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Commentary / Looking into 2019’s political crystal ball
As 2018 wraps up and a new year looms, we asked a dozen local
newsmakers to peek into their crystal balls and see what’s ahead.
Here’s are their thoughts on 2018 and their ideas for what’s to come
in 2019.
ularly having to do with traffic and transportation ... think MAR
TA! We will also benefit from the coalition’s relationship with City
Hall to be selected for the futuristic Smart Cities Program, bringing
“Buck Rogers”-type innovations into play.
Sandy Springs City Councilmember Chris Burnett
a In 2018, our city, state and nation continued
to enjoy the benefits of a strong economy and
while I expect some slowdown in 2019,1 remain
optimistic that Sandy Springs and metro Atlanta
will continue to thrive, given the significant de
sirability of our region.
Locally, through top-quality performances
and culturally intriguing programs, we will posi
tion City Springs and the Byers Theatre as the premier destination
for our citizens to gather as a cohesive community. Transportation
needs are always a crucial initiative and transportation-sales-tax-
funded road projects will continue in earnest in 2019.
Next year, we also expect to formalize a strategic plan to eco
nomically stimulate the northern end of Sandy Springs with a fo
cus on affordable housing for empty nesters and for the first re
sponders, teachers, medical and service personnel that are crucial
to our community.
Finally, we will continue work on infrastructure improvements,
such as road paving, sidewalk installation and park and greenspace
projects, to further enhance our quality of life and we are hopeful
that we can reach an agreement with the city of Atlanta to improve
the reliability and cost of our water system.
2019 will be another busy year for Sandy Springs and I am per
sonally excited about what the future holds for our great city.
Brookhaven City Councilmember Linley Jones
2018 was a banner year for the city of
Brookhaven! Years of public input and effort
paid off as voters went to the polls and approved
a park bond that will fund top-notch parks
throughout our city.
2019 promises to be equally exciting as
Brookhaven undertakes these major park im
provements along with significant projects from
the Ashford-Dunwoody Corridor study, including a constantly-
flowing right turn lane from Ashford-Dunwoody Road southbound
onto Peachtree Road. These projects will, of course, incorporate the
sidewalks and paths that are assured to provide us all with great
connectivity and mobility in the years ahead.
The city is also preparing to break ground and start construc
tion on the Peachtree Creek Greenway, the beltline path that will
one day connect our city to paths throughout the metro area.
These projects and many more promise to make 2019 yet anoth
er banner year for the city of Brookhaven!
Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell
As the Buckhead Coalition celebrates its 30th
anniversary, we must confess use of the well-
known adage, ‘build it and they will come,’ for
that’s exactly what we urged when organizing in
1988 ... and it happened. Described back then as
a sleepy bedroom community, Buckhead caught
the attention of some of the country’s leading
developers satisfying the hunger for such an ad
dress.
We went through the need for office space that provided mil
lions of square feet, a phenomenon that scared the inexperienced,
and economically dampened some of the plans. But, following the
downtimes described by some as recessions, we came out of it with
even those at the end of the cycle renting up to 90 percent capacity.
More recently, we experienced the boom in rental apartment
construction, which has increased our inventory some 150 percent
in the last seven years. This expansion has been satisfied, so we’ve
moved on to the next phase, that of hotel and specialty space (such
as assisted living, self-storage, medical).
What’s next for Buckhead? Probably more of the same. The com
munity is so successful, our attention is turned to governmental
partnerships. This is coming into being with all levels -- city, coun
ty, state, federal - finally showing interest in infrastructure, partic-
Bunwoody City Councilmember Pam Tallmadge
Parks: I look forward to the new amphithe
ater at Brook Run Park. This facility will be an
outdoor venue to revitalize music, drama and
dance programming; it is an outdoor focal point
for all our citizens’ activities. I stand by the Dun-
woody Nature Center and Donaldson Bannister
House building projects, educational programs
and events. I will continue to support Spruill and
Stage Door Players in talks of expansion and design. I cannot wait
to see the new Perimeter East Park designed, developed and fin
ished.
Trail Connectivity: There is a grand plan to have all the city
connected by multi-modal trails. The key deliverables are: the
Peachtree-Dunwoody Road Pathway provides interconnection
from the Hammond Drive area northward to major employers
such as Cox Communications. The Ashford-Dunwoody Road Path
way, along the Perimeter Mall frontage, connects the Dunwoody
MARTA station with numerous office developments on the east
side of Ashford-Dunwoody Road to restaurants and shops to the
north of Perimeter Center West. In the pipeline is connectivity from
Georgetown to Perimeter Center East.
Village Overlay: I believe it is crucial that the village has a make
over. My dream is added greenspace, less asphalt and walkable en
trances.
My wish for 2019 is for everyone to get involved somewhere,
somehow. Join a committee or club ... the list is endless.
Fulton County Commissioner Lee Morris
Property taxes will continue to be a major is
sue in 2019. While many appealed sharp increas
es in 2018 and will therefore not see increases in
2019, property values will continue to increase
in many neighborhoods.
New voter-approved homestead exemptions
will apply in 2019, providing relief to many: the
so-called “floating homestead exemptions” for
the city portion of our bills within Atlanta and for Fulton County
Schools’ portion within Sandy Springs; the increase in basic home
stead exemption for Atlanta Public Schools’ portion within Atlanta;
and the new $50,000 senior exemption for the county portion. The
General Assembly may look for other ways to provide relief, espe
cially for seniors struggling to stay in their homes.
We will continue in 2019 to shine transparency on issues that
tend to shift burdens from commercial owners to homeowners, in
cluding Tax Allocation Districts, possible commercial property un
dervaluation, and tax abatements provided by development au
thorities.
DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader
DeKalb will be focused on delivering on the
promise of Special Local Option Sales Tax-fi
nanced infrastructure improvements, now that
the program is at last underway.
The negotiation of a new EMS transport con
tract will test our ability to integrate the DeKalb
Fire Department’s first-responder role with the
full spectrum of medical transport responsibili
ties of a third party contractor, to deliver consistent high coverage
and affordability Countywide.
The unknown prospects for more municipalization will chal
lenge the sustainability of service delivery strategies, as the uneven
distribution of tax base and service demand across DeKalb compli
cates maintenance of uniform service levels.
Continued investment in the water/sewer system will increase
pressure for a rate increase, so DeKalb must meet the demand of
new customers to offset our system rehab costs.
Finally, our growing reserves must be maintained, but a proper
ty tax cut should soon become a priority.
BK