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COMMUNITY
What 2013 woo about, for Dun woody
In Dunwoody, 2013 turned into
a cranky year. Many residents found
something to complain about, whether
it was removing trees to make way for a
12-foot-wide, concrete trail through the
forest at Brook Run Park or moving the
dog park from one spot in Brook Run
to another.
Dissatisfaction showed in odd places.
Yard signs decrying city projects sprout
ed on busy roadsides. Church halls filled
with people who wanted to take over the
school system from DeKalb County and
start their own city system. City govern
ment meetings turned into lecture halls.
The Dunwoody Charter Commission
City projects take off
In his State of the City Address in February, Mayor Mike Davis announced,
“It’s time for us to act.” The city had spent its early years planning, he said, and
in 2013, “our goal is to turn ... our vision into reality.” Soon city contractors
were at work all over town. They built a 12-foot wide, concrete multi-use trail
through the forest in Brook Run Park. The city built new parks in the Project
Renaissance multi-use development, as city officials saw it as a way to turn ill-
used properties into new play areas and homes. By year’s end, work was under
way to transform Dunwoody Village Parkway into a narrower, more cyclist-
and pedestrian-friendly road.
✓
City riles dog park fans
\
V
The city’s plans to re
make the dog park in
Brook Run Park drew
growls. City officials said
the trees shading the cur
rent 4-acre park have been
damaged by dogs, and the
soil has been impacted by
constant use. They pro
posed moving the park to
another location within
Brook Run and managing
the park to protect it from
overuse. Dog park fanciers responded by packing City Council meetings to
complain that the changes raise safety issues because the new park is near a
playground and a skate park.
BROOK RUN DOG PARK
DUNWOODY, GEORGIA
✓
Andrea Sneiderman
Just days before her July murder trial was scheduled
to begin, DeKalb District Attorney Robert James an
nounced that he would drop the most serious charg
es against Andrea Sneiderman. Sneiderman had been
charged with conspiring to kill her husband, Rusty
Sneiderman. Andrea Sneiderman’s former boss, Hemy
Neuman, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for
shooting Rusty Sneiderman in front of a Dunwoody
day care center. Andrea Sneiderman’s trial proceeded
on the remaining perjury charges, and a DeKalb Coun
ty jury found Sneiderman guilty of 9 of the 13 counts
against her, such as lying under oath and concealing evidence. She was sen
tenced to serve five years in prison.
4 | DEC. 27, 2013 — JAN. 9,2014 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
By Joe
had to ask for a bigger meeting room
as its gatherings, which promised little
more than sleepy civics lessons, turned
into pointed, heated debates on the
city’s future.
But not everyone was angry all the
time. Two incumbents seeking re-elec
tion to City Council held their seats.
Earle | joeearle@reporternewspapers.net
Hundreds of residents showed up to
eat from food trucks during a new pro
gram at Brook Run called “Food Truck
Thursdays.” And when the city formally
opened the first phase of the Brook Run
trail with a parade, dozens of kids and
parents showed up with decorated bikes
and wagons to celebrate.
SAVE
DUNWOODY
VILLAGE
PARKWAY
SaveDunwoody.com
Opposition rises
As the city moved forward with its plans, yard
signs sprouted all over Dunwoody attacking them.
Some criticized the removal of trees to make way
for the new path through Brook Run Park. Others
objected to the city’s plan to rebuild Dunwoody
Village Parkway or to a stalled proposal to consid
er building a roundabout at the intersection of Vermack and Womack roads.
The people behind the signs organized a new, grassroots group calling itself
Save Dunwoody. Like-minded folks packed meetings of the City Council and
the city Charter Commission to complain about the direction being taken by
city government. In the fall, the group coalesced around candidates for City
Council seats who claimed they wanted to oust incumbents and change the
city’s direction.
Two incumbents re-elected while one
outsider claims seat
After a divisive election that yielded public complaints about city proj
ects and city officials’ perceived lack of communication with residents, Dun-
woody’s voters responded with mixed messages. The two incumbents who
sought re-election — Councilmen Denny Shortal and Doug Thompson — were
returned to their council seats. But challenger Jim Riticher, one of three candi
dates who ran together and said they wanted a “clean sweep” of the council and
a change in city direction, won the only seat with no incumbent on the ballot.
After winning re-election with 51 percent of the vote, Thompson said the race
had been “so close that I don’t think either side can think their platform was
the consensus opinion of the majority of Dunwoody.”
Bonser retires from council
City Councilwoman Adrian Bonser, who was
elected as one of Dunwoody’s original city coun
cilors and has held her post since, did not seek
re-election, citing health reasons. During 2013,
Bonser clashed at times with other council mem
bers and Mayor Mike Davis. After a council re
write of the city procedures for handling ethics
complaints against city officials, a complaint filed
against Bonser — which she often had described
publicly as being politically motivated — was fi
nally heard and dismissed as “frivolous.” In her fi
nal council meeting, Bonser asked the city to re
imburse her for her legal fees defending herself. Other council members agreed
she should be repaid the $1,777 her legal defense cost her.
DUN
