Assembly Yards home Mixed-use destination Assembly Yards is now home to its own driverless shuttles and Serta Simmons Bedding headquarters. To welcome Serta, Assembly Yards officials hosted former Doraville Mayor Donna Pittman and city officials, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond with tours of the Serta Simmons Bedding building and an inaugural ride of its NAVYA autonomous shuttles. “I want to thank Serta Simmons Bedding for not only creating jobs at a record rate but also for [establishing its] corporate headquarters,” said Kemp. “You all are a part of a great movement that we’ve had in our state attracting some really big names from all over the country and all over the world and we’re very excited about that.” DeKalb adds officers list Each May, DeKalb County public safety officials recognize DeKalb officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. At the annual DeKalb County Police Department Fallen Officer Memorial Service held May 8 outside SEE YIR ON PAGE 6
