About Dunwoody reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2013)
COMMUNITY City officials debating how best to get advice on parks By JOE EARLE joeearle@reporternewspapers. net Dunwoody city officials are trying to decide how best to get advice on what the city should do to improve its parks and recreation programs. The problem? Too many opinions and too many advocates with strongly held opinions. During Dunwoody City Council’s Jan. 14 meeting, Mayor Mike Davis asked members of the council what they thought would be the best way to en gage citizens to get advice on the city’s parks. “I don’t know the right answer, but I think it’s something we, as a city coun cil, have to consider,” Davis said. Councilman Terry Nall said the issue arose during debates over the location of the dog park in Brook Run Park. Also, he said, after the voters rejected a bond issue for park improvements, the city has to move “incrementally over time” to improve parks and will need to con sider advice from residents. But council members appeared to reach no solid consensus on what to do. Their discussion centered on whether the city should appoint a citizens board to advise city officials, create a subcom mittee of the council to handle parks is sues or continue periodic meetings be tween the city parks directors and the heads of organizations that operate pro grams in the parks. In a memorandum to the council members, City Manager Warren Hut- macher listed advantages and disadvan tages to having a parks and recreation advisory committee. Disadvantages outnumbered advantages two to one. The advantages he listed were that the body would act as a conduit to stimu late public involvement, would be a po tential advocate for parks and recreation funding, would vet proposed policies prior to the council’s involvement and would be able to provide advice to the city’s parks staff. The disadvantages he listed were that the group could cloud who was in charge, could be perceived as a political tool, could lead to other advisory com missions for other departments, could conflict with other city boards, and could conflict with the goals and plan ning of organizations that now provide parks and recreation programs. Councilman Doug Thompson said that “parks are my passion,” but he op- “I’m against a citizens parks board for a lot of reasons. We will get special interests who want to be on a parks board.... We have to be very careful about who we get. What we learned from park planning is that what a perfect park is for one person is not what a perfect park is for another.” - DOUG THOMPSON COUNCILMAN posed putting together a citizens advi sory board to deal with parks and recre ation issues. “I’m against a citizens parks board for a lot of reasons. We will get spe cial interests who want to be on a parks board...,” he said. “We have to be very careful about who we get. What we learned from park planning is that what a perfect park is for one person is not what a perfect park is for another.” Councilwoman Lynn Deutsch ex pressed concern that such a board would be divisive. “I am afraid that we will be setting up a committee of citizens who will be at each other’s throats,” she said. After the discussion, Davis said it ap peared the council had rejected the idea of a citizens advisory board. “I’m glad we cleared that off the ta ble,” he said. “I don’t know how many emails you get, but I get a lot of them from people wanting to be on a parks board.” Dunwoody Government Calendar The Dunwoody City Council usually meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall located at 41 Perimeter Center East Suite No. 103. For a complete and up to date schedule of Dunwoody City meetings, visit http://www.dunwoodyga.gov/Residents/Calendar.aspx j UNCLE JULIO’S fINE MEXICAN FOOD WdmU *Drink Specials Every Wednesday/All Day $ 2 Corona Prirnno ranrl f'nrnno I inh+ Corona and Corona Light Frozen Ritas Swirl, Frozen Margarita, Frozen Strawberry Margarita & Frozen Sangria sc Patron Patron Silver Margarita On-The-Rocks, Patron Cosmo-Rita, Patron Skinny Margarita *excludes Patron Classic Margarita Pitchers House Margaritas & Sangria (on-the-rocks) All Day/Everyday! 1140 Hammond Drive Sandy Springs, GA 678.736.8260 * Wednesday drink specials only at our Sandy Springs location DUN www.ReporterNewspapers.net | JAN. 25 — FEB. 7,2013 | 3
