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City gives ‘green light’ to
downtown construction plans
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
but the council will have to approve all
costs over $250,000.
The city already has $25.6 million
budgeted and would need an addition
al $58 million. The costs, which will be
spread out over the next decade, will re
quire the council to set aside $7.5 mil
lion a year for the next seven years.
There’s a possibility a city hall could be
constructed with bonds or in partner
ship with a private investor.
The costs are for building Phase 1 of
the city center plan, which will cover the
area north of Hammond Drive and west
of Roswell Road.
City Council approved a broader re
development plan in December. When
all phases are completed, future develop
ment will move the center of city life to
what has traditionally been considered
the heart of the community along Ro
swell Road near 1-285.
The plan seeks to make the city more
walkable and provides for a mix of uses,
expands green space and seeks revisions
to the city’s zoning code to achieve the
desired downtown aesthetic.
What would taxpayers receive for the
$84 million?
The big ticket items include:
- $25.5 million to buy land
- $4 million for professional services
- $9.6 million to build a segment of
Mount Vernon Highway west of Sandy
Springs Circle to Roswell Road and ex
tending Bluestone Road from Heritage
to Mount Vernon Highway
- $11.3 million for infrastructure
costs
- $5.5 million to relocate utilities
- $12.5 million to provide parking
- $4.4 million to build a playground
next to Heritage Green.
When McDonough first revealed the
numbers to council members during a
Jan. 30 retreat, there was some initial
sticker shock.
“Wow. And this doesn’t include the
building,” Councilwoman Dianne Fries
said.
But the city has more flexibility than
other municipalities. It doesn’t hold any
significant long-term debt because most
of its services are outsourced and it re
cently posted budget surpluses, mean
ing the city received more in tax revenue
than it spent.
The audit for Fiscal Year 2012 shows
the city’s reserves, called a general fund
balance, increased to $35 million from
$21.5 million in Fiscal 2011. Most of
the balance — 95 percent — is unassigned,
meaning it hasn’t been designated for
any purpose. The last time the reserves
reached that level was in 2008, the au
dit shows.
During the Feb. 5 meeting, council
passed a budget amendment to allocate
$3.5 million in additional surplus mon
ey revealed during the audit. The coun
cil set aside $500,000 of that to settle a
lawsuit with Fulton County for fire de
partment services provided by the coun
ty before Sandy Springs established its
own fire department. The rest of the
money will go toward capital projects.
The city in 2012 hired Boston-based
consultant Goody Clancy to develop
the master plan. The firm held multiple
meetings and hundreds of residents at
tended, providing input on various sce
narios.
After the Jan. 30 retreat, coun
cil members said they felt comfortable
moving ahead. Councilman Chip Col
lins said it’s something that’s a priority
for both the council and the city’s resi
dents.
“I think we definitely have a lot of
8/ieIco
TRANSFERRING
MEMORIES
SINCE 1985
The Experts in Visual Communication
BRING TO LIFE YOUR
TREASURED MEMORIES
6 | FEB.8 — FEB.21,2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
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